Brooke, Leah - Panthers' Prey [Black Panthers 1] (Siren Publishing Ménage Everlasting) (10 page)

His possessiveness of her astounded him, and he sure as hell didn’t want to worry that every panther shifter in his family would want her.

Leland smiled faintly. “No. I smell her because your place is full of her scent, but trust me, it isn’t to me what it is to you.”

James slid the kickstand in place and got off his bike, moving to stand on the sidewalk.

“Don’t look so fucking grim, Marc.” He grinned, looking toward the entrance of the bar. “There are a hell of a lot worse things in life than finding a woman you want to distraction.”

“I don’t like my decisions made for me.” Anxious to get inside and see Bailey again, Marc joined his best friend, his attention on Leland.

“Nobody else has ever had this happen to them before?”

Leland grimaced. “Just Diablo and me. At least now we know what’s going on. And don’t be so fast to push her away just because you can’t resist her. It’s not her fault, and she’s in the same fucking boat.”

Bowing his head, he shook it before looking up again.

“I never stopped to consider what my mate was going through. I didn’t know. Now I do, and when I find her, I’m getting on my knees if necessary to get her back.”

The look of anguish in his eyes tore at Marc. He gritted his teeth, hating that the two men he’d always considered big brothers still missed the woman they’d let get away.

He didn’t blame them, though. He couldn’t quite adapt to having his future handed to him and not having any choice in the matter.

“How do you know these women are our fucking mates? How many times did Ed tell us that we could sow wild oats, but not to get seriously involved with any woman?”

Leland sighed and shook his head again. “You always listened to what you wanted to hear and nothing else. He said that we shouldn’t force it and that we would know when we met her. We just had to wait and be careful to make sure she was the right one. Look, I’m not saying you should just jump into this. Just don’t dismiss it out of hand.”

Grinning, he slapped his shoulder. “If nothing else, think about how nice it’ll be to have a woman in your bed every night.” His smile fell as he stared into space, his tone lowering so much that if not for their excellent hearing, Marc knew he never would have heard him. “Sleeping safe right between you. Soft, warm, and sated.”

James shot a look at Marc, one filled with worry, but kept his tone even as he started toward the door. “If you’re trying to get us to believe you’re lonely, you’re full of shit. You have a different woman in your bed almost every night.”

Leland seemed to snap out of his melancholy, shaking his head sadly. “Not anymore. I used to think we were too highly sexed to go without it, but now I can’t touch another woman.”

James stopped, spinning on his heel, his eyes wide in disbelief. “You’re kidding, right? You’re just exaggerating.”

Staring down the street, Leland sighed. “I wish I was. Makes me sick to my stomach every time I try. Believe me, I’ve tried. I’d love to be able to forget her, but I can’t. It wasn’t until after she left that I realized I’d fallen in love with
her
. I was too fucking busy fighting the inevitability of the whole thing to see what was staring me in the face.”

Turning back, he smiled humorlessly. “And now she’s gone, and I may never get her back.”

Meeting their gazes, his eyes hardened. “Try living with that.”

Running a hand through his hair, Marc didn’t bother to raise his voice over the loud music coming from inside, knowing that both James and Leland would have no trouble hearing him. A hard band seemed to close around his chest, making it difficult to breathe.

“Christ. So what you’re saying is that two of us share a mate? She’s ours and if we let her go, we may never find another? That’s bullshit. There are plenty of women out there. I can’t believe that there’s only one woman that I could build a future with.”

He wanted her. Badly. He’d never wanted another woman more—but something inside him rebelled at the thought that he had no choice in the matter at all.

With a shrug, Leland started inside. “I can only tell you what I’ve discovered for myself. As for sharing—I suppose it has something to do with us being loners. Maybe it works out better that way. Who the fuck knows? Look, let’s just go inside and have a beer. I can’t wait to meet your woman.”

Marc swallowed heavily. He’d never scared easily. None of them did. But knowing that he might have found his mate, that his future had already been decided, and that if he lost her he might never recover scared the hell out of him.

* * * *

When the door of the bar opened, Bailey looked up from drawing a beer, sucking in a breath as her world tilted. Her senses sharpened, and everything else around her seemed to disappear. Her welcoming smile fell, her mind going numb while her pulse quickened and every inch of her skin tingled with awareness. Moisture pooled at her slit, her pussy and clit coming alive in anticipation. Her breasts seemed to swell and become heavy, and her nipples pebbled, already aching for their touch.

Damn, she didn’t think it would be possible for them to look better than she remembered, but they did.

She didn’t think it would be possible for her body’s response to be as intense as she remembered, but it was.

They seemed larger than she remembered, big and strong and so damned sexy and dangerous, she just wanted to jump them.

All conversation in the bar stopped, their presence seeming to suck all the air and vitality out of the room to make room just for them.

For several long, heart-stopping seconds, only the music from the jukebox could be heard as everyone in the bar seemed to hold their breath.

