Three Shifters for Sarah (Siren Publishing Ménage Amour)

by Dani April

  “Are you going to tell me why you freaked out and abandoned us like that last week?” TJ finally got up the courage to ask her a question he didn’t think they had fully touched on yet.

  Sarah sighed and for a second he knew her thoughts were back at the Circle T and that eventful night. “I want you to know I had a great time on your ranch,” she told him and flipped some errant hair out of her face as she smiled. “For me the Circle T was like a dream come true.”

  “Then why did you get scared? Why couldn’t you have come and talked to us?”

  “I thought I was losing my mind when I saw you all shift. That night is still kind of like a blur to me.”

  “I thought we were all having a pretty good time by the campfire.”

  “Yes, we were,” Sarah admitted. “I was…” She floundered for a moment. “Well, Ryan and I were waiting for you and Lance to come back with the horses.”

  TJ could see she was reluctant to talk about having sex with Ryan and maybe a little embarrassed. He didn’t get that because as a shifter he was very open about sex and considered it just another part of life. Uptight humans in the big city and their many hang-ups were something he just didn’t understand.

  “That was after you made love with Ryan,” he coaxed her.

  She turned as red in the face as the shrimp sauce the waiter had just placed on their table. Instantly TJ regretted his choice of words.

  “That bastard!” Sarah exploded. “He told you all we had sex?”

  TJ just shrugged helplessly. “He told us when he sent us away with the horses he was going to have sex with you. We were hoping we could be next when we came back. I’m sorry, Sarah. I certainly didn’t think it would lead to us losing you.”

  “Did he brag to you about fucking me? Because I hate it when men do that.” Sarah was still offended.

  “You know Ryan, Sarah. He isn’t the type to brag about anything, and certainly not anything as important as loving a woman he cares about.”

  She took a long sip from her wineglass, but it didn’t seem to make her feel any better. When she looked up at him her face was still covered with the crimson blush.

  “Did I hear you right? Did I hear you say that you and Lance both wanted to come to bed with me that night, too?”

  “I thought you knew we did.”

  For a moment she was speechless and looked around the restaurant, looked out the window, looked anywhere but across the table at him. TJ appreciated this was a good time to start over with her before he dug too deep of a hole for himself.

  “Let’s change the subject.” He cleared his throat. “There’s another thing we should talk about.”

  She barely looked at him. TJ felt sorry for embarrassing her. It was the last thing he had meant to do.

  “Shifter males and females have different kinds of relationships than what you are probably used to up here in the city.”

  “What are you talking about, TJ? Ryan performed like a normal man in bed. I didn’t notice anything different about him.” She had reverted to being angry with him again.

  TJ decided that only another dose of absolute honesty could change the course he had so erringly set. “Well, you see, there are more male shifters than female shifters. We generally like to mate with our own kind, but it’s hard because there isn’t one male for every female. The ratio is more like six males for every female.”

  “Oh my God! That’s a bad genetic anomaly.” TJ watched as Sarah forgot her anger and once again became enthusiastic to learn more about the mysteries of his kind.

  “It is bad,” TJ acknowledged. “To make up for it our males share the females. That’s the reason Lance is my half-brother. We had different fathers. Our mother had three men living with her when we were growing up.”

  Sarah’s eyes got big as she listened to him. TJ was caught off guard when he looked into those beautiful blue orbs. She was so genuinely lovely in her half-agitated, half-eager-to-learn frame of mind.

  “I’m sorry, TJ. That must have been a hard way to grow up.”

  “No. It was a great way to grow up,” he corrected her. “I had three dads to guide me and teach me. That’s a hell of a lot more than a lot of kids up here get who grow up in broken homes without any dad.”

  “Tell me more about shifters, TJ.”

  “We’ve got all night.”

  * * * *

  Sarah smiled. One comment that she enjoyed cheesecake, and TJ had ordered her the most expensive cheesecake on the menu despite her protests that she really did not want any. When it arrived it tasted every bit as good as it looked on the dessert tray, and Sarah enjoyed it even considering the hundreds of extra calories were going to require hours to work off in the gym.

  “So you three guys are my mates?” Sarah still could not get over this revelation. It wasn’t the worst thing in the world that could have happened to her considering the cowboys were handsome, rich, and seemed like decent, hard-working men.

  “You’re our mate, Sarah,” TJ assured her and rewarded her with that alluring smile showcasing his perfect white teeth.

  “All three of you?”

  “That’s right.”

  Sarah blushed. The thought was just too crazy. Once before in her life she had been engaged to be married, and that had ended in disaster. Now TJ was telling her she was engaged again, only this time to three men at once.

  “Why didn’t you tell me this last week?”

  “We should have. But we thought if we laid it all on you at once about us being shape-shifters and you being our one true mate, you would have gotten scared and left.”

  “That’s what I ended up doing anyway.” She cocked her brow at TJ, only he was so charming she just couldn’t bring herself to stay mad at him for long.

  “I’m sorry, Sarah. I guess all of us got hurt a little in our first encounter. But that’s why I’ve come to New York because we’re going to do it better this time around.”

