All Bite, No Growl by Jenika Snow Read Free Book Online

all of them had gotten off, their breathing filling the room, the scent of their lions coming to the surface, the three of them collapsed on the bed and didn’t move for several minutes.
    “Damn,” Devon said, finally breaking the silence.
    “Yeah,” Case said, looked at Willow, and saw her eyes wide as she stared at the ceiling. “You okay, sweetheart?” She didn’t speak for several seconds, and when he looked over at his mate, saw the worried expression on his face, they both thought they’d fucked up for sure.
    She turned and looked at him then, her brown eyes still wide, and the scent of her hesitation clear in the air. “Yeah,” she said softly, and not the least bit reassuring.
    “How about we get some rest?” Devon said, obviously sensing the shift in the air as well. Devon grabbed the blanket and put it over them, and for the next five minutes, while the air settled, the emotions faded slightly and the aftereffects of what they’d done faded, all Case could think about was what had he done.
    This could, and probably would, ruin that they shared with Willow, but they hadn’t been able to help themselves, obviously. If they’d thought about this, let the alcohol fade from their systems more, maybe they wouldn’t have been so trigger-happy to jump into this and possibly scare away the woman they loved in the process?
    Case stared at her, saw she’d turned her back toward them but sensed that she was still awake. He wanted to touch her, reach out and stroke, but Devon’s hand on his chest stopped him. Maybe they could have had something more with her, tell her they loved her? It didn’t matter that she wasn’t their mate, because in their eyes she would be the only woman for them.
     
    ****
     
    Willow had left, just got up and left Devon and Case in the bed because she had been afraid of her feelings for them, afraid of what they’d done. Even now, as the sun started to rise above the horizon and she sat on her porch, the chill in the air causing her to shiver, she thought about the scene she’d looked at before she left the house.
    They’d been spooning, embraced in each other’s arms, and she’d been on the edge of the bed alone. Of course it wasn’t their fault, because she’d been the third wheel in their mated relationship, but the thing was she’d felt this twinge in her heart at that sight. She’d never be a part of what they had, and although she might find her own mate one day she also knew that staying here, allowing herself to try and block out her emotions for the two lions, was not going to happen. She loved them, and because of that and after what they’d done, she just couldn’t be around them right now.
    God, she felt like she was abandoning them, but she did have to go to college, did have a future of her own outside of this town, and she should embrace it. She finally stood and turned to head into her house. It was barely sunrise now, and her house was still, silent. She was so sore between her thighs, and that had a surge of heat at the remembrance of what she’d done last night.
    She rounded the corner and stopped, startled to see her mother standing there with a coffee mug in hand, her hair tussled, and this sleepy expression on her face. She had her eyes closed, yawned widely, and then she opened her eyes and clearly saw Willow standing there she blinked a few times.
    “Willow, what are you doing home so early, or up so early?” Her mother rubbed her eyes, and then gestured to the table. “I’m glad you’re home, because I wanted to talk with you anyway.”
    Okay, this was starting to sound serious.
    Once they were both seated across from each other, her mother looked down at her mug and started running a finger over the rim of it.
    “Mom, what’s going on?”
    Her mom looked up, the light blue of her eyes framed by the darkness of the bags under them made them stand out. Lila Black had long, right now mussed blonde hair, a slender frame, and red pouty lips.