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  Of course, she called the man out on it and kicked him to the curb. Ever since then she’d had a difficult time trusting. While everything in her told her that she could trust these two, it was still a difficult decision to make.

  “What are you doing here?” Zach asked when he opened the door.

  “We’re here to get Kelly.” Jessi shoved the keys and driver’s licenses into Mac’s hands, pushed the door open and forced her way into the room. She had no doubt the man could have stopped her had he really wanted to, but she also knew that they had that strict code about the way they treated women.

  She strode into the room and glared at Kelly who stood in the center of the room, straightening her clothes, her hair a mess. “Tell me you didn’t.”

  “I didn’t.” Kelly lifted her chin. “I was just telling them that we had to go find you.” Her face flushed. She smoothed her top down and her hair back. “I wish I had a brush.” She shook her head as she glanced in the mirror over the dresser. “I’d rather not run to the car looking like this.”

  “Then, I guess it’s a good thing we’ve already been out there and gotten your things. They’re in our room.”

  “Oh.” Kelly’s smile was a little too bright. “We’re sharing a room?”

  “Yes.” Jessi crossed her arms and gave the two men standing on either of her friend a narrow eyed look. “Something told me you were having a willpower crisis and, like the good friend that I am, I’m here to remove you from temptation.” She checked her watch. “We have just enough time to get back to the room and change before dinner.”

  “I wish we had costumes.”

  “I do, too, Kelly, but we’ll just have to do without.” Jessi knew how much they would stick out in this town wearing regular street clothes, but she didn’t care. At the moment, all she cared about was getting back to the room and into the shower. Dinner time was fast approaching and she didn’t give a damn about whether or not she ate. Jessi wanted her second date over and done with. Frankly, she couldn’t wait for an excuse to accept the guys’ offer. In reality, Jess knew she might not have known them for very long, but it felt as though they’d been together for an eternity. There really was something about that mating bond.

  She loved the way Gareth and Mac looked at her. Their expressions were always intense. It was almost as though she was the sexiest woman in the world and they couldn’t stop looking at her.

  Thankfully, Zach and Derek seemed to feel the same way about Kelly. Jess didn’t know what she would have done if she had two men drooling over her when her best friend had none. Now, she didn’t have to worry about it, if the little caresses and hot looks the guys kept sending Kelly’s way were any indication.

  Jessi grabbed Kelly’s hand and dragged her toward the door. “Come on. We’re on the sixth floor, room Six-fifteen,” she called over her shoulder so Zach and Derek would know which room to find Kelly in when it came time for their second date.

  Generally, liberal wasn’t something she would attribute to her dating habits, but Jessi just couldn’t wait to accept Gareth’s and Mac’s offer, and the only way to do that was to agree to mate with them.

  She shivered at the thought. It had been years since she’d felt her naked body pressed between two warm men. Her body responded every time she thought about it. Her womb clenched, her clit throbbed, and cream slid from her channel and soaked her already damp panties.

  If she didn’t manage to get her mind centered on mundane things for at least a little while, she would be so wet and ready before dinner, she might leave a stain on her seat. The thought was embarrassing. Jessi was certain that experiencing it would be even more discomfiting.

  As quickly as she could, she made her way to the elevator. She wanted to leave the men behind. She needed some alone time with Kelly and she didn’t want to slow them down with talk if she didn’t need to do so.

  “Okay…what’s up?” Kelly asked, her hands on her hips. She could tell something was wrong. That much was sure. “I haven’t seen you this agitated in a long time.” She smiled. “I don’t know why, either. If Mac and Gareth told you the same thing that my guys told me, I figured you’d be elated.”

  “I’m pretty sure they did.” Jessi jammed the button for the down elevator. She turned to Kelly and grasped her arms. “We can’t loosen our rules. Even for them.” She bit her lip. Once we do, we’ll have no reason to abide by them in the future.”

  “We won’t have to.” Kelly sighed. “I don’t believe you’re worried about that.”

