Panthers' Pleasure [Impulse 1] (Siren Publishing Ménage Everlasting) (12 page)

“Modest, too,” Vilas added, smirking.

“Thank you.”

Chantal turned to Rafe, about to kiss his cheek. She changed her mind at the last moment and rubbed her cheek against his instead. Then she did the same thing to Vilas. The two guys smiled at one another over her head, looking like…well, like cats that had just gotten a whole vat of cream. By copying their marking gesture she’d obviously given them hope, causing Chantal to regret her spontaneity.

“Hmm, this is delicious,” Chantal said to distract them, reverently forking stroganoff into her mouth and closing her eyes as it slipped down her throat.

Rochelle beamed. “You’ll fit in here just fine, honey.”

“You were going to teach me how to stop you reading my thoughts,” Chantal reminded the guys when Rochelle left them alone again.

“Okay,” Rafe said. “Close your eyes and think about me. Picture me in your mind. Are you doing it?” She nodded. “Right, now superimpose my face with something that makes you mad. Can you do that?”

“She’ll be spoiled for choice,” Vilas quipped.

“You’re so full of it.”

Vilas chuckled. “I aim to please, lover.”

Chantal thought for a moment. What was guaranteed to raise her blood pressure? A slow smile spread across her face as she recalled Jack’s expression when she caught him with his boss. That ought to do it.

“Yep, you’re no longer my favorite person.”

“Right, let’s see if it works. Think about something, but keep that bad image of me in your head all the time.”

Both he and Vilas went quiet for a moment. “Nope, you’ve tuned me out,” Rafe said. “I’ve no idea what you’re frowning about.”

“She’s thinking about whether or not to have dessert,” Vilas said smugly.

“Same process, darlin’,” Rafe said, shooting Vilas the finger. “But it’ll be a whole lot easier this time because you have to put Vilas in a situation that makes you angry.”

“Damn it,” Vilas said a moment later. “Now I can’t get a thing from her, either.”

“How do I block you both at once?” she asked.

“She really doesn’t want to let us in, does she?” Vilas said, pulling a face. “And we’re such nice guys, too.”

Chantal laughed. “A girl likes to have a few thoughts of her own.”

“Just think of us both as bad guys simultaneously. That’ll do it,” Rafe said.

“Thanks, that shouldn’t be too hard.”

Rafe expelled a dramatic sigh. “She knows how to wound.”

“How about that dessert, honey?” Vilas asked.

“Nope. It looks delicious, but I couldn’t eat another thing.” She smiled at them both, feeling more at home by the minute. “How do I communicate with you if I want to get your attention?”

“Just don’t block us,” they said together.

“If you become our mate, then you’ll be able to do basic communication by pheromones.”

Chantal offered them a cheeky grin. “What, I’ll be able to read your thoughts for a change?”

“Hmm, possibly,” Vilas replied. “It depends how receptive you are.”

“You don’t need to get inside Vilas’s head to know what he’s thinking about,” Rafe said. “Sex is never off his mind.”

Vilas reached across Chantal and squeezed Rafe’s genitalia. “That’s because you’re such a phenomenal lover, big boy.”

Chantal laughed. “Are you two ever serious?”

“Only when we have to be.” Rafe looked up as someone loomed over their table. “What is it, Pascal?” he asked.

“Sorry to interrupt, Rafe, but it’s Toby.”

“I thought I felt a vibe,” Vilas said, “but I was distracted and didn’t pay it much attention.”

“He’s got her in here again?” Rafe asked, sighing.

“Yeah, you want us to deal with it?”

“No, I’ll come.” Rafe slid out of the booth. “Excuse me for a moment please, Chantal. Vilas will keep you amused, I’m sure.”

* * * *

Vilas smiled at Chantal as Rafe walked away.

“What was that all about?” she asked.

