Promise of Paradise

by Tianna Xander

  Still, Luc continued his measured thrusts. The muscles on his neck bulged as he drove into her repeatedly. Not for one moment did she believe that the muscle strain was from bearing her weight.

  No. It was from the powerful orgasm she could see brewing in his gorgeous blue eyes. Blue fire traveled over her skin, his gaze burning her everywhere it touched. Her skin felt hot, on fire as he continued thrusting deeper and deeper inside her, bringing her closer and closer to another devastating orgasm as he pounded into her welcoming flesh.

  Her body heated, growing hotter as the tingling moved up her legs to her spine. She flexed her legs, pulling him deeper inside her as she rode him harder than she had ever ridden a man before. Hard, velvet-covered steel slammed into her. The pleasure finally overtook her and she could no longer hold her climax back.

  They came together, each of them calling the other’s name as their orgasms washed through them, bringing the two together, as one.

  The last thing Nadya heard before she lost consciousness in Luc’s arms was the sound of breaking glass and Luc’s startled exclamation.

  “What the hell?”

  Chapter Sixteen

  Gabe walked down the quiet street toward the store. He’d been on his way back to the lodge and thought he saw a light flicker in the darkness just outside the door. Like the good business owner he was, he decided to investigate.

  The light disappeared and shadows darkened the storefront at the sound of breaking glass. He sniffed the air, taking in the scent of a stranger, along with that of a burnt light filament. Had someone broken the light outside the store? If so, why? It wasn’t as though they had anything that valuable inside yet.

  They had a few dry goods along with the full pickle barrel, but that was about it. The sound of fists hitting flesh and the low growl of a cat, Luc’s cat, to be exact, brought him up short.

  “What the hell is going on here?” He rushed forward, grabbed the stranger by the neck and pulled him off his best friend. It wasn’t as though he thought a human could harm Luc. In fact, it was just the opposite. He knew that Luc would never be able to live with himself if he killed a human. Gabe, on the other hand, didn’t really give a damn. If a person threatened him or his family, they deserved to die, as far as he was concerned.

  Still, Luc held him back, figuratively, if not literally.

  “Don’t harm him, Gabe. He’s human.”

  “So?” Gabe practically snarled the words. “You know how I feel about people who threaten my family.” He leaned close to the big man. “And make no mistake, asshole, you have threatened my family.”

  Gabe took a deep breath, scenting Nadya on his friend. He wanted to slap him on the back, congratulate him for being her first. He didn’t care that Luc had convinced her to make love with him. All that mattered was that she ultimately agreed to mate with them both. The minutiae didn’t matter.

  “I merely came looking for my employee.” The man had guts. Gabe would give him that. He’d actually did his best to snarl at him. Well…the best a human could snarl. Gabe suddenly had the urge to teach him a thing or two. Again, he held back. The last thing they needed was for an outsider to know their secrets—especially, a hotheaded outsider like the one standing before him.

  “What employee?” He narrowed his eyes at the man. Gabe knew the man couldn’t be talking about Nadya. She, like the others who traveled with the carnival, wasn’t his employee. They all worked for themselves. No wonder most of them didn’t like this ass.

  “Nadya Olexa. She’s supposed to be at the ticket booth right now.” The man stood straight, puffing out his chest as though that would intimidate him.

  “Nadya said she’d worked her last shift today.” Luc stepped forward. Animosity rolled off him in waves. “And searching for an errant employee doesn’t excuse vandalism.”

  “Vandalism?” The man’s eyes opened wide. “I’m sure she told you about me. I’m Perry Godfrey.” He held out his hand as though a handshake meant he was trustworthy. “And contrary to what she might have told you, she is my employee.”

  Those days when a handshake implied a man meant what he said, were dead and gone. Though, there once was a time when a man’s word or handshake were their bond, there were precious few with whom a handshake meant anything more than a greeting, these days.

