Their Virgin Mate [Panther Cove 5] (Siren Publishing Ménage Everlasting) (19 page)

“What do you mean?”

“They want children.”

Georgiana waved a hand. “You’ve always wanted kids. What’s the problem?”

Tanya told her about the mother and the two little boys she’d seen last week. She tapped her chest. “I know that once I give birth, I’ll be fatter than I am now. My tits already sag.”

The whole conversation was so depressing. Good thing Kendis came over and brought their drinks. She glanced between her and Georgiana. When neither said anything, she smiled and turned away. Clearly she could tell the conversation was serious.

“You’re being ridiculous. Have you mentioned your concerns to your men?”

God forbid
. “No. They know nothing of my decision. I know they’ll be upset.” She wished she could mention the whole mate concept, but she didn’t dare break that confidence.

Georgiana sipped her tea. “That hits the spot. Do you remember Mrs. Jacobson?”

“Our fourth grade teacher?”

“The one and only.”

“Sure. We all wanted to be like her.”

Georgiana smiled. “Right. She was the coolest dresser.”

“I always tried to make my hair twist and turn like hers did.” She stared off for a moment then returned her attention to her friend. “What about her?”

“Jen was doing a human interest story on her a couple of months ago. Did you read the article?”

“No.” She was happy to talk about anything other than her problem.

“Well, Mrs. Jacobson was forty-five when she taught us.”

The woman was tall and shapely. “Seriously? I know all the boys had a crush on her.”

“I know. She was married to a guy who then was twenty-six.”

“I never knew. But when you’re ten, we had no idea about age.”

Georgiana finished off her cup of tea. “They’re still happily married. Mrs. Jacobson retired in June, and Jen wrote about her. The point is, can you imagine being a twenty-six-year-old male marrying a forty-five-year-old woman?”

The woman was attractive, intelligent, and kind. What was not to love? Then it hit her. “She’s sixty-one, and he’s forty-two.” She tried to imagine if he regretted being with an older woman.

“I know what you’re thinking. Go read the article. The husband said it was the best thing he ever did. He appreciated all the guidance she gave him. When Jen interviewed Mrs. Jacobson, Jen asked if she thought the age difference was a problem.”

“What did she say?”

“She thought it would be but was so happy that it turned out well. She decided that even if she had ten years with the man she loved and he left her, that at least she’d have ten wonderful years.”

“That’s sweet.”

Georgiana pulled out her cell phone. “I’m going to text Jen to see if she can find that article and e-mail it to you. You should see what Mrs. Jacobson looks like now.”

“Is she old and wrinkly?”

Her friend chuckled. “You’ll see.”

To avoid discussing her situation, she turned her attention to Georgiana’s sex life. “So how’s Carlton?”

“He dumped me.”

Now it was Tanya’s turn to place a hand over her friend’s. “What happened?”

“Julia happened to be covering for Trish at The Black Cat Bar and I wanted to ask Julia something. When I stopped in, who should be there kissing a rather frumpy redhead but Carlton Danvers himself.”

“Did you ask him about it?”

“He’s my boss, so I just ignored it. All I can say is if I ever get the chance to have two wonderful men who are devoted to me like yours are to you, I’d jump their bones in a heartbeat.”

She could see why Georgiana would say that. “Have you ever had two men at one time?”

She rolled her eyes. “I wish. You want to introduce me to some of their friends?”

“I think they have to pick you.”

“Well, you’re no fun.”

Tanya would have offered to bring her to the Cove, but right now she wasn’t sure she would be seeing her men again, and that made her terribly sad.

Georgiana pushed back her chair. “Well, if we’re going to have time to eat before the movie, we better get going.”

She wasn’t in the mood to socialize, but she figured sitting home would be worse. “What’s playing?”

“The mall has, like, eight movies. I can’t remember.”

“Let’s not do a romantic comedy.”

Georgiana laughed. “I hear ya, sista! I want to see some action flick that shows men in skimpy clothes.”

Finally a laugh escaped. “You are a woman after my own heart.”

Hercules’s pits were damp. He never sweated. Maybe that was because there never had been so much at stake before. He, Casius, and three of their Baltimore Shield members remained hidden at strategic points near the entrance to the water company waiting for the truck containing the liquefied sarin to be delivered. Their source said the truck would be disguised as an electric company van. They’d drive in, hook up their pump to the main waterline, and let the sarin bleed in. In seconds, the population of Baltimore would be affected.

The Shield had to stop them. They weren’t above using guns, but they’d rather do hand-to-hand combat, and preferably be where they could shift.

It was dark. Proof that The Sword had already cut the power.

I see something
.

That information came from one of the shifters housed outside the fenced area. Since the lights were out, it would give them good cover to shift. Half would stay in human form with their guns trained on the tiger shifters, and he and Casius would be in animal form.

Ready, Casius?

Ready.

They shifted and moved to the big water main. The van drove in, keeping their headlights on. There had been a guard at the main entrance, but The Shield had no trouble sneaking in.

To be sure their intel had been correct, they waited until the men exited the van.
Good
. There were only two of them. Both were tiger shifters. On the off chance these men did belong to the electric company, they waited another few minutes.

All of the men had doused their bodies in horse essence to disguise their presence. To him, they smelled worse than pure horse shit, but if it acted as a kind of cloaking device, he’d put anything on him.

The men opened the back and pulled out a hose. These definitely were not electricians.

Let’s go.

