Their Virgin Mate [Panther Cove 5] (Siren Publishing Ménage Everlasting) (18 page)

“Slave, do not come.” Each word was followed by a grunt.

He dragged his teeth over her ear and then licked her neck. As soon as she clamped down on his cock, his fingers pinched one nipple. He lifted his hand from her clit and took hold of her other breast. “What did I say about not doing that?”

He pulled the tips taut, and the climax she’d worked hard to keep at bay swooped down and claimed her. Hercules sunk his teeth into her neck, and the glory of his claiming made her body sing.

A second later his cock expanded to epic proportions as he shot his hot cum into her willing womb. She focused on conceiving and prayed she’d be with child soon.

He held her tight as he lavished her neck and shoulders with kisses. “Tanya, Tanya, Tanya.”

He buried his face against her neck and held on tight. When his cock stopped pulsating, he withdrew and turned her around. His kiss was tender. “I love you.”

She hadn’t meant for the tear to form at the sentimental note, but it fell anyway.

He wiped it away. “Hey. None of that. I hope that’s a happy tear.”

She swallowed. “Yes. I am happy.”

“You ready for a shower? We’re kind of sticky.”

That made her laugh. “Yes, Master. I hope you’ll give me permission to wash your cock.”

He laughed, and she knew this shower would be one to remember.

* * * *

Tanya rolled over and felt the bed for the deliciously warm man she’d spent the night cuddled up against. He wasn’t there. She cracked open her eyes. Sunlight streamed through the window. Oh, crap. She never slept in this late. No sounds came from down the hall, but that could mean a number of things.

The door opened, and a fully dressed Hercules walked in. “Hey, sugar. I have some bad news.”

Her stomach churned. “Is it Casius?” If anything happened to him, she’d die.

“No. He needs me.”

“You have to leave town?”

“I’m afraid so. I know I never got to show you around. Hell, I never got to take those photos I wanted.”

She smiled. “I think we got a little carried away.”

Finally, he grinned. “You could say that.” He sat on the bed and pulled her into a warm embrace. “I have no idea how long we will be.”

“Is it dangerous?”

“I don’t want to lie to you. Everything associated with The Sword can be potentially dangerous, but now that we have you in our lives, we will be extra cautious.”

“You have to leave now?”

“I’m afraid so. I got a text this morning, then a call.”

She moved to get out of bed. “I’ll get ready.”

He dragged the back of his palm down her cheek. “Can you see yourself out? I really hate to leave you like this, but we are head of security.”

“Oh, sure. You go. I can find my way home.”

He kissed her quick. “I’ll call when I can.”

She watched him go, and her heart sank. He and Casius were such brave men.

Tanya crawled out of bed. Her small duffel contained a change of clothes. She put on the sexy bra and panties, but they didn’t bring her the joy they usually did. Without Hercules or Casius to parade in front of, it lost some of its appeal.

Not wanting to stay longer than need be, she headed out. There was a thin layer of new snow on the sidewalk, and the cold wind shot straight through her. It surprised her that she hadn’t even noticed it had snowed, but then again, she and Hercules had been preoccupied.

Being as careful as possible, she rushed to her car, turned on the engine, and waited for the heat to come on. She flapped her hands on her shoulders to keep her fingers from freezing. As soon as the heat poured from the engine, she drove out the drive and away from Panther Cove.

Worry followed her down the mountain. Not only did she fear skidding, but she was afraid that something might happen to Hercules and Casius. Their life was Panther Cove and defending The Shield. Next time she visited, she wanted to see if there actually was a shield of some kind.

She needed breakfast, so when she finally made it to town, she pulled in front of the Highlander’s Café. Sure, she could have gone home and eaten, but sometimes it was just nice not to have to cook. The inside was quite crowded, but she found a seat in the middle table.

Bethany, who was Eileen’s daughter, came over. “Can I get you some coffee, Tanya?”

“A hot tea, please.”

While she waited for her drink, two women came in. One was pushing a baby carriage with two of the most adorable twin boys. Her heart sped at imagining that being her someday. They took the last remaining table next to hers.

Bethany brought over the tea. “Have you decided?”

She wasn’t all that hungry, but knew she had to eat. “I’ll have the Highlander’s Special.”

“Coming right up.”

While Tanya hadn’t meant to listen in on the young mother’s conversation, they were talking rather loudly.

The friend cupped the mother’s hand. “It’s just a phase. It will pass.”

The young mother sniffled. “He said he couldn’t stand looking at my baby fat. It’s been two fucking years since we’ve had sex. I don’t know what to do.”

Tanya winced. That would be awful. Now that she’d been with her men, not having sex for a few days would be hard.

“Shh. Have you tried counseling?”

“He refuses to go. I’ve tried every diet in the world, but he says stretch marks are ugly and my belly isn’t firm.”

The friend leaned back in her seat. “Have you tried going to the gym?”

The mother looked longingly at her babies. “I work, remember. It costs an arm and a leg for daycare as it is. If Jeremy wasn’t sick, they’d be there now and I’d be at work.”

“I’m so sorry. Are you planning on staying together?”

The mother lowered her head, and Tanya thought she heard her crying. Anger bubbled up inside. She wanted to smack the damn father.

“I can’t leave. I can’t afford to take care of the children.”

Brittany approached the table, and that conversation died. Tanya tried picturing all that extra baby fat on her, and the idea kind of grossed her out. What if she couldn’t lose the extra fifty pounds after having a baby? What had she been thinking asking to have unprotected sex? She was already too big, let alone if she had a child. She placed a hand on her belly and hoped she hadn’t conceived. The stretch marks would be hideous.

