by R. E. Butler
When she opened the front door, the cold January air slapped her in the face. Her lion grumbled; she did not like cold weather. Get used to it, she thought. Her beast grumbled again as she lifted the hood up and buttoned the coat.
“Here goes nothing.”
Chapter 4
Dylan turned away from his cousins, thinking about what he’d say to Theresa to make her get the hint. He hated confrontation. He didn’t like hurting anyone’s feelings. Whenever people argued around him or raised their voices, it made him crazy. He always tried to joke his way out of tense situations, but that usually made him look like an insensitive asshole. He couldn’t joke with Theresa, though. Ever since the first night that she’d come to work and spent time in the kitchen with him, she’d seemed especially interested. Even if he and his cousins hadn’t scented their mate, he wouldn’t have wanted to be with Theresa.
The door to the bar opened and shut, and the scent of sunshine and tall grass washed over him like a wave. He spun on his heel with a purr as both Hunter and Chase turned toward the door at the same time. A female pushed her hood back from her head and revealed long hair the color of dark chocolate. He hadn’t been entirely sure what it meant that her scent was captivating to him and his cousins, but now that he was in her presence, he knew for certain that she was their shared mate.
Her eyes swept around the bar, and she walked toward them, a wary smile on her face, as if she weren’t sure she belonged there.
“Fuck, it’s her,” Chase said as he came around from behind the bar and joined Dylan and Hunter.
Dylan’s eyes darted down to the floor, and when she took a step forward, the toe of her shoe pressed against an ice cube. In a heartbeat, her leg went out from under her, and she pitched backward. He bolted forward, worried she would be hurt. Hunter was a blur, moving faster than Dylan had ever seen him. Hunter scooped her up before she hit the floor.
“Dean, cover for me,” Chase barked at the other bartender as he and Dylan caught up to Hunter, who carried their mate through the bar.
Perry had left for the night, so it didn’t surprise Dylan that Hunter took her to Perry’s office. Dylan opened the door for them and inhaled silently as Hunter whisked her by. Her sweet, sultry scent was exactly as he remembered, but even better because she was here in person.
* * *
Their woman lay in Hunter’s arms like a dream, her arms around his neck as if she were used to putting them there. She seemed a little dazed, and her heart was pounding. He stormed through the bar and into Perry’s office. A faux leather couch sat against one wall, the cushions torn and worn from years of use. He set her down on the couch, hating to let her go. The door shut, and he went to his knees in front of her as Chase and Dylan joined them.
“Sweetheart?” Hunter said, cupping her face and staring into the bluest eyes he’d ever seen.
She blinked slowly, and her lush mouth parted. “Hi.”
“Hi, yourself,” Chase said with a chuckle.
“Are you okay?” Hunter asked.
“For almost making an ass out of myself? Yes, I’m good. Thank you for saving me.”
Dylan went to his knees, and Chase followed, so that all three of them were kneeling in front of her. The corner of her mouth quirked up.
Dylan said, “You slipped on an ice cube. Totally not your fault.”
She reached her hand out and cupped his cheek. “Damn, you’re adorable. What’s your name?”
“Dylan,” his voice squeaked, and his cheeks flamed as he cleared his throat. “Dylan Hall.”
“I’m Cristabel Hardison, but you can call me Cris.” Her hand slipped away from Dylan’s cheek and landed lightly on Hunter’s bicep. She walked her fingers across his chest and lifted the edge of his sleeve. “You smell like ink and the mountains.”
His tattoo, a tribal design that he’d had inked over the winter, went from his elbow to his shoulder. Her nail scratched lightly on the surface, and a shiver shot up his spine. “I’m Hunter.”
Her right hand stayed on Hunter’s arm, rubbing over the black ink, and her left hand reached out for Chase.
“Chase,” he said, closing his eyes for just a moment when her hand touched his face.
“You’re the bartender, right?”
“Yeah, how did you know?”
