Brooke, Leah - Panthers' Prey [Black Panthers 1] (Siren Publishing Ménage Everlasting) (21 page)

Delighted with her scowl, he grinned back at her.

His cock stirred as he took in her slicked-back wet hair, much darker now than its usual honey brown. His gaze travelled downward to her eyes, the same gorgeous color as her hair. Rimmed with impossibly long, dark lashes, they shot sparks at both Marc and him as she entered the kitchen, going wide when she saw the damage to the back of the chair.

The shadow between her breasts deserved more than a cursory glance, and he allowed his gaze to linger there, his fingers itching to get his hands on those small, firm breasts—something he planned to do as soon as possible.

Marc turned, his gaze also raking over her and lingering on the enticing valley between her breasts. Clenching his jaw, he lifted his gaze.

“Hidden. You’re not going anywhere until we talk.”

A honey-colored brow went up. “And you don’t think I’ll leave dressed like this? I’ve got news for you, buddy—”

Seeing Marc’s face, he knew his friend experienced the same reaction to her defiance as he did. James came to his feet and stepped between them, hoping to diffuse the situation. Smiling, he approached her, bending to kiss her forehead, his body tightening at another surge of rippling pleasure to his cock.

He had to clench his hands against the urge to grab her and throw her over his shoulder. Deciding his lap would do just fine, he smiled.

“I’m sure you have lots of questions for us. Why don’t you sit down, and I’ll get you some coffee while Marc finishes fixing breakfast. I’m going to have to take over soon. The only breakfast food he can make is scrambled eggs.”

* * * *

Bailey frowned, still not sure how James had managed to snag her waist and settle her on his lap while handing her a mug of hot, fragrant coffee.

She’d have to be dead not to notice the hard bulge pressing at her bottom. She couldn’t resist wiggling her ass, hiding a smile when his cock got even harder.

James groaned and pinched her hip in retaliation. “Behave.”

It didn’t seem to matter that she’d had two orgasms only a short time ago. She couldn’t seem to get enough, her body flaring to life as soon as she got close to either one of them. It didn’t help that she was naked under the robe. The soft material proved to be a poor substitute for their firm hands.

Eyeing Marc’s fine ass, she took a sip of the strong, dark coffee.

“I want my clothes.”

James’s hands came around her from behind, parting her robe and exposing her breasts with a casualness that spoke of a deeper intimacy than their short acquaintance warranted. With a soft chuckle, he started to massage her breasts, lightly teasing her nipples.

“And I want to fuck you again. Which one of us do you think is going to get what we want first?”

Setting her coffee aside before she spilled it all over herself, she leaned back with a moan, enjoying the feel of his hands. It didn’t escape her notice that both men seemed to know exactly how to touch her for maximum effect.

James used his fingertips to delicately stroke the tender underside of her breasts as though he enjoyed how she felt there and had no intention of rushing. Her nipples tingled unbearably, aching for his touch, but he seemed to want to take his time, driving her crazy in slow increments.

As he set plates on the table, Marc’s eyes fell to her nipples, the feel of his gaze on them while James caressed her incredibly erotic. Meeting his searching gaze, she bit her lip to hold back a moan as James cupped her breasts in his palms as though offering them to Marc.

With a faint smile and a flash of heat in his glittering eyes, Marc accepted the invitation, bending to kiss a nipple, his eyes steady on hers as he ran his tongue all around it.

Gasping at the heat that shot to her slit, she wiggled on James’s lap. “Stop that. Oh, hell. Do that again. I thought you were going to answer my questions.”

Marc smiled and scraped his teeth over her nipple before straightening, the devious smile on his face one right out of her fantasies.

“You like that hint of danger, don’t you? Good.”

James adjusted his position, turning her to sit sideways on his lap. With a hand at her back and one lightly massaging her breast, he grinned and teased her damp nipple.

“Ask your questions.”

She bit back a moan as Marc finished setting out food and lowered himself into the chair across the table from them.

Both Marc and James seemed to be getting great enjoyment from watching her torment.

Marc seemed particularly enthralled, his eyes moving over every inch of skin James uncovered. He licked his lips as though savoring the taste of her, his eyes full of intent.

Being with them made her feel so alive, her senses sharper than ever. It seemed she’d become attuned to both Marc and James in ways she’d never been connected with another man.

Knowing she wouldn’t stand a chance of holding a rational conversation with so many distractions, she pushed out of James’s arms and shot to her feet, slapping his hand away.

“Stop it. I can’t think when you do that.”

Ignoring his satisfied grin, she secured the borrowed robe more tightly around herself and plopped into the seat between them. She reached for her coffee, hoping the jolt of caffeine would help her to make sense of what she’d seen earlier.

A look passed between them, one borne from longstanding friendship, and one she didn’t have a hope of interpreting. After several long seconds, Marc sighed and shoved his plate away, his impatience showing in his eyes while his voice remained soft and controlled.

