by Jane Jamison
“Stop this.”
She knew what he meant and decided to interrupt it in a different way as she moved close enough to draw in a breath, picking up their masculine scents that were different, yet equally alluring. “Nope. I’m not stopping anything. In fact, I’d rather start something.”
Instincts, new and thrilling, took over. They burst inside her, compelling her, ordering her to listen to her libido. Instead of telling them to go to hell, she decided to take them to heaven instead.
Grabbing hold of Rusk’s shirt, she tugged him lower, meeting his lips with hers. He didn’t react at first, but she didn’t let his hesitation fool her. She sensed his craving for her. He wanted her. He knew it. She knew it. She drew in another breath and smelled it on him.
Every ounce of her being flared to life. She’d thought she’d been living before she’d met them. Now she knew part of her had been hiding, held in limbo, until then. Logically, the way she felt was insane. Who sexually attacked a man she’d just met?
Emotionally was a different story. She knew him, not with her mind, but with her gut. She always listened to her instinct and taught others to do the same. But this was so much more than going with her gut. This was primal, down-in-her-soul knowledge that he was the one she wanted. The one who would take her, making her his own then keeping her safe from that moment forward.
Rusk kissed her back, hard, demanding. He enveloped her in his arms, leaving no distance between them. Her body recognized his the second she leaned into him. She moaned, flicking her tongue inside his mouth then back to hers, leading him in a game of chase. He followed, taking the lead as his tongue gathered her juices.
She pushed her body harder against his. He nibbled on her upper lip then sucked on her lower lip. Pressing against her, he forced her to lean backward until his strong arms were the only thing keeping her from falling.
“What the hell?”
Wash.
She hadn’t forgotten about him. The urge to have him wasn’t as intense with him as it was with Rusk. Yet, as soon as she let her mind shift toward him, the craving she felt for Rusk sent out its tendrils to wrap around Wash.
He’s mine, too.
Once again, common sense didn’t prevail. She didn’t understand her thought, but she didn’t care. Hell, she didn’t have to. Her body told her he was the missing piece in their triangle.
She reached out and took his shirt in the same way she’d taken Rusk’s. Her other hand pressed to Rusk’s chest and pushed him back a little, but not enough to tell him to go away. Oh, no, she didn’t want him going away. Pivoting, she fell into Wash’s arms.
Unlike Rusk, Wash didn’t hesitate. He tugged her close, his mouth hungrily devouring hers. He held her firmly by the back of her neck as though he’d never turn her loose. At that moment, she wouldn’t have minded one damn bit if he’d kept her next to him until the day she died.
Wash’s kiss was as passionate and feverish as his friend’s. She kissed him as hard as she could to let him know how much she wanted him. His hand roamed to the small of her back then finally traveled lower to grip her butt cheek.
Whether it was the feel of his hand possessing her ass or whether sanity finally broke through the haze of lust, she suddenly became aware of what she was doing. Somehow, some way, she’d gone crazy.
Stop. Now. Before it’s too late.
Her mind shouted for her to listen, to give into reason instead of lust. As a survivalist, she knew not to do anything rash. Acting without thinking could lead to disastrous results. As a woman, she knew she risked danger by going too fast with men she didn’t know. As much as her passion pushed her to continue, rational thought finally prevailed. She dreamed of having two men, but not two strangers, no matter how sexy they were.
She shoved away from him, her chest heaving as she spun around and dashed to the other side of her camp.
She whirled to confront them, ready to defend herself if it was needed. “You have to leave. Now.”
“Look, Kendra, I’m not sure what happened just now, but we’re not the ones who need to get out of here.”
Rusk’s expression told a different story. He knew why they’d come together. He just wasn’t saying.
She, however, wouldn’t push him. “I don’t know, either.”
Embarrassment flooded her. She wasn’t the kind of girl who’d throw herself at a man, much less two men. Had her earlier thoughts brought her to that point? Obviously, her desires had taken over, and for whatever reason, she’d given into the unrelenting urges.
Wash was having a tough time regaining his composure. He held his hands in front of him, and if she hadn’t wanted to see the bulge he was covering, she might’ve laughed at his predicament.
Rusk came toward her, his intent obvious. He moved like an animal, graceful, purposeful, catching her attention so much she almost forgot to breathe.
“Stop.” She lifted her hand as though to physically keep him away. She felt silly doing so and lowered her arm. “Let’s forget it happened. But you have to leave. Not me. Both of you. Now.”
“You have to pack up. It’s not safe out here. Damn it, will you listen to reason, darlin’?”
“Darlin’?” The word fit perfectly with Rusk’s Southern twang. She didn’t try holding back her laugh. “One strange—wonderful—kiss and you think you can start calling me darlin’ and ordering me around? Sure, it’s better than calling me woman, but think again, Rusk.”
“We’re only trying to keep you safe,” added Wash.
They’d already been through this argument. “What aren’t you telling me? Why is it unsafe? And don’t tell me it’s because of wild animals. Man is the most dangerous predator. By my way of thinking, I should be afraid of you.”
“Maybe you’re right.”
She shot Rusk a look. “Bullshit. If you’d wanted to hurt me, you’d have already done it.”
