Brooke, Leah - Panthers' Prey [Black Panthers 1] (Siren Publishing Ménage Everlasting) (38 page)

Another man came over, took her hand, and placed it close to her face, easing the pillow out from under her head.

“Hello, Bailey. I’m Vincent, Joe’s better-looking younger brother.”

Bailey couldn’t imagine a man more handsome than Joe, but, amazingly, Vincent was. His face didn’t have the hard lines and edges of his brother’s, but his eyes held the same intelligence and strength. They also held concern and a twinkle of amusement.

Even being this close to him, though, her pulse didn’t race as it did with Marc and James.

Joe shook his head as he brought the needle toward her shoulder.

“He keeps saying that, hoping that one day it’ll be true. A little pinch here, honey. Just stay real still for me.”

Vincent pressed a hand between her shoulder blades as Joe stuck the needle into her shoulder, the firm pressure not allowing any movement when she flinched.

Drawing a hissing breath, Bailey squeezed her eyes closed.

“Shit. That hurts.”

The deep growls from behind her, so fierce and familiar, made her smile.

Joe finished and removed the needle, glaring over her shoulder.

“Don’t you fucking growl at me. I’m trying to help her. If you didn’t trust me, you wouldn’t have called me, remember? Mitch, will you please finish up with James? Joshua, help Mitch get them out of here. Call in Dane and Graham if you need to.”

“I don’t need any help.” The voice, much deeper than the other men’s, rumbled with amusement and threat.

Marc’s hand came over her back as Vincent removed his.

“I’m not going anywhere, and if you try to make me, you’re going to end up even uglier than you already are.” His lips touched her left shoulder. “It’s okay, baby. I know it hurts. I won’t leave you.”

Anxious to see who else was in the room, Bailey turned her head, careful not to move too fast. One man tended to a glowering James while another huge man, dressed entirely in leather, stood back a few feet, his arms crossed over his chest.

He had a barrel chest, heavily tattooed arms, and thighs like tree trunks. Everything about him, including the smile he shot at Marc, appeared threatening. His features, hard and cold, softened somewhat, but didn’t make him look any less intimidating.

This was a man who would draw attention wherever he went, scaring the hell out of all those around him.

Bailey didn’t scare easily but, even with Marc and James between her and Joshua, had to admit to being more than a little daunted by the giant of a man.

James smiled at her reassuringly and gestured toward the man unwrapping gauze from a package.

“Bailey, this brute with no compassion is Mitch. The giant standing over there trying to look intimidating is Joshua.”

Wincing at the probing fingers at the back of her shoulder, Bailey swallowed heavily. “He looks pretty intimidating to me.”

* * * *

As soon as Mitch finished bandaging James’s head, he reached into his pocket and pulled out a small tan packet, worry evident in his smile as he handed it to James.

“Take one of these and go lie down someplace else. I need to help Joe with your mate.”

Bailey frowned. “You people like to throw that word around a lot, don’t you?”

A pregnant pause followed as the men looked at each other somberly. Almost as one, all eyes turned toward Joe.

Curious, she turned her head again, pleased to find it didn’t hurt her shoulder at all.

Joe and Vincent were in the process of tearing gauze and instruments from packages, but Joe paused, his eyes meeting hers, a sadness in them that pulled at her.

“We’ve all come to appreciate the value of mates and realize they’re irreplaceable. We also realize we have a responsibility to them to keep them safe, and part of that is keeping our true identities hidden.”

Mitch finished cleaning up the supplies he’d used for James.

“Now that we know that it’s possible, we all have hopes of finding our own mates. You can bet that we’re not going to fuck it up the way these guys did.”

Marc never took his eyes from her, the gentle plea in them melting her heart.

“Hopefully, we figured it out in time to get her to forgive us.”

James moved closer to her side, shooting Marc a look of superiority.

“Speak for yourself. I didn’t act like an ass the way you did.” Wincing, he dropped his head onto the pillow next to her, his eyelids drooping.

“Why you people insisted on fighting what you want is beyond me.”

Joshua shook his head and grunted, but Bailey could see the concern in his eyes when he helped a groggy James to his feet.

“Well, it took a shot in the head for you to figure it out.”

James smiled in her direction, his eyes glassy.

“No, we figured it out before, didn’t we, Bailey?”

Smiling back, she reached for his hand. “Yes, we certainly did.”

Joshua met her look of concern and nodded once in understanding, the bare semblance of a smile touching his lips softening his features and making him appear almost approachable. His concern for James, and his obvious affection for him, made Bailey feel much better.

“Don’t worry. Your mate will be just fine. Come on, James, and you can tell me all about it.”

Marc looked over his shoulder. “Put him in the other bedroom.”

As Joshua left the room, half dragging, half supporting a disgruntled James, Bailey tried to turn her head back toward Joe, but Mitch stopped her with a hand in her hair.

“Keep your head turned this way, honey.”

