He sighed and wiggled his ass inside his suit pants. His dick was as hard as a rock once more, and he needed to get his mind above his belt buckle. First, he and his brothers had to talk. All three of them had to be completely united in any mating. Panther matings, like those of most shape-shifters, were for life. It wasn’t the kind of decision they could afford to get wrong. All of them had to be certain she was their woman, not just him.
And that was not a conversation they could have now, or in public. So, how was he to get the Reed triplets away from her? What if they took her somewhere and fucked her, and she liked them better than him and his brothers? Surely she wouldn’t fuck anyone else now that she’d let them play with her.
His heart said she cared for him, but his mind acknowledged they’d only met today and she’d fallen onto their cocks mighty fast. Although she’d been incredibly tight to fuck. He’d believed her when she said she wasn’t very experienced. Still, the Reeds were damn fine-looking panthers. Women found them appealing, and that was a huge worry to him.
Draven was still chewing over his thoughts when Theron and Chase joined him. He saw at once they were staring at Maia as well.
“The reverend is going to need help running his programs without Leah,” said Theron.
Draven just grunted. He knew that. They all knew that. It was blindingly obvious.
“So?” asked Chase.
“So we go over there and offer to help, of course,” said Theron.
Draven couldn’t help smiling. He punched Theron on the shoulder.
“That’s a damn good idea.”
They made their way through the crowd and stopped in front of Mr. and Mrs. Crawford.
“We’d like to offer our help in your ministry while Leah is on her honeymoon,” said Theron smoothly.
“Oh, that’s so kind of you, but Diego, Montague, and Vallen have already promised to help out. They told Bram they’d do it so he could enjoy his honeymoon,” Mrs. Caldwell said.
Fuck! Damn those Reeds to fucking hell!
“Maybe there’s some other way we can help you,” said Draven, hoping he didn’t sound as desperate as he felt.
“Let me think about it. I’ll send you a message if I think of something,” said Mr. Crawford.
“How about we give you our cell phone numbers?” Theron held out his hand, and the man obediently handed over his cell phone. It was a really old one that flipped open. Draven wondered if that was the way the pastor preferred it, or if he simply didn’t have the money for a more modern piece of technology. Perhaps that was something he could ask Maia when he saw her again. And he would see her again. That was definite, no matter what his brothers thought.
Since they’d wanted to talk to her parents, though, it seemed likely they wanted to continue the connection with Maia, at least for now.
* * * *
Chase woke early and was about to roll over and go back to sleep when he remembered that the day-old bread had to be collected from the bakery very early in the morning. Not only that, he was certain he could find the bakery because he’d heard Bram, or maybe it was Hardy, say the bakery was only a few blocks from the church in a small neighborhood area of shops.
He rushed through his shower and then banged on both his brothers’ bedroom doors.
“What the fuck?” Theron opened his door, still looking mostly asleep.
“Shower and get dressed. We’re going to meet Maia at the bakery.”
“Meet Maia? What?”
“Get showered and dressed. You’ll work it out when you’re awake. And hurry up. We need to leave in ten-fifteen minutes.” He pushed a groaning Theron back inside his bedroom and hammered on Draven’s door again before opening it and switching on the light.
Draven’s head was buried underneath the pillow.
“I know you’re awake. Get up and shower. We’re going to meet Maia at the bakery.”
Draven didn’t move.
“If you aren’t ready in ten minutes, Theron and I’ll go without you.”
Draven groaned and threw off the bedding. “Bully.”
Chase realized he was being a bully, but it was the perfect opportunity to talk to Maia. She’d be alone, and they could help her and ask her to tell them how else they could be useful to her as well.
As soon as they were on their way to the church, Chase said, “Listen up, you two. First off, are we all agreed we’re going to continue getting to know Maia? I’m assuming by the fact you’re both here that you agree, but we all need to be absolutely on the same page right now.”
He waited in silence for his brothers to answer. He knew he wanted Maia. He wasn’t completely sure that she was the women destined to be their mate, but he sure as hell wanted to spend more time exploring her sexy body and her mind as well. They hadn’t really had much of an opportunity to talk to her, but during the small amount of talking they’d done, she’d surprised him with her answers, and he was certain it’d be as much fun to explore her mind as to explore her body.
Draven answered first. “I do want to know more about her. She attracted me from the moment I saw her, and I want her again. I want to know everything about her, and I want to fuck her properly, in a bed, all three of us together. But I’m happy to help her in her work as well. I’m tired of spending my days glued to a computer trying to follow the paper trail of men who keep moving from state to state instead of paying their accounts.”
Chase and Theron groaned as well.
“That’s a damn lucrative contract the Alpha got, but it’s sooo boring,” said Theron.
“If those last two men hadn’t met up at that seedy bar we were already keeping an eye on for drugs, we wouldn’t have caught them either,” said Chase.
“And there’s another four men we haven’t found yet. But to answer your question, I’m ready to spend time with Maia, and everything you’ve both said sounds good to me.”
Chase was relieved because they were almost at the church. He slowed down and continued past it, noting the small row of stores up ahead. He drove even more slowly as he approached the stores, looking for the bakery. There was a car outside it already. Had they missed Maia?
“Those fucking Reeds,” said Draven.
Well, shit! Had the brothers stolen Maia from them already?
By the time Chase parked the car, Diego Reed was leaning against his car, his arms crossed. “We told the Stewarts we’d help the pastor while the newly mated foursome is on their honeymoon. There’s no need for you to be here.”
“Ah, but we told Leah’s father we’d like to help as well,” said Chase, mimicking Diego’s stance.