“One of the young pumas has tried to smuggle a human in without permission.” Vilas stretched. “He’s done it before. The idiot ought to know he can’t get anything past us. Just goes to show the power of
lurve.
”

“You have to have permission to bring someone into Impulse?” Vilas didn’t like the way she frowned. “That sounds a bit like overcontrol.”

Vilas laced his fingers with hers. “You have to understand that we’re under constant threat of infiltration.”

“Which is why you were suspicious of me.”

“Right. Toby met this girl locally and thinks he’s in love, but she absolutely wouldn’t make him a good mate.”

She pulled an indignant face. “Why should you be the one the judge?”

“Not me, babe, but the council as a whole. Apart from anything else, this girl has a large family living locally. It wouldn’t be possible for her to keep our secret.” He sighed. “A lot of the youngsters forget about the rules, especially when they’ve been living as humans for a while.”

“Why does Rafe have to be involved? Can’t the pumas sort it between themselves?” Chantal shook her head. “I can’t believe I just said that. I’m talking about pumas sorting their own problems like it was totally normal.”

“You’ll be surprised how quickly you’ll get used to it. And to answer your question, Rafe is the boss. He needs to get involved in important stuff like this.”

“You and he are alpha panthers, that much I get…I think. But how does that give him authority over everyone else?”

“He’s colony leader.” Vilas shrugged. “Rafe is head and shoulders the best cat to keep us all in order, but don’t you dare tell him I said so.”

Chantal smiled. “You love him, don’t you?”

“Why wouldn’t I? He saved my life.”

“Really? How did that happen?”

“Maybe not my life, but my sanity. He made me understand what I was supposed to be.” Vilas shared the last of the wine between their two glasses. “My earliest memories are of being shuttled between foster homes, you see.”

“You never knew your family?” Chantal touched his knee. “That’s really sad. I might have lost my parents too soon, but at least I had their loving care when I was small.”

“It was pretty bad for me when I was a kid because I never felt like the others. And when you’re different, kids pick up on it and can be pretty cruel.”

“You didn’t know you were a shifter?”

“No, but I had these feelings that I soon learned not to talk about because everyone thought I was crazy. I know now that they were my feline instincts trying to come out. That’s also why I know it would be living hell if we lose our power and I can no longer shift.” He clapped a hand over his mouth. “Oh shit, forget I said that. I’m not supposed to put any pressure on you.”

“Said what?”

“Atagirl.” The hand that had covered his mouth slid to her knee and crept beneath the hem of her dress. She gasped when he flicked his thumb across her naked pussy, just once, and then withdrew it, grinning smugly. “Thought so,” he said.

“So, you were telling me how Vilas saved your life.”

“I came to Impulse on a school field trip when I was about twelve. All the other kids complained about shortage of breath, but the moment we crossed the bridge I felt like I’d been reborn.”

“You’d found where you were supposed to be.”

“Right. Rafe knew I was here, of course. He somehow separated me from the rest of the group and talked to me for ages. He was only sixteen at the time although, of course, that would actually be forty-eight in your years.”

Chantal wrinkled her brow. “This is getting complicated.”

“You’re forgetting what we told you earlier. Shifters only live three years to your one in places like Impulse because of the special ions in the air. They’re becoming fewer and farther apart with changes in weather patterns. That’s another reason why the lions and bears wanna get their thieving paws on Impulse.”

“So they can triple their life span and increase their numbers?”

“Yep.” He leaned over and kissed her lips, lapping at the corners of her mouth with his tongue until she mewed with pleasure. “You’re so goddamned perfect that I can’t stop looking at you, but I didn’t say that, either.”

Chantal laughed. “Go on. I want to know more.”

“A lot of us are sent to school in the human world, so we age at the same rate as our human classmates, and get the same education. Mikael went to med school before he came back to Impulse. Shifters can and do live quite comfortably in the human world, they just don’t get the longer life span that we enjoy here in Impulse. Anyway, I felt drawn toward Rafe the moment I laid eyes on him. He explained to me what it was about me that made me so different, and then it all started to make sense. Some of the elders in the colony wiped my existence from the human records so I wasn’t missed, and I’ve been here ever since.”