“Just trust us on this, okay?”
The strange pull she’d felt to Rusk and Wash was still there, but her mind was back to functioning at full speed. She wouldn’t let her hormones and the lack of any recent sex lead her back into sexual attack mode again. Not if she had any self-esteem left.
“Guys, I don’t know what’s going on, but unless you can give me specific reasons for me to leave, I’m staying put.” She waited, giving them enough time to tell her those reasons. When it was obvious they weren’t going to, she crossed her arms and planted her feet. “Leave. Now.”
“And if we don’t?”
Was Rusk daring her? She struggled to find a response she could back up. Physically forcing them to leave wouldn’t work. And asking had failed. Unless they gave in to her wishes, she was screwed. And not in the way she wanted.
“If you don’t…”
She failed to find a good ending to the sentence. Thankfully, Wash saved her.
“Rusk, give it up. We can’t make her leave.”
She held back the urge to ask them to stay. “Thank you, Wash. I’m glad you understand.”
“Fine. But take it easy, all right? And keep your eyes open,” warned Rusk. He nodded at Wash and heeled around, strode away.
Keep my eyes open for what?
An uneasiness swept over her. They weren’t telling her what they knew. But why not?
As soon as they were gone, she wanted to call them back. The urge was animalistic, based in pure, sexual need. She restrained herself, certain she had to maintain control. What if she never saw them again? The very idea sent gave her an uneasy feeling. How could two strangers take hold of her so quickly?
Once they’d gone, she plopped down on a large log next to the fire hole she’d dug. Night would be falling soon, and she needed to get a fire going. And yet, she couldn’t muster enough energy to care.
Who were they? Were they camped nearby? Or were they only out for the day? Hunting season was over, but that didn’t mean they weren’t hunting anyway. Although they hadn’t seemed like the type of men who would break the law. If anything, th
ey seemed more like the kind of men who would enforce laws. Standup kind of men a woman could trust. The kind of men who’d made her feel more like a woman than she had in years.
Why hadn’t she asked more about them? All she knew were their names. She wanted to know everything. Ached to know where they’d grown up, how they’d grown up, and, even more importantly, where they lived now. From the good to the bad, the serious to the silly, everything about them intrigued her.
Instead of arguing with them, why didn’t I ask more questions?
The answer was clear. As soon as they’d gotten close, she’d felt an irresistible urge to touch them. Not in an easy kind of way like shaking their hands or even holding them. She’d wanted to push them to the ground and order them to fuck her.
Holy crap. What happened to me?
She’d never felt such an amazing sensation before. It was beyond being turned on. Beyond finding two men who were hot as hell. Instead, she’d felt as if they’d been connected for years, like adults who’d grown up together, learning all about each other, and then fallen in love.
Bullshit. In love?
She was mistaking sexual attraction for love? How pitiful was that? Whatever the sensation was, whatever else she wanted to call it, love wasn’t the right word.
Lust.
That’s more like it.
Yet when had she ever felt real, down-to-the-soul kind of lust before? She couldn’t remember the last time she’d wanted a man’s hands all over her as much as she wanted theirs. She couldn’t recall when she’d ever wanted anyone so much she would’ve done almost anything to have them. The sensations they’d provoked in her were both exhilarating and frightening.
Her earlier thoughts while in the water had made her vulnerable. That had to be part of it. Daydreaming about having not only one but two men who would love her had taken her mind and made it susceptible. It had just been dumb luck that Wash and Rusk had shown up soon after.
She trembled, remembering their kisses. Susceptible or not, she’d been the one to make the first move. And damn it all, she’d loved it.
Gazing into the falling darkness, she searched for any sign of them. Did they make a fire? Or had they gone for good?
What if she looked for them tomorrow? If nothing else, it would prove to them that she could take care of herself overnight. If nothing else, it would prove to herself that she’d had a momentary lapse of judgment and was once again levelheaded. She’d act like her normal self and not like some sex-starved skank.
Yeah. Sure.
Chapter Three
“I don’t know what just happened, but I can’t say I minded it.”
Rusk grinned at Wash. “I only minded when she stopped kissing me and started kissing you.”
They took their time, once more scouring the land for the convicts, but weren’t finding anything. Either the escapees weren’t around, or they were lying low during the day.
“She’s as stubborn as they come.” Wash pushed his hat back as the sun dropped lower on the horizon.
“Yeah, she is. But I wouldn’t go telling her that.”
“Don’t worry. I’m nobody’s fool.”
“Stubborn I can handle. Especially when the stubborn comes in a hot package like hers.”
Rusk understood where Wash was going. He was doing his best to make sense of it all. As a human, Wash didn’t know about the connection between weretigers and their future mates. He almost pitied his friend.
As a weretiger, he’d grown up hearing about the connection. Every weretiger was eager to find his mate. If they didn’t, they’d either spend the rest of their lives alone or take a different woman who could never mean as much to them. The invisible bond between mates had drawn him to Kendra within the first few moments of seeing her. The passion, the unrestrained lust he’d felt, was stronger than any other emotion. It had cut into him and wrapped around him, urging his inner tiger to take her and make her his. When she’d kissed him, when it had been her choice to pull them together, he’d realized the wild passion he was feeling was real.
