Teeth, Nails and Tails
Brynn Paulin
Book 1 in the Mounted in Alaska series.
Lynx shifters Mika Andu and Bar Ra have long awaited one thing—a mate. Their mate, a woman who will complete their cluster and suit them perfectly, in bed and out. None of the women in their remote Alaskan village fits their needs. It takes a plane crash to deliver their destiny.
Summer Nash was on her way to document life in a far-north Alaskan settlement when her plane went down. She’s stunned when she wakes, naked and in the bed of two strangers. Not only has she survived the crash but two mouthwatering men claim she’s their mate. She’s not so sure about that, but a torrid night of ménage sex sounds perfect. When things don’t work out as she planned, she finds herself stuck between two hard chests. Possibly forever.
TEETH, NAILS AND TAILS
Brynn Paulin
Prologue
Orange fingers of flame reached toward the heavens as seven shadowy figures twisted and turned around the blaze. A wordless guttural chant rose from their throats as they ducked in and out of the flickering light, the perspiration on their naked bodies reflecting the fire’s glow.
Mika Andu fought his body. The lynx inside him struggled to come forth, but he would not shift. Not yet. They’d all make the change in unison, sending their power and supplication to the gods. This was the mating dance and he must do it right. The way of their people forbade them going to civilization to find mates; the women must come to them, and by that, all would know the unions were ordained.
His growl threatened to rip free and disturb the chant. The old ways frustrated him. He wanted to search out his mate, not wait passively for her to come to him. It wasn’t his way. A glance over at Bar Ra, his friend with whom he’d share the woman, showed Bar struggled with the same. His feline eyes glowed with the truth. Tonight, they would break tradition if need be and hunt for their destiny, their mate.
Mika spun once more, feeling the heat from the flames bathe his body as he breathed in the pungent wood smoke.
“Send her!” he cried out. “Great maker, bless us with mates!”
The words echoed around him as the others took up the call, but Mika could no longer speak. His back bowed. His hands curled as he yowled. The cracking of his bones mingled with the sounds of the bonfire as his body re-formed. His skin stretched and reshaped along with his skeleton as he dropped forward and landed on paws, not hands. Whitish-beige fur erupted along his skin.
The pain ended as quickly as his body took its new shape, yet he yowled into the night, speaking his fury and need in a language only he could understand.
We’ll find her.
Mika looked to his left at Bar’s telepathic words and saw his friend had also shifted. They all had. Together, the seven lynx shifters continued their dance and called into the night, blending their feline voices with the human pleas that had gone before.
Chapter One
Familiar excitement built in Summer Nash’s belly as the plane carried her across the Alaskan sky. In less than two hours, they’d land in the northwest Arctic territory of the state where she’d spend the next year documenting the daily life of the Inupiat people who lived in the town of Sisuaq Ablu. The small tribe she’d photograph still relied heavily on subsistence hunting and traditional ways. It had taken some doing and a lot of persuasion by Dr. Honeycutt, the anthropologist who’d been with the tribe for years now, but the tribal elders had acquiesced to letting her come in and film them. In return, she’d act as the doctor’s assistant.
Glancing around the plane, she wondered what the other women would be doing in the settlement. The second passenger of the plane, Emmie Harris, had dropped off to sleep shortly after takeoff, precluding the opportunity to talk. She’d mentioned something about flying and sedatives, so Summer supposed the woman needed drugs to make it through a flight.
The other woman on the plane, Kelsey Brooks, was the pilot, but from Summer’s understanding, she planned to stay with the Inupiat. Another person, who until now had been stationed there, would be flying the small plane back to southern Alaska.
Knowing conversation was impossible since she wouldn’t be heard past the bulky headphones the pilot wore, Summer stared out the window once more. They’d flown over the northeast edge of Denali National Park a while ago, and now she wasn’t quite sure where they were. The cloud cover was thick, but she’d glimpsed the land below through occasional breaks. Though it was early fall, the Denali tundra was still lush and green and not at all icy as she would have expected. Even now, farther north, she saw bursts of green through openings in the low-hanging cumulous blanket surrounding the plane.
