Frostbitten (Otherworld 10)

"Thanks," I murmured, gaze averted as I took my bra from him.

He backed away slowly, still staring. I tried to wrap the towel around me, but it was only a hand towel--I'm sure Tesler would have taken it away if it covered more. I could feel all three of them staring now. I resisted the urge to cover myself or turn away. If Travis wanted me to cower in shame, I wasn't giving him that satisfaction.

"You forgot something." He pointed at my panties. "Noah, give the lady a hand."

I pushed them down to my ankles and kicked them aside.

"You owe me twenty bucks, bro," Eddie said. "I told you she was a natural blonde."

I moved a little closer to the fire. Not too close, heeding Noah's warning about warming up too fast and knowing it was true--I'd had frostbite before.

A few feet from the fire, I bent and sat cross-legged, then started drying my hair. They continued to stare as if none of them had ever seen a naked woman before.

"You know, you look even better without your clothes," Tesler said. "And you looked damned fine in them."

I ignored him and squeezed water out of my hair.

He continued. "I heard you have a couple of kids. Can't tell. You didn't lose your figure, that's for sure."

Actually, any "figure" I had these days came courtesy of my kids. I'd always been thin--athletic and boyish. But now there was some swell to my hips and I'd graduated to a B cup. Not that Clay cared--if he even noticed. Things like that weren't important to him.

At that moment, though, I would have preferred my old body. Maybe it would make Tesler change his mind. Wishful thinking, I know. He didn't care what I looked like. His interest had nothing to do with sex and attraction. It was all about dominance and control.

"I want her," Noah said, making my head whip around. He turned so I couldn't see his face, then said again, "I want her."

"I'm sure you do," Tesler chuckled. "And if you're a very good boy, I'll let you take a ride, just as soon as I've had my fill."

"I want to go first."

Tesler sputtered. "Excuse me?"

Noah turned toward him, face still averted from me. "Without me, you'd be humping a frozen corpse. I saved her. I risked my own life to do it. I deserve the first go."

"And I'm supposed to take seconds?" An edge crept into Tesler's voice.

"Just once. After that, she's all yours."

"Is she?" Tesler advanced on the boy. "How generous of you."

Eddie stepped between them. "Come on. Let the kid lose his cherry with a female werewolf. How many guys get that chance?"

"I'm not a--" Noah stopped, realizing it wouldn't help his cause to say he wasn't a virgin.

He still wouldn't look my way. He couldn't. As I stared at him, the anger rose. He'd been nice to me. Even when he'd been gawking, he'd seemed embarrassed. Faced with three antagonists, I'd looked for a friendly face and been too eager to see it, unconsciously shifting Noah into the role of potential ally.

I'd forgotten what he really was--a punk who'd let his grandfather be murdered by his new pals. Part of me had hoped that there was an explanation. Now I realized there wasn't. Dennis had taken Noah in and given him a chance to start over. Noah had repaid him by hooking up with these murdering bastards. That blood of Noah's I'd found in the cabin? It could have come from a fight with Dennis, not defending him.

Noah was studiously avoiding my gaze; he might not have a rapist's heart, but he still saw me as an object. He wanted me, and what I thought of that didn't matter. The only person whose opinion counted was Tesler.

"Fine," Tesler said. "He'll get a werewolf for his first time... just as soon as I'm finished."

"You're a little rough with the ladies, bro," Eddie said. "Let the kid go first. He's been good. He deserves a reward."

Tesler glanced over and fixed his brother with a look that made Noah flinch. Eddie didn't even blink.

"It's just a girl, Travis," he said, his voice low. "No big deal."

"She's not just--"