Alpha Defenders: Heat (Siren Publishing Ménage Amour) Read online

  Mark liked Brenda a lot, and he needed to know how much she knew about what had happened between him and Lacy while Wra had kept her prisoner.

  “I haven’t gone into details to Brenda about what Wra required us to do. I only told her that we had some trouble with a local miscreant when the guys got into a fight with his gang. More information than that is given out only on a need-to-know basis.” She glanced up at Mark with a wry-looking tilt to her lips. “I’ve only told Trey and Derek the basics of what happened in Wra’s house.”

  “We’ll get him, Lacy. Trust me,” Mark said in a matter-of-fact tone.

  “I know you will,” she said. “I’m glad.” She smiled at him. “I hope you and Tom become close friends with Brenda. She’s a good friend and a caring person. She doesn’t know anything about shape-shifters.”

  When the song ended, Tom escorted Brenda back to where Mark and Lacy stood, and they all walked together over to the table where Trey and Derek sat waiting for them. Mark noted that the big burly guy had left. Mark grabbed an extra chair from another table nearby.

  “Help yourselves to those tostadas. The salsa is delicious,” Derek commented.

  Lacy suggested they all go on a picnic the next day. “I’m sure we’d all enjoy it, right?” Everyone agreed.

  “It won’t hurt if we take the day off,” Derek said.

  Mark remembered that Trey and Derek had a successful landscaping business.

  “There’s a great spot for swimming and a picnic at the river near our new place,” Mark mentioned. There’s a deep pool formed by a hot spring at the edge of the river. We came across it the other day.”

  “The picnic sounds like fun,” Brenda agreed. “I think I’d enjoy swimming in a pool fed by hot springs.”

  “We know where that hot springs pool is,” Trey said. “Right at the base of the Red Rock promontory on the west side. Sounds great. That’s a nice place where you’re living now.”

  “We did the landscaping on the property when our parents invested in building that house,” Derek said.

  “You did a great job, as usual,” Mark said.

  “Thanks.” Trey nodded to Mark. He turned toward Lacy. “We’re about ready to leave. What do you think?”

  “If Brenda would like to stay a little longer, we’d be glad to bring her back to your place,” Mark offered.

  “I’m fine with that, if it works for you, Lacy.” Brenda waited for Lacy’s answer.

  “Sure,” Lacy said. “We’ll see you later then. Have a good time.” Lacy smiled at her best friend and hugged her.

  “Can I get you something to drink?” Tom asked Brenda as Lacy left the party with Trey and Derek. “Would you like a mixed drink or beer?”

  “I’ll have what you’re having,” she said, looking from Mark to Tom.

  “Coming right up,” Tom said as he headed to the bar, which was set up on one side of the expansive room.

  “Let’s sit over here at this table,” Mark suggested. He slipped his hand under hers, and she followed him. He wanted to get away from the main crowd of people and sit at a smaller table where there was room for only the three of them. He didn’t know anyone else there except for Jeff and Ry. He wondered how well they knew the people who had arrived at the party. This crowd looked completely different from the nightlife he’d seen around town before. It looked like the atmosphere was turning into a sexy affair and heating up rapidly. For some of the couples, the dancing had become more sexually stimulating with caressing bodies and hands against sensitive flesh. The band was great, but he worried that Brenda might not be comfortable with the sexy dancing.

  Mark waved to Tom as he looked for them. After Tom rejoined them with their drinks, the dancing heated up even more. With the liquor flowing, one of the single women allowed the two single men dancing with her to make moves on her.

  “Would you like to dance?” Mark asked Brenda. He wasn’t sure she’d want to at this point, but he felt he should ask at least.

  “Yes, I would,” she said, surprising him, her blue eyes sparkling.

  Mark led her onto the dance floor and twirled her into his embrace as they moved to the music of a slow love song. A couple strangers wanted to dance with Brenda and tried to break in, but Mark discouraged them quickly. She was with him and Tom, and no one was going to dance with her but him or Tom, unless she wanted.

