by Ashley Shay
“Talon.”
Talon stepped forward. “Yes, sir.”
“Did you see anything wrong with the story Miranda just told us?”
Talon frowned, his forehead scrunching. He rubbed a finger over his large beak of a nose and sent a rather confused look to Miranda. The bitch was still smiling, apparently too stupid to realize what she’d done wrong. Luckily, Talon seemed to be a bit more on the ball. A light seemed to go on upstairs, and the confusion left his face. Thank God there were still a few brain cells left among his minions.
“She let the woman go,” Talon said.
“Yes,” Juan said softly. He rose and took a few steps toward Miranda. She must have seen something on his face because she backed up, colliding with the table behind her. “Why did you do that, Miranda?”
“Let her go?” Miranda squeaked.
“Yes,” he ground out. He forced each word past his lips, his fists clenching tighter and tighter. “Why….did…you…let…her…go?”
“I–I…” She took a deep breath, licking her lips over and over. “I–I don’t know, sir.”
“You don’t know.” He shook his head, uttering a weary sigh. “How unfortunate for you.”
“But you didn’t tell me to do anything!” Miranda cried. “I thought I was to just watch her, spy on her, get information about—”
Juan lifted a brow. “And what good does information about her do me?”
Miranda’s voice came out so softly he had to lean forward to hear her. “With information, you could find a way to kill her.”
“Ah,” he said, “I see. I can find a way to kill her.” He tilted his head. “Hmm…wouldn’t you think the best time to kill her might be when we find her?”
“Yes, sir.”
“And what did you do, Miranda?”
“I—” Her mouth fell open, and her eyes widened in horror. Her voice dropped to a whisper. “Oh God…”
“Oh God indeed,” he said softly.
She lifted a hand to her mouth, her fingers trembling. “You didn’t tell me to kill her.”
“No, I guess I didn’t. So would this fuckup be my fault, Miranda?”
She shook her head, her pretty brown hair fluttering around her neck. He saw her pulse drumming there, hard and fast.
He shook his head as well. “Talon?”
He straightened up like a good little soldier. “Yes, sir.”
“Doesn’t anyone use their own initiative anymore? I value solid personal judgment above all other things.” He ran his hands over his hair. “And yet, it is such a rare commodity among people nowadays. It’s sad really.”
“Yes, sir,” Talon said.
“Miranda,” Juan said quietly.
Tentatively, she raised her eyes to his. He saw tears there, but he was beyond caring about this jackal bitch. She’d let him down like so many others. It really was hard to find good help these days.
“Do you know why the gringos call me Viper?”
The tears dropped from her eyes and slid down her cheek. “No, sir.”
“Would you like to find out?” he whispered.
He knew what the answer would be, so he didn’t even give her a chance to answer. And she’d had such pretty hair…
* * * *
Cougar trudged up the stairs. After viewing that video for more times than he wanted to count, he felt sweaty and clammy. He needed a shower before dinner. Otherwise, Lucia wouldn’t even let him sit down. He concentrated on forcing his feet to move one in front of the other. All in all, this had been a very bad day. He paused at Carly’s door and listened for a moment, trying to discern any sounds or movement. When he heard nothing, he opened the door, thinking to check on her. He got more than he bargained for and felt like a fool for not realizing what had been happening all afternoon without him.
The room was cool and dark, a perfect haven for lovers. Carly lay naked on the bed, her lovely body with its luminous skin and gentle dips and curves curled between his equally naked brothers. Both of their arms were wrapped around her in comfortable bliss. Shane held her against his chest, and Dusty had spooned behind her, his cock pressed against her round backside.
An ache spread through his body, and his cock jerked, thickening and lengthening inside his jeans. What he wouldn’t give to have that smooth, perfect ass under his hands, to have that glorious and beautiful woman at his beck and call to tease, to teach, to dominate. He let his mind fill with a perfect vision—Carly kneeling before him, her skin flushed with unspoken want and need, her head bent in submission, and her soft voice calling him Master as she waited for him to determine what she should have.
“Fuck,” he whispered.
He clenched his teeth and drew in a deep breath through his nose. Lightning rarely struck twice. He’d been luckier than hell to find a perfect submissive in Jillian. To think he might be that lucky again would be wishing for far too much in life. God knew he didn’t deserve to be that happy.
He let his gaze travel over the hills and valleys of Carly’s body, lingering on the large, creamy breasts tipped with hard pink nipples. He wanted to pull each one into his mouth and feel the tight peak against his tongue. He wanted to suck them until she cried out, begging for more. He would kiss his way down her body until he found her clit then fasten his lips on that small nub until it was hard and throbbing with the need for release.
He pressed his hand against his cock, rubbing slowly, up and down in a hypnotic rhythm. He let the pleasure roll through him as he daydreamed about what he’d do to her, and what she’d beg him to do when he finished. He wanted her ass. Nothing else would do.
