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

  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.”r />
  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.

  “Well, that sounds nice, but I’m not in the market to be anyone’s mate, so if you just get my clothes, I’ll be going.”

  Marc moved fast, backing her against the granite countertop and, with a hand gripping the counter at her hips on either side, effectively blocked her in.

  “You’re not going anywhere until we settle some things.”

  More than ready for a confrontation, Bailey lifted her chin, sucking in a breath of alarm and white-hot need at the feel of his body against hers and the possessive hunger in his eyes. Not giving in to her instinct to look away, she fought to hide her alarm at the sheer size and strength of the body pressed against hers and her own traitorous body’s reaction to it.

  Poking him in the chest, she felt no give at all and fought for bravado.

  “Look, buddy, I don’t answer to you. You can’t keep me here against my will. You and you friend are nuts. I’m not your woman. I don’t give a shit what nature has decided for you. I decide what I want.”

  Leaning back as far as the small space allowed, she crossed her arms over her chest, the anger on Marc’s face, the anger she could actually feel, telling her that she had to figure out how to extricate herself from this situation as soon as possible.

  Deciding to go for sarcasm to hide her unease, she forced a smirk while inside she trembled.

  “How do you know I’m supposed to be your mate? Did a little birdie come and tell you or did you just figure that since you saved my life, it was an omen or something?”

  A muscle worked in Marc’s jaw, his eyes narrowing dangerously in a way she’d already come to respect.

  “Careful, my mate. You’re treading on dangerous ground. No matter how smart that mouth gets, I can smell your fear, so I know you’re smart enough to understand exactly what you’re doing.”

  His nostrils flared, and his eyes darkened even more. “I can also smell your arousal. It’s a scent that drives me insane with wanting, so unless you want to be turned and fucked in the ass right here at the counter, you’ll tread carefully.”

  Gasping, she glared at him and tried to take offense, but her body had other ideas.

  Her bottom clenched repeatedly, her puckered opening tingling at the erotic threat.

  He would do it. She knew it. The promise gleamed in his eyes, as did his obvious frustration at holding back.

  Sucking in a breath at the brush of Marc’s thighs against her as he boxed her in, she tightened her grip on the cool granite. Careful not to show the fear he couldn’t possibly know just by smelling her, she glared up at him.

  “My scent? Are you kidding me? What the hell is your fascination with my scent? I smell good so you think I’m yours? You are crazy. You can’t decide I’m yours just because you like the way I smell!”

  She pushed at his chest, forcing back panic when he didn’t so much as flinch.

  “Get the hell out of my way.”

  Marc’s reaction proved to be more than she’d bargained for.

  Lifting her, he set her none too gently on the counter, crowding her and ruthlessly pushing her knees apart to make a place for himself between her thighs. With one hand in her hair pulling her head back and the other at her lower back pulling her against his cock, he got in her face, the storm in his eyes both fascinating and frightening to behold.

  “Don’t.” Gritting his teeth, he took several ragged breaths, his obvious struggle for control alarming her. “Don’t throw my need for you or my instincts back in my face.”

  Taken aback at the anguish in his voice, she glanced at James.

  Apparently also alarmed, he got to his feet and rushed to her side, putting a hand on Marc’s shoulder.

  “Marc? Easy. It’s making me crazy, too.”

  Bailey gulped, looking from one to the other, the surge of lust raging through her as shocking as it was scary. “What? What’s going on? What’s making you crazy?”

  James gave her the semblance of a smile, but his dark eyes held a hunger that stole her breath.

  “Your scent, Bailey. Just being around you makes our cocks so hard, it’s painful. When you’re aroused, as you are now, it’s even worse. Simply put, we can’t be around you without wanting—no—needing to take you.”

  Marc grimaced. “It’s like I’m going to die if I don’t sink into you, and when you deny that you’re my mate, I want to put you under me and fuck you until you scream my name.”

  Pushing the ends of the robe aside, he bared her to his gaze, his face lined with tension.

  “Or better yet, bend you over and sink my cock into that tight ass. I want to dominate you, have you at my mercy, and erase everything from your mind except the feel of my cock taking you in your ass—taking you in the most dominant and intense way a man can take a woman. I don’t want you to think about anything else except my cock stretching that tight hole and filling you in a way that’ll make you think twice about ever denying me again. I need to take you in a way that makes you mine.”

  Reaching down, he parted her folds, the hunger in his eyes making her own need for him even stronger.

  “You’re aroused, and it’s making me crazy to have you. Hell. I can’t stand it. If you don’t want this, Bailey, you’d better run like hell. James, get me a fucking condom.”

  The inner walls of her pussy clenched, the need to have him inside her almost unbearable.

  Running was
not an option.

  Rubbing her breasts against him, she whimpered in frustration, sucking in a breath when he moved his fingers.

  Marc watched her eyes as the tip of his finger slid over her clit, something that never ceased to arouse her. Taking advantage of her gasp, he took her mouth with his, sweeping it with his hot tongue.

  Moaning into his mouth, she conceded to his dominance without a moment’s hesitation. Another moan escaped when James ran a hand over her breast and tugged her nipple, the slightly rough caress sending another jolt of white-hot need to her pussy and clit and making her bottom tingle with awareness.

  The sensations always seemed far more intense when both of them touched her at the same time.

  Groaning, James slid a hand over her breast, letting his fingers trail over the sensitive underside while his hot mouth moved over her shoulder.

  “I’ll get two.”

  His words sent a thrill through her as Marc kept her thighs parted with his and, with a hand on each one, brushed his thumbs over her clit.

  “Hurry up.”

  The barrage of pleasure to her already overstimulated system left her light headed with need. Every brush of his fingers over her swollen clit, every demanding stroke of his tongue over hers drew her deeper and deeper into an erotic whirlpool of pleasure that made her head spin and took over her senses so completely she couldn’t even think.

  Each second she spent in his arms aroused her more, her pussy clenching incessantly now. Her clit felt huge, tingling hotter and hotter with every gentle caress.

  Digging her heels into Marc’s rock-hard ass, Bailey melted under his passionate assault. Throwing her head back, she hit her head on the cabinet behind her and cried out at the sharp pain, the shock of it momentarily stunning her.

  It only lasted an instant, but Marc noticed.

  He lifted his head, breathing heavily, appearing momentarily disoriented until he realized what had happened.

  “Fuck. No room.”

  Gathering her to him, with a hand at her bottom under her robe and another at the back of her head, he buried his face in her neck and carried her out of the kitchen, pausing at the entrance to the huge family room.