She slipped her left hand down Chase’s arm and lifted his right hand, drawing his fingers to her lips. To all of their surprise, she licked one of his fingertips and then smiled. “You taste like limes.”
Chase laughed, brushing his thumb across her lips. “Good call.”
“Do you know Lily St. James?”
Hunter nodded. “She works at the diner. Why?”
“Because she’s letting me stay with her until I can get a place of my own. We were supposed to come here together tonight to celebrate, but she got stuck covering another shift. She insisted I come by myself. I was just wondering if she knew…”
Her voice trailed off, and Hunter finished her sentence. “That we’re mates.”
He rested his hands on her thighs, just under the hem of her short skirt, and pushed her knees gently apart until he could fit between them.
Her eyes darkened from bright blue to navy, and a soft growl rumbled in her chest. “Yes.” She scooted closer, forcing his hands up her thighs as her legs spread farther apart.
Dylan moved to sit on the couch next to her, helping her take off her coat. He wrapped a lock of her beautiful hair around his finger and said, “We scented you in the diner. We asked Lily who smelled like you do, and she said she didn’t know.”
“Earlier today, we went to the diner and asked her again. We thought she actually knew who you were but wouldn’t tell us,” Chase said, joining them on the couch.
Cris smiled. “She’s sneaky. I’m sorry if she made you crazy. Because she’s human, she wouldn’t understand our needs.”
“There’s nothing to forgive,” Chase said. “You’re here now, Cris. That’s all that matters.”
* * *
Chase couldn’t believe that the woman he’d been fantasizing about since he first scented her in the diner was sitting with him. An overwhelming urge to kiss her, touch her, hold her, filled his mind, and his beast purred in response, the sound rumbling in his chest.
Her eyes sought his, and she gasped softly. “What are you?”
“Mountain lions. All of us,” he added.
“I’m…oh…” Her voice trailed off into a moan as Hunter lifted her wrist to his mouth and kissed it, gently pushing the sleeve of her top as he made his way up her exposed arm. She shivered, slipping her hand around to the back of Hunter’s neck and pulling him to her. As she kissed his oldest cousin, the scent of her arousal saturated the air. Need ran through Chase like a freight train. The need to touch. Taste.
Chase straightened slightly and brushed his lips across her shoulder, tugging her top aside to kiss her skin. She gripped the collar of his black T-shirt with a groan that was muffled by Hunter’s mouth. Chase braced himself on the back of the couch as he found the crux of her neck and kissed a path up to her ear. Fingernails scored his shoulder as she gripped him along with the shirt.
She moaned louder, her mouth free of Hunter’s, and he took the opportunity to familiarize himself with her lips. Soft and warm, she tasted lightly of mint and an underlying sweetness that he bet was all hers. He stroked his tongue against hers, his hand digging into the cushion. Whatever his cousins were doing to her, she kept moaning softly.
Pulling away from her drugging kiss, Chase watched her turn her head and crash against Dylan’s mouth. Panting for breath, Chase sat on the edge of the couch, grasping her wrist that was still holding onto him and stroking his thumb along the soft underside. Hunter sat back on his heels, his hands halfway under the hem of her skirt.
Someone rattled the door handle, and they all froze. A loud knock sounded, and Theresa’s nasally voice broke the silence. “Dylan, honey? Are you in there? You just disappeared on me.”
Dylan cursed under his breath and ran a shaky hand through his hair, glancing at Cris.
She frowned, her brows drawing down. “You have a girlfriend?”
“No, no,” he said as he shook his head almost violently. “It’s…complicated. She works here, and I was on my way to tell her I wasn’t interested when you walked in the front door.” Dylan paused for a brief moment, staring into Cris’s eyes, and then said, “There isn’t anyone else for me, Cris. I haven’t been able to stop thinking about you since we scented you.”
Her shoulders dropped, and Chase realized she had been tense. Hunter stood up and said, “Let’s go deal with this, Dylan.”
