by R. E. Butler
“By truemates sharing blood. But we didn’t know about that until one of the young females shared blood with two panther males during a kiss, and it broke the curse. She remembered being poisoned as a child and how it changed her behavior and made her hate the males.”
“That’s so sad. Why would a goddess curse her own people?”
“Because the females were jealous, and it made her angry. The males aren’t affected by the curse, only the females. But we lived together in King with the females, and the males raised the cubs alone. The females would steal the girls away when they were little and slowly transform them, and then the poisoned females would leave home when they were old enough to shift and continue the cycle. So our males started to look elsewhere for mates, and some of us came to Ashland to settle.”
“How many pride members are in Ashland?”
“Seventeen males, ten kids, and six mates. Most of us live in a boarding house in town.” He stood up and turned to the fryers, pulling out the mozzarella sticks and dumping them onto a rack. He filled three baskets and set them on a pass-through, which rang a bell that alerted a waitress to the pickup.
“I need a basket of fries,” the waitress said as she pulled the baskets onto a tray.
Dylan nodded and moved to a large metal door that led to a walk-in freezer.
“Do you like working here?” Cris asked after he returned from the freezer.
“I like cooking, and the hours aren’t bad. We only work late on Friday and Saturday nights. What did you do before you came here to interview at the were-clinic?”
“I was a receptionist at a dental office. I liked it a lot. The staff was so friendly; I was sad to leave.”
“I hope you’re glad you did, now, though.” He smiled at her, his eyes glinting with happiness.
“Definitely.”
When the frozen french fries were frying, he turned to face her, leaning against the counter. “You’re taking this very well.”
“What?”
“Having three mates.”
“It feels right,” she said. “But, actually, I haven’t given it a whole lot of thought. Things happened fast.”
It had been the strangest thing. She’d walked into the bar, feeling kind of strange to be going in alone, and then she’d found herself staring at three guys, her cat purring in recognition. She’d planned to walk to them and…well, she wasn’t sure, but she was going to do something, and then she’d slipped on an ice cube. When Hunter picked her up seconds before she hit the ground, she’d known instantly who he was to her – who all of them were to her.
“Did you know you’d share a mate with your cousins?”
He shook his head. “The first multiple mating only happened a few years ago, with twin lions named Ethan and Eryx, and a she-wolf named Callie. They have three kids now and a fourth on the way. Everyone in King thought that it was a fluke that they’d found a female to share them, but then it happened with another set of brothers after the family moved to Ashland. There are lions in King who don’t think that our kind are meant to find truemates or to share. Some of them are very pro-lion.”
She grimaced. “I know what that’s like.” At his curious gaze, she explained about her pride and her parents’ wishes that she follow suit with their traditions.
“Will they disown you for choosing us?”
“I don’t know.” The idea filled her with sadness, but she shook it off. “It doesn’t really matter, though. I told my parents that I wanted to live my life for myself, by my rules and not theirs. That I found you, Chase, and Hunter just tells me that I made the right choice.”
The night passed quickly. Hunter and Chase checked on her frequently, inviting her into the bar to spend time with them when they had breaks. Before their shift was over at eleven, she excused herself to the bathroom. After using the facilities, she washed her hands and looked at herself in the mirror. The smile that seemed permanently etched on her face and the bright eyes belonged to a woman who had found the perfect mate. In her case, the perfect mates.
When she walked out of the bathroom, Hunter was leaning against the wall across from the door, his thick arms folded across his chest. She stood in front of him in the narrow hallway and looked up into his hazel eyes.
“You ready to go, sweetheart?”
Her heart rate spiked. “Where to?”
He laced his fingers with hers. “We can go to the boarding house. Our rooms are on the third floor, and it’s pretty private up there. Or we can go to your place, unless you think Lily would rather we didn’t.”
“She texted me earlier to say she was staying at her grandma’s for the night, so we can go to the apartment and have the place to ourselves.”
