The Jaguar's Halloween Bride (Holiday Mail Order Mates Book 5) Read online

  Ray shifted back to human form and called out, “Abe?”

  He could hear his brother’s hard breathing nearby, but there was no answer, so he walked through the brush until he could hear rocks dropping into a body of water. He found his brother standing at the edge of a reservoir, dropping stones into the dark water.

  “Why didn’t you answer me?” Ray asked, staying a few feet behind Abe.

  “I don’t really feel like company.”

  “Why not?” Ray asked. “You were at a party, weren’t you? Did it end early?”

  “No.”

  “Then, why’d you leave?”

  Abe shrugged. “I don’t know.”

  “Really?” Ray’s chest tightened. “Because I think I know why. I think you feel bad about what happened with Lizzy.”

  “I don’t feel bad,” Abe snarled.

  “You do, and so do I. We need to apologize and make it up to her.”

  “And by we, you mean I need to apologize and make it right.”

  “No. I didn’t stop her either, and I didn’t stand up for her,” Ray said. “I listened to what you had to say, and I believed you. Instead of making up my own mind, I did what you wanted to do.”

  Abe stopped dropping rocks into the water. His dark eyes flashed. “Are you saying I steamrolled you? That I made you do something you didn’t want to do?”

  “No, I’m saying I should’ve spoken for myself. I wasn’t sure what to think, but I didn’t want to go against you.”

  “But you want to go against me now?”

  Ray took a few steps so he could stand next to his brother. He wanted to look his brother in the eye for what he had to say next. “No, I want you to come with me. I want us to go apologize to her together. If we want to be in an alpha triad, we need to act as one to make it happen.”

  “I can’t do that.” Abe stooped down to pick up another stone. “I’m sorry, but I just can’t.”

  “You’re being stubborn. Do you seriously think she was pretending to be someone she’s not?”

  “I do.” But Abe’s voice wavered.

  “Is being right that important to you?” Ray grabbed Abe by the arm and made him turn to look at him. “Because I don’t think it is. I think you’re just afraid of getting your heart broken.”

  Abe pulled away. “So what if I am?”

  “This is really something, man. You’re going to blow up our relationship with our mate just because you’re afraid?” Ray laughed bitterly. “I’m afraid too. The only difference is, I’m not going to let that stop me from getting our mate back.”

  “You go, then. Let me know how that works out for you.”

  “You’ll regret this for the rest of your life if you keep being stubborn.”

  Ray wasn’t being dramatic. He knew Lizzy was their mate. A shifter who didn’t find his or her mate was one of the saddest things in the world. It was unimaginable that Abe would want to walk away from their mate over something so petty. It was a disagreement, not the end of the world.

  “Are you hoping that she’ll take you alone?” Abe scoffed. “She can’t take one of us and not the other.”

  “I’m not hoping for that at all,” Ray said. “But you have to do the hard work if you want to be in a relationship with both of us. It can’t be just me pulling the weight for both of us. You made a mistake, too. You can be a man and apologize.”

  They stood in silence, looking at the muddy water. Abe kept throwing pebbles until he couldn’t find any more, and Ray simply waited. They weren’t going to leave until this was settled. The only place he would go next was Lizzy’s. He didn’t care if he had to argue with Abe all night; he wasn’t going to let Abe ruin this for them both.

  “I don’t know if I can do it again, brother,” Abe said after a while.

  “We’ll be in it together. Even if she does break her heart, you’ll always have me.” Ray hugged his brother tight. “Let’s go get our girl.”

  *

  The twins shifted to their animals. While it had taken Ray almost no time to run across town the first time, he was tired now. It took them more than an hour to get from the wetlands back into town. Ray was glad that it was the dead of night and nobody was around to see them.

  Shifters didn’t generally wander around Maple Creek in their animal form. If you were something like a squirrel or a dog, it was okay. But two giant jaguars were quite an unusual sight. Of course, it was even more unusual when they reached Lizzy’s building and shifted back to human form.