A human who was an intended mate getting the connection with a weretiger was easy. That kind of connection happened all the time. In fact, most tigers found a human female, felt the connection, and then vowed his everlasting love to her. Changing her into a weretigress was the woman’s decision and could come later.
But having the second male in the relationship be a human who also felt the connection, too, was rare. Either Wash had sensed the bond between Rusk and Kendra and had picked up on it, or Wash had somehow managed to form his own bond with her.
She’d kissed Wash, giving Rusk hope that the connection did include his friend. They’d talked about finding one woman to share, about how they enjoyed seeing each other pleasuring a woman, but he’d never gone so far as to talk about the instinctive connection that would bring his mate to him. If anything, he’d worried that he’d find his mate and she wouldn’t want anything to do with his friend.
Could it be happening? Were they destined to share Kendra? He prayed they were.
“She’s more than just great looking.” Wash stuck by Rusk’s side. “She’s got an extra inner edge to her. A way about her that makes me want to protect her and challenge her both at the same time.”
“Damn. Listen to you.” Rusk slapped his friend on the arm. “You’ve gone all poetic on me.”
Wash’s scowl couldn’t wipe away the wonder on his face. “Tell me you didn’t feel it, too.”
He’d felt it, all right. More than Wash would ever be able to feel it. Unless, of course, someone transformed him into a weretiger.
“It was lust at first sight.” He’d almost said love instead of lust. Although he understood love at first sight was part of the connection, Wash wouldn’t. Not yet, anyway.
“Damn straight.” Wash shifted his rifle from one hand to the other. “But it was more than that. I felt like”—he shot Rusk a hard look before continuing—”like I’d met her before.”
“Like it was kismet that we found her?” He’d ease into the conversation. Telling Wash too much, too soon might blow the whole deal.
“You mean like fate?”
“Yeah.”
Wash watched him, leery of agreeing too readily. But it was clear he wanted to. “Do you believe in fate?”
“Yeah. In certain circumstances, I do.” As in the connection.
“And this is one of those circumstances?”
“I think it is.”
“Fuck.” Wash whirled around. “We should haul her ass out of here whether she likes it or not. What the hell were we thinking leaving her behind and on her own with convicts on the loose?”
“You know we don’t have the right to physically force her to leave. She would’ve fought us tooth and nail.” How could he explain it to Wash without telling him what he was? As their mate, he hoped Kendra was a tigress in the making. Once she was officially theirs, once she had accepted their love and them as her mates, she could choose to be bitten and changed into a weretiger. Yet even then it wasn’t a guarantee that she’d do what they wanted.
“We’d better check in on her. A lot.”
“Sure thing.”
They walked for several minutes before Wash finally asked the question Rusk had been waiting to hear.
“Did you get a…feeling from her?”
“What do you mean?” He didn’t want to spell it out. If Wash had picked up on the connection, then he’d have to be the one to say so.
Wash would have a difficult time explaining the feeling to anyone other than Rusk. Only someone who knew about the connection could understand completely.
“I kind of felt weird, but in a good way. Like I said before. Like I’ve known her my whole life.”
“It happens sometimes.” And it did.
“Yeah, but it was more. Shit. I’m not sure how to say this right.”
“Just spit it out.” He wanted Wash to tell him how he’d felt. If he did, then maybe it was time to reveal his s
ecret to his best friend. Living with Wash, especially near a shifter town like Twisted, was difficult. Once he told Wash what he was, he wouldn’t have to try and hide the fact that almost everyone else in town was a shifter, too.
“It made me feel like I’m meant to be with her. Like she’s the one woman I’ve been waiting for.”
“Just you?” They’d talked often enough about the possibility of sharing one woman. For weretigers, it was easy. Jealousy never entered into the relationship. But with human males? That could spell trouble.
“So you felt it, too? I’m not talking about getting turned on. It was something more.”
“Yeah, I felt it, too.”
“Then you describe it.”
“Why do I need to?” Yet he could tell that Wash needed to hear him say the words. “Just like you, I felt like I’ve known her all my life. That she could take me and wrap me around her finger, if she wanted. It’s like she tossed a live wire at me, and I caught it. I was electrocuted but loved every minute of it. Is that what you want to hear?”
“Yeah. Exactly.” Wash took his hat off, wiped away the sweat and put it back on. “This is major. What are the chances of both of us feeling the same way? And what about her? What did she feel?”
“She started the kissing. That means she wanted us.”
“Maybe. Still, I want to know for sure.”
“How are you going find out?” Rusk had his own idea, but he’d let Wash get out what he needed to say.
“We go back later and check on her. If she’s asleep, then we check on her first thing in the morning. And when we do, we hope like hell we feel the same way.”
“And if we do?” Rusk had a difficult time holding back his excitement, but he had no choice. When telling someone what he was, timing was everything.
“We tell her what we want. Then we show her.”
“Not against her will, though.” Like he even needed to say so.
“’Course not.” Wash shot him a hard look.
“Then let’s hope she feels the same way we do.” If she did, he could finally reveal his inner animal to both his friend and his mate.