Hunter bent and kissed Cris’s cheek, murmuring beautiful, and walked to the door with Dylan. They slipped through the door without opening it enough to show that Cris was with them, although Chase knew that Theresa had most likely seen them snatch her before she’d fallen.
“You don’t have a girlfriend, do you?” She turned slightly and rested her head on Chase’s arm that was stretched along the back of the couch.
“No. We’re all single. You?”
“I don’t like girls.” She raised her brows in jest and he laughed. “No, I’m not seeing anyone.”
She was so gorgeous, and her scent was intoxicating. He laced their hands together and asked, “You’re an African lion, right?”
She murmured in agreement. “I’ve never met mountain lions before. I’ve only ever known wolves and my own kind of lion.”
“There are a few wolves around Ashland, but they’re all rogue. You live with Lily?”
“I just got here, and I accepted a job at the new were-clinic this morning. Lily’s been kind enough to let me stay with her.”
“I’m sure you’re a great roommate.” In fact, he didn’t think anyone on earth would be a better roommate than her.
“Well, for all you know, I leave my wet pantyhose hanging over the shower rod and dirty dishes in the sink.”
“I’m willing to overlook all of that.”
She laughed, causing her lips to split into a wide smile that revealed perfect teeth. Hunter opened the door.
“Theresa’s gone,” Hunter said. “We can head out at eleven. Donovan is going to lock up for me.”
Chase stood, his cat snarling in unhappiness at having to leave Cris’s side. “We have to get back to work. Do you – damn it.”
Cris stood, her brows drawn together. “What?”
Chase glanced at his cousins, who had walked into the room and joined them. “We haven’t talked about this situation. I don’t want you to think we’re taking anything for granted when it comes to you.”
Her nose wrinkled adorably as she smiled. “It’s not exactly the most romantic place in the world, but this isn’t a normal situation. I do want to talk to you, privately, but that can wait until you’re done with work. I don’t mind waiting.”
Dylan leaned over and picked up her coat from where it had landed on the floor. “Do you want to stay in here or come out and sit at a table?”
“I can come out,” she said.
Chase was so happy she wanted to stay out in the bar where he could keep an eye on her that he was two seconds away from dancing a jig. He didn’t want her out of his sight. He offered his hand to her and she took it. Dylan parted ways from them at the kitchen, getting a quick kiss from Cris before he disappeared. Chase and Hunter led her into the bar and to an empty table against the wall.
“Can I get you something to drink?” Chase asked.
“Ginger ale?”
“You bet.” Stealing a quick kiss, he hoofed it back to the bar and filled a glass with soda and dropped in a straw.
When Chase returned, Hunter was bent over, one hand on the table and the other buried in Cris’s hair as they kissed.
Hunter growled softly and said, “I’ll see you soon.” Then he walked away.
Chase set down the glass and stole another kiss from Cris. “If you need anything, let me know.”
She smiled at him, and it took a considerable amount of effort on his part to return to the bar. Hunter was leaning against the bar when Chase lifted the pass and thanked Dean for filling in for him.
“How did things go with Theresa?” Chase asked as he filled drink orders, positioning himself so he could keep an eye on Cris. She sipped at the drink he’d given her and looked at her cell. He wondered if she was texting or reading. They couldn’t leave for several hours, and it seemed unfair to put her in that situation where she would be bored. At the same time, he didn’t want her to go anywhere without them.
“Theresa didn’t take the news well. I’m fairly sure she knew that we’d taken Cris into the office. Dylan told her that Cris was our mate and that was all there was to it. She tried to protest, but I told her that we would absolutely talk to Perry about her if she didn’t take a hint, and she just walked away. Hopefully, by the time we’re all working together next week, she’ll have moved on to someone else.”
“Pity the guy,” Chase said.