All eyes turned to the doorway, watching Marc, James, and another black-haired man enter the bar and cross the room. Marc and James headed straight toward her while the other man brought up the rear, eyeing her with an intensity that shook her, and she instinctively took a step to the side, keeping Marc and James between her and the stranger.

She got mad at herself as soon as she did it, not being the type of woman to hide behind anyone, but it struck her that Marc and James somehow managed to keep their bodies between her and the other man with no apparent effort.

She stiffened, gritting her teeth as two women separated themselves from the group of men they’d been with and approached the three intimidating men, not looking the least bit intimidated at all.

In fact, they looked hungry.

All smiles and swaying hips, they sauntered over, smiling seductively and looking up at each of the men through their lashes.

Gritting her teeth and watching them out of the corner of her eye, Bailey finished drawing the beer and started drawing another one.

Her heart thudded so hard she feared everyone in the bar could hear it, even over the loud music. Her hands shook with rage, jealousy, and pure unadulterated fear.

Fear that Marc and James would take these women up on their offer. Fear that they regretted touching her. Fear that they no longer wanted her.

Hell and damnation! What the fuck did she care? She’d already decided she didn’t want to get involved with either one of them anyway.

Sure, she’d decided after they’d stayed away for several days, but that didn’t matter at all.

She never got jealous. She never cared enough. Being jealous of two men she barely knew just pissed her off.

The fact that she’d been in their arms didn’t mean a fucking thing.

Assholes.

She didn’t care what they did.

She tried to convince herself that only curiosity had her watching them, just to see how they would react.

The icy cold hitting her hand yanked her back to the present to find the glass she’d been filling overflowed, the foam covering her hand and wetting her sleeve.

Cursing under her breath, she stopped the flow and stood there, taking several deep breaths in an effort to get herself under control.

Her hand shook as she set the beer on the bar—the beer that no one had ordered— spilling even more of it.

“Everything okay, boss?”

Distracted, she jumped at Ricky’s question, unable to look away from the scene playing out in front of her. With no small amount of satisfaction, she watched Marc and James turn the other women away, adjusting their strides so the women didn’t even get the chance to touch them. Biting back a grin at the bubbles of happiness rising up inside her, Bailey kept her attention on the other man, curious to see what he would do.

She took the opportunity to study him, wondering how he knew Marc and James, but even from here, she could see the three of them knew each other well.

It was in the unspoken communication between them, the hint of amusement in the stranger’s gaze as he watched Marc and James deal effortlessly with the women.

Curious at the sadness in their eyes when the stranger also turned the women away, she studied him, struck by his hard, tight expression as though he had the weight of the world on his shoulders.

She rarely saw anyone with truly black hair, but the big man with Marc and James had the same midnight hair they did, so black it gleamed with bluish highlights. It hung loosely past his shoulders, giving him a wild, untamed look.

She glanced at Marc and then at James, a little surprised that in some ways they had the same primitive look about them. They’d just managed to refine it, somehow.

Funny, she hadn’t noticed that before. She’d been too distracted by the way they made her feel, but now she had to admit that raw, almost animalistic look in their eyes and in the way they moved turned her on even more.

It also made her realize just how careful they’d been with her the other night. Watching them now, she decided she didn’t want them to be careful with her. She wanted the hunger she saw glittering in their eyes.

Just the thought of them turning all that pent-up sexuality loose on her had her abdomen clenching, her arousal already building to the point that it became uncomfortable to stand here and go on working as normal.

She forced herself to turn away before she started drooling and smiled reassuringly at Ricky, her bartender.

“No, Ricky. Everything’s fine. Do you know those three men who just walked in?”

To her surprise, Ricky smiled and nodded.

“The one on the middle is Marcus Brand. He’s a sculptor. Lives about five miles from here—a real beauty of a house. Bought all the land around it so he didn’t have any neighbors. He’s a real loner—only comes to town for gas and groceries. It’s the first time I’ve ever seen him in here. I don’t know the other two, though.”

Frowning, he nudged her aside.

“They look like trouble, though. Why don’t you go upstairs and let Gun and me handle it.”

Amused, Bailey hid a smile, not wanting to hurt Ricky’s feelings. Ricky and Gun had worked for the previous owner, and from what she’d observed, had been pretty unhappy. Their displeasure showed, and she was more than a little surprised that they’d asked her for a job.

Ricky, five years younger than her at twenty-four, and Gun, his father, had both been protective of her right from the beginning. She appreciated it, but she didn’t really expect either one of them to stand between her and danger.

Since she didn’t want to hurt his feelings, she nudged him playfully.

“Is that another one of those references to my height?”

Ricky fixed two more drinks, his hands always in motion. He shot her a smile, his attention clearly on Marc, James, and their friend.

His wide grin made him look even younger, and suddenly made her feel very old. “For someone as short as you are, you pack quite a punch. I’ve seen you in action. They’re still talking about that troublemaker you threw out of here the other day.”