By the second day, Sella had gotten the hang of this waitressing gig. The humans were a bit more demanding than the Anterrans, but at least if any customer got pissy, he didn’t shift into a lion and have it out with her or another customer. Sometimes the overabundance of testosterone among the Anterran men got to her.
Her evening was wrapping up when the hair on her neck rose. She spun around, thinking Malik and Cavon had come in, but they weren’t anywhere to be seen. “Whoa.”
Two real-life giants walked in. While she was five foot ten inches barefoot, these men had to be close to seven feet tall. She’d been fascinated with American basketball as well as football and figured these two might be sports stars.
No one seemed to be paying any attention to them once they sat in a booth, so she made a beeline over. “Gentlemen? What can I get you?”
Her body vibrated so hard that she didn’t know what to make of it. Unless she’d lost her touch being on Earth for two days, these were lion shifters. She’d bet her life on it. Yes, she’d been told there were other alignment points and other alternate realities, but to actually meet someone from another reality, besides the Anterran reality, threw her into a spin.
The slightly larger of the two grinned. “I’ll have a Bud.”
The other one looked almost identical, but had a slightly broader smile. “Make that two, sugar.” His gaze lingered on her as if he were trying to figure out if she knew their secret.
“Coming right up.” Even though she wasn’t sure what a Bud was, the bartender would give her the right drink.
Her legs weakened as she turned around. Never had she had such a visceral reaction to a man before. If they’d come from Anterra, she’d have known. If she hadn’t reacted in such a specific way, from their size alone she would have figured them to be bear shifters.
She waited while the bartender poured the drafts, trying to figure out a polite way of asking them their origin.
“Here ya go.” The bartender slid two beers toward her, along with the tabs.
She loaded the drinks onto a tray and made her way back to the amazing men. Their strong jaws, broad brows, and thick girth made her pussy wet. What was wrong with her? If these two lived in Anterra, she’d never have left.
She placed the drinks in front of them. “I’m Sella. Where are you two from?” Since they might be hotel guests, it made sense that they weren’t from Spirit.
The one with the large smile leaned back in his seat. “Miami.”
Aha. They weren’t from Anterra, but she’d never heard of Miami. “What’s that close to?”
They both shot a look at each other. Uh-oh. She’d made a mistake. She was about to laugh off her comment when the first man seemed to take pity on her.
“It’s about as far from here as you can get.”
So they were from another reality. That was the reason she didn’t know them. “I’m from Anterra. That’s another reality, too.”
They both laughed. Had she made another mistake?
“You’re cute, Sella. You’re new here then, too?”
How could they tell? “I arrived yesterday.”
The man held out his hand. “I’m Gage Anderson, and this is my brother, Will.”
“Hi. I’m Sella.” Darn. She’d already told them that. Heat slipped up her face at the third mistake. She’d spent her whole life around shifters, so why should these two make her body all tingly and her pussy dampen?
“Nice to meet you, Sella.”
She hoped they didn’t ask her last name since she didn’t have one. She supposed she could use Lara’s last name if they asked. After all, she had her license.
Will leaned forward. “Since we came into town yesterday, too, how about us exploring the area together?”
That was a wonderful idea, especially since Malik and Cavon made it clear they wanted to troll the bars alone. “That sounds great. I don’t have to be at work until six.”
“Where are you staying, Sella?”
Why did her heart and stomach have to flutter so much? “Here. In room 201.”
“Perfect. We’re in 317. How about we meet in the lobby tomorrow morning? We can go skiing.”
Her breath caught. “I’ve never skied.”
“We’ve only been a few times ourselves,” Will said, “but between Gage and myself, I bet we can show you.”
“That sounds like fun.” She’d come for adventure, and she needed to take advantage of everything offered.
“Sella?”
Darn. The bartender was calling her. She smiled. “Tomorrow then.”
This was the most exciting thing that had happened in her entire life.
* * * *
Gage couldn’t believe how adorable Sella was. Even though she’d fallen on her butt at least a half dozen times, she never complained.
“Let me put you in the right position.” He hoped that if she started off right, she’d be able to keep upright for longer. He stepped out of his skis and knelt on the ground. Placing a hand on her rear, he bent her knees. “How does that feel?”
She smiled. “I think I wasn’t leaning far enough forward before.”
“You’re right. You look good now.” Boy, did she. There was something about Sella that had turned him inside out. It was almost like she emitted a beacon that drew him in. “Try going down the hill now, holding that position.” The run barely qualified as a bunny slope, but he wanted her to gain some confidence.
She pushed off and teetered a bit but went a good twenty feet before coming to a stop. Will skied down to her. “Good job.”
Gage put his skis back on and met her at the bottom a few seconds later. He’d wanted to take a run from the top but being with Sella was more fun. He’d never met anyone quite like her. Most of the women he and Will ran into were highly sophisticated and worldly. Sella seemed a little clueless about some things, yet at the same time, seemed to be able to anticipate what they were about to do. He couldn’t quite put his finger on it.
She maneuvered around so she was facing them. “I want to see you two ski from the top.”
