What was it with the people here? So far, everyone she’d met in the town had teeth as white and straight as a dream home’s picket fence. Didn’t shape shifters need dentists?
That would be awesome. Alexa, self consciously, ran her tongue over her teeth. She would have to see a dentist again, soon. It had been two years since her last cleaning. She couldn’t afford the time off, nor the expense on a regular basis and insurance was too expensive for a carnival worker.
Just as tall and sexy as Wade, the man was a living, breathing advertisement for sex. His tight t-shirt stretched over his broad shoulders, and tapered down to his well-defined pectoral muscles, and rock-hard abs.
Unable to stop herself, Alexa counted eight bumps hidden beneath his shirt. He wore a blue, button down over the t-shirt. It hung open as though he’d dressed in a hurry and hadn’t bothered to close it, though he’d taken the time to roll the sleeves up, exposing muscled forearms lightly dusted with dark hair.
“Why are you sitting here all alone? You should be out having a good time for once. You’ll only have a few more days with your friends before they leave.”
That much was true, but her best friends were staying her in Paradise. At least she hoped they were.
“She’s had a shock,” Milla answered for her. She held out her hand. “Pleased to meet you.”
Alexa watched as the man settled his hand over Millas, then bent over as though to kiss it. He didn’t, though, much to Alexa’s relief. She didn’t know what the matter with her was, but the moment he extended her hand toward Milla, she’d had the urge to snarl at her friend. Where did that come from?
Milla read the man. Alexa could tell by the look on her face. Whatever it was that the other woman read in the man, she obviously liked it.
“I’m very pleased to meet you, as well, Milla.”
“Oh,” Milla said with a grin. “You’ve already heard about me then?”
“Yes, ma’am.” Ryker pushed his cowboy hat back on his head, rested his hands on his hips, and grinned as though someone just handed him a blank check and told him to go shopping. “I’ve heard a lot about you, ma’am. And, if I can be so bold to tell you, I think it’s wonderful that you know your own mind and can accept our…differences so quickly.” He shot a quick glance Alexa’s way. “If only we all could be so lucky.”
What in the world were the two of them talking about?
“Thank you.” Milla blushed then turned their conversation back to Alexa. It was about damned time, too. “Alexa just saw a man and his little boy shift. It, understandably, shook her up. I told her she should sit here for a minute to calm down.”
Alexa’s heart pounded as she stared up at the man. She tried to remember the last time she had seen so many handsome men in one place. She couldn’t. In fact, she wasn’t sure they had ever been in a town like this one, where the men grew so tall and good-looking.
“I can stay with her,” Ryker said as he sat down next to her. The heat of his thigh seeped through his jeans, radiating against her leg.
“Great!” Milla smiled. “Then I can get back to work, now that you’re here.”
“You do realize that the two of you are talking as though I’m not even here, right?” Alexa shook her head. She might have just gotten the fright of her life, but she was still an adult.
Chapter Ten
A man and his son shifted…here? Wade stood behind Ryker and Alexa and glanced around. There weren’t many humans here from Mason, but there were humans here who knew nothing of their shifter side. It would be a tragedy if humans found out about them.
Wade moved around to face them. “What do you mean it was a little boy?” He glanced around, trying to figure out which man it was who shifted. The boy must at least be nearing his teens. He didn’t see anyone here who fit that description. In fact, he didn’t know if there were any teenagers in Paradise. Even the Gibson boys had finally grown up. All of them were on their way to college this year.
So few mates for their people meant even fewer offspring, and to the best of his knowledge, even the corrupt council and their scientists hadn’t been able to fix that. It wasn’t until Adam found the hidden archives that any of them held out much hope. However, it didn’t stop them from doing what was right.
Alexa looked straight ahead. “It was that man over there. The blond one who won’t quit staring at me.” She dipped her head in Adam Greer’s direction. He stood holding one of his sons on his shoulders. Nick stood on the other side of the crowd. He, too, held a boy on his shoulders and stared at Alexa, his expression unreadable.
“Impossible. Toddlers can’t shift. We can’t shift until we’re adolescents.” He moved to sit next to her.
“You’re saying it’s impossible for a little boy to shift his shape because he’s too young.” Alexa laughed and ran a trembling hand through her hair. “And I say it’s impossible for people to shift into animals at all.” She shook her head. “At least it should be.”
“Why, Alexa?” Ryker took rested his hand on her jean-covered thigh while Wade did the same on her other side.
“Why should it be impossible?” Wade asked. “You don’t think it strange that Milla can read minds or—“ He stopped to point at Natalie. “That she can swallow a claymore that’s big enough to cut a normal person’s throat wide open.” He gestured to Nadya. “I’ve been told that she magically knows a person’s weight and that the man who runs the funhouse knows just which part of his attraction will amuse me the most. If you can believe they exist, why can’t you believe in us?”
“I-I don’t know. It’s not that I don’t want to believe.” She lifted her hands and scrubbed at her face. “Don’t you think that I want to love the fact that you people—“ she gave a little hiccupping sob. “That you people are so perfect? You respect women and protect your children and you have this perfect little town, but it’s all a fantasy. It has to be. Nothing is this perfect.” She turned her tortured gaze his way. “No one is this perfect.”