“What happened to your family?”

“We’re not sure. Some shifters were culled back about the time I was born. Humans got it into their heads that we existed because a couple of shifters got careless and were seen by hunters, who pursued them. That started a real hue and cry. People were afraid of us because they were ignorant—”

“A bit like medieval witch hunts.”

“We’re guessing that my parents were amongst those that were killed. No one knew what I really was so I was put into the care system. I was disruptive because I sensed I didn’t belong, and so no family held on to me for long.”

“Until Rafe saved you.” Chantal reached up to touch his face. “No wonder you love him so much.”

“He and some of the others taught me how to shift, which is when I really started to feel at home. Rafe and I worked our way up through the pecking order, and when Rafe’s father retired, he and I took his place as alpha males. A year or two later Rafe was elected as overall colony alpha, and the rest, as they say, is history in the making.”

“Rafe takes his duties very seriously, doesn’t he?”

“We all do. Every member of the colony is important. We look out for each other, and if anyone’s in trouble, we all help out. I’d die for Rafe, he’d do the same for me,
and
we’d both do the same for you, in a heartbeat.” He grinned. “No pressure, babe.”

“Sorry about that.” They both looked up and Vilas realized he’d been so engrossed that for once he hadn’t sensed Rafe’s return.

“All sorted?” Vilas asked.

Rafe shrugged. “The girl’s been sent home. She won’t remember anything. Pascal’s trying to talk some sense into Toby.”

Vilas rolled his eyes. “Good luck with that.”

“Right. Anyway, hope I’m not interrupting anything,” Rafe said with a knowing wink for Chantal.

“Would it matter if you were?” Vilas complained.

“Not in the slightest.” He held out a hand to Chantal. “Come on, darlin’, let’s go and mix with the others in the bar. You need to get to know a few people, and we promise not to have them influence you in our favor.”

“As if you’d do such a thing!” Chantal teased.

“I’m serious,” Rafe said. “If you decide to say, it won’t be through collective coercion. But there’s one thing you do need to know before you make up your mind. Vilas and I were talking while you got ready, and we’re both agreed that we’re falling in love with you.”

“Not because you can save us,” Vilas added, serious for once.

“But because you’re you.”

“We sensed your oneness with us before you even got here. Don’t suppose you can feel it the way we do, at least not yet, but you will.”

Chantal felt tears spring to her eyes. No one other than Max had admitted to loving her in her entire adult life. The guys weren’t playing with her mind when they said it. They were being completely honest with her. She didn’t know how she could be so sure of that, she just was. She was tempted to tell them that, in spite of her efforts to remain objective, she was falling for them as well. She resisted—it was way too soon to raise their hopes when she hadn’t actually made up her mind. She’d been too quick to trust in the past, too anxious to grasp at anything that made her feel cherished, without bothering to ask the right questions. This time she needed to be absolutely sure she knew what she wanted.

“Thank you.” She rose up on her toes to kiss each of them in turn. “I promise I’ll make up my mind soon. I realize how important it is to you. It’s just that—”

“Shush!” Rafe placed a finger against her lips. “This is a big deal for you. Vilas and I will survive until you decide. And if you decide against us, we’ll survive that, too.”

“Probably,” Vilas said, grinning at her as he patted her butt.

As soon as they returned to the bar, Vilas’s attention was caught by someone, leaving Rafe to introduce Chantal to some of his fellow shifters and their mates. Then he faded away and left her to chat with them alone. She admired that about both her would-be mates. They could have used that intimate dinner setting, with low candlelight and soft music, to talk some more about their sexual exploits that afternoon. She was pretty sure that would have kept her in a near-permanent state of arousal, helping to convince her that Impulse was the place for her. The way she felt right now, vulnerable yet safe and protected, she wouldn’t have taken much persuading. Instead, apart from the odd slip from Vilas, it seemed they were doing all they could to let her make up her own mind.