Rapier (Apache County Shifters Book 3) Read online

  Jasmine leaned close to him. Her breath fluttered across his cheek. He held himself in check. If he kissed her now, or even touched her, he couldn’t be held responsible for what happened next. “Don’t tell Jenna or Osirus, but Jenna has been learning sign language. It’s also part of the girls’ daily lessons.”

  He cocked a brow. “Do the girls know why?”

  “They think they’re learning a fun second language. I figure when they meet Utah and see why it’s so important to learn about others, they’ll appreciate it more.”

  Good thinking. “There are more children, all their age and a little older. I think the girls will like them.”

  “They need friends. They’ve been hidden away too long.”

  Rapier frowned. “You all have been. Get some rest. I have a feeling you won’t be sleeping much.”

  Jasmine gave her a saucy look. “Yes, daddy.”

  He growled. “Watch it, kitten. We still have a few hours before we’re home.”

  Chapter Two

  Rapier didn’t bother to wake Jasmine or the girls until they were about twenty minutes out. He was enjoying the feeling of Bell’s slight weight against his side. Enjoying seeing his mate and daughters secure in his presence. Osirus sat behind the wheel, while Jenna’s head rested on his shoulder. The other lion shifter hadn’t moved a muscle in fear of waking the tiny woman cuddled up next to him. Yeah, his best friend had it bad for Jenna. He never doubted for a second Osirus wasn’t Jenna’s mate. Getting her to see it would take time though.

  Rapier already knew when Jenna woke, she would give Osirus hell, most likely rip his dick off and shove it down his throat, even though she was the one who sought him out in her sleep. Just because she couldn’t let go of her control and trust anyone but herself and Jasmine.

  Light filled the truck as Osirus took the exit, and Rapier found his friend’s gaze in the rearview mirror.

  Rapier gave his friend an apologetic smile. “Time to wake the girls up, O.”

  Even from the backseat and with it being dark out, Rapier could see the disappointment etched in his friend’s face. Osirus gave Jenna a loving look before shrugging his shoulder. Jenna woke up, jerking her head off her pillow, and glared at Osirus as though she’d murder him if he said a word.

  “Kitten,” he said, his voice gruff and growly from non-use.

  Jasmine came awake immediately and pushed her hair from her face. Yet another reason to hate Quincy—he made his sweet gentle mate a light sleeper in case of danger encroached on her family. “What’s wrong? Where are we?”

  “Need you to start waking the girls up. We’re close to home.”

  Jasmine yawned then wiped the sleep from her eyes before turning and gently waking Bell and Zoe. Bell shifted away from him, giving a little stretch and remaining quiet at his side. As did the mouthy twin, Zoe. That fucking pissed him off too because his cubs were too quiet. The lion beneath his skin roared its anger too.

  It’s okay, big guy. We’ll deal with it now, make sure we right the wrongs of the last ten years. Our girls are going to experience what it means to be free.

  The surly lion gave his agreement, content from the earlier taste of their mate. It was the first time in a fuckin’ long time the beast under his skin was happy. He’d make damn sure, even if it was the last thing he did, they’d get every opportunity to be kids again. As far as he was concerned, they’d never get enough frolicking, being loud, and having fun.

  Jasmine shifted in her seat, drawing his attention to her. “I see someone else is also glad to have me back. I missed him too.”

  Rapier smirked. His kitten had what he could only term as a separate and different relationship with his lion. It was often times maddening, and he suspected the beast often got jealous of the man. How she was always able to tempt the moody beast out, he never knew. It often happened right in the middle of fucking her. He’d warned her, on more than one occasion, his lion was dangerous. But she trusted him implicitly.

  “He’d never hurt me,” she said, as if sensing his thoughts.

  Yet another thing he’d have to get used to. His kitten always seemed to know what he was thinking about even before he spoke it out loud.

  “Who are you talking about?” Zoe asked, her voice mixed with curiosity and protectiveness.

  “Let me guess…Zoe is the older twin?” he inquired.

  Jasmine giggled, and the sound went right to his dick. Not a good thing, considering his young daughters were sitting between them. Although being shifters with amazing hearing, there wouldn’t be much he’d be able to hide. Just another thing he’d have to gladly get used to.

