Claimed by Her Panthers

by Hazel Gower

  “Oh God. Please,” Angelica begged.

  “Please what?” Stephan asked with a growl, though he thought he knew.

  “More, faster.”

  Doing as she commanded he quickened his thrusts as Angelica arched her back and cried out her release, the tight channel of her pussy milking his cock. Owen grabbed her sides, pounding hard as he, too, shouted out his release. Completely sated, he felt Owen fall to the bed as Angelica draped her worn body over him.

  “Morning,” she said, her voice husky with sleep.

  Stephan chuckled, kissing her forehead. “Morning, cupcake.”

  “Now that’s how you wake up in the morning,” Owen announced, a big shit-eating grin on the man’s face.

  Joining the laughter, Stephan couldn’t agree more. He could seriously get used to this.

  An hour later Stephan found himself showered and at the stove cooking up a storm. Pancakes were done, and all that was left was the bacon. A soft noise off to his right showed Angelica walking into the kitchen, and he felt his mouth drop. Fine didn’t even begin to cover how gorgeous she was.

  Angelica was dressed in a thin, pale blue summer dress and barefoot, and Stephan didn’t hesitate to grab her the moment she was within reaching distance. He swooped in and claimed her lips, tilting her back over his arm. He kissed her with a wildness and hunger he hadn’t known he was capable of. His tongue slid along and then swirled around hers. He nipped her lips and opened her mouth wide to push his tongue back into her mouth. Angelica moaned, clutching him, fists tightening in his t-shirt. The low ache of his cock, which seemed to always simmer when Angelica was around, burned so hot and bright he wondered why he wasn’t bursting into flames.

  He swallowed her gasp when he slid a hand down and under the hem, lifting the dress to settle it on her stomach just above the waistband of her panties. He began to move, caressing over her skin and moving lower and dipping under the lacy material.

  Angelica broke the kiss with a chuckle. “Again?”

  Stephan stared deeply into her eyes as he moved his hand to cup her heat. “Yeah, you feel good, cupcake. So wet. Can’t get enough.”

  Stephan looked over at Owen, who had just entered the room and edged in closer behind her.

  “Let me kiss our girl.” Owen didn’t wait for a reply. He leaned forward, clasped her hips, and lifted onto the counter.

  Angelica met Owen’s gaze, a sly grin on her face. “You guys are insatiable. Something I can do for you, Owen?”

  “Oh, there is plenty you can do,” was all Owen said before his mouth was on hers.

  Owen’s hands followed the same route Stephan had taken, and he could tell that Angelica was aching as badly as they were. Insatiable had taken on a whole new meaning for them.

  “Owen,” she pleaded. “Please.”

  “God,” Owen groaned. “So wet, your panties are soaked already.”

  “Yes,” she gasped.

  A knock at the door cut through Stephan’s distraction. “Shit. I’ll get it.”

  Throwing Owen the spatula, he palmed his hardened cock as he exited the kitchen and went to answer the door. Bad fucking timing didn’t begin to cover it. Whoever it was had better hope it was a damn emergency.

  When he opened it, he found Draken standing on their doorstep. His anger melted away as he stood stunned. “How? You’re … but you’re a Vampire?”

  The man smirked. “I’m also a very old one, so early morning sun and twilight don’t affect me so much. Now if it were the middle of the day, things might get dicey. But regardless, do you think you could let me in?”

  “What the fuck do you want?” Stephan demanded to know.

  Draken sighed. “As much as I detest having to do this, it seems I may need your assistance where my mate is concerned.”

  “Did he just ask us for help?” Owen asked incredulously as he joined them.

  “I think he did.”

  Draken growled. “Is it possible for the two of you to not be smartarses?”

  Stephan narrowed his eyes on the man. “You tried to take our mate, misunderstanding or not.”

  “I truly believed she was my mate. So imagine how I felt.”

  Stephan begrudgingly admitted, at least to himself, that heads would have rolled had he been in Draken’s shoes. Still didn’t change how he felt though.

