Their Virgin Mate [Panther Cove 5] (Siren Publishing Ménage Everlasting) (15 page)

He stayed inside her for a while under her body started to cool. He pulled out with a pop and collapsed on her back. “Babe, I’m not sure I could last another round.”

She didn’t think she could either. “I thought you had stamina.”

“I did until I met you.”

Even though he claimed he was exhausted, he picked her up and carried her into the bathroom. This was no ordinary hotel bath. While there was a jetted tub, the shower was large enough for two. Along the side was a nice, wide bench. He deposited her on the seat.

As first she thought he’d turn on the water and join her, but instead he filled the tub and even dumped in the bath salts that sat on the counter.

She laughed. “You know you’re going to smell like a girl when we get out.”

He tossed her an exaggerated frown. “Does that mean you won’t want to cuddle with me all night?”

Casius was so secure in his sexuality. She loved it. “Oh, I’ll be cuddling all right, but that’s all you’re getting. This girl has got to rest.”

He grabbed his cock, pulled off the condom, and tossed it. “I’m right there with you.” He winked.

When the tub filled, he insisted on picking her up and placing her in the warm water. She felt like a princess for the first time in her life.

She grabbed the bar of soap and rubbed it in her hands. “Are you sure you aren’t a figment of my imagination?”

Casius stepped in the tub with her. He got up on his knees, crawled over, and took the soap from her. “I’m a figment, huh.” He dragged the bar over her pussy and managed to hit her clit several times. “Can your imagination give you that kind of thrill?”

She laughed and knew she’d never been happier.

The next day bloomed wonderful. The temperature might have only been in the high fifties, but with the warm sun and no breeze, it was a perfect day to take photos. They were in downtown Charlotte, and Tanya was excited to see just what kind of things interested Casius.

He took her hand. “Let’s go toward the art district.”

“Do you like art?”

“Does a panther growl?”

She laughed. “I just figured that you were more into physical fitness than—”

He quirked a brow. “Than what? More intellectual pursuits?”

Okay, that came out bad. “I just meant—”

He squeezed her hand. “I was only kidding.” He leaned closer. “Remember, I was born when there wasn’t television or iPhones or fast cars. Our mother loved the arts. To her, a weekend involved going into the city and looking at the sculptures and paintings in and out of the museums.”

She hadn’t thought about him being born in the 1930s. “What was it like back then?”

He laughed. “My memories are mostly from the late forties, early fifties. It was a quiet time. Hercules spent all summer outside. We’d run and climb trees, like all kids. My dad took us to baseball games because he loved the Chicago Cubs.”

“It sounds nice.”

“It was peaceful back then.”

“There were no Sword shifters?”

He shrugged. “I was too young to know or care. I only learned about them maybe forty years ago.”

“While I was born in the late eighties, my childhood was rather peaceful, too. Sure, we had television and all the electronics, but summers were a time of being with friends.”

“Where did you grow up?”

She almost hated to admit it. “In Delight. I’ve been here my whole life.”

“Seriously? Then Hercules and I will have to take you to see the world.”

She was sure he didn’t mean it, but she smiled anyway.

He tugged on her hand. “Look at this.” He pointed to a tall statue all covered in small, glass squares.

She stepped under the legs of the statue and posed. “You said you liked candids. Click away.”

He laughed. “A candid is when the person being photographed doesn’t realize I’m taking the picture.”

“Oh, okay.” She leaned one hand on the statue and looked off in the distance.

Click
. “Great.”

“Let me get some of you.” She wanted to have photos as memories.

“Where do you want me?”

Naked, leaning against the building
. “How about if you spread your arms, pretend to be opening the statue’s legs, and lean forward.”

He did as she asked, and she snapped away from several different angles.

“Let’s go up the museum steps and take a shot from there.”

While she focused on the town, Casius took a picture shooting down the museum railing. “This shadow is cool.” He moved around the stairs and finally decided on an interesting viewpoint.

Usually beginners take the first shot they see. Casius took his time, analyzing the scene from all the different angles. While he was doing some more modern looking shots, she took reflections. Only when her stomach grumbled did she realize they’d probably spent a few hours wandering the city taking photos.

“You hungry, babe?”

“A little.”

“I know just the place.”

Right off the main drag was a cute, little Italian restaurant where she ordered two slices of gooey spinach pizza topped with mushrooms. Casius ordered a whole pizza for himself.

“This reminds me of my mom.”

“You said she’s Italian, right?” That got her to wondering if there were shifters all over the world.

“Second generation, but boy did she love to cook. Still does. When Herc and I go home to visit, I swear we come back ten pounds heavier.”

She laughed. “My mom was the same way.”

She must have gotten a faraway look because he placed his hand over hers. “It still hurts, huh?”

“Yeah. We didn’t have much, but she worked hard to provide for me. I miss her.” She bit down on her lip to keep the tears at bay.

For the rest of the meal, they said little. When they finished eating, they headed straight back to the car.

It was a little over a two-hour drive back to Delight, but the time flew. She learned that he was an avid reader. “What’s your favorite kind of book to read?”

“Military tactics and nonfiction, but if I do read fiction, it’s mystery.” That fit in with his personality. “And you?”

That would be a no-brainer. “Guess.”

“Cookbooks and erotic romances since you are sentimental.”