By the time her food arrived, she wasn’t hungry. Not wanting Eileen to think the food wasn’t cooked well, she picked at the eggs and only ate one strip of bacon. As soon as she finished her tea, she paid and left. Right now she wasn’t in the mood to be at home where her mind would wander to a bad place. Being at work would perk her up.

Her store was only two blocks away, but the sidewalks hadn’t been cleared and she didn’t want to get her shoes wet, so she drove. Once inside, she headed to the office to study her accounting program to see where she might be able to cut costs.

That poor mother’s words came back to haunt her. She had an unsupportive jerk for a husband, and she couldn’t leave him. The woman’s job didn’t pay her enough to house and feed herself and her kids. She felt sorry for the mom. Tanya had never seen her before, so perhaps she lived outside of Delight.

As she worked in her quiet back room, a cold front moved in and dumped another two inches on the ground. She worried about Hercules traveling in this weather. If he were flying out, he’d head to Charlotte, which hopefully might not get as much snow.

She spent the rest of the day rearranging the merchandise and checking what needed to be restocked. When she came to the section with the floggers, whips, and crops, she remembered carrying the crop in, but they never got to use it.

She’d been about to say that next time she’d take it out of the package, but for some reason she now couldn’t imagine herself with the men. Yes, she loved them, and that was the problem. Hercules and Casius were two fine specimens of muscles, honed to perfection. While she didn’t have rolls of fat on her, her hips were wide, her belly soft, and her boobs saggy. The men might love her body now, but what would happen if she did get pregnant. There was no telling how her body would react.
Shit
. Just when she thought she’d gotten over her self-doubt, she had to overhear that poor mother’s saga.

* * * *

Rumor had it The Sword was planning another attack. It seemed as if they were still hell-bent on revenge after Hercules had killed a few of their own. Too damned bad.

Hercules came into their hotel room. Casius looked up. “What did you learn?”

Casius had been in constant touch with their sources. He’d been following the lead for days to no avail. The bank seemed secure at the moment, but these possible attacks could be a means to distract The Shield.

“One of our sources came through. He’s been working undercover at the Baltimore water company. He’s been hearing whiffs of an attack.”

Casius moved away from the window and sat on the desk chair. “Was he more specific?”

“He thinks someone is planning on putting sarin in the water supply.”

Casius’s gut rolled. He stabbed a hand through his hair. “That’s a nerve gas. It would kill hundreds of thousands.” His mind raced. “We need backup.”

“The problem is that we don’t know when or where.”

He debated calling in the FBI and letting them handle it. Heaven help the world if The Sword showed their true colors. With so many lives at stake, this might be their only hope. “We have to let someone know.”

Hercules paced. “We’ve been able to take care of them for hundreds of years. If we can stop the supply truck from getting near the point of injection, we’ll be good.”

“And if we fail?”

“We’re all fucked.”

Casius stood. “I say we alert all of our fellow Shield members and see what kind of plan we can come up with.”

Staying away from Panther Cove even for one more day wasn’t his desire, but his duty had to come before his cock.

* * * *

For the next week, Tanya’s mood blackened. Hercules had called one time to say they had to stay a few more days than planned. He mentioned something about their phones not being safe and that he’d contact her when they got home. The call had been short. There was no talk of love or missing her. Maybe once the men got back into protection mode, they weren’t as interested in her as they had been.

She wasn’t sure when she’d made the decision, but she thought it best if perhaps she cooled things between them. It really was for their own good. They wouldn’t want some dumpy mother they’d be embarrassed to be with. If indeed she were going to be around for another three hundred years, she’d probably give birth to a slew of kids, assuming they’d even want to have sex with her. She couldn’t imagine the shape of her body after that.

The bell above the door chimed, and Georgiana came in.
Ugh
. There was no way she could explain her situation to her friend without spilling the beans about shifters existing.

She pranced up to Tanya. “It’s closing time.” She looked at her. “You do remember you said we could catch a drink and go to the movies, right?”

She tried to come up with a viable excuse but couldn’t. “Sure. Let me get my purse.”

The Drinking Emporium was only two blocks away. If they cut through the alley, it was only a two-minute walk. She bundled up, locked the door, and headed out.

Georgiana looped an arm through hers. “What’s bugging you?”

“Nothing.”

“Bullshit. You’ve been moping for days.”

The easiest solution would be to state one Georgiana would believe. “It’s hard with Hercules and Casius out of town.”

Her friend knew they were the head of security at Panther Cove, but she didn’t have any idea they were shifters.

“If you say so, but I’m still not buying it.”

The cold wind blew hard, and instead of being able to answer, they had to duck their heads. They rushed in the back entrance of the Drinking Emporium. “Hey, Kendis.”

Her friend waved a hand as she prepared a tea for another customer. Georgiana dragged her to the window. “We need to talk.”

Tanya didn’t like the way this conversation was going. She’d already gone over her decision to leave the men and didn’t want Georgiana to change her mind. She was depressed enough as it was.

As soon as they sat down, Kendis came over. “Howdy, ladies. What can I get you?”

“I’ll have the orange amaretto.” She wasn’t in the mood for a black tea.

“Georgiana?”

“Hmm. I need caffeine. I’ll go with the Madagascar vanilla.”

“Hot for both of you?”

“Yes,” they said in unison.

As soon as Kendis left, Georgiana leaned forward. “Spill.”

Bulldog Georgiana wouldn’t let it go until she got some tidbit. “I’ve decided to break it off with my men.”

Her jaw dropped. “Are you fucking crazy? They adore you.”

Tanya had detailed most of their sexual exploits. “For now.”