  “Listen, it’s been a week since I have spoken to her. Not for lack of trying, but for a human, she is remarkably good at avoiding me.”

  “We’ll help you, but then you owe us,” Stephan said begrudgingly, ushering the Vampire inside. “This isn’t going to be easy … for anyone.”

  “Fine with me,” Draken agreed, stepping over the threshold and into their home.

  Stephan closed the door and made to follow their new guest, only to be stopped by a hand on his arm.

  “You can’t be seriously thinking of helping this douche, are you?” Owen stared at him as though he had lost his mind.

  “Shut up,” he hissed. “Think about it. We convince Jenika to give the whole mating thing a go with him, and then what do you think would happen?”

  Owen cocked his head. “You think Draken will leave and take Jenika with him?”

  “Seriously, it’s like a two for one deal.”

  Owen chuckled. “That’s assuming they don’t just decide to stay here.”

  He narrowed his eyes on his best friend. “Dude, don’t ruin my happy moment. It’s a chance I’m willing to take.”

  They walked into the kitchen to find Angelica sitting there, coffee in hand while she stared at Draken. The Vampire seemed to be trying desperately not to make eye contact with their mate, which Stephan thought was an extremely wise move. He’d think even more of Draken if he couldn’t scent the awkwardness and nervousness coming off of him. Damn leech wasn’t showing respect. Their quiet, little mate was staring the vamp down … and winning.

  God, he loved her.

  “Sooo, we have a guest,” Angelica asked innocently.

  “Someone needs some help wooing your friend.”

  “So he came to the both of you,” she scoffed, leaning forward to rest her elbows on the counter and her chin in her hands. “Oh, this ought to be good.”

  “Your mate’s lack of confidence in your skills is a tad concerning,” Draken muttered from where he stood.

  Stephan opened his mouth to snap something at him when the doorbell rang. “Crap. Seriously? So much for a quiet morning. I’ll get that.”

  Walking back out into the hall, he paused a moment, grinning when he scented who was behind the door. Pulling it opened, he greeted their new guest with a welcoming, if somewhat cheesy, smile. “Jenika, how lovely to see you. Come on in.”

  For her part, Jenika glared at him, as if attempting to work out what he was up to. Clever woman.

  ****

  Owen watched Angelica as Jenika came into the kitchen behind Stephan. Jenika’s eyes widened as they fell on Draken. “What the fuck is he doing here?”

  “Hello to you, too, my mate.”

  “Whoa, buddy. I’m not your anything. I’ve told you this several times now. Do you need to me to speak louder? Maybe come over and turn your hearing aid up?”

  Jenika may be an annoying pain in the arse, but she was amusing as hell to watch with the Vampire. Draken glowed at his mate and raised an eyebrow. “Are you always this rude? How on earth do you still have friends if you speak like this?”

  Owen chucked at the outraged look on Jenika’s face at the giggling coming from Angelica. “Yeah, she grows on you,” he said winking at Angelica. “Kinda like a fungus.”

  “Ha, ha, I didn’t know you’d become a comedian,” Jenika grumbled. “Look, I didn’t come here to listen to your attempts at jokes. I came to speak to my best friend.” Jenika gave pleading eyes to Angelica.

  Angelica got up and walked to Jenika stopping to kiss both him and Stephan on the cheek. “Be good, and no listening.” He nodded, and she smiled at him.

  When the girls left D
raken sat at the kitchen table. “You see what I have to deal with. She won’t even acknowledge she’s my mate.”

  He came and sat at the table, and Stephan sat next to him. “I know why she wouldn’t want a leech as a mate. But I think what you just saw is what Jenika is always like. Well, I’ve never seen her act any different.”

  “Yeah, I think she’s being tame from what I know of her,” Stephan said as he eyed the Vampire. “Now I think about it I don’t like your mate talking to ours alone in the mood she’d in. Jenika is already a bad influence.”

  Before the words were even finished Owen stood and stalked to his mate, only to be stopped by Draken. “What do you mean bad influence, and you said you’d help?”