His lips slid apart slowly in a smile that was almost predatory, until two dimples ruined the effect and made him look more cute than dangerous.
“Let’s get my cousins, and we can head out.”
They moved down the dark, paneled hallway. “You, Dylan, and Chase are only children or do any of you have brothers or sisters?”
“Our dads only had one son each. We were raised in the same house. I think of them as my brothers, even though they’re technically not.”
She tugged on his hand, and he stopped, looking down at her. “Is this…are you guys…oh hell.” She stumbled over her words because her brain couldn’t form the words to let her ask if they were all okay coming back to her bedroom and ravaging her.
Hunter faced her, moving close and pressing her against the wall. His voice was low and sexy, making her skin goose bump. “We’ve never been in a situation like this before, Cris. Whatever happens tonight, it’s just the beginning for us.”
Relief swept over her like a warm tide. His eyes focused on her lips, and he lowered his head. When their lips were a hair’s breadth apart, a door opened, and Dylan said, “We’re ready if you are.”
She and Hunter both smiled and separated. Chase was waiting at the bar, and the four of them walked out into the frigid night. The guys had driven together. Chase offered to ride with her, and Hunter and Dylan followed them to the apartment. On the short drive, her mind raced. She wondered if other matings were like this – one look and that was it.
Hunter parked next to her car in the guest parking area, and she and Chase led the way to the apartment. Her beast was purring and rubbing around in her brain, happy to have found her mates. She let them into the apartment and locked the door. Dylan tugged off her coat and tossed it over the couch, along with the others’ jackets. “Is anyone hungry? Or thirsty?” she asked.
Hunter caught her around the waist and pulled her close, pressing her against the hard planes of his big body. His lips found her neck, and he stroked his tongue across her flesh. “Just hungry for you, sweetheart,” he murmured.
Hunter’s mouth moved on her neck as he walked her through the living room. A door creaked, and she opened her eyes and saw into Lily’s bedroom. “Other side,” she murmured. Dylan closed Lily’s door, and they moved to the other side of the living room where a short hallway contained her bedroom and the bathroom she shared with Lily.
She was having a hard time thinking with Hunter’s lips on her neck, the soft rasp of his teeth making things tighten low in her belly. He sat down on the edge of her bed after one more kiss to her neck and ran his hands down her arms until he captured her hands in his.
Dylan and Chase sat down on either side of Hunter, and they looked at each other in silence for a long moment. Then Hunter cleared his throat. “Cris, we’re not looking for just one night. We want to have all your nights and your days. When I said this is just the beginning for us, I meant,” he glanced at his cousins for a brief moment and then said, “we don’t have to do anything tonight at all. Just staying here with you, even if all we do is sleep, is enough for us.”
Chase ran his fingertip over her wrist. “We don’t want you to feel pressured into doing anything. We know that you’re our mate, and we’re just happy to be with you.”
&n
bsp; Dylan looped his finger through the belt loop of her mini skirt. “I don’t know what to say except that I’m so glad we’re here with you.”
She squeezed Hunter’s hands and then slowly untwined their fingers. “I’m glad you’re here with me, too.” Her mind wanted to postulate on what a ménage relationship was going to be like in the light of day, when they faced the reality of their multiple-mating and what that meant for all of them. But her beast just wanted to touch them. Hold them. Caress every inch of their flesh and learn their bodies by memory.
Grabbing the hem of her top, she lifted it over her head and tossed it aside. “Make love to me,” she said, her voice husky with desire.
Three growls rumbled from them as Hunter tugged her close with his hands on her waist and kissed the swell of one breast. Chase stood and moved behind her, his hands sliding around her hips as he kissed the crux of her neck. Dylan stood and cradled her face with his warm hands, tilting his head and pressing his lips to hers. His tongue swiped across the seam of her mouth, and she parted them on a sigh as his tongue touched hers tentatively.
Nothing had ever felt as right as their hands and mouths on her body, and she knew it was just the beginning.