  They were both stark naked in the middle of downtown. That was definitely frowned upon by local law enforcement. Ray hoped she was awake and would buzz them up quickly.

  Ray pushed the buzzer twice, but he got no answer, so he pushed the intercom button. “You there, Lizzy? Hello?”

  “I am. It’s very late. Why are you here?” To Ray’s dismay, she didn’t sound willing to talk. But she didn’t sound tired, either. Maybe that was a good thing.

  “Abe and I are down here. We’d like to come up and talk to you.”

  Abe made a noise and motioned at his lower half. “You might want to mention this.”

  Ray nodded. “We don’t have any clothes on,” he said into the intercom. “Is that okay?”

  “Perfect. She’s going to think we want something dirty,” Abe whispered.

  Ray quickly hit the button again. “I meant, do you have towels or something for us wrap around ourselves before we come inside?”

  Abe was right. They didn’t want to have the most important conversation of their lives while they were naked. After all, this was a story they were going to be telling their grandchildren one day.

  An excruciating minute went by. Then, to Ray’s relief, Lizzy said, “I do. Come up.”

  The twins went upstairs together. Lizzy was waiting at her door with two big towels. She was wearing purple sweatpants with words down one leg and a thin tank top. Her face was bare of makeup, and her hair was pulled up into a messy ponytail. Ray thought she looked gorgeous.

  She threw the towels at him. “Here you go. You’ll have to be quick. It’s late, and I was just getting into bed.”

  Ray nodded as he wrapped the towel around his waist. He couldn’t help but notice how Lizzy’s eyes followed the movement of his hands. “We have something we want to say. Don’t worry, this won’t take long.”

  Abe stepped forward. A single tear ran down his left cheek before he could speak. “I’m so sorry for what I said. I don’t care if you don’t want to go to the gym.”

  Lizzy looked surprised. “Alright. Thanks for coming up in the middle of the night to tell me that.”

  Abe shook his head. “I don’t know what’s wrong with me. I thought I was helping, and when you pushed me away, I overreacted. Then, I didn’t know how to turn back.”

  She nodded slowly. “You were being stubborn?”

  “Yes. I guess I got scared. I care about you too much, and you seemed too good to be true. I sabotaged myself and our relationship.”

  “And you?” Lizzy looked at Ray.

  “I’m sorry that I let you two argue and didn’t step in to stop it. The three of us are in this relationship together, and we all have to agree to try harder. That is, if you still want to be in a relationship with us.”

  Ray’s chest was tight, and he couldn’t breathe. This was it. Either they would succeed or they were going to have to keep looking.

  “I’m sorry too,” Lizzy said, beginning to cry. “I should have tried harder to talk with you guys. I should’ve known what Abe meant, but all I could hear was that he wanted me to go to the gym. It made me feel like you were saying I was overweight. I was being stubborn too, because my feelings were hurt.”

  “That’s not what I meant at all!” Abe cried. “I don’t think you’re overweight. I think you have the best body I’ve ever seen in my life. I love going to the gym, so I try to get everyone else to like it too.”

  She sniffed and wiped her eyes. “I know. This is just me being insecure. I c
an’t promise this is will be the last time it happens. But I can promise that this will be the last time it breaks us up. I won’t let it happen again.”

  Ray looked at his brother, then at Lizzy. “I want that too. You’re our mate, and we love you.”

  “Will you marry us?” Abe said suddenly.

  Ray could only nod in agreement. He didn’t trust himself to say anything in that moment.

  “Are you serious?” Lizzy asked, looking between them both.

  Ray cleared his throat a few times before answering. “We are. We’ll buy you any ring you want. Just say you’ll marry us.”

  “Yes. Yes, I’ll marry you!” She reached out and hugged them both, then she started to laugh. “I never thought I’d be proposed to while I was wearing sweatpants.”

  “We can change it to an evening gown when we tell the story,” Abe assured her.

  She shook her head. “I don’t want to change a single thing. I love you both so much.”

  Chapter Eighteen

  Lizzy couldn’t stop smiling. It was far too late and she should have went to bed hours ago but she was too happy. She was buzzing with energy. Every time she would look over at Abe and Ray, she was overcome by her love for the two men. She couldn’t believe that this was her life now.