Alarmed, Bailey lifted her gaze to Marc’s.

“Oh, shit. He’s doing something, isn’t he? Something he doesn’t want me to see.” She could feel pressure against her shoulder, but nothing else through the numbness. Gritting her teeth, she imagined all sorts of things he could be doing to her. Hell, he could be cutting into her for all she knew, the mental image of it making her slightly nauseous.

“What’s he doing? No. Don’t tell me. Shit. Tell me.”

From behind her head, Joe chuckled, the tension in his tone hard to mistake. “Don’t worry about what I’m doing. You just concentrate on staying still while I fix you right up. Tell me how you met Marc and James. You must have met them recently because we just had a reunion and neither one of them mentioned you. If they’d met you, I’m sure we would have heard about you.”

Mitch shot a look at Marc and removed his hand from her head, his attention on her shoulder and what must have been a variety of items above her head. He reached for something, and then his hand disappeared behind her.

“If I found my mate, I’d sure as hell mention her, especially if she was as beautiful as you are.”

Marc rubbed her arm.

“Stop flirting with my woman. Easy. Oh, God, Bailey, does that hurt?”

“Would you shut the fuck up? Bailey, honey, you’re fine.” Mitch rubbed her back, and shot a dirty look at Marc. “Why don’t you go check on the others?”

“I’m not leaving her.”

Touched by his concern, Bailey reached for his hand, trying not to imagine what Joe and Mitch were doing to her shoulder. “It doesn’t hurt, Marc. Tell them how we met.”

Mitch grinned and wiped her back with something. “We’d rather hear it from you.”

Bailey kept her eyes on Marc’s. “He and James saved me. I’m surprised Leland didn’t tell you.”

Mitch glanced over her shoulder. “Leland didn’t come back. He got a lead on his mate and called. We’re waiting to hear from him.”

Marc looked toward where Joe worked on her shoulder. “And you came here instead of going with him?”

“You needed me. I’m joining him as soon as I leave here. Just don’t let yours get away from you the way ours did. They can be hard as hell to track down again. Bailey, honey, finish your story. How the hell did these two save you?”

As she told her story, the men cursed and started shooting a barrage of questions at Marc.

“Did you kill him?”

“Who the hell was he?”

“How bad was she hurt?”

“Did he get a good look at either one of you?”

She watched with interest as Marc answered their questions, the men displaying a camaraderie she didn’t often get a chance to witness.

Several minutes later, Joe, who’d been conspicuously silent, taped her shoulder.

“Vincent, go fill the others in. We’ll be out as soon as we get Bailey settled.”

Marc shook his head. “I’ll settle her in. I need a few minutes alone with her.”

Joe came around to the other side of the bed and felt her forehead.

“Just don’t undo my handiwork. We’ll be in the other room, and I’ll work out a plan of action for your troublemakers and that nosy cop.”

She watched with drowsy interest as Marc stretched out on the bed beside her, a firm hand stopping her when she would have risen. Twirling a strand of her hair around his finger, he kept the atmosphere lazy, but his eyes still held remnants of concern.

“Leland and Joe both think they have to handle everything and won’t take it well when I tell them we don’t need their help.”

Smiling at the affection in his tone, she snuggled against him.

“It must be nice to have family—to have people who would drop everything to come help you.”

Marc shrugged. “We’ve always been close. I guess it comes from not trusting anyone else.” His eyes narrowed slightly on hers, his voice low and intimate. “How do you feel?”

Bailey moved her shoulder experimentally. Finding it didn’t hurt, she propped herself up on her elbows, hiding a smile when his gaze went to her breasts.

“It doesn’t hurt at all. A little pull, that’s it. Do you really think James is all right? I want to go see him.”

Marc lifted his gaze to hers, his expression unreadable. “I know you do, honey. You and James seem to have things all worked out.”

He smiled sadly, brushing her hair back from her forehead. “You and I are going to have to do whatever it takes to work this out between us.” With a small sigh, he slid his hand over her breast, his eyes flaring when her breath caught and she leaned into him. “Because I sure as hell can’t live without you.”

Chapter Sixteen

Bailey finished the last of her scrambled eggs and jumped up, ignoring eight almost identical looks of concern.

“I’m going, too. I wouldn’t miss this for anything.”

“No.”

Marc dismissed her without hesitation and went back to his conversation with the others, who all stood around his kitchen watching expectantly.

Blinking, she folded her arms across her chest and tapped her foot, glaring at him.

“If you think I’m going to stay away and miss seeing all of you in action, you’re crazy.”

She glanced around the room, eyeing the men. They all wore jeans, boots, and all but Joe and Vincent wore dark leather jackets. Together, they looked more menacing than any group of men she’d ever met.

All hard bodies, sharp eyes, and smooth, predatory movements, they had a presence unlike any other men she’d ever met. Even with the others present, she found her gaze drawn to Marc and James, admiring their tall frames, wide shoulders, and tight butts as they interacted with the others.