  He couldn’t help noticing that the dancing had become even sexier, and the woman dancing with two guys was taking off her blouse. Some other women followed her lead. They wore skimpy bras or nothing at all underneath. Those that wore bras had them deftly removed by their hungry-looking dancing partners who quickly caressed or covered their bare breasts with their hands and eager mouths. They each held their partner close, grinding their hips together with the beat of the music. Some of the men were pulling up the short skirts on a few of the women who had nothing on at all under their skirts.

  Mark noticed that Brenda was uncomfortable with the sexy turn the party had taken. She tried to ignore what was happening around her as more women took off pieces of clothing, their dates or dancing partners caressing them all over.

  Mark saw that some of the guys had their zippers pulled down, their cocks rising with their arousals. The two guys dancing with the woman who had been the first one to remove her blouse had kept their slacks zipped, which seemed odd to Mark since the other men had not. When a couple overzealous guys tried to cut in on Brenda and Mark, he barely controlled the wolf inside him.

  Wrapping a protective arm around her shoulders, he urged her close against his side as two more guys, who’d had too much to drink, tried to take her hands. Mark turned her away from the guys as he took her hand in his free hand and pulled her closer against his side. He escorted her back to their table, keeping her securely in his arms. He decided they needed to say goodnight to the two guys throwing the party, Jeff and Ry, and take their new friend, Brenda, back home to Lacy’s place.

  “I believe we’d best call it a night,” Mark said to Tom and Brenda. “What do you think?” He glanced at Tom and looked at Brenda for her answer.

  “I think you’re right,” she said, smiling at him.

  “I’ll find Jeff and Ry and let them know we’re leaving,” Tom said.

  Mark watched Tom cross the room to reach Jeff and Ry. It looked like those two guys were enjoying the party with an attractive young blonde woman standing between them. Mark recognized her as a waitress who worked at Rex and Austin’s bar and dance hall. She had her arms resting on their shoulders as they held her around the waist.

  Mark put an arm around Brenda again and escorted her to the front door. Tom joined them there and held the door open for them. They left without any problems. The cooler air outside was refreshing. Mark was relieved to have Brenda out of there. No telling what could happen in that atmosphere.

  Chapter Three

  Brenda couldn’t believe how attracted she felt to both Mark and Tom at the same time. When the party had turned into a sex fest, Mark and Tom seemed to notice right away that she was uncomfortable and wanted to get out of there. They acted happy about taking her to Lacy’s place when Mark suggested it. She admired both of them for that.

  She figured that Mark must be about six feet two inches tall. He was broad-shouldered and strong looking. When she’d danced the slow dances with him, she’d felt his muscular shoulders and warm, broad chest against her as if he sheltered her. His scent was clean and masculine. She’d been attracted to him so strongly and quickly that she was surprised. He wore his dark brown hair cut just above his collar in back, and it was wavy and gave him a rakish look. His dark brown eyes were circled with darker brown outlines, and his eyebrows were dark brown, almost black. His square jaw added to his strong, handsome looks. He was so tanned he probably spent lots of time under the Texas sun. His job must keep him outside a lot. When his hips brushed against her, she couldn’t help but notice he was aroused. He’d aroused her, as well. The flesh between her thighs had swelled with ne
ed.

  Tom was good-looking and hot, as well. His dark hair was cut close and he was muscular with broad shoulders like Mark, although he wasn’t quite as tall, maybe six feet. She had felt the hard muscles of his broad chest against her as they’d danced. His narrow hips had moved against her hips as he’d moved to the music. He’d been aroused, as well. His dark green eyes had seemed to grow darker as they danced. He had dark brown eyebrows like Mark and was just as tanned. Both of them were dressed nicely and wore the latest style of blue jeans and western shirts. She wondered if they wore their cowboy boots to work since they looked scuffed.

