Their Virgin Mate [Panther Cove 5] (Siren Publishing Ménage Everlasting) (16 page)

The pain sliced him in two. He whipped around and drove his fingers into stealth man’s eyes. The tiger shifter screamed, and the man who’d called Carlan’s name descended.

Stealth man seemed to recover and came after Hercules with a knife again.

The caller shouted, “Denamal!”

Poor tiger shifters couldn’t use telepathy. He could.
I need a little help, bro.

The door to the warehouse banged open. Grunts, groans, and moans sounded, but he couldn’t decipher what was going on. He couldn’t worry about Casius’s fight. He had enough trouble to deal with.

Hercules pictured going back to Tanya, and his strength returned. He twisted and sliced stealth man’s arm. The caller punched and then ducked low, but Hercules was ready for him. He took him to the ground, twisted his neck, and let go. The man would survive, but he’d be slow to get up.

As he turned around, the glint from the knife descended. Huge arms yanked the man backward. Casius tossed the man to the ground, rent the knife from his fingers, and stabbed the man in the heart.

Enough
.
He’s dead already
.

Casius’s breath came out fast. Hercules scanned his brother’s body, but he seemed unharmed.

He, however, would need some time to heal. Hercules leveraged himself to his feet. “Let’s get the men inside. We’ll tie up this one and leave the rest to rot.”

“I wish we could leave a note saying one more bomb and we’ll wipe you all out.”

As much as he’d like to do that, the tiger shifters would take more drastic measures. Last month they’d blown up a courthouse and set fires to a mall in Washington, D.C.

Between the two of them, they cleaned up their mess in under five minutes. Exhausted, Hercules wiped down any prints they might have left.

He shoved his hand in his pocket and extracted the keys. “You’re driving.”

“I can’t leave. Someone has to stay behind in case they retaliate. You know they aren’t going to take these deaths lightly.”

“Then take me to the bus station.”

“That I can do. You need to heal.”

Unfortunately, he understood he’d be a hindrance until that happened. Besides, they’d promised Tanya they’d show her their home.

* * * *

Finally it was closing time on Sunday, and she’d get to see her men. As a special treat, she decided to bring a rather flexible crop to see how much excitement that would bring. While she’d tried to spank herself with it a long time ago, using the whip on her own body never did bring about the enjoyment as compared to when a man was in control. She had thought of bringing a host of other toys but decided that she didn’t want to overwhelm them or herself.

Casius had given her a map on how to get to the gate in Panther Cove and the code to punch in once she arrived. She didn’t know why she was nervous, but to her, coming to their home represented a big step. Not only did they trust her with their shifter secret but allowing her to see this compound was like getting to go inside a top-secret military base. Neither Jen nor Kendis mentioned anything out of the ordinary was there, but when Tanya got near the compound, she could see that in the summer, the place would be spectacular. Blue Carolina Panther flags flying at the gate provided the only real color.

She pressed the code, and the gate opened. While Casius had said there were a lot of homes in the complex, it wasn’t as she expected. These homes were spread out and only on one side of the street. She took a left and had to count down six houses.

He said he’d put a balloon on the door so she wouldn’t get lost. She smiled at his choice. The balloon was in the shape of a heart.

“Aw.” How sweet was that?

She parked and rushed up the sidewalk. The air was cold and windy. The door opened as she approached, as if her men were looking out the window.

“Come in,” Hercules greeted her and took her overnight satchel.

He shut the door and hustled her in. Before she got to look around, he pulled her into a tight hug and kissed her. His warm lips radiated passion. Her body exploded with need, and she wrapped her arms around his waist. What she wouldn’t give to be a foot taller. He hissed, and she stepped back.

“What’s wrong?”

He shook his head. “Nothing. Got in a little skirmish yesterday. By tonight I’ll be fine.”

She didn’t believe him. “Lift up your shirt.”

He glanced to the ceiling and shrugged. He showed her the wound on his side. There was a thin, red line near his back. It didn’t look life threatening.

“What happened?”

“It’s nothing.”

“Was it those tiger people?”

He grinned. “Yes. It was those tiger people. Now come here. I’ve missed you so much.”

When he drew her close, she could feel his hard cock through her jacket. Her stomach grumbled, and he stepped back.

“Sorry.” Hercules dragged a thumb over her lips. “I get too carried away sometimes.”

She could totally relate. “Where’s Casius?”

He cast his gaze downward. “We had some trouble with The Sword, and he had to oversee something.”

“Isn’t that Hunter and Derek’s job?”

He stroked her face. “We’re head of security, little one. They have bigger issues to deal with.”

She inhaled. “At least I get you.”

His smile didn’t reach his eyes. This was what life with them would be like. Each day would be different, never knowing when they’d be called to action. She guessed it was like any woman married to a cop, a fireman, or a military man. They’d survived and so would she.

“You want a quick tour and then a home-cooked meal?”

Her stomach caved. “You cooked a meal?” She had to search her mind for when someone had prepared something for her.

“Actually Casius insisted on making the meal, but I am pretty handy if need be.”

He walked her into the living room. She expected leather furniture done in dark colors. Instead, they had a red pit sofa facing a large television. The paintings on the wall were huge and depicted some aspect of vineyards. While the sofa had a modern feel, the tables were quite ornate. While it appeared as if they’d collected different pieces over the years, the place had a cohesive look.

“I like it. It’s homey.”

He smiled. “We wanted a place where we could relax and not worry about putting our feet up.”

She walked over to the large window. Because the other homes were lit, she could see over the expansive lawn to their homes. When she’d driven in, she could tell the trees surrounded the entire compound. “I bet the view is nice in the day.”