  “None of that matters, anymore.” Luc stood in front of the door to the store, his hands resting on his hips. “She’s only showing up for her shifts as a favor to you. When your band leaves, she’s staying here.”

  “What?” Perry’s eyes narrowed. “I’d like to hear that from her, if you don’t mind.” He made to push past Luc and enter the store.

  Gabe grabbed the man’s shoulder. “While our store will be open to the public in the near future, I’m afraid it’s closed at the moment.”

  “I don’t give a damn,” Perry said with a glower. “I want to talk to Nadya, now!”

  “Too fucking bad, asshole.” Luc drew himself up, bracing himself in the doorway between Nadya and the man who he was certain would intimidate or blackmail her into staying with the troupe when they left. “She’s in our store and under our protection.” He grinned. “And don’t think we can’t protect our own. Besides, he added, no doubt just to piss the man off, “Nadya is the least of your worries. You have at least three people leaving your little group. Maybe you should sit back and ask yourself why.”

  Perry growled in that funny way humans do. “You’ll be sorry you tangled with me. That’s a promise.”

  “Okay, you incredible ass, I’ve had just about enough of you.” Gabe grabbed the man by the shirtfront, shoved him up against the outer wall of the store and did a partial shift.

  His teeth grew and he let his eyes change to that of his cat. Claws sprouted on his fingers, digging into the soft flesh of Perry’s neck and he smiled darkly. “This is what you’ll come up against if you ever try to intimidate Nadya or her friends, ever again.” He tilted his head, leaned closer and took a deep breath. “There’s no use in trying to hide your fear. I can smell it. You reek of it.”

  Turning, he pushed Perry away. The man stumbled backward several feet into the street. “Now, take yourself as far away from our woman as you can while you’re here. Believe me when I say that Luc and I will have no qualms in killing your sorry ass and dragging your carcass up the mountain for animal feed.”

  “What…what are you?”

  “What we are is none of your concern past the fact that we will be your worst nightmare if you ever mistreat any woman while you’re in our town. Now get the hell out of our faces.” Luc snarled the last bit.

  Perry turned and hurried down the road.

  “I don’t think that’s the last we’ve seen of him.” Luc sighed. “But at least he’ll leave our mate alone tonight.” He smiled. “She needs her sleep.”

  “Damn right she does, if you did your job.” Gabe shook his head as he followed Luc into the store. “Where is she?” He got the question out just before he saw her resting on the bar, her beautiful body on display, those succulent berry-tipped breasts rising and falling with every breath.

  Opening a box, he pulled out a blanket and covered her, before picking her up in his arms. Gabe looked down into her slack face, his heart aching with the knowledge that this one woman had the power to make or break him. “We should get her back to the lodge. She needs a good night’s rest and she’s not going to get it laying on a hardwood bar.”

  Chapter Seventeen

  Nadya stretched. Slowly coming awake, she frowned. When had she gotten back to the lodge and went to bed? Her face heated at her last memory. The last thing she could remember was the mind-blowing orgasm she had while Luc plunged into her in the throes of his own climax.

  She stared up at the top of the canopied four-poster bed, giving a little yelp when she felt a warm body next to her shift position.

  “I’m sorry, love. I didn’t mean to startle you.” It was Gabriel.

&nb
sp; “Where’s Luc?” Sitting up, she glanced around the room. They were alone. However, it didn’t escape her that she was in the middle of a huge bed with Gabe to her right and an empty spot to her left. She stared at the indentation in the pillow. “Did I—” Pushing her hair out of her face, she turned to Gabriel. “Did I really spend the night with you both?”

  Gabe rolled onto his side, rested his head on his hand and smiled. “Is that a bad thing?”

  “Yes.” She pressed her lips together. “It’s usually a bad thing, for normal people.” She shook her head. “I don’t believe it. I find two hot young studs and immediately become a slut.”

  “You can’t judge yourself by human standards, love.” Gabe reached up and tucked a lock of hair behind her ear.