  “Why shouldn’t I be? Just because they both say they want me?” She paused as the elevator door opened. It was one thing to discuss the matter with Kelly, but the entire hotel didn’t have to know the men were shape shifters. She continued as they noted the empty elevator and stepped inside. “I can’t take the chance that they’ll get tired of me and then I’m back to my old habits. I might drop my rules all together. After all, if I do it for them, what’s to say I won’t do it for everyone?”

  “They didn’t get a chance to tell you all of it, did they?” Kelly chuckled. “Either they omitted something, or my guys aren’t telling me the truth. I can’t be certain, but they seemed earnest enough. I don’t think they were lying about it.” She bit her lip with a frown.

  “Tell me what?” Jessi hated the fact that all of the men didn’t give the same story. What if they were all lying? What if the Anderson twins had put them up to this after all? She shook her head. No. Now, she was just being paranoid. If she was certain about anything in her life, she was certain that the Anderson boys didn’t know any shape shifters. The Anderson boys liked to talk too much for that. They couldn’t keep a secret if their lives depended on it. With a secret like being able to shift one’s shape into that of an animal, she had no doubt in her mind that their lives would depend on keeping that secret.

  “When they mate, they mate for life. If you agree to be their mate, you’re agreeing to a lifelong commitment. They also said once it’s done, it can’t be undone, so we have to be sure it’s what we want.” She snorted. “What I want to know is what they think there is not to want about having two men love you, cherish you and treat you like a friggin’ queen for the rest of your life.”

  The elevator door opened and they stepped out onto the sixth floor. “Yeah,” Jessi agreed as she led the way to their room. “What’s not to like about it?”

  Chapter Fourteen

  The four men stood at the counter in the lobby of the hotel waiting for the clerk to return. “Do you think we’ll find good costumes for them?”

  “We will. This town is a costumer’s dream. I can’t imagine it would be that difficult.” Zach checked his watch. “What in the hell is taking the man so long?”

  He’d just finished the sentence when the young man appeared, a stack of towels in his arms. “I’m sorry. I’m just getting ready to run these upstairs. I didn’t realize you guys were out here. What can I do for you?”

  “Where’s the best costume shop in town?” Derek asked as he slid a twenty-dollar bill across the counter. “The absolute best shop. We need costumes for the women.”

  “Oh.” He frowned. “What women?” His face cleared when he remembered. “Oh, the…uh full-figured girls I saw you with earlier?”

  “The perfect women you saw us with earlier.”

  “Goddesses.”

  The four of them spoke at the same time.

  “Yeah, right.” The clerk cleared his throat. “The best one, huh?” He rubbed his chin for a minute before his face cleared. “The Costume Shop Two on Paris and Devine. They have awesome costumes, but the prices are out of this world.” He made a face. “Would you rather go somewhere cheaper?”

  “No. We asked for the best. We want the best. Only the best will do. The ladies are very special.”

  “Sure. Sure. Whatever you say, man.” The young man picked up the twenty and stuck it in his pocket before grabbing the stack of towels. “Now, if you’ll excuse me. I have to take these towels up to t
hree where a rather rotund gentleman has apparently been in a wrestling match with a water buffalo.” He rolled his eyes and then headed for the elevator. “Good luck finding your ladies’ costumes. There’s not much to choose from, this time of year.”

  He stepped into the waiting elevator, pressed the button and leaned against the back wall as the doors closed.

  “I guess we can try to walk it, or put the name of the place into the GPS and see if that can find it.”

  “I don’t know about yours, but my GPS is a POS and it doesn’t work worth a damn,” Mac grumbled with disgust.

  “Yeah, I know what you mean.” Zach chuckled. “Mine’s a piece of shit, too.” He shook his head. “I guess we’re hoofing it from here. With luck, it’s not too far.”

  They were lucky. The shop was just down the street and it had just what they needed. The costumes were beautiful, almost as beautiful as their mates. It was all Gareth could do to keep his raging hormones under control as he thought about Jessi wearing it.

