Free Wolf Tales IV by Kate Douglas Page A

sobbing against his chest. “I don’t mean to be that way. I don’t.”
    Lightly stroking her back, Anton smiled against her hair and silently reveled in the tight clasp of her arms around his waist. She had no idea how far she’d come. No idea at all.
    “Sweetheart, don’t cry.” He kissed her tousled hair. When she raised her head, he used his thumbs to wipe the tears from beneath her eyes. “Look at me and think of what just happened. You’ve spent almost three hours braiding Alexandria’s hair. Touching her, being close to her. Right now your arms are around my waist. You’re holding on to me for comfort.”
    She nodded, but she didn’t pull away. Another positive step.
    “Are you afraid of me, embracing you like this?”
    Almost shyly, she shook her head.
    “That’s because you trust me. I think what just happened in there, when you saw them kiss? I think your body reacted to the inherent sensuality and it frightened you. Does that make sense?”
    “Of course it does.” Pushing away from his embrace, Keisha stomped across the room, whirled around and stalked back to him. “Everything you say makes sense, dammit. It still doesn’t keep me from freaking out every time I see you guys kiss. Every time you crawl into bed with them and you guys make love, I want to be there so bad it hurts, but I lose it. I’ve stood in the doorway and felt my heart pound and my pussy practically weep with wanting to be with all of you, and I still fall apart!”
    “It’s going to take time.”
    “I’m tired of waiting.” She flipped her hand beside her face, opened her mouth, then shut it. “I want to do more than just hug, more than sleep in your arms as if you were my big brother. I want to fuck. I want to enjoy sex again, not run away when things start to get hot. I can’t keep playing the voyeur, getting my rocks off in your heads when the three of you screw. I can’t go to a therapist. Counseling won’t work when I can’t say what’s going on.”
    She glared at him, as if her condition were all his fault. “I can just hear myself now. ‘Oh, it’s a bit confusing, doctor. I’m not really human, I’m actually a shape-shifting Chanku and I really, really want to screw my pack mates, but the silly little rape thing keeps getting in my way.’ Anton…” She practically wailed when she asked, “What can I do to get past this?”
    Once again, Anton wished he had been the one to kill the bastards who did this to her. Choking back a low, angry growl, he spread his arms wide. Keisha threw her body against his, taking his comfort, taking his love. Avoiding the attraction that was tearing him apart.
    He held her while she cried. Murmured words of love, kissed her dark hair and fought his own tears of utter and profound frustration. Times like this, it was all he could do to keep from going uninvited into her head and tweaking her memories, changing her past in order to help her accept her present.
    Unacceptable . Even so, there had to be something he could do to help her. She’d been here three weeks now. Her body had healed. Her sense of humor blossomed, her ability to touch and be touched was returning.
    Yet the only way she’d been able to accept the sexual nature of their relationship was through a mind link with Alexandria. Joining mentally with the other woman, experiencing the sensual touch, the deeply intimate acts the three of them shared, not as an actual participant but as a mental voyeur.
    Maybe… maybe Alexandria was the key.
    My love… do you ever feel sexually drawn to Alexandria ?
    Xandi ? Keisha lifted her tear-streaked face away from his chest and frowned. I guess I never thought about her that way. She’s beautiful. I love being in her head when you guys are all together in bed, love the feel of sharing your bodies… I just wish I didn’t lose it when I’m in the same room with you !
    “What if you were in control? What if it was just you and Alexandria, alone together? What if the