  What would it feel like to let them caress her the way some of the women at the party had let their dance partners touch them? She’d never had two men caress her at the same time before, but it was tempting with these two guys. They were sexy as hell and well mannered, all of which was attractive to her. It had been a long time since she’d been so interested in a new man, and to be interested in two at the same time surprised her. She wouldn’t mind getting to know Mark and Tom better and go out with them both at the same time. She felt so secure and at ease sitting between them in their pickup. She couldn’t choose one of them over the other and could hardly wait to see them again.

  When they reached the house, Tom parked their pickup truck and Mark helped her out. They walked up the short walk on either side of her. She had a key for the door and handed it to Tom.

  Mark curved one hand gently around her on one side and Tom turned after he opened the door and cupped his hand around her shoulder. They both bent and placed gentle kisses on her cheeks. It was the sweetest gesture she thought she’d ever experienced.

  “I had a good time with you, Mark and Tom. I’m looking forward to the picnic.” She grinned at them.

  “I am, too,” Mark said in that soft baritone voice of his. “I enjoyed being with you tonight.”

  “I had a good time, as well,” Tom said, his voice just as deep but a little raspy.

  Even in the dark she would know which one was talking to her. There was a thought. “See you both at the picnic.”

  “See you then,” they said at the same time.

  She smiled at them, stepped inside the house, and closed the door gently, wishing she’d asked them to come in. She’d check with Lacy about that tomorrow. She hadn’t dated since her failed relationship with her previous boyfriend. Although it might be fun to play with Mark and Tom for a while, she had no intention of becoming involved in a serious relationship any time in the near future, if ever again.

  The picnic could prove interesting since Lacy liked to play sexually with her two men. She always had, and it was normal for Lacy to enjoy her guys in that way. Brenda wondered what it would feel like to play with Mark and Tom along the same lines.

  * * * *

  They’d gathered at Mark and Tom’s new place and driven to the picnic site near the hot springs pool on the edge of the river. After enjoying the picnic lunch Lacy and Brenda had put together, Mark suggested a short hike along one of the paths up the side of the red rock hillside.

  Mark saw the new guys in town climbing around the base of the rocky cliffs bordering the river. They all said hi to them and found out that the guys were searching in that area for the precious, or semi-precious, stones that they were expecting to find. Mark wondered why they were really out there and what their game was. They didn’t seem like gem hunters to him. In talking with them, Jeff and Ry said they believed there was a special deposit of minerals there that some rock hunters thought could enhance strength.

  Mark and Tom wished them luck as their group continued up the path.

  Along with Lacy and her guys, they all continued hiking up the rocky hill along a fairly narrow path. Trey and Derek had said there was an interesting cave halfway up.

  They ran into another man at the rock formation below the cave who told them he was a long-time prospector and he’d come there to search for semi-precious stones. He told them to stay off his claim.

  “Not a very friendly guy.” Mark wondered why the men, all seemingly new to the town of Wolf’s Crossing, were all out there searching for the same thing.

  Mark walked inside the large opening to the cave. “It looks like there’s evidence of an ancient group of people who lived here. Some of the art on the walls that hasn’t been marked looks a thousand years old.”

  “There’s dark stains of smoke on the ceiling from fires the ancients made,” Tom said.

  Mark took the area in and turned to look outside. “The view is amazing from here.”

  The others joined him to take in the valley and distant hills to the west.

  “It’s beautiful,” Brenda remarked.

  “Sure is,” Tom said.

  Mark headed to the back of the wide cave and studied the footing of the smaller cave that led from it down deep into the hill. He couldn’t see very far though without light. The smaller cave was dark about twenty feet within the narrow confines.

  “Are you ready to head back for a swim in the pool?” Tom asked everyone.

  “I am,” Lacy said. “Are you?” she asked Brenda.

  “Sure,” Brenda said.

  They all headed back down the path. “I’ll walk in front of you, Brenda, if that’s all right with you, and Tom can walk behind you.” Mark didn’t want anything to happen to Brenda, and he figured Tom felt the same. Mark noticed that Trey and Derek kept Lacy between them, as well.

