Falke’s Captive by Madison Layle & Anna Leigh Keaton Page B

insane.”
    “Am I interrupting something?”
    They both turned to see Beth in the bathroom doorway, wearing a baby blue terrycloth robe, her hair wrapped up turban style in a hotel towel.
    Kelan narrowed his eyes at Reidar, then turned back to Beth and said, “Take that off.”
    Her eyebrows shot up. “Excuse me?”
    Kelan took the three steps separating them, grabbed her by the arms and pressed her against the closet door. “Did he give you permission to put clothes on?”
    “No.” She struggled with Kelan, and it took all of Reidar’s will not to slam his fist into his brother’s face. But he stayed where he was and opened the third box of food. His brother had shit to work out, and so, if he didn’t hurt her, he’d let him try to figure it out.
    She tried disengaging from Kelan’s hands. “I don’t need permission from anyone to do anything.”
    Kelan leaned his body into hers, trapping her with his weight. “If you don’t take that off, you don’t eat.”
    She got one hand free, and the slap she landed on Kelan’s cheek was rather impressive sounding from Reidar’s vantage point. Kelan didn’t budge.
    “Get out of my room! Game over. This isn’t fun anymore.”
    And you thought she was the one? Kelan asked Reidar, his tone a snarl, as he stared into Beth’s eyes. Glared, more like it. Both Beth and Kelan breathed hard, neither backing down.
    You’re scaring her. Though he said it, Reidar wasn’t so sure he believed it. Despite her furious demands, she hadn’t once said her safe word. Still… Back the hell off. Now. Before I step in.
    She’s not scared. She’s aroused. And if you step in I’ll castrate you.
    “I said get out,” she repeated, the volume much lower than earlier, her tone lacking conviction.
    Kelan kissed Beth. She fought him for a moment, but soon softened, and Reidar relaxed. She wasn’t as opposed to Kelan’s high-handedness as she first seemed. Then she moaned and wrapped her arms around Kelan’s neck. No, not opposed at all, Reidar thought with a smile.
    Reidar didn’t know what to make of his brother though, what to think of Kelan’s attitude. But Reidar was sure of one thing. Beth was theirs. They just had a few little issues to work out. He couldn’t quite define the one thing that made her different, but he felt it deep in his gut. He knew, and he suspected Kelan did too. But his brother had said only hours earlier he wasn’t ready and still had life to live before they searched for the one .
    His brother would have to get ready, because if Reidar’s suspicions were true, the one had found them.
    The sex had affected him deeply, but it had been much more than experiencing sexual pleasure with a woman. There’d been a connection, an almost linking of souls, when they were both inside of her. Despite the many women they’d shared over the years, nothing had felt this right. Perfect. As if the three of them synced somehow.
    Kelan had to have felt it. If he hadn’t, his brother wouldn’t be acting quite so beastly.
    Reidar sat on the edge of the bed and picked up a dinner roll. Food always helped him think, and he had a lot of thinking to do. Not the least of which would be getting past the family alpha with a woman Axel disliked upon meeting. And then there was her job. Not even he was thrilled about that, and he knew without a doubt the rest of the Falke family would oppose any union. How would she, a scientist whose career ambition included the study of animals—of mountain lions no less—react to their family secret? How could they hope to have a relationship with her and not reveal that secret?
    He glanced at Kelan and Beth against the wall as he bit into the yeasty roll. This was going to get complicated.
    Across the room, Beth’s thoughts were scrambled. One minute she was furious. The next she was…hot and confused. Kelan’s lips and tongue didn’t give her time to catch her breath, and yet she clung to him to keep the kiss going, her short nails