Chapter 6
Dylan angled Cris’s face and deepened their kiss. She could feel the connection between the four of them strengthening. She wasn’t even sure how it was possible to feel so close to three males so quickly after meeting them, but she felt like they’d known one another all their lives.
Chase’s teeth scraped her neck, and she shivered, moaning into Dylan’s mouth as he pushed the straps of her bra off her shoulders. Chase unhooked it, and Hunter tugged it from her body, tossing it aside. She pulled from Dylan’s mouth and leaned back against Chase as Hunter growled in pleasure, cupping her breasts and rubbing his thumbs on her nipples.
She gripped Dylan’s shirt and tugged. He grinned and took over, pulling the shirt over his head with a swift movement and baring his upper body. He was lean and well-muscled, and she ran her fingers over his chest, wanting to familiarize herself with every inch of his silky flesh.
With a purr, Hunter kissed both of her nipples and then sucked one into his mouth. Her body turned to liquid, and she groaned, sinking her hands into his hair and drawing him closer. Chase’s hands slid around her waist to the front of her body, and he undid the button and zipper of her skirt. It loosened, and he pushed it down her hips until it slithered down her legs. Tipping her head back, she turned toward Chase, and he kissed her with a throaty growl.
Dylan went to his knees next to her, his fingers curling around her panties and sliding them slowly down her legs. Goosebumps rose on her skin as she was bared to them completely.
Hunter released his hold on her nipple, turning his attention to the other one as Dylan swept his fingers up the inside of her leg, stopping just before he reached the apex of her thighs. She groaned and Chase chuckled. He nipped at her lips. “Baby?”
“Dylan stopped.”
Hunter released her nipple with a growl and gripped her hips. She lowered her gaze to look at him, his eyes simmering with heat. “I think you better make it up to her,” Hunter said with a husky tone.
Dylan snarled, his hand tightening just a fraction on her thigh. “Gladly.”
Hunter moved from the bed and swung her down to the mattress so quickly she gasped. Dylan stood slowly and undid his jeans, shoving them down his legs. When he’d stepped free of them, he put one knee on the bed and rested his hands on her thighs, pushing her legs farther apart. He purred as his gaze slid down her body to the apex of her thighs. She shivered at the intense look.
He lowered himself to her and licked her slowly from the bottom of her pussy to her clit, circling the bud slowly.
“Chase, Hunter,” she said, groaning their names and holding her hands out to them. Her cat rolled inside her, eager for them to join her and Dylan on the bed. They stripped, and she struggled to concentrate on watching them, but Dylan’s tongue flicked over her clit swiftly as his lips closed over the bud. She arched under him, gripping the bedding as heat swirled through her.
The bed dipped as her other mates joined her. Hunter trailed his fingers up her side as he settled beside her. He tipped her face toward him, and she opened her pleasure-hazed eyes.
“I’ve never seen anything sexier,” he said, his voice a low growl that made her shiver.
She gasped as Dylan gripped her thighs and spread her even farther apart. He tongued her clit like it was his favorite piece of candy.
Chase pressed his hand gently against her abdomen, his fingers slipping down toward her pussy as Dylan moved his hands to cup her butt and lift her to his mouth. As Dylan’s tongue slid into her, Chase rubbed her clit. She reached for the cocks that were pressed against her sides, anxious to make her mates feel as good as she did, but both of them chuckled as they pulled her hands away from them, hooking her hands against their necks instead.
“You first, baby,” Chase whispered in her ear, returning his fingers to her clit as Dylan purred, making his tongue vibrate in her pussy.
Her stomach tightened, and she panted for breath. Hunter nipped her lips with a growl and cupped her breast, plucking at her nipple with his fingers until her whole body throbbed. All three of them with their hands on her made her heart pound and her vision swim as pleasure poured over her, hot and heavy. She cried out as her climax crashed over her, keeping her gaze locked with Hunter’s. His eyes darkened, swirling with the amber of his beast.