  Sarah looked at the elegant restaurant they were seated in and outside at the lights of the big city. It was after ten. The night had passed in record time, and yet she still felt energized.

  “It has been a nice evening, TJ. Thank you.”

  “You’re welcome.” That smile again and Sarah was clutching her knees together beneath the tablecloth because his animal sex appeal made her tremble.

  TJ called for the check, and they waited as the host ran his gold card.

  Now came the awkward part. She would have to let him down, and she wanted that to be as easy as possible. It had been a magical evening, the best she could remember, and he had come all that way just to have this conversation with her. Already she had hurt TJ and the other guys when she walked out on them in Montana, and she didn’t want to cause anymore hurt than was absolutely necessary tonight.

  “That’s too much of a tip, TJ!” Sarah exclaimed when she saw the 25 percent he added to the already astronomical bill.

  “These folks work hard here. They deserve it.”

  “Do you know what the serving staff in one of these high-end places makes? Probably more than you pay your cowboys out on your ranch.”

  TJ gestured that he did not care. “I believe in paying my debts.”

  Sarah looked across the room at a young waitress that had been trying to make eye contact with TJ all night. “She’s going to fall in love with you after she sees that tip you left.”

  TJ gave a laugh blissfully in the dark as to the rules of attraction in New York. “Come on, let’s get out of here and walk off that cheesecake.”

  “Good idea.”

  As TJ held the front door open for her, Sarah gave a look over her shoulder to the too-friendly waitress, telling her with her glare that TJ was hers.

  As soon as she was outside in the warm summer night, she regretted her boldness because of course it was not true. TJ didn’t belong to her and he never would.

  They walked along Fifth Avenue headed in no particular direction. The night air felt good after the confines of the r
estaurant and about as fresh as it ever got in the city.

  “I think I envy the shifter women in your pack,” Sarah told him.

  “We aren’t that much different than other people,” TJ said. “Some of us don’t like the lifestyle, and they leave. Others take to it like a fish to water. It’s all a matter of opinion.”

  A naughty smile curled Sarah’s lips. “The idea of having three guys to take care of me and come home to at night is one I could learn to get used to.”

  TJ put a hand at the small of her back as they strolled. A hopeful glint had come into his beautiful blue eyes, and Sarah knew she was botching the letting-him-down-easy part of the date.

  “Unfortunately for me it just isn’t practical to hook up with three guys at the same time.”

  “Why?” She had confused TJ. “Shifter females do it all the time.”

  “You do realize that I’m not a shifter female.”

  “I think that makes our relationship a little more of a challenge, but that’s why I’m here in New York with you tonight. That’s why we’ve been having this conversation.”

  Sarah came to a halt on the pavement and looked up into his dazzling eyes, hoping that she would not hurt him with what she had to say. “TJ, I like you, and I like Lance, and let’s not even talk about Ryan, but I liked him, too. I could have imagined myself in a relationship with any one of you guys, but not all three of you together…”

  “Sarah, I…”

  She took his hand and with her other put a finger to his lips to silence him. “TJ, I think you three guys are awesome. On one level the idea of having you all as my own is very appealing to me. It’s like a fantasy come true. But I’m not the right girl to go out to Montana and live in a wolf pack and mate with you guys. I’m sorry. My life is here in New York.”

  Chapter Nine

  TJ was not discouraged. He knew it would not be easy to come up here to the city and get Sarah back. So far the evening had been nearly perfect with only a few snags.

  When she reached up to get his attention and explain her position to him the loose-fitting shoulder of her blouse fell off to the side. It was the first time he had seen her mark, and there was no way to deny what it was.

  Anger shot through him, and he grabbed her by the arms to hold her still and examine the sullied patch of skin. “Where did you get that?” he asked through gritted teeth.

  “It’s nothing. Just a bug bite. I’m tired of everyone asking me about it.”

  “That’s no bug bite!” He didn’t mean to sound so upset, but he had a temper, and now was one of those times it was getting the better of him.

  “Okay, it’s a hickey. I got it from Ryan last week. What does it matter?”

  “This is a shifter’s mating mark.” TJ ran the tips of his fingers over the abraded skin. Sarah flinched. He had hurt her. “Sorry.”

  “Can you tell me what this is, TJ?”

  “You’re mated with Ryan.”

  “We just slept together. We didn’t get married.”

  “This is the way a shape-shifter gets married, or what passes for marriage among us.”

  “Ryan never told me anything. He just flipped me over and bit me.”

  There were some other people walking past on the street. Friday night in New York apparently saw a lot of foot traffic, and TJ didn’t want any of them to pry into the sensitive conversation he was having with Sarah, so he moved them off to the side out of the glare of the street lights so they wouldn’t make a spectacle.

  “It must have hurt a lot when Ryan did this.”

  “Actually it did, but at the time my mind was kind of on other things. I didn’t realize how much it hurt or how bad it was until I saw it the next day.”

  “Does it still hurt?”

  Sarah grimaced as he traced his fingers along the outline. “Yes. It still hurts.”

  “Did you show this to a doctor?”

  “I didn’t think there was anything to show. I thought it was just a hickey, and I’ve been expecting it to go away.”