She laughed. “I guess I’m transparent.”

“I see right through you. You can pretend to be someone you aren’t sometimes, but your golden insides shine through for me.”

Now he was making her teary eyed. When he dropped her off at her house, she thought he might want to come in. He leaned across the front seat and kissed her. “I’m going to give
you know who
a rest. What do you say to a date night where we show our photos to my brother? We’ll let him decide who did the best job.”

“He won’t be unbiased. He’ll know which ones I shot because they will be of you.”

“True. Okay, no competition, but I know he’ll enjoy them.”

“It’s a date.”

He walked her to the door and kissed her with such tenderness she almost begged him to come in. Her ass and pussy were still vibrating when he walked back to his car. Now that she’d experienced anal sex, she decided she wanted to take both men at once. She couldn’t wait.

As soon as she got inside, she unpacked then uploaded her photos. All she really had to do to them was choose which ones to display, crop a few, add some black, and jack up the contrast. Within an hour, she was done. As she looked at the slideshow, she sighed at how handsome Casius was and what a goof he could be at times, too.

Not only was the sex great and the photo session fun, but she got to learn about his family and what kind of things he liked. Today only highlighted how much more she wanted to discover about her men.

* * * *

Casius had called her the next day to say that they needed to go out of town for a few days, but could they meet on Sunday night? He knew the store was closed on Monday.

“Sure.”

“You okay with coming up here? We have a little more room.”

She’d never been to their home and really looked forward to seeing how they lived. “What time?”

“As soon as you get off work?”

She wouldn’t be able to see much of the area until the next day, but she was sure her men would keep her entertained. “I’ll be there.”

“Dress warm.”

When she was with her two men, she never got cold.

As soon as he hung up, both excitement and depression filled her. Having to wait until Sunday would be hard, but the idea of being with them again thrilled her. Her mind raced to come up some other fun sex toy to try. After all, she considered trying out some of the items as a form of good business.

Bullshit. You like when they dominate you
.

Now that she seemed to be spending her extra days with her men, she’d had less time to work on her business. New products had to be ordered and the inventory counted. Too often she’d do takeout because she was trying to save time. Maybe cooking when she got home and bringing the leftovers to work would not only save money but help her lose weight. She shrugged. It was worth a try.

As she studied her spreadsheets listing her sales for the week, she let her mind wander. The men had been so attentive, and she wished she could find some way to make it up to them. Casius had come up with the idea of going to Charlotte for the photo shoot, and he’d been the one to suggest they go to the Christmas festival. She couldn’t remember who thought up the hot springs as a good destination.

While she loved going on all these adventures, life wasn’t about having fun all the time. What would it be like to settle down with the men? She pictured herself still owning the store as she loved interacting with people, but she also wanted to be a mom. She smiled as she pictured disciplining a set of shifter twins as they got into all sorts of trouble. Maybe she’d have a little girl who would be a total tomboy but who would love every sex toy known to man. Her stomach tumbled at that thought. No sex for her kids until they turned twenty-one.

* * * *

Casius nudged Hercules. “You sure this is the place?”

Hercules had worked tirelessly with those in charge of intel at the Cove. “It seems to be. Christian was able to intercept one of their messages that talked about the bomb placed under the school bus.”

Casius shook his head. “Attacking your children is the worst sin I can think of.”

“I agree.”

“Why don’t you want to get backup?”

“I’m the one who killed Drummond Astor.” Hercules tapped his chest. “I need to close down this cell.”

“The Baltimore shifters have been trying to do that for years.”

He shrugged. “We’re better trained.”

Hercules rushed across the street to the warehouse. They plastered their backs against the side. His heart pounded in his chest. He thought of Tanya, and his pulse slowed. For her, he needed to do this.

I sense four tiger shifters inside
, Casius telepathed.

Me, too
.

Hercules studied the exterior to see if there were others in the parking lot waiting for an attack.
All clear
.

Casius looked behind the building and returned.
What’s your plan?

Go in, shift, and attack.

They fought better as panthers. Having trained with the tiger shifters, he felt confident he and Casius could take them.

Let’s go. Lead the way, oh mighty one
.

He appreciated Casius’s attempt at levity. They eased their way to the front entrance. With his finger on the latch, he inhaled and tugged.

Shit, it was locked.

Hide behind the van
.

Casius obeyed. They slid behind the van just as a tiger shifter, in human form, slipped out of the door, gun in hand, as if he expected trouble.

Go around back. I’ll make some noise.

As hoped, the slapping of the side of the van drew the man’s attention. He hunched over, waving his gun, looking for the source of the noise.

As he rounded the van, Hercules stepped behind him and slit his throat. The man crumpled. Major arteries were pesky things and couldn’t be repaired. Oh, darn. One down, three to go.

It wouldn’t take long before another shifter came out to investigate what happened to his cohort.

“Carlan?”

Hercules looked down. “Rest in peace, Carlan.”

He had no idea what Carlan sounded like, but he grunted and mumbled something, hoping this dude would investigate.

“You okay?”

Since when did a tiger shifter give a rat’s ass for another shifter?

Hercules didn’t dare look around the van to see where the man was. Feet shuffled nearby. Unfortunately, he was paying close attention to the man who’d shouted that he hadn’t heard the man come up behind him and stab him in the side.