Maybe she did read minds. “You sure you don’t mind?”
“No. I’ll be here at the bottom waiting. Then I’ll need to head back for work.”
He glanced at Will, who was nodding. “Okay. Don’t leave with any strangers.”
Her brows pinched. “I thought you said you’d walk me back.”
Maybe to her, they still were strangers. He wanted to change that. “I meant, strangers other than us.”
Her head dropped back. “Got it.”
They skied over to the lift. As soon as they hopped on, he wanted Will’s take on her. “So what do you think of Sella?”
“She’s cool.”
He’d wanted something more decisive. “There’s a connection I’m feeling between us.” He looked over at Will, who seemed to have lost his color.
“Bro, I’m feeling it, too. It’s like she can see inside me. I get this feeling that she’s waiting for something to happen.”
“You know she’s never asked what we do for a living or really who we are. She’s a lot more trusting than most of the girls we know.”
They reached the top and jumped off. Will grinned. “I know.”
On instinct, he grabbed Will’s jacket. “Don’t play games with her. We’re leaving in two weeks, and she doesn’t need some dick to fuck with her.”
Will could have easily decked him, but he rarely let anything get to him. It’s what had made him a top Special Forces commander.
His brother smiled. “I’ll let her decide how she wants to proceed.” His brows rose. “Do you think she’s the type to take on two men?”
He and Will loved to share their women, but given they weren’t staying long, it might not be fair to her. “I don’t know.”
He didn’t want to talk about Sella for the moment. He wanted to savor her image all the way down the slope. He loved her long blonde hair and willowy body that possessed the grace of a dancer. H
er hazel eyes bordered on the green side rather than brown, but it might be her innocent view on life that really grabbed him. She’d told him she was thirty, yet she looked much younger, as if she hadn’t spent a lot of time in the sun.
When he got back to the room, he was going to do a Google search on Anterra. Maybe it was one of the Scandinavian countries, which might explain some of her odd comments.
“We racing or what?”
Damn. “Sure.”
Will’s eyes twinkled. “What do you want to bet?”
Ever since they were little kids they always competed. “If I say I’ll let you take Sella to bed first, you’ll go so fast you’ll injure yourself. Let’s do something that involves only us.”
“Fine. How about whoever wins can suggest where they want to take Sella?”
Gage laughed. His brother apparently wasn’t the best at coloring in the lines while on vacation. “You’re on.” His mind whirred with possibilities. To bed was his first choice.
They headed to the top of the slope and waited for a few people to get a head start.
“Ready?” Will rocked back and forth as if this race were for some Olympic medal.
“On three. One, two, three.” Gage shoved off and immediately took the lead.
Usually he didn’t care who won. Today, his competitive nature took over. He rarely took risks, but it was as if something were drawing him down the hill to Sella. His gaze swept the path in front and to the side to make sure he wouldn’t run into anyone. He pretended he was on the water, where skiing came second nature. After he glanced behind him to make sure Will hadn’t tumbled, he straightened his path and soared down the hill. As soon as the slope leveled, he stopped at the imaginary finish line. Will shot by three seconds later.
Gage caught up to him. “I won.” He raised his poles above his head.
“Something must have possessed you.”
Sella. “Maybe.” He looked around for her. “You see her?”
The hair on his neck bristled. Christ. It was like in that show Highlander, where Duncan MacLeod always could tell when another immortal was around. He shivered.
“What’s wrong?”
He always was honest with his brother. “Got the willies.”
Will stiffened. “Me, too.”
“We need to find Sella.” He prayed nothing had happened to her. He possessed this sixth sense that seemed to know when something bad was going to occur.
Chapter Three
Malik and Cavon happened to come to the slope just as Gage and Will were skiing over to her. Dang. She wanted to see what her friends wanted, yet she also wanted to spend some private time with these two new hunks.
She waved to her newfound friends and looked back at Malik. “Maybe you guys should go.”
Malik’s lids narrowed. “Are you with them?” He sounded too much like her dad.
“Yes.”
“Where are they from?”
She didn’t like the way he kept scowling. He never scowled. “Stop it. They’re from Miami.”
“Florida?”
Oh, shit. She’d studied Florida, but didn’t remember Miami being part of the state. “Yes.” Damn. She’d announced she was from an alternate reality. Now they’d think she was crazy. Perhaps shifters existed out in the open there. “Did you know they had shifters there?” Please say yes.
Malik kept his gaze on the men as they approached. “No. I briefly tried to communicate with them, but neither responded.”
Crap. Gage and Will weren’t rude. They would have answered, but then again telepathy worked best when all parties involved were in lion form. Her new men reached them before she could question Malik further. She was beginning to suspect neither Gage nor Will knew they were shifters, though how was that possible?
“Hi. Nice run.”
They both smiled. “Thanks.” Gage nodded at her friends and sobered. “These guys bothering you?”
She laughed, but it was her way to diffuse the large amount of testosterone in the air. “No. They’re my friends from Anterra. We came together.” She wasn’t sure if she should move closer to Malik and Cavon, or Will and Gage.