She suspected it was still cold on land. Frankly, she figured she’d be freezing her ass off once she reached the village. Layers, her colleagues had urged. Lots of layers. Not a problem. She’d lived in Northern Michigan. She knew how to adjust for weather.
Suddenly, the plane lurched, tearing her from her thoughts.
“Damn it!” Kelsey yelled as her hands flew over the flight instruments. Screeching alarms wailed around them and Emmie jerked awake. Her eyes went wide as she looked desperately around, her fingers clutching the armrests of her seat.
“What’s happening?” she demanded.
“Hold on!” Kelsey yelled. Summer couldn’t do anything else. Her stomach fell as her heart thundered quadruple time in her throat. Her eyes squeezed shut while the plane careened toward the ground.
They were going to crash… Oh God! They were going to crash. No! She had too much left to do. They were going to crash!
Panic closed her throat. She couldn’t breathe. Reaching out, she grabbed Emmie’s icy hand. Neither of them should be alone in this. She didn’t know what else to do. Kelsey was too busy to tell them anything.
Summer opened her eyes in time to see a mass of green rushing for them. And she screamed. Then ducked. Tucking her head and wrapping her free arm tightly around her legs, she prayed to whomever was listening to get her out of this.
* * * * *
The roar of a plane’s engine cut through Bar’s consciousness. It was too close and getting closer. He and the other men, all still in lynx form, had ceased their dancing a while ago and now reclined in three groups around the dwindling fire. Worried, he leapt to his feet. From habit, he shifted back to human form and rushed for his jeans.
He was already running when he heard the explosive impact. The force of it shook the earth and Bar’s blood turned cold. Planes crashed in the mountainous wilderness from time to time, and few people survived. He’d never witnessed one of the accidents, but had come across the wreckage once or twice. It was always ugly. As black smoke billowed in the distance, he prayed there were survivors and he’d get there in time—that they’d get there in time. The other men were fast on his heels.
“This way,” Mika called, pointing through some tall brush.
Pushing through, they saw the twisted remnants of a plane in the middle of an open stretch of field, its wing some distance away, having been sheered off by an outcropping of rock. A jagged gash in the side of the cabin showed at least two slumped-over passengers. A female pilot was bleeding in the cockpit. Her head lolled to the side and red hair streamed over her bloodied shoulder. Bar’s feline enhanced hearing picked up her moan. At least one of the plane’s occupants had survived!
“We’ll get her,” Xathan called as he and his partners, Zeb and Vastan, moved past the others on their way to the pilot. Xathan was one of the few men of their tribe to share with not one, but two other men. Whatever woman ended up with them would have to be a hardy, feisty sort.
Bar and Mika moved to the cabin. The other pair of men, Aron and Kane, followed.
“Do you think they survived?”
Mika asked.
“They had to have,” Kane injected before Bar could answer. “Look. Three women. Sent from the sky by the gods. Just what we begged for.”
Bar wanted to scoff, especially since he and Mika had been prepared to go looking for their woman as soon as they were able, but the evidence here was immutable. Well, unless one called it coincidence, but if it were a coincidence, it was fortuitous timing indeed.
For a moment, Bar was torn as to which woman in the cabin to approach, but he was almost immediately drawn to the dark-haired girl on the far side.
The one with the braids, Mika said into Bar’s head, confirming the choice. Bar crouched in front of her and lifted her chin. Blood streamed down the side of her face from where she must have slammed her head into the wall, but it didn’t detract from her flawless ivory skin. She had a pixie-like face with dainty features. He’d bet when she opened her eyes, they’d be as green as spring leaves.
He smiled as she moaned and tried to move her head away. Alive, thank the gods.
Carefully, he unfastened her seat belt. He and Mika caught her as she fell forward. They cradled her between their bodies. She was so cold, probably in shock. They had to get her to shelter.