  “We can get some boxes and start packing your stuff up tomorrow,” Ray suggested.

  “I’ll take the weekend off work,” Abe said. “I bet we can have this whole thing knocked out in two days.”

  “Whoa,” Lizzy laughed. “Did I miss something?”

  “You’re going to move in with us.” Abe nuzzled her neck. “I know it’s fast but I can’t wait to have you living with us.”

  “And to have you in our bed every night,” Ray said getting up. He moved to her other side and kissed her neck.

  They hadn’t slept together yet. It hit her like a ton of bricks. She was going to marry these men and she still hadn’t slept with them. She loved them so much and yet she still hadn’t shared the most intimate part of herself with them yet. That was going to have to change.

  She put a hand on each of them. “I would love to see both of you in my bed tonight.”

  Abe growled and picked her up. “Since you asked so nicely, I think we can make that happen.”

  “Not that we’ve been looking forward to this for weeks or anything,” Ray joked.

  Abe took her to the bedroom and threw her onto the bed. He gripped her shin and pulled her down the bed closer to him. No one had ever thrown her around like that before. The way he did it so causally was a huge turn on. Her fiancés were strong. Stronger than any man she’d been with before.

  Lizzy rolled over and tugged at the towel around his waist. She’d seen him in nothing but gym shorts but this was much, much better. His naked body was a true work of art. She licked her lips before sliding him into her mouth.

  She focused on Abe until he was moaning and bucking in her hands. Once she had him going, she beckoned Ray closer with one finger. She stroked Abe with one hand while pulling Ray’s towel off with the other.

  He groaned as she began to work. It was a little awkward since she only had one free hand. Ray made it easier by holding her hair back and stroking her back as she moved her between them. She spent a luxurious amount of time exploring them with her mouth before Abe tapped on her shoulder.

  “I would much rather come inside of you,” he told her.

  She could see the muscles in his legs shaking and his stomach was fluttering. She smiled wickedly. “Maybe I’d rather finish you with my mouth.”

  Ray groaned. “No way. I want to come inside you too.”

  He stepped back out of her reach with a pained look. He rolled her over and pulled her shirt off. Abe descended on her naked breasts as soon her shirt was off.

  Lizzy groaned. Abe took that as an invitation to remove her sweatpants too. He stroked her through her very wet panties eliciting another moan. These two were very good at working together. They sucked and teased her until she could barely see straight.

  “Oh god!” she called out as she felt the pleasure building between her legs.

  Ray kissed her collarbone. “Good thing you have thick walls.”

  “I don’t care if the neighbors hear,” Abe said nipping at her thigh. “Let’s see if I can get you to do that again.”

  Lizzy closed her eyes and surrendered to the feeling. She didn’t think she’d be able to control herself. She had no idea if her walls were thick enough to contain the sounds of their lovemaking and she didn’t care one bit. This was a long time in the making and she wasn’t going to try to contain her happiness.

  Chapter Nineteen

  “Come out, already,” Abe said impatiently.

  They were waiting for Lizzy to come out and show them her costume. It had been a last-minute purchase, and the overnight shipping had been expensive, but Abe had been more than happy to pay. He couldn’t wait to see his mate and soon-to-be wife in her sexy get-up. Even though he had paid, he still had no idea what the costume looked like. He’d handed her his credit card and told her to buy whatever she wanted.

  His and Ray’s only clue was their own costumes. They were still dressed in their genie outfits. Lizzy had said they would work for what she had planned.

  “Promise you won’t laugh,” she said playfully through the bathroom door.

  “I’m not going to laugh, but I can’t make any promises about what else I might do,” Ray growled. He tapped his fingers impatiently on the bathroom door. “Get out here, already.”

  Abe checked his phone. They had only fifteen minutes before the party officially started, and their guests would be here any minute now. “At this rate, you’ll going to spend the first half of the party in the bathroom.”

  “All right, all right.” Lizzy opened the door.