Carly rolled over then, a soft sigh escaping in her sleep, and his gaze dipped between her splayed thighs to the pink lips of her pussy, bare and pouty and glistening with the dewy moisture of her earlier arousal. He wanted to cross the space between them, slide up the sheet and bury his face in that warm haven. He wanted to taste the drops of fluid and lick them from her flesh as though they were the only sustenance he’d ever needed. He wanted to feel her fingers twist in his hair as she writhed beneath his mouth. He wanted that beautiful mouth wrapped around his cock, and he wanted to feel those warm lips suck him dry and swallow every last drop of—
His cock swelled and pulsed, and with one final tug, warm cum exploded into his jeans, soaking the fabric. He nearly groaned aloud with the heady, explosive release. He took one final look at his glorious, naked wet dream then closed the door. He nearly fell against it, his chest heaving as he tried to catch his breath.
He wanted to hear her begging to be sucked, licked, fucked.
He wanted her to want him.
But, really, beneath it all, he thought he just wanted to be loved.
Chapter Fourteen
“Are you sure you’re all right?”
Carly glanced up from helping Lucia load the dishwasher to find Rosa peering at her intently. She gave a laugh as she slid another plate onto the rack. “Of course I’m all right.”
“It was quite a scare,” Rosa said, lifting her wine glass, “and she had a very nasty physical effect on you…” Rosa peered at her over the lip of the glass. “Do you have any idea why?”
Carly shook her head. She just wanted to forget about it, at least for tonight. She knew the men were trying to find answers and they would protect her the best they could. She’d been stupid. She’d done the one thing Gabe had warned her not to do. She’d dropped her guard since coming to Cattail. It was her own fault for allowing her happiness to override her common sense.
She might want to forget about it, but Rosa seemed intent on dragging everything out for inspection again. “Tyler told me you’d felt that before. In San Antonio?”
“Yes,” she murmured. “And in Washington.” She busied herself restacking plates that were perfectly arranged.
“He didn’t tell me about Washington.”
“Gabe may have told him, but I…I haven’t talked to him about that,” Carly said. “I really don’t like to even think a
bout it.”
“Was it the same woman? The jackal?”
Carly’s stomach lurched as his image exploded into her mind. Her heart sped up, and her words came out in a rush. “No, it was a man, a black-haired man, beautiful, elegant…but inside…” Carly tightened her hand around a wine glass as she struggled to control the roiling of her stomach. Rosa wrapped her hand around Carly’s then took the wine glass from her.
“It’s okay,” she said softly, “you don’t have to relive it.”
Carly lifted her head to meet Rosa’s dark eyes. “Inside he was…repulsive, vile, disgusting…as though maggots slithered and crawled through his flesh, and…” She swallowed convulsively and shivered. “I think he enjoyed both the sensation and…scaring people with it. I’ve never met anyone like him before.”
“I have,” Rosa murmured. For a moment she looked sick to her stomach, and then she smiled. “Wasn’t that the best enchilada you’ve ever eaten?”
“Yes, I swear Lucia is trying to fatten me up for something.”
Lucia chuckled as she wiped the counter. “Being mated to five hermanos…Es muy fatigosa. You will need much energy being mated to these men, linda.” She waved her hand in the air. “And that Dusty! He is…vivaz, loco.”
“Loco I understand,” Carly said with a smile. She glanced out the window toward the pool where he played with Suzie. Even now, she could hear his whoops and hollers drift across the grounds, followed by Suzie’s delighted laugh. “Why are they so different, do you think?”
Lucia’s wrinkled face crinkled some more. “Los gemelos?”
Carly glanced to Rosa, who mouthed, “Twins.”
“Yes, Cougar and Dusty. I’ve never met two brothers so completely different, let alone twins.”
“Oh, es defícíl decir,” Lucia said quietly.
“Not so difficult,” Rosa said. “They used to be so identical you couldn’t tell them apart, but when their mother…died, it was as though their personalities split and reformed, as though they could only cope one way. Dustin embraced his inner child, and Justin became…” She laughed.“Well, he became Cougar. That one word probably says it better than I ever could.”
“You knew them then?”
“Sí, I was born in Miami, but I’ve lived in Catamount most of my life.” She patted Lucia’s hand. “Lucia practically raised me, especially after…” She fell silent.
“Especially after Señora Lucas died,” Lucia said. “It was hard for all…los hermanos, Señor Ben…even my Rosa.”
“And you,” Rosa said.
“Sí, and me,” the old woman said sadly.
Rosa turned to Carly. “Lucia and Madeline were very good friends. The women of Catamount were all close in those days and with Jillian. It’s been different without an alpha female, but perhaps you can change all that.”
“Me?” Carly gasped. “How can I change it? I’m not even a shifter.”
Rosa looked at her with amusement. “A person doesn’t have to be a shifter to lead people in a colony, Carly. You just have to do it. You’re mated to our alpha. It comes with the territory.”
Carly closed the dishwasher then turned to her new friend. “And what if I can’t do that?” she asked softly. “What if I can’t lead? But the bigger question is what if no one follows?”
“You worry about the strangest things,” Rosa said with a smile. “Have you been blind these last few weeks? Were you blind today?”