  “Look, you,” she said with narrowed eyes. “This might come as a shock to you, but newsflash! I’m human.”

  “But you’re having a wholly animal reaction to your mates.” He pulled her into his arms. “This thing you feel is…bigger, more powerful than all of us. We call it the el calor, the mating heat. It’s not something any of us can control.”

  “The mating heat?” She bristled. “Are you saying that I’m in heat?” She sat up and turned to scowl at him. “Did you just call me a dog?”

  “No.” He chuckled with a shake of his head. “I most definitely didn’t call you a dog. This…thing you feel is something we shifters and our mates experience when we find each other. We think it’s nature’s way of making certain we procreate. Without the heat, we may not find our mates and, therefore, we might not perpetuate our species.”

  “Oh.” His explanation calmed her, but just a little. “What’s going on here? Luc said that you two would want me to stay with you. Why?”

  “I’ll try to explain.” He released her long enough to sit up and rest against the headboard, before drawing her back under his arm. “Shifters live a long, long time.” He took a deep breath then released it. “At one time, shifters were plentiful, but now—” He paused with a shrug. “Now, we don’t know. Most of us have gone into hiding, for one reason or another.”

  “What was your reason?” Nadya just couldn’t imagine Gabe or Luc hiding from anyone. They seemed so strong and sure of themselves.

  “A small army overran Paradise. They tortured and killed all of the men loyal to the old alpha and raped the females, regardless of their age.” He stiffened at her gasp. “I know what you’re thinking. You think we should have returned after we rescued those we could and got them to safety.”

  “What makes you think that?” She laced her fingers through his and squeezed. “How old were you?”

  “Old enough to know that if we had stayed, they would have killed us because we could never stand and watch them terrorize the innocent.”

  “So, you ran and hid and…what?”

  “We waited until the rightful alpha stepped forward. We helped train his army and we retook Paradise, but not until after many suffered the atrocities of Camulus and the tudra.”

  “What’s the tudra?”

  “Once, it was the faction that protected Paradise. Camulus and his men twisted the concept. They trained an army with no morals, men who wanted power and would do anything to get it.”

  “Then you and Luc only did what you had to, to survive?”

  “Yes. But that’s no excuse.”

  “Why not? Why was it okay for everyone else to do that, but you?” What this town had gone through was horrendous. Milla had already given her a history lesson, but it seemed as though Gabe needed to tell his story.

  She looked up at him, wondering just how young they’d been. Even if they were grown men, she still wouldn’t have expected the two of them to take on an entire army by themselves.

  Turning, she cupped his cheeks, gently covering his lips with hers. “If you’re expecting me to condemn you for doing what you had to do to stay alive, you’re going to be sadly disappointed.”

  Slowly, she climbed into his lap, pulled his head to hers and kissed him again. This time she didn’t stop at one small touch of the lips. She traced his lips with her tongue until he opened his mouth and finally took control.

  He wrapped his arms around her neck, palmed the back of her head and deepened their kiss. Threading her fingers through the silk of his hair, she gave as good as she got, smiling to herself when she felt the ridge of his erection pressing against her drenched pussy.

  Pulling away, she stared deep into his eyes. “I don’t know much about this mating thing, but I do know that I want you and Luc more than I have wanted any one man.” She leaned forward and rested her forehead against his. “Whether this thing between us all works out or not, I’m compelled to try.”

  “Thank the gods.” He pulled her close, slanting his lips over his.

  Her breasts pressed against his muscled chest, the short hairs rubbing against her sensitive nipples. Darts of pleasure shot from the hard tips straight to her womb. Heat pooled low in her middle as he reached between them, his talented fingers unerringly finding her clit.

  She jumped in his arms when he caressed the still-sensitive bud. “I need a shower,” she said, pulling away. “I can’t…we can’t…” The words trailed off as she looked away. How could she tell him that she didn’t want to come to him after her night with Luc, not without a shower, first.

