Page 105

With a reluctant sigh, I ceased my teasing, though I kept her firmly in my lap. "Fine. Breakfast first."

"So reasonable this morning," Callum remarked as he approached with a plate piled high with fluffy pancakes, the scent of butter and maple syrup wafting through the air. "Sierra, come here. Let me feed you."

Before I could protest, he was gently lifting her from my lap, his hands spanning her waist. The loss of her warmth was immediate and jarring, leaving me cold despite the kitchen's comfortable temperature. I bit back a growl as Callum settled into a chair opposite me, pulling Sierra onto his own lap.

"I'm perfectly capable of feeding myself," she protested halfheartedly, though she made no move to leave the circle of his arms.

Callum merely smiled, that rare genuine smile that transformed his face from severe to boyishly handsome. "Humor me," he said, cutting a perfect bite of pancake and lifting it to her lips. "I want to take care of you."

I rolled my eyes at the display, even as something possessive and primal stirred in my chest. "You're spoiling her."

"That's the point," Callum replied without looking away from Sierra as she accepted the bite, her eyes fluttering closed in pleasure as she chewed. "She deserves to be spoiled."

Another wave of her scent hit me as she swallowed, the honey-jasmine musk of her arousal thickening in the air. Even Archer's eyes darkened as he caught it, his hands tightening imperceptibly on his coffee mug.

Callum continued to feed Sierra, his movements deliberate and sensual. He'd cut a bite, lift it to her lips, and then watch with undisguised hunger as she took it from the fork. Occasionally, he'd brush away a drop of syrup with his thumb, then bring it to his own mouth to taste. The ritual was intimate, almost pornographic in its intensity.

"More?" he asked after several bites, his voice dropping to that register that never failed to make her shiver.

Sierra nodded, her pupils dilated with desire. "Please."

I shifted uncomfortably in my chair, my erection pressing painfully against the confines of my pants. The sight of my brother caring for our mate, feeding her by hand as she sat docile in his lap, was unexpectedly erotic. Her silver hair caught the morning light streaming through the windows, creating a halo effect that contrasted sharply with the naked want in her eyes.

"You're insatiable," I observed, though whether I was speaking to Sierra or Callum was anybody's guess.

"Pot. Kettle," Archer murmured over the rim of his coffee cup, his knowing gaze flicking to my lap where my arousal was impossible to hide.

I didn't bother with denial. I'd been in a constant state of arousal for days now, my body responding to Sierra's pheromones with a primal need that was becoming harder to control. We were all feeling it—the charged energy building in the house as her birthday approached, the inevitable collision course we were on.

Callum's fingers strayed to the nape of Sierra's neck as he fed her another bite, massaging the tension there with practiced ease. She practically melted against him, a soft purr escaping her throat. The sound went straight to my cock, pushing me dangerously close to my breaking point.

"You're going to make me jealous, brother," I warned, only half-joking.

Callum's pale eyes met mine over Sierra's head, a challenge and invitation mingled in their depths. "Then perhaps you should join us instead of sitting there looking tortured."

The offer was tempting. So fucking tempting that I nearly upended the table in my haste to reach them. But Sierra needed to eat, needed the nourishment before the day's activities drained her energy. So I remained seated, watching as my brother continued his sensual feeding ritual, each bite punctuated by a touch, a caress, a whispered endearment.

Sierra soaked up the attention like a flower turning to the sun. Her body language was open, receptive, her usual walls completely down. It made my chest ache with a tenderness I'd never thought myself capable of feeling.

"One last bite," Callum murmured, holding up a forkful of syrup-drenched pancake. "Open for me."

She complied without hesitation, her lips parting in a way that sent blood rushing to my groin. As Callum slid the forkbetween her lips, his free hand slipped under the hem of her sleep shirt, resting possessively on her bare thigh.

The domesticity of the scene was belied by the heavy sexual tension permeating the room. We were all balanced on a knife's edge, restraint warring with primal desire. Six more days of this exquisite torture before Sierra's birthday. Her heat would hit any day now.

I caught Archer's gaze across the room, recognizing the same hunger that was consuming me. His control was legendary, but even he wasn't immune to Sierra's changing scent. The muscle in his jaw ticked as he set down his empty mug, his knuckles white with the effort of restraint.

We were all on edge, caught in the gravitational pull of Sierra's impending heat. And watching my brother feed our mate, seeing her respond so beautifully to his care, didn't help my self-control in the slightest.

Waiting for her heat to hit would be such a pleasurable torture.

47

Callum

Isavored Sierra's weight against my chest as she reclined in my lap, her body warm and pliant after the meal. Her silver hair spilled across my shoulder like liquid moonlight, the scent of her. That intoxicating blend of honey, jasmine, and something uniquely her. It filled my senses with each breath. The simple act of feeding her had satisfied something primal in me, a need to provide and care for my mate that ran deeper than I'd ever expected.

Her breathing had slowed, becoming deep and even. I glanced down to find her eyelids growing heavy, her long lashes fluttering against her cheeks as she struggled to stay awake. The contentment radiating from her was palpable, a warm glow that seemed to suffuse the air around us.