  The need to get Jasmine home, safe and protected, was his first priority. After that…all fuckin’ bets were off. The house could fall down around them, a nuclear bomb could go off. His dick wasn’t leaving her pussy until they both passed out from exhaustion. He had a long list he’d formulated over the years, calling it his sexual bucket list. He wanted to check at least five of those acts or positions off tonight.

  “I am the older twin. By five whole minutes,” Zoe said proudly. “Now who are you talking about?”

  Rapier glanced at his daughter whom his mate claimed was most like him in temperament. “I’m betting you hold that shit over Bell’s head all the time too. Don’t you?” he asked Zoe.

  Zoe smirked.

  Bell sat up, glaring at her older sister, and huffed. “All the time.”

  “Pfft. Isn’t that what older siblings are supposed to do?” Zoe’s tone and body oozed attitude.

  Rapier rubbed at his chin, contemplating what he knew about twins. Not a whole hell of a lot. His only example was Kalkin and Caden Raferty, and as far as he was concerned those two weren’t a good example. Kalkin was Alpha, which already gave him a leg up on his twin.

  “Girls,” Jasmine said, her voice soft and with a hint of censure. “Enough arguing. We don’t want to scare your father.”

  “Right. Don’t want him running away for another ten years,” Zoe growled, rolling her eyes.

  It killed him, deep inside, and he rubbed his chest to help ease the ache. Shit. I’ve got a lot to make up for with my cubs.

  “Zoe—”

  “I didn’t run away,” he said. “There are things that happened in the past and now, which place you, Bell, and your mom in danger. I get you don’t know shit about me, little girl. But I’d never risk any of you. I didn’t want to leave my family. I had no choice and you might not understand that now, but someday you will.”

  Silence filled the truck after his declaration and Rapier feared any headway he’d made with his cubs in the last couple hours had just been lost. Osirus cleared his throat and Jenna, surprisingly, remained quiet in the front seat.

  It was Bell who finally broke the silence. “Who were you and mom talking about? Who’d she miss, too?”

  Rapier sighed. “My lion.” He might be an asshole most times, but he was a truthful asshole. Brutally so most times. Jasmine leaned over, tucking a stray bit of Bell’s long blond hair behind her ear. “Your mom is able to sense or communicate with my lion when I’m in human form. To be honest, I’ve never really understood how or if it’s a mate thing. It’s surprising since my lion, on most days, is a grumpy, surly asshole.”

  Jasmine snickered, and even without looking at her, he knew his mate was thinking so was the human.

  “Whoa…cool,” Bell whispered. “Aren’t you scared of it, mom?”

  “No, honey,” Jasmine assured the little pixie beside him. “Neither he nor your father are capable of hurting me. Even though your father worries because his lion is more forceful and demanding.”

  Rapier snorted. So was he and he noticed Jasmine didn’t mention the dominant aspect of his lion, especially when he was balls deep in her pussy. Then again, that’s not really an appropriate conversation for a pre-teen’s ears.

  “Will we be able to do the same?” Bell asked.

  Rapier shrugged. “Don’t know, kiddo. Male lions are assholes.
Especially Alpha lions. They do what they want when they want.” Jasmine laughed. God he had missed the sweet sound of her laugh. He nudged Bell. “That would be your mom’s way of agreeing with me.”

  “I’ll have to agree with Jasmine too,” Jenna pipped up from the front seat. “Even if they’re not Alpha, they’re still assholes.”

  “Hey,” Osirus cried out like he was insulted. “I’m not an asshole. Far from it. I’m easy to get along with. As long as I always get my way…”

  Jenna hmphed.

  “We’re here,” Rapier announced before Osirus made a right onto the dirt road.

  Warm, welcoming yellow light glowed through the downstairs living room windows. Rapier had no doubt everyone was up and waiting. Jace and Rashid pulled in and parked before Osirus even brought his vehicle to a stop. It didn’t surprise him one damn bit when Rashid bounded out of the car and all but ran to his mate’s side of the car and then all but ripped the passenger door off to get to her.

  “Rashid,” Jasmine cried right before he pulled her from the car and into his arms.