  When they reached the bottom of the hill, they headed to the natural pool fed by the hot spring, which flowed from the bank of rock bordering the river’s edge. While Brenda and Lacy shrugged out of their slacks and knit tops in a shaded grove of trees nearby, Mark and the other guys shucked their shirts and blue jeans. They’d all worn shorts to swim in and wasted no time getting into the deep, clear water of the pool.

  The water plants rooted between the rocks on the bottom gave the crystal clear water a dark green color. Willows growing along the edges provided a certain amount of privacy. The pool couldn’t be seen from the hillside above and was protected on three sides by tall shrubs. Mark was anxious for Brenda to join them.

  Just then, Lacy and Brenda, both wearing bikinis, stepped between the willowy shrubs and took off their shoes, leaving them on one of the big boulders nearby. They stepped carefully into the water. Mark and his friends moved across the pool to help the women step down into deeper water. Lacy was swept into Derek’s arms and carried closer to the opposite side. Trey joined them and supported Lacy’s legs as she leaned back to float on the water.

  Mark and Tom helped Brenda move gingerly into deeper water. They supported her, holding her hands and lifting her by slipping their free hands beneath her thighs.

  “Oh my God, the water feels wonderful,” Brenda said, giving a little moan of appreciation. “It’s the perfect temperature.”

  “I agree,” Mark said as Tom chuckled. They continued to support her as they let her lean back until she was actually floating in the water with their hands keeping her up.

  Mark couldn’t help noticing that Lacy and her guys were pleasuring each other. He wondered if Brenda would enjoy being caressed like Lacy obviously did. In fact, Lacy was reciprocating and caressing Trey and Derek. Mark heard soft moans coming from all three of them. The sounds they made aroused him, as well.

  As Tom supported Brenda, Mark moved one hand and smoothed his palm over Brenda’s smooth thigh. Tom continued to keep one hand under her shoulders as he smoothed his hand over her waist and slowly higher.

  She moaned softly. “That feels good,” she said.

  Mark was thrilled that she liked what they were doing. As the soft moans continued to let him know that Lacy and her guys were enjoying each other, Mark smoothed his palm along Brenda’s silky inner thigh. She moaned again and undulated her body. Tom smoothed his hand over her breasts, and she gasped as he squeezed one nipple under the bikini fabric. Mark caressed her warm mound through her bikini bottoms. When she didn’t protest, he continued to stroke he
r sensitive flesh. She undulated her body and tilted her hips up.

  “More, Mark, Tom,” Brenda said softly. “Please.”

  Mark’s body heated with the sounds of her pleasure. He became more and more aroused. He smoothed his fingers beneath the fabric of her bikini panties and caressed her mound then delved deeper and found her already swollen clit. She gasped and bucked as he caressed that sensitive nubbin. He was barely conscious of the rippling water and soft moans and groans coming from the other side of the pool. Brenda held his attention as her body tightened and her hips curved upwards, bowing her body as he and Tom increased her pleasure and need. Mark caressed her silky, wet folds. He was aware of Tom lifting her bikini bra and taking one nipple into his mouth. Mark slid two fingers along Brenda’s slick, hot labia until he reached the opening to her passage. He circled that sensitive opening, and she bucked.

  “Mark,” she cried out.

  “Do you like that, hon?” Mark asked her softly.

  “Yes,” she hissed, moving her hips up and down, rubbing herself against his fingers.

  Tom covered her lips with his and kissed her as Mark watched. He heard her groan as Tom caressed her breasts with his hand and flicked her turgid, pink nipples. Mark wished he could see the color of her wet, swollen pussy where his fingers played between her thighs. She spread her thighs wider, and Mark pushed his finger inside her slickened channel, slowly stretching that tight opening. With one finger he teased and stroked the hot, satiny flesh. She gave a little protesting murmur of need. He stroked faster and circled her little nubbin with his thumb.

  Her hips bucked, her body curving upward as she climaxed, the pulses stroking his finger inside her as her hard contractions continued. A low growl of appreciation escaped Mark, his cock hardening as his balls swelled with his desire to reach his orgasm while inside her.