Breathing deeply, Bar drew her essence into himself…and he knew. She was his mate. The gods had provided. As the connection clicked inside him, he lifted his gaze to Mika. Without a word, his friend nodded. Gently, Bar lifted a hand to her cheek and smoothed his thumb along the downy-soft flesh.
“We’ve got you,” he murmured. “We’re taking you home.”
* * * * *
She’d been hit by a bus. It was the only explanation for the deep all-over ache throbbing through Summer’s body. It hurt to breathe, and she was pretty sure it would hurt to open her eyes if she tried.
Somewhere nearby, a fire crackled, and she smelled the pleasant scent of burning wood. At least it wasn’t jet fuel.
At that, her eyes flew open and she jerked upright, immediately moaning at the pain that screamed through her. Breathing shallowly, she looked around her, trying not to move her head…much. Where was she?
Instead of twisted metal, she was in a dim room. It wasn’t a hospital. She was in the middle of a wide bed. A thick patchwork quilt covered her legs and pooled at her waist. Dear God! Her naked waist. Her first reaction was to cover her breasts, but her arms refused to move without great effort.
“We thought you’d be more comfortable without bloody clothes twisting around you. No one took advantage of you.” A man moved into her line of vision and sat on the side of the bed. “You were in an accident. Do you remember what happened?”
“Yes.” Plane crash. In the middle of nowhere. Right? “Where am I?”
With difficulty, she managed to get her head to turn his direction. Luminous silvery-blue eyes met her gaze. She’d never seen anything like them.
His calloused fingers skimmed lightly over her cheek, drawing her attention to his bronzed skin tone. A dark rain of hair fell past his shoulders and framed a sharp-featured face with high cheekbones and full lips. Definitely Native American descent.
Gently, his thumb traced the indent below her eye and goose bumps lifted on her skin. The pleasant tingle momentarily superseded her pain as her entire focus centered on the man’s calloused fingertip as it touched her face.
“I am Mika and you’re in my home. My cluster companion, Bar, and I rescued you from the crash,” he replied, his voice washing dark, confusing pleasure over her senses. She stared at him, his wide shoulders and the pecs defined beneath his pale-blue tee making her mouth water. She swallowed to wash away the ache to taste him, but the small movement only made her want him more.
Her eyes dropped lower to his flat belly then to the clear bulge of his cock beneath soft denim as the fabric stretched over his groin as he sat. The ridge shifted, growing as she stared.
What was wrong with her? This wasn’t the time to be attracted to anyone, let alone a stranger who had her naked in his bed. Still, her body reacted to him, and against all reason, warm cream flowed into her pussy to dampen her pulsing slit.
Carefully, she reached for the blanket to draw it over herself before he noticed how hard her nipples were. Too late. His gaze dropped to her breasts. He swallowed. Closing his eyes, he drew a deep breath through his nose, and when he released it, a faint smile curved his lips.
“The others? Emmie? Kelsey?” she asked, trying to redirect his focus.
“They survived. They are with their men.”
“Thank goodness! Wait. What? Their…men?”
“Here,” Mika said, ignoring her question as he reached for a mug that sat on a small table beside the bed. “Drink this. It will ease your pain and help you sleep. When you wake, we’ll discuss…things.”
She knew she should argue, should insist on answers, should worry that she was naked, but debilitating pain had started to overtake her and her head throbbed, blurring her thoughts. “I need to contact my family—”
He slipped an arm beneath her shoulders, lifting her slightly. She wasn’t sure if her groan was from the pain or from her visceral response to his manly scent and the way his powerful forearm felt beneath her shoulders. He pressed the cup to her lips before she could sort her reactions. “Drink. Now.”
His tone brooked no argument and a shock of arousal tightened Summer’s belly. What the hell? She’d never let anyone order her around and she got hot from this guy doing it? The crash must have scrambled her senses and she must have hit her head hard. It sure felt like it. Her silly body couldn’t decide if it was needy or broken.