  Normally his siblings didn’t dare touch his mate. They were all aware of how proprietorial he was of her, and shockingly his lion didn’t even raise his head at the embrace. The human had other feelings about it though. He didn’t like it. He only kept his cool because of the two little girls beside him, peering out the open door at the big black man hugging their crying mom.

  “Who is that?” the girls asked in unison.

  “My brother,” he growled out, not happy that Rashid still had his mate in his arms.

  Jasmine would now smell like his brother and not him. He didn’t like or appreciate that one damn bit. Rapier reached for the door handle to get out and put a stop to it, only to have Osirus’ large hand rest on his shoulder, stopping him.

  “Whoa, big guy. I think you forgot how much of a positive female influence your mate had on your brothers. They love her like a sister, and they’ve missed her as much as you did.”

  Yeah, technically he knew that. But during their wild days, before Jasmine, it wasn’t uncommon for the older brothers to share women. Either fucking some human together who got off on taking on a bunch of big, badass shifters or taking their turn, one right after another with a willing female. Jasmine had heard the rumors about the Dryer reputation. It was one of the reasons she fought their mating so long.

  No sooner had he gotten his big body out of the truck, the front screen door opened and one by one his brothers stepped out. Now his mate was surrounded by Rashid, Saber, Cormyr, Wy, Utah, and Henry and Tate.

  Now his fuckin’ lion bristled at all the males around her.

  Taking a deep breath, he leaned down to address the girls. “It’s okay. They’re all family and anxiously waiting to meet you both,” he assured them before holding his hands out to his daughters.

  Zoe didn’t hesitate, placing her hand in his, but Bell was like a scared, wild animal. It was only with Zoe’s urging that Bell placed her hand in his and allowed him to escort them from the truck.

  “Holy fuck,” Saber laughed, covering his stomach with his arms. “He’s got two girls. Fuck me if that isn’t karma paying you back for all the shit you’ve done in your life with the opposite sex.”

  “Watch your fuckin’ mouth, Saber,” he growled, not pleased his brother had pointed out the obvious. “Keep it clean.”

  Apparently, there’d been a God, and he surely had a fucked-up sense of humor. Rapier had been a man-whore before his mate. He’d fucked a lot of women in his time; however, none of them ever came close to what he had with Jasmine.

  Jasmine, unphased by the edict, pointed out the obvious while still hugging his brothers one at a time. “We all know that’s impossible with this crowd. The girls have heard such language before. Did you forget they’ve been with Jenna and me for the last ten years?”

  Rapier smiled at his mate. Jenna, for such a tiny female, had a mouth that could shame a truck driver. She’d claimed she learned to curse from being around them. Rapier always figured it was a lie and Jenna just liked to swear.

  “Keeley made it work with that wild bunch of Rafertys,” Osirus interjected.

  Rapier rolled his eyes. Keeley Raferty only was able to make it work around the kids. Outside of their range, every single Raferty cursed a blue streak.

  Jasmine had finished hugging all his brothers and cuddling with Henry and Tate. She pulled the girls forward and introduced to them to their uncles and the boys.

  Osirus stood beside him, shocked when Bell and Zoe spoke to Utah with sign language.

  “Son of a bitch, that mate of yours…” his best friend muttered beside him.

  Deliberately keeping his voice low so it wouldn’t travel, he told Osirus what his mate had informed him of earlier. “My mate had jack shit to do with it. You can thank Jenna if you’re not afraid of her cutting your balls off in the process. She made sure the girls knew how to communicate with your son.”

  “Fuck me,” Osirus growled, his gaze swinging to the tiny female who leaned against the truck watching the reunion.

  Rapier sniggered. “Think you got it wrong, O, you’re not supposed to fuck yourself, you’re supposed to fuck her.” He gestured to Jenna.

  “If she ever drops those walls of hers,” Osirus stated.

  “Ram right through those motherfuckers. Don’t give her a choice,” Rapier advised before sauntering off to wrap Jasmine in his arms, loving how she tucked up against him perfectly. The scent of his brothers offending his nose, he’d take care of that issue sooner rather than later.