Hunter glanced at Cris and then nodded at Chase before returning to his post by the door. Chase handed a pitcher of beer to a waitress and then began to make a Long Island Iced Tea. The night couldn’t end quickly enough. His lips still tingled from kissing Cris. No matter what the night brought, they’d found their mate, and that was all that mattered.
Chapter 5
“I wasn’t sure what you liked so I brought you a sampler basket,” Dylan said, breaking her attention from the email she was reading from her mother. A red, plastic basket lined with white paper sat in front of her, containing mozzarella sticks, chicken wings, jalapeño poppers, and french fries.
She looked up at him. He was too freaking adorable for his own good. He had full lips that begged to be kissed, a straight nose, and impossibly thick eyelashes surrounding jade-green eyes. His dark brown hair was cut short. He was well built but not as big as Hunter. She’d felt the lean, hard muscles under his shirt when she’d touched him.
“It’s perfect, thanks.” She smiled, and he grinned, ducking his head and kissing her cheek before promising to return in a little while.
She looked over to the bar and found Chase watching her. Smiling, she lifted her soda in a salute, and he grinned. Hunter was looking at her as well when she found him at the door checking IDs, and he smiled at her in a slow way that, even from a distance, made her body tingle.
Turning her attention to the appetizer basket, she plucked a mozzarella stick out and took a bite. She closed her mother’s email, deciding it was better to leave the response until the next day when she wasn’t thinking about what her guys looked like naked. Her guys. Yeah. They really were.
Sending a text to Lily, she thanked her for making her go to the bar and for being such a great friend.
How did you know I’d find my mates at the bar?
Because they came in looking for you. I don’t know what you smell like, but you’re the only shifter who came into the diner the other day who wasn’t mated.
Cris laughed. You’re the best.
I’m going to spend the night at my grandma’s so you can have the apartment.
Cris’s brows rose in surprise. She hadn’t even thought about where they were going to go after they were done working for the night. Thank you!
You can thank me with something chocolate tomorrow.
After an hour, Dylan came out and said, “Would you like to hang out in the kitchen with me? It’s not all that fun, but at least you wouldn’t be sitting by yourself. I’m sorry we can’t leave any earlier.”
“Sure, that sounds fun. I don’t mind staying.”
He picked up her empty basket, and she carried her drink as she followed him into the kitchen. The kitchen had white tile on the floor and beige painted walls. The walls had a dingy tint to them, and she suspected it was from all the greasy food that had been fried there over the years. Dylan pulled a chair away from one wall and brought it near one of the counters where a bag of frozen mozzarella sticks s
at.
“How long have you worked here?” she asked as he cut open the bag and counted out a few orders of the breaded cheese sticks, before carefully dropping them into the hot oil fryer.
“We’ve been working here for a little over a year, since we came to Ashland.”
“Where did you live before?”
“King, Pennsylvania.”
“Do you still have family there?”
“Yes. Our dads are still there.”
“What about your moms?”
He paused for a moment, a cheese stick hovering over the oil that snapped and bubbled in the fryer. He placed the stick into the oil and then turned to her. “Our people don’t mate together.”
“What?”
“I mean,” he shook his head, “that female mountain lions don’t crave relationships. They’re very aloof and uninterested in being mated. They only have sex for procreation.”
“I’ve never heard of such a thing. Why are they like that?”
“Would you believe me if I said that we recently found out through ancient texts that the reason our kind aren’t meant to mate together is because of a goddess’s curse?”
Cris stared at her cute mate for a long moment. “Does that mean you don’t mate at all?”
He snarled. “No! Damn it, I can’t say anything right.” He moved to her and knelt in front of her, taking both her hands in his. “The males of our kind have always craved relationships. Family is so important to us. For as long as any of us can remember, it’s always been this way. The males want the relationship, but the females don’t. The goddess cursed the females. They actually poison the young females, and it suppresses their nurturing nature.”
“If it’s a curse, then it can be broken, right?”