“Do you think we didn’t have to work at it?” Wade shook his head. “Do you think that it didn’t cost us dearly?” He looked at her and waited until she met his gaze. “We lost friends and family in the fight for Paradise. We fought for what is good, we fought for what was right—what we believed was the right thing for our people—and, make no mistake, Alexa, we are people just as surely as you are.”
He shrugged and gave her a lopsided grin. “We might not be the best people in the world, but we sure as hell try and we never, ever, mistreat anyone who is weaker than we are.”
“Why do you even care what I think? You have your perfect town.” She sniffed. “You probably have a perfect home and a perfect life. “Why do either of you even care about what I think or how I feel?”
This was it. This was the opening they needed to tell her what she was to them. She was their mate. Wade wanted nothing more than to take her in his arms and tell her what she was to them. The question was, should he? Was it the right time? Was she ready to hear it?
“Tell her, Wade.”
“Alpha.” Wade stood and shook the man’s hand. Ryker stood and did the same.
Adam stared at him for a moment before saying, “Tell her what she is to you and what that means. In the mean time, I’m going to give my sons a day they’ll never forget. “I’ll expect to see you in my office tomorrow. If I don’t, I’ll assume that she’s decided she can’t accept our way of life here.” Turning, he strode away, his son giggling on his shoulders.
For a man who had just seen his toddler son shift his shape ten or so years too early, the man sure didn’t look shaken. That’s why he’s our alpha. Nothing surprises him much, Ryker said through their mind link.
Whatever happened before he showed up, Wade was certain the alpha thought Alexa had something to do with it. He could tell by the way Adam looked at her. But what could she have done?
“What are you supposed to tell me?” Not waiting for an answer, Alexa stood
up and started moving through the crowd. She obviously expected them to follow her. They did. They didn’t have much choice—at least Wade didn’t. Until she outright rejected him, his cat would follow this woman to the ends of the Earth.
“It would be easier to tell you in private.”
“Ha! I’m not sure I want to go to some place private with you.” She threw a glance over her shoulder, her eyebrow raised. I have a lot of private things I want to keep that way and the way you and your friend keep looking at me, I fear for my private parts.”
Chapter Eleven
Alexa stopped and turned to stare at the men who followed her through the crowd as though they were a couple of lost puppies. They both stared at her with the same intensity as she’d seen in the expression of circus lions.
They stared at her as though they were hunters and she their prey. It was rather disconcerting. It was also a turn on. She didn’t remember ever having such undivided attention from one man, not to mention two. It was an aphrodisiac.
“As you should, my lady,” Ryker said bowing slightly, his expression intense.
Wade looked at her, his unblinking stare making her tremble, but not with fear. It gave her some strange sense of anticipation. Alexa wasn’t sure why. It wasn’t as though he, or his partner could really be attracted to her.
They were most likely just trying to make her feel good. After all, wasn’t that what Milla said the men in Paradise did? They treated all women kindly, making them feel special, for some reason. Alexa was sure that these two men only meant to make her feel better about herself. It would most likely mortify them to know it turned her on. She’d be forty-five in three days and those two looked as though they were the type of men who went for young, hard-bodied co-eds, not frumpy forty-something women like her.
“What was that other man talking about? What does he want you two to tell me?”
Neither of them answered. They each held out a hand, obviously expecting her to trust them and go to some undisclosed private place with them.
If Alexa were to be truthful with herself, and she usually was, she would admit that she was way more afraid that she would make a move on them. The thought that these two gorgeous guys would find her irresistible enough to ravish her was laughable. Still…a girl could dream, couldn’t she?
With a sigh, Alexa reached up and took their hands. Their eyes widened and their mouths fell open just before their faces changed from human into that of two large leopards. An odd popping and crackling sound came just before they hunched over, their bodies changing shape until two huge leopards stood in front of her.
Alexa might have ran, she might have screamed and drew the attention of everyone at the faire if it weren’t for the fact that the two cats stared at her through Wade’s and Ryker’s eyes.
A woman screamed behind her. “Look! There are leopards loose! Someone get a gun and shoot them before they eat someone!”
Turning, Alexa shot the woman a glare. “No one is shooting anyone.” She spared the two cats a glance. Goodness! I sure hope I’m doing the right thing. “These cats are mine and they’re just as tame as the average house cat.”
Looking down, she slowly reached out, hoping that she was right and she wouldn’t pull back a nub. Patting them each on the top of the head, she smiled. “Come on, boys. Let’s get you home,” she said as she started walking.
Thankfully, the two big cats obediently fell in beside her, one on each side, heeling as though they had been doing so for years.
People stared as they walked down the fairway. The two big cats flanked her, gently bumping her thighs as they walked so close she was certain that they did it just to touch her, though she wasn’t sure why.
Alexa found that she could tell those who lived in Paradise from those who did not. The residents of the town merely watched, curious as they strode past. Visitors grabbed their children, hugging them tight, some even ran at the sight of them.