  Owen eyed the Vampire’s hold on his arms and raised his eyebrow. Draken took the hint and let go. “Yes, the kind of bad influence who takes our mate to biker bars and out clubbing to get laid. Oh, and we will help you get your mate. We will just need Angelica’s help.”

  The Vampire studied him for a moment before he sighed. “I really don’t have a choice anyway. She avoids me like the plague right now. Surely it couldn’t get worse.”

  Owen turned back toward where his mate was and grinned. He felt sorry for the leech. Things could always get worse especially when Jenika was involved.

  He strolled into the lounge room where the two women sat on the sofa smiling. “What has you smiling so wide?” he asked her.

  Angelica gave him a smile that melted his heart. “Jenika and I have been talking.”

  Owen shared a look with Stephan. Great. He already didn’t like the sound of this. “And?”

  “We’ve decided that we need a holiday.”

  Owen sighed in relief. “That actually sounds like a great idea, sweetheart. Stephan and I can take some time off. We can go somewhere romantic, just the three of us.”

  “Yeah, cupcake. It shouldn’t be too hard to organize the time,” his friend agreed.

  “Umm.” Angelica hesitated, her eyes moving from him to Stephen and then back again. “I meant Jenika and I. You know, like a girls’ week away.”

  Owen frowned. “Is there a reason you want to get away from us?”

  “No, no of course not,” she reassured them. “Everything has just happened so fast, and now Jenika is having to deal with all that Draken stuff. We need some girl time, best friend time.”

  He didn’t like the idea of Angelica going anywhere without one of them, but he understood where she was coming from. Stephan was his best mate, and sometimes the most relaxing times he’d had were just the two of them chilling.

  “Where exactly would this girls’ week holiday be?”

  “The Gold Coast. We’ve found a great hotel that has an awesome deal at the moment.”

  Stephan’s gut clenched. “Gold Coast?”

  “Yep. Where the party never stops,” Jenika all but squealed in excitement as she piped in for the first time since they walked in. “Hell, all the tourist places state, this place is so awesome, half the people who go there never go home. I mean, seriously, how cool must a place like that be.”

  Owen paled. Those people never went home because they usually ended up dead. Oh hell no. His mate wasn’t going anywhere near that Demon-infested place.

  “I really don’t think it’s a good idea, sweetheart,” he hedged. “Maybe you could check out Nelson Bay or something. Great shopping, plenty of holiday spots…”

  Angelica frowned. “And all that stuff is on the Gold Coast, too.”

  It was obvious that Angelica wasn’t grasping the depth of trouble she could get into. While they had told her their reasons for wanting to keep her away from other paranormals and the Gold Coast Schoolies event, they had done so much to shield her from how dark the truth was that she still took chances. How were they supposed to keep her safe, while making sure their mate didn’t end up with information overload and freak out? The last thing either of them wanted was for Angelica to feel scared. But had they sheltered her too much, though?

  “Oh, there is sooo much more than that on the Gold Coast.” Jenika waggled her brows.

  He and Stephan growled at the woman’s suggestion. She had a damn mate herself. Jenika may be running from Draken at the moment, but the Vampire was her mate, and he would catch her eventually.

  Thinking of Draken, Owen peered over to see the man’s fangs had dropped, a snarl tilting his lips. Yep, the dude was as pissed as they were.

  “You are not going to that place,” Draken demanded.

  The irritating woman cocked her hip, folding her arms in defiance. “Oh really? And are you going to be the one who stops me, fang-boy?”

  “If I have to.” The challenging gleam in Draken’s eye warned Owen that things were about to escalate.

  The bantering between the pair did nothing but intensify Owen and Stephan’s feelings, each of them losing their cool and shouting, “We forbid it.”

  “You seriously did not just say that.” Jenika gaped at them before her eyes narrowed in on Draken. “And you, where the hell do you get off even having an opinion?”

  “Christ. Perhaps I should have lowered my expectations for this evening,” Draken muttered.

  “Excuse me? You go on and on about how we are mates, fated to be together, perfect for each other. And then you have the nerve to say I don’t meet expectations?”