  He didn’t like the thought of other men seeing her in it, though. Thinking about how the costume would enhance every one of her lush curves made him hard all over. He couldn’t imagine the sight not turning other men on and the thought almost made him growl.

  He took the bag containing the costume for Jessi and hoped he’d guessed her size correctly. It would lose the effect if it was too big. A little too small would be okay. It would only accentuate the curves he loved so much. He couldn’t wait to see her in the costume. In fact, he and Mac loved the costume so much, they bought the damned thing. Who knew something so insubstantial could cost so much?

  It didn’t matter. She would be lovely in it. He wanted her to see that, too. She needed to see that she was a sensual and sexy woman. She needed to see how beautiful she really was, and she wasn’t going to see that wearing baggy jeans and oversized shirts the rest of her life. Hiding her body wasn’t the answer. Showing it off like the goddess she was was the answer, and he and Mac intended to teach her that just that as soon as possible.

  Zach snatched up the bag with Kelly’s costume and they left the shop. “I’m hungry. We never did get any lunch.”

  “We’ll stop at that hot dog stand we passed on the way back to the hotel and grab a couple of dogs. I can’t wait to get back there and see this on our lady.” Gareth held up the bag.

  “I can’t either,” Derek said with a sigh. “What do you think it is about the men these days?”

  Mac frowned. “What do you mean?”

  “They all seem to think that just because a woman has a little extra meat on her bones that she’s lazy or eats too much.” He shook his head. “Do you remember that girl that used to compete with the men during the festival in the village? She ran, shot, fished and climbed trees with the rest of them, but she was a big girl and I don’t remember ever seeing her eat more than any other woman ate.” He sighed. “You know I chased her for a year and a half and the woman never gave me the time of day?”

  “She had good taste.” Mac grinned.

  “Fuck you.” Derek shot him the bird.

  “Those dogs smell great,” Gareth interrupted as they approached the booth. “I’ll take two of those with mustard.” He glanced at Mac. “He’ll have two with chili and mustard.” He pulled a fifty from his pocket and handed it to the teenaged attendant. “Keep the change. Save up. Go to college.”

  “Thanks, mister!” The boy made change, shoved the remainder in the tip jar and sanitized his hands before preparing their dogs. “How about you two?”

  “We’ll just take four with ketchup and mustard.” He grinned. “I noticed no one got onions.”

  “Big date, huh?” the boy asked as he made the hotdogs, wrapped them in aluminum and handed them over. “That’s eight dollars, please.”

  Zach, too, handed him a fifty. “Keep the change.” He smiled at him. “And my friend is right. Go to college.” He pulled a card from his pocket. “If you need help, just give me a call. I’ll find a good paying job for you, to help you work your way through.”

  “That was…random.” Mac frowned.

  “Yeah, well, he had his transcript on the bench behind him and his applications right there. Anyone who wants to go to school so bad he’s filling out his apps at a hotdog stand, deserves all the help he can get.”

  “I guess you’re right.” Gareth hadn’t seen that. He glanced back at the boy who had returned his attention back to the bench. “I hope he manages it, then.”

  “Yeah, me too,” Zach added between bites of his hotdog. “He makes a great hotdog, though. Just enough of everything to taste it, but not overpower the flavor of the meat.” He took another bite and moaned.

  “You were hungry.” Mac chuckled and shook his head as he crammed the last of his food into his mouth.

  They made their way back to the hotel and up to the sixth floor. “Should we all drop off the costumes?” Mac glanced between them. “Don’t you think all of us showing up at their door will be a little daunting?”

  “I don’t give a shit. If you think we’re going to let you two look like Kelly’s knights in shining armor, you’re out of your fucking minds.” Derek growled.

  Mac held his hands up. “Hey, we weren’t trying to steal your thunder. We just thought it might look a little odd to have us all show up at the same time.”