Those who ran merely made Alexa shake her head. If the two animals walking by her side really were wild animals, they would have chased them down and mauled them for running. ”Stupid people,” she muttered under her breath. “Don’t they know that cats love chasing their prey?” Even housecats loved it.
She kept walking until they reached her trailer. Opening the door, she waited for the two cats to climb inside before taking a deep, calming breath and entering behind them.
“Okay. We’re some place private. What the hell is going on here?” Alexa asked. She felt silly talking to two cats, but she just knew these two were Wade and Ryker. They had to be. She stared at them, waiting for them to shift back into their human form. “Well?”
The air shimmered around them as they again shifted their shape. Their bones elongating as their legs grew, their faces changing into that of a human again and their bodies seemed to absorb the spotted fur that covered the large leopards.
The two men stood before her, gloriously naked. Their muscular, human, bodies made her trailer seem tiny in comparison. Her cheeks burned as she looked her fill. They certainly weren’t lacking in anything. She noticed that much, at least. Her eyes widened when, magically, clothes appeared on their naked bodies, covering their toned, golden flesh.
“You know, after scaring the crap out of me, the least you could have done was stay naked a little while longer.”
The two men grinned. It was Wade who spoke first.
“We didn’t want to distract you any more than we already have.”
Alexa waved her hand. “Feel free to distract me as much as you like.” She smiled and winked. “I like it.”
She crossed her arms. “Are you going to tell me why you suddenly changed into wild animals out there?”
The two men glanced at each other and then turned to her with a shrug. “We have no idea.” Ryker moved to sit down. “All we know is that we’ve both had our first uncontrolled shift since we were teenagers.”
“At least that wasn’t too long ago so you knew what was happening.” Alexa sat at the table. She had to keep her distance from these guys. Not only was she not their type, they were too young for her. How old were they, anyway, twenty-two?
“Did you hear that?” Wade said with a laugh. “She thinks our teens weren’t that long ago.” He leaned moved to sit next to her at the table. “Darlin’, we’re a lot older than we look. Most shifters are.” He crossed his arms and sat back.
“He’s right, Alexa. We are much older than you think.”
“I think you’re twenty-five, thirty at the oldest.” She narrowed her eyes as they both laughed.
“Honey,” Ryker said as he stood and moved to stand over her, I’m old enough to be your grandfather, and Wade’s a mite older than me.”
Alexa stared up at him and swallowed. She couldn’t miss the bulge in the front of his jeans and the damned thing kept getting bigger as he stood there in front of her.
“Stop it, you two. You don’t have to lie to me. I get it, you have a thing for older women and you want some sort of fling. I’m not saying it doesn’t appeal to me.” She slowly looked them over. “You’re both very nicely put together. However, I’m not into the whole cougar business. While I might think younger men are attractive, I would feel like a dirty old woman if I ever slept with one.”
“But we aren’t younger.” Ryker, walked around to sit at the other side of the table, careful not to touch her. “I was born in nineteen twenty and Wade was born in eighteen sixty-seven. As I said, we are a lot older than we look.”
“Okay,” Alexa said as she held up her hand. “Let’s say that for the sake of argument, I believe you. What has that got to do with me and what did that other man want you to tell me?”
“You’re our mate.”
“What?” She couldn’t have heard that right. The man had said that she was their mate. Not his mate, not Wade’s mate. Ryker had clearly said that she was their mate, as in belonging to both of them. “I know I didn’t hear you right.”
“Yes, sweetheart, you did,” Wade said. “Ryker said that you are our mate. Here in Paradise, we have what some would call poly amorous relationships. We love more than one person.” He grinned. “At least most of the women do.”
“What-what…” Alexa cast her gaze around the inside of her trailer. She couldn’t bring herself to look at either of them. Her face burned with mortification. It was one thing to think about doing something like that. It was something else to actually do it. Did they expect her to do that?
Her breath hitched as she thought about what they implied. Was that why Milla was with two men earlier? Was that why two men kept staring at Nadya with such longing?
She looked at Ryker and Wade in turn. Did they expect her to sleep with them both? She swallowed thickly when she realized that the idea appealed to her more than it should. She was almost forty-five for crying out loud. She was too old to change her ways, now.
Chapter Twelve
Ryker watched the emotions chase across Alexa’s face. The last one looked a lot like regret. Why? Did she still think she was too old for them? The idea was laughable, considering their advanced years.
“Look, Alexa, we don’t age like humans. We’re older than we look and when we mate, our blood exchange will make you like us. You’ll slowly take on the appearance of a shifter of your age.” He pushed his fingers through his hair. “Hell, as Leoparo we’re still going through a kind of puberty at fifty.”
“Puberty at fifty!” She stared up at him with wide eyes. “I barely survived human puberty. I don’t think I can handle the shifter variety.” She laughed and shook her head. “Am I going mad? I know this isn’t a dream, as much as I might wish it were. I’m wide awake. I know I am. How can this be happening?”
“As you have seen, our people are different, Alexa.” Ryker wracked his brain for something else to say—something that would convince her to stay here in Paradise with them. Should we tell her she’s our mate? He asked Wade through their mind link. Or do you think it’s too soon? They might not have a choice.
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