“Let us explain some things to you first. We’re shifters. You saw that. Black panthers. We don’t know how or why. We just know that we are. We know very little about it and have no one to ask. An older couple, friends of our parents’, gathered us together one night. None of us were much more than babies. They took us from a small village in California, and brought us to North Carolina to live on a farm they owned.”

His flat tone didn’t fool her for a minute. His face, also devoid of expression, didn’t either, not when she could
feel
the anger and frustration emanating from him.

Their rage burned in her stomach, and she swung her gaze to James to see if he felt it, too, but he didn’t appear to notice anything different.

Before she could do more than wonder about it, Marc continued.

“Several of the older ones say they heard gunshots and screams that night, but no one knows for sure. Leland, the eldest of all of us was the first one to shift.”

Horrified at what had happened to their parents, Bailey swallowed heavily and looked again at James, who wore the same morose expression as Marc.

Marc ran his thumb up and down the side of his mug, staring down into his coffee.

“The Tremaines couldn’t answer our questions about it. Evidently our parents never explained much to them, just trusted them to get us all out of there and somewhere safe. The Tremaines evidently went to California to visit the same area every year, had somehow run across them, and befriended them.”

Shrugging, he sighed. “Our parents must have known something was coming. What it was, we don’t know for sure, but we suspect that someone found out about them and decided to rid the world of us.”

Bailey reached for his hand, surprised and delighted when he curled his around hers in an automatic gesture that warmed her heart.

“That’s horrible! All of your parents are dead? How many of you are there? What happened then?”

Marc’s lips curled.

“It is a horrible thing to have happened, but most of us don’t even remember them. As the Tremaines got older, we took care of them, running the farm and getting jobs to put food on the table and trying to act like everything was normal. But it wasn’t. One by one we each began to shift, and not until Leland and Joe figured it out were we even able to control it.”

James leaned forward and took her other hand.

“We keep to ourselves, and the Tremaines always stressed how important it was to trust no one but each other and to keep our existence a secret. We guard that secret, with our lives if necessary, because one slip could mean the end of our pack. The same thing that happened to our parents could happen to us.”

Marc released her hand and stood. “Outsiders would never let us live if they knew. They would think we were freaks and dangerous. You can never tell a soul about us.”

A chill went down her spine at the memory of what a panther supposedly did to her attacker. With shaky hands, Bailey reached for her cup, wrapping her fingers around it for warmth.

“So, you attacked Billy Davis?”

James narrowed his eyes. “He was killing you, Bailey, and I didn’t hurt him too badly, just a swipe to get him off of you. What were we supposed to do? We’d heard your scream and—”

Bailey jumped to her feet, no longer able to sit still. “How could you have heard me scream? That place is over a mile from here.”

Marc turned from refilling his coffee, eyeing her intently. “Actually, it’s closer to two. You weren’t anywhere near where you ended up that night. Our hearing and eyesight are very good, Bailey. It’s part of the package.”

James sighed, rubbing a hand over his face. “Look, Bailey, I know all of this is a lot to take in. We didn’t understand a lot and still don’t understand everything. We’ll answer your questions the best we can, but you don’t have to ask them all in one day.” He slid a glance at Marc. “Just trust that we would never—
could
never hurt you. Our pack will also consider you one of their own and will guard your life with their own.”

Finding all of this confusing and difficult to believe, she nodded, too dumbfounded and shaken to get her thoughts organized enough to ask questions.

She wanted to ask them why she reacted so strongly to them, but didn’t know if they knew it yet, and she wanted to keep that piece of information to herself for now.

One thing did bother her, though, a question that couldn’t wait.

Wrapping her arms around herself, she nodded again. “Okay, but tell me this. If no one else knows, why are you telling me?”

Marc looked decidedly uncomfortable, causing a cold knot to form in her belly. He smiled, a smile that didn’t reach his eyes.

“James already told you. Evidently you’re our mate.”

Shaking her head, Bailey took her seat at the table again, reaching for her coffee, and shot a look at James. The reality of the situation crept in no matter how hard she tried to push it back. For now, though, she’d learn all she could.

“What’s that mean? That you want to fuck me?”

James grinned, sending a wicked surge of lust through her, one that caused another surge of moisture to coat her thighs.

“Oh, we definitely want to fuck you, but it’s a little more involved than that. Apparently, you’re the woman nature has decided is ours.”

Bailey carefully came to her feet, once again convinced that they had a screw loose. They had her so tied up in knots she didn’t know what to think anymore.

Shape-shifters. Panthers. Mates. She didn’t think she’d every truly believe it, no matter how sincere they sounded.

No matter what she saw.

She felt as though she’d somehow stepped into a dream world and didn’t know how to get out.

She didn’t know if she even wanted to.

She just knew that she reacted too strongly to them for comfort. The thought of being with both of them forever enticed her far too much, and she knew she’d better put some distance between herself and them as soon as possible.