Fated Magic (Claimed by Wolves 1)

from my finger. His eyes burn with annoyance as he glares at me, but his expression softens as he glances toward the small cabin. A hint of worry crosses his face, and he nods.

“Yeah. I got it.”

17

Sable

I press my forehead to the wall just inside the front door, letting all the weight of my body ooze against the cool wooden planks. My knees damn sure can’t hold me up anymore.

The cabin is dim and musty, as if the windows haven’t been opened for months. I’m in what seems to be a living room area, although I didn’t take much time to look at it when I walked in.

My skin is flushed and hot as if I have a fever, and I consider going to see if there’s a freezer I can shove my head in. Pressing my hands to my cheeks, I focus on taking a couple of deep breaths and calming the fluttering in my stomach.

I can’t seem to catch my breath, and I feel hot and achy all over in a way I’ve never experienced before. I can’t get the sight of Ridge’s body out of my mind. Every single part of him is etched in my memory, and the feeling curling between my legs begs me to keep replaying that memory over and over.

Even when I tried to look away, to drag my gaze away from him… there were Trystan and Archer, both just as magnificent and just as damn naked.

The one true string of luck I had in my miserable life was that my uncle never abused me sexually. Clint liked the power of hurting me physically—lording his strength over me with pain, keeping me quiet and pliant with threats of knives and lashes and “accidents.” Even his gross friends who came over every once in a while never hurt me like that. There was one man who got creepy with me a few times, and I lived in absolute terror that he might one day lose control and try to…

But he didn’t.

I know about sex, but I’ve never done it before. I’ve never even kissed anyone, and everything I know about the subject was gleaned from books and movies and unpleasant conversations between my uncle and his buddies that I wish I hadn’t heard.

But this?

I don’t know anything about this. I’m not familiar with the kind of need that seeps through my bones and makes every nerve-ending seem to come alive. So this aching, throbbing heat between my legs is as newly bizarre as it is decadent.

Jesus, the three of them were as perfect as pictures I’ve seen of Greek god statues. Every muscle might as well have been chiseled out of stone with an eye for perfection. Every curve of their bodies was powerful and strong, the way their waists tapered into their hips and their muscular legs…

Just recalling the image of the three of them standing together completely naked is turning me into a puddle of raw, sparking lust.

Okay. Breathe, I tell myself, dragging in two long, steady breaths and letting them out with the same care. Get a grip, Sable. You’re acting ridiculous. It’s just men’s bodies. Obviously, nudity isn’t a big deal to shifters.

Before I can get a handle on my emotions, the door opens and all three shifters pile into the small living room. I straighten and clutch my pack against my chest as if it might provide a real barrier between us.

Ridge reaches past Archer and finds the light switch on the wall. A bare bulb illuminates high over my head, casting light onto the three still naked men in front of me. I gape at them, too astonished to even recognize that a cabin in the middle of nowhere is clearly equipped with electricity. I guess mating pairs wanted to be able to see each other.

Naked.

Obviously.

Jesus, take the wheel.

Trystan steps ahead of the other two and comes closer to me. A cocky grin settles over his face and he gently takes my pack from my numb hands, tossing it over his own shoulder. It takes every ounce of my willpower to not look down. He’s so close I can smell his skin—something earthy, like incense, something darker than Ridge’s clear pine scent.

He’s the most arrogant of them, I think. The way he continues to stand there, holding my bag as if he’s doing me a favor, that crooked grin on his face like he knows I want to look at his body. Like he knows he’s a damn fine sight to see, and he wants me to partake.

I refuse to give in. No matter how badly I want to.

A hand clamps down onto Trystan’s shoulder, and Ridge rounds on him with a glare. “Did you forget already? Come on. Let’s get dressed.”

As the three men move off down the hallway, I sink against the wooden wall and struggle to get air back into my lungs. Their presence is insanely strong, as if I can drink in their essence just by being in the same room with them.

When I finally get my wits back, and I’ve given them ample time to cover up, I follow them down the hall. Since Trystan took my bag, I need to retrieve it from him in order to change out of Ridge’s dirty clothes. I’m covered in the dirt and dust that was kicked up during our run.

As luck would have it, all three men are dressed when I find them in the bedroom.

The only bedroom.