Just then a third car pulled up, and Chase recognized Leah’s car. Draven rushed across to open the door for Maia, but it was Zoe who was driving. She stared at the men. “I really don’t need this much help. I don’t need any help at all right now. Why don’t you all go to the parsonage? Mom could really use your help there.”
“Are you sure? We’re happy to stay if you could use us,” said Theron politely.
“I’m fine. Really.”
She disappeared into the bakery, and Chase climbed back into his car, as did his brothers, and they went to the church. At least Maia would be there.
The house where the pastor and his family lived backed onto the church, and they parked in the church parking lot, walking through the parking lot and entering the back door of the house. From what he’d heard Saxon say, the family pretty much lived in the kitchen, which was right there at the back door and had a large table where the food preparation for the free meals took place.
He knocked on the door and a voice called out, “It’s open. Come on in.”
Draven entered first, then Theron, and finally him, but they stopped barely inside the door, and he saw why. Mrs. Crawford was standing at the stove with two large pots of boiling water. Maia was seated beside four enormous bowls that seemed to be filled mostly with ice, and the table was piled high with peas—fresh peas, still in their pods—except for where the reverend sat, and he was surrounded by piles of empty shells and a huge bowl of shelled peas.
As they entered, he jumped up and grinned at them. “My dear friends, I’m so glad you decided to come. The women will tell you what to do. It’s male shower day, and I need to get organized.”
He rushed out of the room, and Chase stared at Maia and her mother.
“Poor John-Paul. He does hate preparing vegetables, and he’s not to be trusted with the blanching of the peas,” said Mrs. Crawford.
Which told Chase absolutely nothing. In fact, the only word he recognized in that sentence was
peas
, and he’d figured out they were doing something with them already. At least he knew they grew in shells, not that he’d ever shelled any himself before. Snow peas he ate in their shells, and the other kind came in bags in the freezer section of the store. Or sometimes in cans. But clearly something extraordinary was happening here.
“Are you making pea soup?” asked Theron.
Thank god one of them knew what was going on.
Mrs. Crawford shook her head. “Not right now. There’s not enough time, but that’s something we might do later. These peas were donated for the free lunches, but they have to be blanched while they’re fresh so we had to do it immediately. Sit down up near where John-Paul was sitting, and Maia will show you what to do. Just hand me the bowl of shelled peas first, please.”
“It’s very easy. Grab the stem end, press your thumbnail into the seam, and squeeze gently. Gently. Don’t smash them. Brush your finger down the pod and drop the peas in the bowl.” As she spoke, Maia demonstrated what to do.
It did look very easy. Chase slid into a chair, took a peapod, and looked at it. The stem end. Right. It took him much longer to push a mere three peas into the bowl than it’d taken Maia, but at least he understood what to do.
An hour later, he had a much greater appreciation for the work they were doing. The peas only stayed in the boiling water for ninety seconds, and the water could only be used five times. That meant two more pots were always on the cook top in varying stages of readiness to be used. The peas then had to be cooled instantly in the ice water, which took another ninety seconds, and the ice had to be constantly replenished.
The next step was to bag the peas and freeze them, but even that wasn’t straightforward. All the air had to be removed from the Ziploc bags, which meant gently squeezing out as much as possible and sucking the rest out with a straw through a tiny gap in the top.
By the time the peas were all done, Chase’s fingers were cut, bruised and sore, his thumbnails broken and worn down, and he was ready for a shower and a nap. But the lunch for one hundred people had to be prepared, and they were running behind. Of course, there was a big cauldron of fresh peas for the homeless people to eat, but other vegetables had to be prepared.
Apparently a team of volunteers was already hard at work in the church hall making rice to go with the meal. Diego and Montague had been sent to sweep the parking lot and help in the hall, and Vallen was on duty with the reverend supervising the showers. The only good news, as far as Chase could see, was that he and his brothers were still with Maia. And as they’d gotten better at shelling peas, they’d even been able to talk a little bit. But this was damn hard work. And Maia did it six days a week. Their woman was absolutely amazing.
* * * *
Theron was surprised how hard it was to keep shelling peas for hours on end. The good news was he instantly knew which was the stem end by feel after a while and had the technique of popping open the pod and releasing the peas down pat. But his back and shoulders ached, and his hands were incredibly sore. He wasn’t even brave enough to introduce any topics of conversation because he still needed to give most of his concentration to his job. But at least he could listen to the women talking and occasionally add a comment.
Mrs. Crawford said, “Getting these peas today has been wonderful. I really must find us some more sponsors. It’s just that I never seem to have the time to leave the ministry and actually do it.”
“You need to call them and make an appointment with them, Mom. That way you’ll have to keep it. We really do need more fresh vegetables. It’s wonderful to have a change from rice and pasta all the time. I wish I could come with you, but I don’t think it’ll be possible until Leah gets back,” said Zoe. She’d sorted all the free bread and handed over what was needed for lunch to the volunteers in the hall before joining them in the kitchen.
Theron usually liked to take his time to weigh ideas up before speaking, but this time he jumped right in.
“If you would like to go with your mom, Zoe, my brothers and I can come here to help out your father and Maia.”
Maia turned at him and gave him a beautiful smile that made his dick ache for her. “What? You’ve enjoyed shelling peas so much you want to do it again?” she teased him.
“Fu—for goodness sakes, no. But I like eating as much as the next person, and I do understand that food has to be prepared and that it doesn’t always arrive in cardboard boxes in the freezer of my refrigerator.”
“Besides, fresh food tastes better than the pre-packaged stuff,” added Draven, chewing a few peas. “These are really nice, by the way,” Draven added with his mouth still half full.
Maia laughed some more, but Mrs. Crawford looked thoughtful.