Maybe she shouldn’t have told them they were friends, but eventually Gage and Will would find out what was going on. Gage grunted, then all shook hands like civilized humans.
“We’ll be taking off.” Malik glanced at the men again before returning his gaze to her. “Be careful.” He stomped off, and Cavon followed.
“Your two friends don’t ski?”
It probably did seem odd that they’d come here in boots, though most likely Gage was wondering why they’d come at all. “No. It’s temperate, if not plain hot, in Anterra all year long.”
“Then why did they come here if they didn’t want to ski?”
She wasn’t in the mood for so many questions. “To mingle with the locals.” Her curiosity got the best of her. Trying to figure out if they knew about their hidden talents was driving her crazy. Here goes. “We’re not from here. They’re curious shifters.” Please tell me you know you are, too.
“You mean drifters?”
Did she have an accent or something? “No. Shifters, as in they have the ability to change from a lion into a man and vice versa.” She shot her gaze from one to the other, trying to gauge their reaction. Lara had told her that humans wouldn’t believe her on word alone.
They both looked at each other and burst out laughing. Will dragged an arm around her shoulder and pulled her close. “You had us going, sugar.”
They needed to understand their heritage and the responsibility that came along with that. She had to take the chance that they would walk off and consider her a crackpot, but if they didn’t know they possessed an incredible talent, it was her Anterran duty to inform them. Taking it slow would be the best way to break them into this new idea. “Did you feel a connection with me when you first saw me?”
Will’s grin widened. “Sure as rain I did. You’re a beautiful woman, and we love beautiful women. There was an instant connection.”
That’s not what she meant. “Okay, try this. When you came near me when I was speaking with Malik and Cavon, did the hair on the back of your neck bristle?”
All cheer left their faces. They looked at each other as if they weren’t sure whether or not to answer truthfully.
“Why?” This came from Gage.
“That’s how you can tell when another shifter is around. Of course, you have to be part lion yourself to sense that.”
“Part lion? That’s good.” Will pulled her close and looked around. “Maybe we should go back to the hotel and discuss this. If what you say is true, I don’t want the world knowing.” He winked. “Why, hell. If what you’re implying is that we’re shifters, we just might be tempted to transform just to scare everyone.”
Her mouth opened. “You wouldn’t.”
He grinned. “Would if I knew how.”
Damn it. He was kidding with her. “I’m being serious.”
The glint in his eye disappeared and was replaced with something akin to fear. She couldn’t blame him for being scared. If he’d never heard of shifters, it could be quite frightening, she imagined.
Will cleared his throat. “Can you shift?”
“No.”
“Damn. That’s too bad. I was hoping we could both change into animals and do our animal thing together.”
She slapped his chest and laughed. “You’re kidding me again, right?” Why was she so bad at reading them? It must be the thin atmosphere on Earth.
Will stepped back and placed his right hand over his heart. “I swear. If you turn into a lion, I’ll do my damnedest to change, too. Then we’ll cuddle and see what happens.”
She glanced at Gage, who seemed lost in thought. Perhaps he knew what she was saying was the truth. She really needed them to believe her. “I bet you two are pretty strong. Stronger, in fact, than the average man.”
Will flexed his bicep for her. “Gage and I can take on anyone.”
>
“I’ll have to remember not to make you mad.” She forced cheer into her voice.
“Is that when we’re supposed to change into a lion? When we’re mad?”
She wished he wouldn’t make light of this, but she guessed if she’d been told she had a superpower, she’d try to laugh it off, too. “No. You’d change if I were in danger. At least I’d hope you’d change so that you could protect me.”
Now Gage smiled. “I don’t need to become a lion to protect you. That’s what Will and I do for a living.”
“You protect people?” They were like her brothers then. Thrills rippled up her spine.
“You bet.”
She needed to think about this. Getting them to see their true potential was going to be harder than she thought. Discussing this in the open wouldn’t be smart. “I need to be getting back. Walk with me, okay?”
“We’d never let you go alone,” Will said.
Both dropped off their skis at the rental hut before heading to the hotel. As much as she thought she’d dislike the cold weather, the air was a refreshing change from the always-present Anterran heat.
When they stepped inside the hotel, she removed her jacket. “Thanks for a wonderful day. I’ve got to change and get ready for my shift.”
“I thought you said you couldn’t transform into a lioness.”
She rolled her eyes, happy that for once she caught the joke. “You know what I meant.” Those two were going to be a handful.
To her surprise they followed her to the elevator. “I can see myself to my room.”
“We’re going to our room, too.”
She needed to watch what she said more closely. The door closed around her, and her skin prickled from the closeness. The elevator at Taryn’s house was open.
“You a little claustrophobic?”
She’d hoped they didn’t notice. Next time she wouldn’t wrap her hands around her body. “Somewhat.” At the second floor, she gladly stepped off. “Thanks again.”
The door closed, and she sighed. She’d had a wonderful time today. Both men had been considerate yet not condescending. Never once did they make fun of her lack of coordination. She could only hope they would be willing to sit down and discuss the idea of being shifters.
Stray Cats [High-Country Shifters 2] Page 3