He walked up behind her and drew his arms around her waist and placed his chin on her head. “You’ll get to see it tomorrow morning.”

She turned in his arms. “I’d like that. Will Casius be home tonight?”

“I doubt it.” He kissed her head. “Let’s go see about dinner.”

Talking about work didn’t seem to set right with him.
Stupid tiger shifters.

She followed him into the kitchen. This was not what she expected. “This is huge.” There were two islands, two ovens, and two stainless steel refrigerators.

“We’re big boys and like to eat.”

Maybe she should pray for having only girls. “What can I do?”

“Sit on the stool and keep me company. It’s hard when there are too many chefs.”

The stool was attached to the counter and swiveled around.

“Oh, I put the pictures Casius and I took up on the web. I had planned to show them to you tonight.”

He pulled a cutting board and knife from the drawers then got fresh salad ingredients from the fridge. “I was hoping we could share.”

“I’d like that.”

As he chopped, she got up and looked at the shelf of cookbooks. Some looked old. “Are some of these your mom’s?”

“And my grandmother’s.”

“You said women don’t shift, so what was your mom’s reaction when she married a shifter?”

He turned around and cocked a brow. “About the same as yours. Only my dad didn’t tell her until we were born.”

“That’s terrible. And deceitful.”

“Even back then he knew that when he met my mom she was the one for him. He couldn’t chance losing her.”

“There is a sweetness to it, I guess.”

He placed the chopped ingredients in the salad bowl. “Speaking of children, what are your thoughts?”

She gulped. If she expressed her true desires about having a ton of kids, would he be put off by the idea? Was he planning on telling her that his job was too dangerous to be a father? Oh, God. She didn’t know what to say.

Tanya’s pulse raced. Yes, they said they were destined to be together, but he hadn’t even mentioned marriage.

Don’t commit
. “That’s a little premature, isn’t it?” Was she saying that so that he would tell her his preference? Dear God, but she was a mess.

He brought the salad over to the table. “It’s inevitable, you know. We want you, and I think you’re warming up to us.”

She was more than warming. She was falling in love with them. Hell, she already was in love with them if that was possible after such a short period of time. “I am.”

He waved a fork. “Hypothetically, how many kids would you like, assuming you want children?”

She bit her bottom lip.
Go for it
. “I had dreamed of a set of male twins and one or two girls, but I’m not sure I’d be able to work my store and cook for that many people. Plus, having little shifters in the house might cause a huge disruption.”

He laughed. “My mother would totally agree, but in reality, we were a godsend when our dad wasn’t around. We are ten times stronger than humans. Just think how handy that could be when you want something moved.”

“True.”

From the oven, Hercules pulled out a fabulous-looking chicken covered in onions and mushrooms. “This is not a typical Italian meal, but the vegetables are in a glazed red sauce and the dessert is one of my mom’s favorite recipes.”

“I’m sure I’m going to love it.”

The idea that Casius probably spent all day cooking for her pushed her over the edge. She did love him, as well as Hercules. They were fun, caring, and sexy as hell.

“Come and get it.”

Once she moved over the kitchen table, he put the food out. “I like eating in the kitchen. It’s cozier.”

“I agree.” As soon as he poured them some wine, he chugged half of the glass. “I wanted to ask you something.”

She couldn’t tell by his tone where this was heading. “Sure.”

“This is bad timing since Casius isn’t here, but we both love you.”

Her heart nearly stopped. “Wow.”

He picked up her hand. “The next time Casius is here, we both want to make love with you at the same time.”

Her pulse raced, and her body vibrated. “I want that, too.”

“You need to know that when we sink our fangs into your neck at the same time, we will be mated.” His mouth opened a bit as if he was waiting for a response. “Is that okay? Do you want us?”

Her heart swelled. This was decision time. No, this wasn’t exactly how she’d envisioned her marriage proposal, but his earnest talk made it perfect. “Yes.”

He grinned and then whooped. “Wait until Casius finds out. He may go ahead and slay a hundred tiger shifters just so he can rush back here.”

She laughed as she tried to imagine his growling and clawing his way back to her. No woman deserved such noble men. “I hope he’ll be careful.”

“If nothing else, Casius is the cautious one.
Tu mangi!
”

He dove into his food, and she swore he inhaled the meal. Her first bite had her moaning. Nothing tasted as good. “Good thing you asked me to be with you before this meal, because now that I’ve tasted this, you might never have known if I’d said yes because of Casius’s culinary skills.”

He smiled. “I’m glad.”

Once they finished eating, she pushed back her chair and picked up her plate. He stayed her hand. “Why don’t you sit and I’ll do this.”

“No. I want to help. If we’re going to be a team, then I want to carry my weight.”

He shook his head. “How did we ever get so lucky to find you?”

Heat raced up her face. “Stop it. My head will swell.” She didn’t need anything getting bigger.

“Okay, fine. Once we clean up, I want to see those pictures. Then maybe I can convince you to get naked. We’ll work up such an appetite that it will be time for dessert.”

Oh, God. She’d weigh three hundred pounds if she lived here. Well, she’d just have to say no.

Wanting to share the trip she’d had with Casius, she focused on bringing over the dishes and working efficiently. He packaged the leftovers, which Casius most likely would polish off once he returned.

“Come show me what you two did. I know I’m going to be jealous,” Hercules said.

She had to admit that her shots had come out quite well and was quite proud that she didn’t have a flower in the bunch. Watching Casius do his thing had given her new ideas and had stretched her photographic experience.