  “We made up the twin beds in the extra bedroom for the girls,” Cormyr advised them.

  Rapier nodded. “All their shit is in the trucks.”

  Without being asked, his brothers left them to help unload the pickup and bring their measly worldly goods into the house. Right then and there, Rapier promised himself his girls would have whatever they wanted or needed going forward. They’d never want again. His plan was to fuckin’ pamper them to death.

  Jasmine curled her arm up and around his neck, pulling his upper body down to her level. “Deep thoughts, daddy?”

  “The deepest, kitten,” he muttered before nipping at her earlobe. “You think it’s too early to tell everyone to go the fuck to bed?”

  “Maybe.” For a moment, Rapier forgot how tiny his mate truly was. “Let’s get them unpacked, baths and some food in their bellies, and I’ll bet your cubs will be ready to sleep by ten thirty.”

  Rubbing at her head with his chin, the scent of cinnamon and citrus, the scent of her shampoo, filled his nose. “If you’re wrong, I’m taking it out on your ass,” he promised.

  “Oh…we both know you were going to anyway,” she purred before sauntering away from him, her hips swaying in invitation and her fingers brushing against his pecs.

  His dick went rock hard, pressing against the zipper of his pants.

  Maybe going commando this morning wasn’t his best decision.

  * * * *

  Jasmine wasn’t off by much. By a quarter of eleven, she marched his two sleepy cubs upstairs and situated them in their bedroom. He followed up a couple minutes later, wanting to give the girls the chance to speak freely with their mother.

  Leaning up against the doorjamb, he watched as his mate tucked Bell and Zoe into one of the twin beds. He scowled, wondering why they weren’t each sleeping in the beds provided.

  As usual, his mate had the ability to answer the question he didn’t vocalize. Thank fuck that hadn’t changed. “They’ve slept together since birth. It gives them comfort. When they’re ready, they’ll separate.” Jasmine placed a kiss on each girl’s forehead. “Good night, girls.”

  “Night, mom,” the girls replied in unison.

  Pushing off the door, Rapier made his way toward his mate. Placing his arm around her, he took in his girls. It still amazed him. They came from them…a part of Jasmine, and as far as he was concerned, the best part of him.

  “Sleep tigh
t, my little cubs,” he said before leaning down, kissing Bell and inhaling her scent. When he was satisfied he moved on to Zoe, doing the same.

  “Good night, dad,” Bell said sleepily before rolling over and cuddling with Zoe.

  Rapier was stunned speechless, not something which happened often, at his daughter’s words. She’d called him dad. He wasn’t sure how it was possible, but deep in his body, warmth bloomed through him and he felt like his fuckin’ world just became complete.

  “Night, Pops,” Zoe smarted off.

  Fuck…he’d take that too.

  When they were outside of the girl’s bedroom and Jasmine closed the door, she grinned up at him.

  “They’re going to have you so pussy whipped,” she teased.

  With a growl, he pulled her into his arms. “Of course, they’re following their mother’s example.” He burrowed his face against her neck, enjoying her spicy scent. “Fuck…baby, can’t believe I’ve got you back in my arms, kitten.”

  Her breath hitched, and he felt the wetness of her tears along his neck as she cuddled in deeper to him, trying to hide it from him.

  Unable to help himself, he bit her neck, remarking her as his. Her yelp was muffled in his shirt, but he didn’t miss the distinct scent of her arousal. He needed the reassurance she was real and not a fucked-up dream he’d wake up from, only to find her side of his bed empty again. His mind…fuck, his mind couldn’t handle it if it was. Jasmine obviously needed the same comfort. She never voiced a protest or fought him when he lifted her up under her arms. She immediately wrapped her legs around him, and he backed her up against the wall. They held onto each other while she sobbed softly into his neck.

  When she calmed down, he kept his hold on her and walked to what was now their bedroom. Wherever they lived, Rapier has always made sure he claimed the biggest bedroom with the en-suite bathroom. None of his brothers were yet mated, so they never protested. And if they had, he wouldn’t have given one flying fuck.

  Kicking the door shut, he locked it before putting her down on her feet. She clung to him. “Not going anywhere, kitten,” he assured her.