  TJ held a palm to her forehead to check for a fever. “This could have gotten infected.”

  “No infections. I’m fine.”

  “You know if you were a shifter female this mark would be permanent, and even though you’re a human, it still isn’t going to go away on its own.”

  Now it was Sarah’s turn to let her temper flair. “What do you mean?” she asked him through barely restrained anger. “Am I going to be stuck with this damn mark on me for the rest of my life?”

  “Calm down.” He put his hands back on her arms to try and quiet her. “I know an old shifter remedy for this sort of thing my mom told me about once. Actually she told one of my sisters, but as a kid I was always listening in where I shouldn’t have.”

  “What is it?”

  “Sometimes ornery male shifters will mark females who just plain don’t want to be marked by them. So over the years shifter ladies have developed a poultice to remove unwanted male marks. With shifter females it doesn’t always work. But you’re human, so I think we’ll be in luck.”

  “I’m assuming I can’t just run down to the all-night pharmacy and buy this poultice.”

  “Don’t worry. I know how to make it.” TJ gave her a hug for reassurance, to let her know it was going to be all right and most importantly so she wouldn’t think all shifters were jerks like Ryan.

  To his amazement she gave him a hug back. Her warm little body felt so fine held up next to his. He had to fight the erection building in his pants so he wouldn’t embarrass himself.

  With her still firmly in his arms, he reached down and gave her the briefest of kisses. She didn’t seem to object any, and he was relieved. Also, he sensed that maybe she wanted him to do more. He would have to file that knowledge away for later, but couldn’t very well act on it in the middle of Fifth Avenue with hundreds of people on the street around them.

  “I’m sorry about this, Sarah.”

  “It’s all right. It’s not your fault.”

  “I wish Ryan was here right now so I could punch him for what he did to you.”

  She placed a hand on his chest, and now it was her turn to soothe him. “Don’t say that about Ryan. He’s your boss, and I think he’s a good man.” She gave him a gentle smile. “Anyway I’m glad he’s not here. I’m kind of happy it was you who came from Montana to see me and that we got to have this evening together.”

  Damn it if he didn’t want to kiss her again. Her lips were so full in the lamplight and tasted so sweet. But the presence of all those late-night New Yorkers stalled him, and he had to take a deep breath and turn away.

  “I’m going to get us a cab,” he announced and took her by the hand to lead her back to the street.

  He glanced over his shoulder and wanted her assent that it was all right if the two of them went off in the night together.

  She gave a nod. It was what she wanted, too.

  * * * *

  Sarah opened the door to her apartment, and TJ walked in behind her. The tiny room was probably the smallest he had ever seen in his life, and this was her entire living space.

  “It’s cozy,” he commented.

  “Yeah, I know, you don’t like it,” Sarah quipped. “But remember we don’t have as much space here as you guys do out west.”

  They had stopped by a late-night market on their way home. Sarah had done some badly needed shopping for her bare cupboard, and TJ bought the ingredients to make the poultice. Now she took the two plastic bags out of TJ’s arms and headed around the counter to her kitchen area to put things away.

  “Actually I do like your apartment,” he told her. “I love anywhere I can be alone with you for a little spell right about now.”

  Sarah had bought them a rather cheap bottle of wine. TJ had argued with her and insisted he should pay for everything. In the end Sarah had won the argument and the rest of the evening was going to be her treat.

  “Sit down and make yourself at home.” Sarah opened the wine
bottle. She felt weak in the knees again, and her hands had a slight tremor as she poured the California red.

  TJ standing in the middle of her apartment was the weirdest sight in the world and one she never thought she would live to see. Certainly when she had met up with him after work, she had never planned on letting him come back here with her. But it had been so long since she’d had a date and this one had been especially nice. She just didn’t want it to end.

  TJ was seated on her couch. She handed him his glass and sat across from him on a comfortable old chair she had salvaged from a rummage sale in the Bronx. She took a swallow of her wine and regarded him across the small space between chair and couch. He was so handsome, and she had been so irresponsible to bring him back home with her.

  There wasn’t going to be any shared future for the two of them. She hoped she had already made that perfectly clear to him earlier and was not leading him on now. But at twenty-eight Sarah was starting to wonder if she would share a real future with anyone, and the thought of indulging herself with TJ as an overnight guest had never been more appealing. Opportunities with men like TJ didn’t come along every day, and she was willing to risk a little morning-after second-guessing for a continuation of their night together.

  “I’m going to make that poultice I promised you.” TJ hopped up off the couch and went to her kitchen to put together the ingredients. She watched him rummaging around in her kitchen. A couple pots and pans banged together as he opened a cabinet to take down a box of salt. “You know I think my hotel is a pretty piece down the road from your apartment.”

  “Don’t worry about that, TJ.” She wanted to tell him he was spending the night, but didn’t quite want to go there just yet.

  “I’m not worried about a thing except getting that mark off your shoulder.” He sat on the back of her chair and began unfurling a cloth bandage he had made wet under her faucet. “May I?” he asked as his fingers went under the shoulder of her blouse and he got ready to take it down enough to reveal the troublesome mark.