  Taking her completely by surprise, Gabe threw his legs over the side of the bed and stood with her in his arms. The display of strength took her breath away. All her life she had dreamed of a man who could manage to carry her over the threshold after they got married. This man and his friend could each carry her up a flight of stairs!

  Gabe set her on the plush rug next to the shower, reached in, turned the water on and tested the heat. Stepping inside, he turned and took her hand. “I want to worship you here.”

  Her cheeks burned at his words. “Worship me?” Her voice came out little more than a squeak.

  “Yes.” He smiled, grasped her hand and drew her under the warm spray. “Worship you.” He wrapped his arms around her, pulled her close and covered her lips with his. Gabe’s tongue delved deep, tracing the contours of her mouth.

  Cream slid down her thighs as his hands moved over her body, caressing her everywhere. Somewhere, he found soap and coated her body with it. He spent a long time washing her breasts, his fingers pulling and twisting her nipples before rinsing her off.

  To her embarrassment, he swiped between her legs with a soapy washcloth while he leaned down, and alternately sucked and lightly bit her nipples. He washed her everywhere she would have washed herself, following each swipe of the washcloth with a rinse and a kiss. His lips worshipped her body just as surely as his hands.

  When Nadya was sure she couldn’t take anymore, he surprised her yet again. Pressing her against the shower wall, he lifted her, lowering her onto his massive shaft and took her body with one long stroke.

  “Wrap your legs around me, love,” he said against her lips, just before he took her mouth with another passionate kiss.

  Nadya did as he asked. She wrapped her legs around him and drew him deeper within her, reveling in each deep stroke as he brought them both closer and closer to their climax.

  After she came, he stopped, rested his forehead against hers and asked, “Have you ever had a man in your ass, love?”

  She’d expected that question. After all, a woman couldn’t think about basically marrying two men and not think about something like that.

  “Yes.” Her cheeks burned and she looked at her feet. How did a woman tell a man she enjoyed something like that so much that she kept toys to give her that same sensation when she couldn’t get the real thing?

  “Did you like it?”

  “God, you had to ask that, didn’t you?” She gave him a sheepish smile. “Yes. I liked it.” She wrapped her arms around his neck, drawing him down for another heated kiss. “In fact,” she added after they both came up for air. “I liked it so much, I can’
t wait for you to do it, right now.”

  “Neither can I, little one.” He grinned as he reached around her and turned off the water. “Neither can I.”

  After gently drying her with one of the plush towels, he led her back into the bedroom and set her on the bed.

  Reaching down, he opened the drawer in the nightstand and pulled out a tube of lube.

  She raised a brow. “My, you were confident, weren’t you?”

  “Actually, every room has this in the nightstand.” He grinned. “We are in Paradise, after all. Many of us have mated in this lodge, it makes it easier if the things are here since we never know when we’re going to meet our mate or when she’ll accept us.”

  That made sense, she supposed. “What now?”

  Gabe grinned. “Now, we do what comes naturally.”

  “Somehow, I thought you’d say something like that.” Crawling onto the bed, she got on her hands and knees. Ass in the air, she tucked her legs under her and rested her head on her arms. “I’m ready when you are.”

  She didn’t know what had come over her or what had made her so brazen. If it was the mating heat he’d talked about, she could only thank mother nature for taking the decision out of her hands. She wanted this man and his friend, and she never would have had the courage to admit it, otherwise.

  Nadya closed her eyes when she felt the cool oil run between her cheeks. Using his fingers, he worked the oil in one finger at a time until he had three of his large fingers inside her, stretching her.

  She expected pain. It had been a few years since she had a real man there and she was certain that Gabe was a lot larger than her toys.

  He pressed a kiss to the small of her back just before he pulled his fingers from inside her. “Are you ready, love?”

  “Yes.” She nodded. “I can’t wait.” She couldn’t, either. He should have been able to tell that the way she squirmed while he had his fingers inside her.