  Draken floundered for a minute. “N-no. That wasn’t wha—”

  “Well, I guess we can’t be mates if I don’t even meet expectations.” Venom dripped from her voice. “Fuck you, fang-boy.”

  “I think, maybe we need to take a time out,” Angelica announced. “Jenika and I were going to get some shopping done today anyway.”

  “Sweetheart?” Owen asked, not liking how distant she suddenly sounded.

  “It’s just shopping, Owen,” she muttered as she followed her friend out.

  The sound of the door slamming behind the women made them all cringe.

  “Well, that could have gone better,” Stephan drawled.

  “Yeah, thanks for that, captain obvious.”

  “What? Don’t blame me,” Stephan said before pointing to Draken. “He’s the dickhead who mentioned Jenika not meeting expectations.”

  “That is not what I said at all. Christ, would people stop putting words in my mouth?”

  “How about you just stop words from coming out of it altogether,” Owen snapped, in no mood to banter with either of them.

  He hated the way Angelica had looked at them before she left. Something was off, and without her being here, he couldn’t fix it. All he could do was wait for her to get home and try to make things better.

  Damn, the day had started out so well.

  ****

  When Angelica came home, it was to find both her mates waiting for her. Neither of them were paying attention to the television, both sets of eyes trained on her as if they were afraid that she would be gone if they blinked.

  “Angelica?”

  Her name, hesitantly spoken, proved how unsure her men felt. Well, join the club!

  “Have you had dinner?” she asked, ignoring the elephant in the room.

  “Yeah, sort of,” Owen said. “We got your text about having dinner with Jenika.”

  She nodded, not sure what else to say. This tension between them was new. Even in the beginning things hadn’t felt like this.

  Stephan seemed to break first, launching from his seat on the lounge. “Can we just say we are sorry for how we handled things earlier? We didn’t mean to hurt you. We were just worried. We’re only newly mated, and we need you to just give us a little time to not freak out.”

  Angelica stared dumbfounded at them. Were they serious? While she appreciated the apology, the fact that they needed more time not to freak out was almost laughable. She had needed more time, too, yet where was hers? Maybe Jenika had been right. The entire day her best friend had insisted she needed some space from Stephan and Owen. Jenika had said she had noticed a change in her, had seen Angelica
give in to the pair where under normal circumstances she would have fought them.

  She knew Jenika wasn’t trying to come between her and her panther mates, just concerned. When she had called Jenika on it, the other woman had begrudgingly said she was happy that Angelica had someone, two someones, in her life to keep her safe and loved. Jenika just didn’t want to see her smothered at the same time. She hadn’t said to leave them, merely suggested they get away, experience some space. Angelica hadn’t been sure about leaving them, was worried about what that would do to Stephan and Owen. Now though … she wasn’t sure Jenika didn’t have a point.

  “I think I have done well, you know? Accepted a lot.” She paced as she continued to speak. “I mean, my job could quite literally be on the line. Sure they haven’t said anything, no one has called me in to discuss any complaints from parents on my personal life … but seriously, how long do you think it will be? The parents will have something to say, and then what? I may be out of a job. I need a break, just to breathe.”

  “I think you’ll find you won’t have a problem with your job, sweetheart,” Owen said hesitantly.

  Angelica’s jaw dropped. “Really? You think those mothers aren’t plotting?”

  Stephan shrugged. Actually shrugged! “I think it won’t matter.”

  “Why wouldn’t it matter?” She eyed them, not liking the look they shared. If guilty needed a physical representation, her two mates would have been poster boys for it. When neither of them said anything, she grew more frustrated. “I asked why?”

  “Um, well, you know that we have known you were our mate for a while,” Owen said reluctantly. “And even before that, before we knew, we were extremely protective of you…”

  “And?”

  Stephan stepped in where his friend obviously couldn’t finish. “There may have been some external assistance in getting you your position at the school.”

  “External assistance? What does that even mean?” She held up a hand to stop them from answering when the answer slammed into her like a sledgehammer. “You got me the job?”

  She hadn’t needed to actually ask. It was written on their faces.