  “Why wouldn’t we? We left together, and they know it. We’re friends, and they know it.” Zach frowned at the door. “Are you expecting something we should know about?”

  “Nope. Not expecting a thing.” Mac turned and knocked on the door.

  Chapter Fifteen

  Jessi stood in front of the closet, staring in at the clothes she’d brought with her. None of them could remotely pass for a costume of any kind. Her shoulders slumped as she stared at her jeans, her black slacks and her blouses.

  She frowned as she rifled through her things. When had she reverted back to wearing dark clothes and ones so baggy on her? She thinned her lips. “It was probably not long after I got to Langston. The people there could turn the most well-adjusted person into a neurotic.” She shook her head and yanked out a pair o black slacks and a gray shirt.

  “I need to go shopping. This is horrible.” She’d just dropped the clothes on her bed when someone knocked on the door.

  “Just a minute!” She ran to the dresser, yanked open the top drawer and pulled out a pair of underwear and a bra. She put them on in a hurry, pulled her blouse on, buttoned it in a flash and tugged on the black slacks.

  She hurried to the door and peered out through the peephole. It was the guys. Her heart skipped into overdrive and her breathing quickened. She put her hand on her chest, willing her pulse to slow down.

  They were shape shifters, for God’s sake. Real life shape shifters. They could probably hear her heart beating. The last thing she needed was for them to know exactly how much they excited her. She needed to calm down.

  Closing her eyes, Jessi took a deep, calming breath before opening the door and looking up at the man who stood staring down at her with the most handsome of faces.

  “Hi there!” She licked her lips and smiled nervously. She fought the urge to pull the towel off her head. She was nowhere near ready for dinner and poor Kelly was still in the shower. “You’re early.” She twisted her fingers together. “We aren’t quite ready yet.”

  “Good,” Gareth said as he stepped forward, a large plastic bag in his hands. Mac stood just behind him, holding what looked suspiciously like a shoebox. “We knew you felt self conscious during lunch, so we took the liberty of buying you ladies a costume to wear tonight.”

  “A costume?” Her eyes widened as Gareth handed her the bag. “This is from Mac and me.” He smiled. “It’s what we thought you’d look best in.” He gave her a smoldering look. “We can’t wait to see you in it.”

  Mac handed her the box he held. “This is a pair of shoes to go with it. We aren’t experienced in buying women’s clothing. We guessed your size the best th
at we could.” He smiled. Don’t be offended if it’s too big, or too small. This,” he added holding his hands in a small circle in front of him, “is not an accurate form of measurement.”

  “I-I’m sure it’s fine.” Whatever possessed them to do something so thoughtful? “It was very thoughtful of you.”

  The back of her throat felt clogged and her eyes burned. When was the last time any man had ever done something so nice for her? It had been so long, Jessi didn’t remember.

  Reaching up, Gareth cupped her cheek. “If you accept us as your mates, we will spend the rest of our lives attempting to do thoughtful things for you every day.”

  “Kelly told me that Zach and Derek told her that you guys mate for life. Is that true?” She nervously glanced at the other two men.

  “Yes.” He frowned. “Didn’t we tell you that earlier?”

  “No. You didn’t.” She smiled. “But that’s okay. I just wanted to know what happens if things don’t work out between mates?”

  “What do you mean, don’t work out?” Mac asked with a frown. “Things always work out. That’s how it is. We spend the rest of our lives making you happy and making you happy makes us happy. It always works out.”

  “Are you saying there are no divorces with your people?” She looked at each of them in turn. “You all just live happily ever after, all of the time?”

  “That’s pretty much it.” Zach replied with a grin. He handed her another bag and Derek handed her a box. “These are for Kelly.” He checked his watch. “We’ll give you another hour to dress and we’ll be back for you. Try to be ready.” He smiled. “Remember the red bag and box is for Kelly. The blue is for you.”

  Gareth and Mac each pressed a quick kiss to her lips. “See you in an hour.” Turning, they followed the other two men through the door, softly closing it behind them.