Jaguar Secrets (2 page)

Nate stood in the doorway of the kitchen, his hazel
gaze fixed on the woman Luca held as his fingers gripped the timber on each of
side of the frame.

“Why you worked up, Nate?”

“Her scent.
It’s enthralling. Is there a reason why you’re holding my mate?
My injured, unconscious mate.”

Luca froze. No way. She was
his
mate, he was one hundred percent sure of it.

“Your nose must be broken, buddy, because this fine
young thing is my mate.”

“How about you go put her to bed, son, and meet me and
Luca back here.”

His father’s voice broke the staring match he and Nate
were having. He turned with an eyebrow raised at his dad’s presence.

“Your mother and I thought this would happen with you
two. Just go put her down and we’ll discuss it all. It won’t take long and then
you can both go
watch
over her till she wakes.”

Luca’s mind whirled as he followed his father’s
instructions. He strode to his room and settled his mate on the bed, stroking
her face to push hair from her soft skin. Unable to resist the urge to be the
first of him and Nate to kiss her, he laid a feather light kiss on her forehead
before he forced himself to leave her side.

Luca hadn’t wanted to be one of those who must share
his mate. Already possessive as hell about the woman, he didn’t even know her
name. The whole walk back to his father and friend, his mind spun with all the
issues they’d face as a ‘trio’ instead of a couple. The shifter community would
accept them no problem, but the general population of Ceduna? He knew they’d
have to keep it hidden from them. How would her family take the news?

“Don’t look so worried, you two.”

“Easy for you to say, Dad.
You don’t have to share Mum!”

“Settle down, Luca.
You too, Nate.
You both look like you’re about to challenge each other to a death match.” He paused
for a chuckle. “Back in the day, that’s what you’d do. Battle it out for her.
Thankfully, times have changed. Haven’t either of you ever wondered why you bonded
so closely with each other? You are closer than blood brothers.”

Luca shook his head and saw Nate do the same. He’d
honestly never questioned it. He’d met Nate as a very young cub, and they’d hit
it off straight away. Through childhood and teen years they’d been inseparable.
If Luca was honest with himself, he’d expected to spend his adult life close to
Nate… So why hadn’t he ever considered they’d share a mate?

“You know, that’s why we organized for the house you
both live in together. Why the master bedroom has such a big bed. I saw the
bond you two had from the instant you met. It didn’t grow as you got to know
each other. It was there from the start. Just because it’s not romantic,
doesn’t make it any less intense or important.”

Luca looked to Nate. Really took in his best friend. They
both wore the same type of cargo shorts with no shirt. Shifters were hot-blooded
and didn’t need clothes to keep them warm. The Australian climate, even in
winter, was mild enough that all either of them ever wore were shorts. Nate
stood at an equal height to Luca’s six foot five. His shoulders were broad and
his bared chest heavily muscled.
Similar to his own.

“I guess with a co-mate,
there’s
two of us to keep her safe.
Protected.”

“One of many benefits, son.
I’ll leave you two to sort it out. Just know this is
not a mistake. I do hope like hell your mate doesn’t already have a human man.
I’m serious, boys. The Prowl cannot take another situation like the one with
Jace
and Tilly.”

“Don’t worry, Dad. We’ll be careful with her and make
sure she’s single.”

Damn, he hoped she was single. He’d try not to kill
her boyfriend if she had one. In fact, he’d do everything he could to convince
her to leave the man.

With hands on his hips, Luca watched his father
retreat down the stairs. It was Nate that broke the silence.

“Why is she unconscious? She has blood on
her,
she’s not badly hurt is she?”

Shaking his head in an attempt to clear some of the
confusion, he faced his friend and apparently,
co-mate
.

“Nah, Rogue flashed in front of her and she passed
out. She was rescuing him from under the jetty and scraped herself up a little
on the rocks.” He paused a moment to eye off Nate’s stance. “You right enough to
help me take care of her? You still look a little worked up. Co-mate or not,
I’m not letting you near her if you can’t control yourself.”

“I’m cool.
Seeing her out cold and
with injuries fired up my jag.
It’s calming, now I know she’s okay.
And Luca?
Don’t threaten me. She’s my mate, too, and I have
every right to care for her.”

Luca closed his eyes on a sigh. Damn, this whole thing
was going to be one steep learning curve.

“Yeah, okay. I didn’t mean it as a threat, buddy. I’m
feeling rather protective of her, and it’s all so new. I guess we’re going to
have some teething issues while we sort out how this works, huh?”

Nate gave him a shrug and
a lop
sided grin. “Guess it will come in handy that we already live together. Know
how the other thinks and acts. C’mon, let’s go to her.”

With a nod Luca headed to his bedroom with Nate at his
side. He stopped beside the bed. Looking her over he saw the blood Nate had
noticed and headed to the bathroom for a cloth to clean her scrapes. He
returned to find Nate in jaguar form licking at her wounds.

“
Whatcha
doing?”

Caring for our mate.
What does it look like?

“They’re just scratches. They don’t need sealing.”

She’s our mate,
Luca. Nothing should mar her skin, no matter how small.

Luca clenched and released his jaw in
frustration,
didn’t Nate hear his father earlier? They
didn’t want her to freak out, and he was certain her waking up to a wild cat in
her face would do just that.

“If she wakes while you’re doing that, it’s not going
to end well and you know it. Humans have enough trouble with both ménage
relationships and shape shifters. We’re about to throw the two of them at her
at once.”

As if his words had called to her she tossed her head
on his pillow and moaned. Nate sprung from the bed, shifting form and clothing
himself
in low riding cargo shorts, similar to the ones Luca
wore, as they watched their beautiful mate return to consciousness.