  When he caught sight of her, Abe was sad they didn’t have more time to themselves. As sexy as she looked in that costume, he couldn’t wait to get her out of it.

  “What do you guys think?” She spun around once so they could get the full effect of her Cleopatra outfit.

  “I don’t even have words for how sexy you are.” Ray grabbed her by the hips and pulled her closer.

  “I can’t believe you waited so long to show this to us,” Abe groaned. “I also really regret wearing flimsy pants that leave nothing to the imagination.”

  “I love these pants. Though I’m going to have a hard time keeping my hands off you. You guys look so hot” Lizzy arched an eyebrow and cupped his rising erection though his pants. “I do wish I’d gotten ready faster.”

  “There’ll be plenty of time after the party,” Ray reminded them. “You know, we can do costumes all year ’round.”

  “I wouldn’t mind dressing up if it means I get to have more naked fun.” Abe nipped at Lizzy’s ear. “But we should finish getting dressed. You said you had something to add to our costumes?”

  “Oh, yes.” Lizzy stepped out of Ray’s grasp and went into the bathroom again. She came back with two Egyptian headbands for them, and a pair of gold wristbands. “If you let me add just a little makeup, we’ll be done.”

  The twins sat patiently while she added thick black eyeliner to each of their eyes. Abe was surprised how much the eyeliner made his eyes pop. He admired them all in the mirror as Lizzy finished Ray’s eyes. They were going to look great together. Lizzy had made a great choice with her costume.

  She was wearing the absolute sexiest costume he had ever seen. She was wearing a headband, like the twins, but she’d added a short black wig too. She had spent a lot of time putting on intricate makeup, and her nails were even painted gold. She looked like a million bucks. Abe was impressed by how much time she had spent to look good for them.

  The doorbell rang, and Abe jumped up. “I guess we’re out of time. Who shows up this early to a party, though? It’s not even eight o’clock yet.”

  Lizzy shrugged. “They must be excited to get the celebrating started.”

  Abe led th
em downstairs and opened the door. It was his friend Rita from the gym.

  “Hey, girl.” Abe greeted her with a hug, and she kissed him on both cheeks.

  “I brought a bottle of vodka,” she squealed. She was dressed as a sexy M&M. It was a good costume that fit her perfectly, and it was also an inside joke. She and Abe were always joking at the gym about her love of candy. He wondered how she could keep her trim figure when she ate a bag of M&M’s every night for dessert. She said she only worked out so she could get away with eating the candy.

  “I love your costume,” he told her. “Hey, have you met my fiancée, Lizzy?”

  Abe turned to introduce Lizzy and Rita to each other, and Lizzy fidgeted uncomfortably.

  “Hi,” she mumbled. Then she grabbed the bottle from Rita without looking at her. “I’m going to take this vodka to the kitchen.”

  Rita frowned. “I guess she must love vodka.”

  “I guess,” Abe said. “Make yourself comfortable. It looks like some other people are getting here.”

  Rita opened her arms to greet another friend from the gym with a hug, so Abe slipped away. He motioned for Ray to man the door and greet the guests.

  He went to the kitchen to see what was wrong with Lizzy. He found her cradling a martini.

  “Hey, is something the matter?”

  She shook her head. “Kind of, but not really. It’s not a big deal or anything. Have you heard about the secret Facebook group for Maple Creek gossip and news?”

  Abe hadn’t heard of it, but Lizzy quickly explained it to him. He wasn’t surprised that people used social media to be mean and criticize other people.

  “That sounds pretty terrible,” he said. “I’d rather pay full price for a coffee table than have to muddle through that kind of gossip.”

  “Yeah, I feel the same way now,” Lizzy said. “But that’s only because I saw myself on there. People have put pictures of me up in the group, and I was dumb enough to read the comments. I was hurt to recognize a few of the people saying mean things, and one of them was your friend Rita.”

  Abe frowned. He found it hard to believe something like that about Rita. Then, as he thought about some of the comments she’d made at the gym, he started to change his mind. “Mean things like what?”