Gingerly, she took a sip from the steaming mug. The scent was pleasant and the brew tasted like a mix of chamomile and mint.
“More,” he urged. His hand tightened on her shoulder as he held her up, and she imagined what it would be like if it were clasping her while they had sex. He seemed so…strong. Powerful and able to command her body as he fucked her.
And again with those thoughts! She had to get herself under control. Focusing on the mug, she drank more of the tea. When he was satisfied she’d taken enough, he set aside the cup.
She groaned as he eased her back onto the pillows then pulled away his arm. His heat had felt so good against her aching muscles. She wanted it wrapped around her—and more than that, she needed to wrap around him…and that cock that seemed larger now as she glanced at it.
He bent over her, studying her face with his strange eyes and distracting her from his erection. “Your pain will fade soon,” he assured her. His firm fingers brushed over her brow as he continued to hold her gaze, his stare almost hypnotizing. Her awareness shifted uncomfortably as he seemed to peer inside her, seeing parts of her she’d never shared with anyone.
Soon, as if commanded by his words, her cares seemed to float into the ether. Distantly, she protested the break in the intimate web he’d worked around them with just his intense blue-eyed stare and she wondered what was in the concoction he’d given her. And what was it she’d been so worried about…? She couldn’t…quite…
It didn’t matter.
She sighed as a pleasant haze surrounded her.
“So beautiful,” Mika murmured, bending closer and pushing stray hair from her face. “We knew your eyes would be green. What is your name, nuliaba abnaba?”
“Summer,” she replied slowly. Her lids were growing heavy and her tongue felt too thick to speak.
“Auraq,” he murmured. “Summer…”
“Mmm…” She wanted to go to sleep and curl up with him. She supposed she really should be worried or afraid, but her fuzzy thoughts lost the idea long before she drummed up any fear.
“Summer,” he repeated, drawing her attention from the floating sensation that had claimed her. “We are going to rub your body with sweet oil. It will ease your pain.”
Pain? What pain? Through barely open eyes, she saw another man enter the room. His looks were similar to Mika’s but his eyes were silvery green.
“He’s as pre
tty as you are,” she sighed.
Mika grinned and looked over his shoulder. “Grandmother’s tea strikes again.”
The other man lifted a brow. “I am pretty, but she must be hallucinating to think you are.”
“He is,” Summer protested. Even through her hazy thoughts she observed the shoulders that were as wide as Mika’s and the powerful muscles that strained from the sleeves of his T-shirt. His skin had the same coppery tone as Mika’s too, and she realized errantly that she wanted to lick him. She swallowed. She definitely wanted to taste that hard chest where she could see the tiny buds of his small nipples pressing against the cotton. Her fingers curled, itching to reach up and touch him, but restrained by drugged lethargy and damn societal convention.
He laughed and sat on the other side of the bed, then leaned over her so she didn’t have to turn her head. “We’ll see if you think he’s pretty once you wake again and the tea has worn off.”
“Good stuff,” she replied. She slowly rubbed the back of her hand across her face, realizing it didn’t hurt to move nearly as much as it had before.
“Indeed,” he replied.
“This oil will help you feel even better,” Mika told her, pulling her attention back to him. “May Bar and I touch you?”
God, yes. Summer stretched, knowing if she could just pull her muscles far enough she’d start to feel normal again. “You can do whatever you want.”
Bar chuckled. “We’ll save that permission for later, nuliaba abnaba.” He pulled the blanket off her then held out his hand and Mika poured liquid into the palm from a small clay pitcher. She was lying naked before them on a bed, and she couldn’t drum up the sense to be concerned. Every part of her seemed warm. Feeling their gazes on her only made her belly tighten and a flame lick across her cunt. Her thighs tingled as heavy need rolled through her. Her clit pulsed, the throb almost painful.
Worse, and more painful, was that she sensed the desire racking her body wouldn’t be fulfilled.
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