To create more of a surprise, he and Casius charged. It was actually rather funny to see their eyes widen. A second of indecision was all it took for Casius and him to leap on the men before they could shift. A quick bite to the neck was all it took for Hercules to take down his man.

Casius went for the heart. That worked for him.

Both he and Casius shifted into human form. They had no problem leaving the van there as they had no desire to mess with the nerve gas, but to leave the shifters would be a big mistake.

The other three Shield members descended. Like clockwork, they had the men removed without the guard at the front any wiser. They suspected that when the van didn’t return and the lights were never restored, someone would come looking for them.

They scurried away to their vehicles. Since both he and his brother were drenched in blood, their Baltimore counterparts suggested they’d dispose of the bodies.

“Thanks for your help.” He shook hands with the lead Baltimore panther shifter.

“Anytime.”

Ready to shower and head back to the woman we love?
he asked his brother.

Casius smiled. “Is sarin deadly?”

* * * *

The movie had helped Tanya take her mind off her problems, but even after enjoying herself, the moment she got home, the self-doubts returned. She was just so damned conflicted. When she walked into the kitchen and checked her messages, she was disappointed neither Hercules nor Casius had called. She debated calling Jen to see if Hunter or Derek knew something but then decided that if they had been injured, someone would have contacted her.

She poured a glass of wine and decided she needed to take a soothing bath and sort things out.
What is my problem?
If she planned to get them out of her life, then why did she need them to call?

Her cell binged, signaling she had a message. She immediately turned on her phone and spotted the e-mail from Jen. Her stomach flipped as she considered it might be bad news. Then she remembered Georgiana had asked Jen to send the article over about their old teacher.

Tanya pressed the e-mail icon and scrolled to Jen’s message. “I hear Mrs. Jacobson was your fourth grade teacher. She was a real doll. You must have loved having her as a teacher.”

She clicked on the download and read the article about when she started teaching and why she enjoyed ten-year-olds. The picture that followed stunned her. Mrs. Jacobson had barely aged. She practically looked the same. Her glorious, blonde hair was swept up in a stylish French twist, and she was curvier than even Tanya remembered. She couldn’t believe how kind the sixteen years had been to her.

She clicked off the phone and placed it on the counter and she went into the bathroom to take a soak. As she turned on the water and sat on the edge, she had to smile. Mrs. Jacobson had grasped the brass ring by marrying a hot, young man. She didn’t worry about what would happen in ten years or probably twenty years. The article mentioned they were more in love now than they were when they got married.

Tanya stripped and stepped into the filling tub and sank down. The heat took the chill out of her body, and the wine helped heal her soul. As she laid back her head on the rim of the tub it was as if a meteor crashed through the window and landed in the water. She bolted upright.

“You are a fool.”

Why shouldn’t she grab the brass ring, too? There were no guarantees in life. Hell, she could be with her men for ten years before her body repulsed them. Or maybe they’d consider every bulge on her body to represent one of their children and love her even more. She’d passed by the statue in Panther Cove that represented the fallen men. While the thought of either of her men getting injured or dying was horrifying, it was possible. Why not enjoy them for as long as she could?

As she dreamed about having the best time of her life now, she rubbed her stomach and wondered if maybe she was with child and smiled. The weight that had encased her heart disappeared. Living for the moment was all that mattered. If people did nothing for fear it would backfire in the future, nothing would get done.

She closed her eyes and relived the wonderful times she’d had with her men. They’d never given any indication they only wanted a woman for the purposes of showing her off. While they seemed proud of her, they really appeared to want her for who she was, not for whether she could be a size eight.

“You are one dumb chick. You almost threw away the best years of your life.”

With a smile on her face, she sank deeper into the tub to soak. By the time her body pruned, she was ready to get out. It might have been the relaxing soak or her new decision, but Tanya felt fresh and invigorated, the first time since her men had left Panther Cove.

She dressed in her most comfortable pajamas, bathrobe, and slippers and headed to the living room to settle in and watch some television. She’d just refilled her glass when a knock sounded on the front door.

She thought it might be Georgiana. Perhaps her friend’s former lover had begged her to reconsider and come back to him. She rushed to the door and pulled it open.
Oh, shit
. Here she was as frumpy as she could get and Hercules and Casius were at door with flowers, a box of chocolate, and her packaged crop. They were grinning ear to ear and looked like they’d come from a photo shoot.

“Come in.”

Casius set down the box of chocolate and crop, picked her up, and swung her around. “You are a sight for sore eyes.”

She laughed. “I’m a mess.”

He kissed her. “Not to us you aren’t.”

While he kissed her, Hercules stepped behind and lowered her robe down her arms. The moment his hands touched her bare skin she jerked and pulled out of the kiss. “Your hands are freezing.”

“Sorry, sugar.” He took off his jacket and placed his hands under his armpits.

“I would have thought your animal side would have kept you warm.”

“If I’d shifted, I’d have been toast. Kind of hard to see over the steering wheel that way.”

She laughed. “Can I get you something to drink?”

Hercules turned her around and rubbed his thumbs over her nipples. The flannel nightgown prevented her from enjoying the full effect of his touch. “We’re good.”

Casius took off his outer gear and stepped over to her fireplace. “Mind if I light it?”

“Go for it.”

While Casius stuffed the wood from the caddy onto the grill, Hercules couldn’t seem to keep his gaze off her. “We’ve missed you so much.”

“Not any more than I’ve missed you.”

He rubbed her stomach. “Do you think anything took hold?”