****

Cammi raised her hands to her face and rubbed. She was
lying on her bed, yet she didn’t recall how she got home. Opening her eyes she
gasped and pushed herself up against the headboard—which wasn’t hers—and away
from the two men towering over the end of the mattress.

“It’s okay,
darlin
’. We’re
not going to hurt you. You passed out on the beach so I brought you to my place
to make sure you were okay.”

Now she’d woken fully, she remembered why she’d passed
out.
“Your brother.
He’s a cat.”

“So you remember that, huh?”

“Strangely, a kitten turning into a child is something
that sticks in one’s mind.”
Cammi’s
anger rose as she
spoke. These men were poking fun at her. She rose to stand on the bed, which left
her looking down at them. Damn, they both had to be at least six foot five. She
moved to stand before them, legs out wide to prevent her falling over, with her
hands on her hips.

“I don’t know who the hell you think you are, but you
don’t just take a woman home. If you’re worried about her health, you take her
to the hospital.”

“Oh, I like you. You’ve got spirit. What’s your name,
sugar?”

She cocked her eyebrow at the one who’d spoken. He
hadn’t been on the beach earlier. His hazel gaze shimmered with humor. She
turned on him and poked a finger into his hard bare chest, “My name is Cammi,
and don’t you dare laugh at me. Is this all some sick joke you two play on
women you find down the beach?”

The man easily caught her wrist and pulled her so she
fell against him. He quickly wrapped his arm around her waist, dragging her from
the bed until she was flush against his hard muscular body.

“No one here is playing any games, sugar, and it’s
most definitely the first time either of us
have
been
in this situation.”

Her breath hitched as he traced her cheek and jaw with
the tip of his nose. Heat sizzled through her at the tender contact.

“Who.
The.
Hell.
Are.
You?”

Her voice was choppy as she tried to tamp down her
body’s ridiculous reaction to this gorgeous man. The other man’s hands rested
on her shoulders as he moved in behind her, sandwiching her between the two of
them. He lowered his mouth to her ear where he whispered, “My name is Luca Jag,
in case you forgot from earlier, and this is my best friend, Nate Claw. Just
like my brother, we can shift forms. I’m a black jaguar and Nate is a spotted
one.”

“And another thing you should know, Cammi. We’re both
your mates. That’s why your body is reacting to us like it is and why neither
of us can keep our paws off you.”

The second man, Nate, spoke against her neck as he
laved
her skin with a rough tongue. Her mind went whirling
into overdrive again.

“This isn’t real. I’m dreaming. That’s it. Any moment
now I’m going to wake up and laugh at my imagination.”

“Luca, I do believe we need to convince her how real
we both are.”

Nate’s words vibrated against her throat and sent
sparks through her blood stream.

“I think we can arrange something along those lines.”

Luca’s hands slid down her body to wrap around her
hips as he dropped to his knees behind her. Nate’s hands moved up to cup her
face, holding her firmly as he leaned down to press his soft, velvety lips
against hers. Her fingers found their way to Nate’s chest. Hard muscle, covered
with flawless smooth skin, met her touch. She parted her lips beneath his to
release a moan. Nate took the invitation and delved his tongue inside her
mouth. The kiss was intense and she gripped his biceps as she felt a layer of
sweat break out over her body. Another moan left her as Luca began kissing her
lower back. A strip of skin was bared between her sports bra and her shorts and
Luca took full advantage. It almost felt like the men were each competing with
the other to gain the most of her attention.

Gentle fingers caressed her hips before slipping
beneath the
lycra
. Distracted
by Nate’s passionate kiss, she didn’t realize Luca was stripping her until she
felt him lift her foot to pull the stretchy material over her shoe.

Ignoring the firm muscles beneath her palms she pushed
against Nate’s chest to break the kiss. She gasped a breath in, intending on
telling them both what she thought of them stripping her without permission.
Unfortunately, her foot caught in the stretchy material. She stumbled a moment
before Nate scooped her up and placed her on the mattress. He then moved down
to untangle her foot and remove her shoes.

“Hmmm, my turn to have a taste of this perfect little
mouth.”

Cammi opened her mouth to tell Luca to stop, but her
mind was whirling. Did she really want either one to stop? Before she could say
a word, Luca closed in on her and delivered a kiss of equal passion and heat to
Nate’s. Threading her fingers into his black wavy hair she pressed up into the
kiss, demanding he deepen it. With a groan he did, taking her over completely.
His hands burned a trail down her neck and over the sides of her chest.
Slipping his fingertips under the bottom of her sports bra he pulled it up and
over her breasts. Her girls broke free the second he lifted the material over
them. Breaking their kiss he stripped the top from her entirely, leaving her
bare to his hot perusal.

She watched his eyes as his gaze roamed her body. She
felt her nipples harden in response as he licked his lips. She threw her head
back when she felt
a wet
warmth engulf her breast.
Nate had crept up and latched onto her while she’d been distracted
by Luca.

“Hmm, think I’ll take me a taste too,
darlin
’.”

Luca moved down her body and took her other breast
into his mouth, rolling her hard nipple with his rough tongue—just as Nate was
doing. Her body was on fire. These two men had her so ramped up. Every touch or
lick coiled the spring in her belly tighter. She looked down to see her girls
being adored. Nate’s blond hair was long enough to tickle her flesh as he
suckled. She ran her fingers through their hair, holding them both to her.
Maybe she could get used to having two men. They’d said they were her mates,
that they were both animal and man. What the hell did any of that mean? Her
mind was so clouded with arousal she couldn’t focus. Then she felt callused
fingers glide over her tummy, down to the lace that covered her core and
decided she’d worry about the truth of these two men later, it had been a long
time since she’d been caressed by a lover. And she’d never felt this hot from a
mere touch before in her life.