Dylan lowered her body to the bed, licking his lips with a purr. He sat back on his heels. His fingers played against her ankles as she lay between her mates, panting hard and blinking through the stars that lit her vision.
“How do you want us?” Chase asked.
She ran her tongue along the top of her teeth, aware that her fangs had descended a little during her orgasm. “I want us to all come together.”
Hunter flipped to his back and crooked a finger at her. “Come here, love.”
She rolled to her knees and moved to him, kissing up his legs until she reached his throbbing length. She looked up the span of his body, at his taut stomach and the ropes of muscles on his arms that bunched as he reached for her. One hand cupped her face so gently, as if she were made of glass and might shatter if he held her too tight.
Dylan moved behind her, lifting her lower body so she straddled Hunter’s legs, splaying her thighs apart. He bent and kissed the center of her back, teasing her pussy with his fingers before stroking her heated flesh with his cock. She looked to Chase, and he moved close enough so she could reach for his thick cock. Her hand clasped it and he groaned, his fangs flashing as his mouth opened. Dylan pushed into her slowly. Her body clutched him tightly as he seated himself fully inside her. She shifted her gaze to the cock in front of her. She held herself up with one arm straightened and slid her hand up Chase’s shaft as she bent and kissed the top of Hunter’s cock.
Hunter’s hand slid into her hair as a growl rumbled in his chest. Her cat answered, anxious for them to be together this way. She wanted to share herself with them individually, but this first time, it seemed fitting for them to all be tumbling toward bliss together.
Chase’s hand wrapped around hers and helped her keep a swift pace. He moved close enough that he could touch her, reaching between her legs to her clit. He rubbed the sensitive bud in time to her strokes on him, and Dylan soon matched their pace. Dylan’s fingers dug into her hips as he pulled her closer, angling her body until each stroke into her made her pussy grip him tightly.
She opened her lips and took Hunter into her mouth. He was hot and hard, and she took as much of him as she could. She focused on him, rubbing her tongue along the underside of his cock, stroking the thick vein and sucking hard. She swirled her tongue along him, taking more and more of him into her mouth. Chase’s dick thickened in her hand, growing hotter and harder as she gripped him.
His fingers flew on her clit, rubbing her just right as her bod
y began to tremble and her stomach tightened. She groaned around Hunter, and he snarled, fisting her hair and moving her on him faster. Spiraling toward climax, she spread her legs a little farther apart, and Dylan growled, fucking her faster and harder, as Hunter moved her on his cock and Chase helped her hand to move on him.
She screamed as she came, the sound muffled by Hunter’s cock. Her body locked down on Dylan, who shouted her name as he pressed himself close to her, his cock emptying into her. Hunter’s cock thickened just seconds before he came, groaning, with his hips lifting to push himself deeper into her mouth. She swallowed his come and moved off him in time to lick the come from her fingers as Chase followed. Unable to keep herself upright, she slumped onto Hunter, and he chuckled, brushing the hair from her face.
“Did we wear you out, sweetheart?”
She murmured an answer, which made them all laugh in that way that men will, when they’ve loved their mate into a state of bliss. Dylan eased from her pussy and stretched out next to them as Chase followed suit. Both of their hands rested on her back as Hunter pulled her up his body until she rested on his chest, the steady thrum of his heartbeat under her ear.
“Fucking amazing,” Hunter said with a low voice. “Our little hellcat.”
She could have fallen asleep right there, with all three of their hands on her, her body warm and well loved, but she didn’t want to. She wanted all of them to come inside her pussy, to throb within her, marking her inside and out.
Levering herself onto her arms, she straddled Hunter’s waist and said, “Will you mark me? Do mountain lions do that?”
“We want to, if you’re ready for that,” Chase said.
Hunter nodded, running his palms up her thighs. “You set the pace. Whatever you want, it’s yours.”
She gathered her hair in her hands and lifted it onto her head, baring her neck. “I want all of your marks on me, where everyone can see them. I don’t want anyone to think I’m not taken, when I’m so very much claimed by all of you.”