Carly had no idea what Rosa was talking about. She racked her brain trying to determine what she could have missed. Granted, she’d become sexually involved with shifters, but more importantly, she’d become romantically involved with them as well. She was thoroughly, completely, and irrevocably falling in love with the Lucas brothers, and if she wasn’t mistaken, they were falling in love with her too. What did that mean?
Then she remembered meeting the denizens of Catamount. They’d all be pleasant, interested in her, eager to talk with her, to touch her…They’d treated her like a visiting dignitary, like some of royalty. And they’d treated Suzie the same way because…
“We’re the future,” Carly whispered. She stared at Rosa, suddenly understanding. “I don’t have to do anything at all, do I?”
“No, ma’am,” Rosa said. “Tyler has chosen you.”
“But how can they be so trusting, so accepting? What if I’m not worthy to be their alpha female?”
Rosa burst into laughter, and Lucia joined her. Carly blushed.
“Oh, Carly, how delightfully innocent you are. Tyler chose you. That is all the validation they need.”
The French door burst open, and a dripping-wet Suzie rushed inside. She barreled across the tile and flung herself at Carly’s legs. She tipped her head back and gave Carly a bright smile. “You promised we would capture fireflies tonight.”
Carly cupped her face. “I sure did. Lucia needs to find us some jars so we have somewhere to put them.”
Suzie grabbed her hand. “Then let’s hurry! It’s getting dark.”
* * * *
The beauty of twilight descended quietly, the golds and ambers of the hot Texas day giving way to a wash of lavender and blue. The crickets came out in full force, chirruping loudly as the sun settled behind the horizon, and the bullfrogs by the cattail pond began their nightly songs.
Dusty flung his wet body onto a chaise. “Toss me a Shiner.”
“Magic word?” Shane said.
“Toss me a Shiner, now,” Dusty said.
“Ass,” Shane said with a laugh.
He reached behind him, and Dusty heard the sound of the stand-up cooler opening. He managed to cup his crotch just as the beer can sailed into his lap. “Damn, Shane…talk about asses,” he muttered.
“You reap what you sow,” Shane said, “but speaking of asses, I gotta say I am loving our new woman. Is she not the most perfect thing you’ve ever seen?”
“She does have a perfect ass on top of so many other perfect things.” Dusty took a long draw on the cold beer then nodded. “Yep, I’d have to agree with you on that.”
“That’s a first,” his brother said. “Dustin Lucas agreeing with someone who isn’t looking back from a mirror. Will wonders never cease.”
Tyler stepped onto the flagstones and glanced around the pool area. “Where’s Cougar?”
Dusty shrugged. “Probably looking at that fucking video again.”
“Damn it,” Tyler said. “He’s got to let it go for tonight. We can’t do a goddamn thing until we hear back from Gabe.”
“Tell him that,” Dusty said. “I swear he’s no fun anymore.”
“Was he ever?” Shane asked.
“Once,” Dusty muttered. “Though it’s kind of hard to remember when.”
“Lay off,” Tyler said. “He’s under a lot of stress.”
About to take another draw of beer, Dusty paused, the can halfway to his mouth. Damn, he just wanted to relax tonight. The sex earlier had put him in a mellowed, blissful mood. They’d had awesome enchiladas for dinner, and he and Suzie had gotten so waterlogged he thought he’d never dry his inner fur. They’d all had the day from hell, and hoping for one evening of peace should have been reasonable. It didn’t do a bit of good for everyone to get all bent out of shape. Still, for some reason, he couldn’t keep his stupid mouth shut. “And the rest of us aren’t under stress?”
“Of course we are.” Tyler grabbed a beer from the cooler and opened it, but he set it on the table. He needed empty hands to pontificate. It was hard to look serious holding a can of beer, and now that Dusty had opened the discussion by asking a seemingly innocent question, Tyler apparently thought ruining his evening was fair game. Crap. He really, really needed to stop himself from talking sometimes.
Tyler started to pace.
Oh yeah, here it comes. The alpha speaks.
“We’ve all had an emotionally charged last couple of weeks. We’ve had some pretty big changes here, and it’s been different for all of us and taken some adjustments. But Cougar�
�s in charge of both the security of this ranch and the safety of Catamount’s citizens. There’s always some change in the dynamic that causes security to evolve on a daily basis, and with Carly under witness protection, it’s only heightened the need for additional precautions and…”
Tyler on his alpha kick was almost too much to take sometimes. He droned on and on, and after a few minutes, Dusty rolled his eyes in Shane’s direction. Shane hid a smirk behind his beer can. Finally, Dusty couldn’t take it another minute. “Damn, Ty, can you just be our brother for one goddamn night?”
Tyler snapped his mouth closed and stopped pacing. He stared at them, his brow raised, then shrugged. “Of course. Absolutely.” He gave them a rueful smile. “Maybe.”
“Just try,” Dusty said. “That’s all I ask.”
Tyler lifted his beer can and took a sip, but Dusty saw his gaze drift toward the house.
“Stop worrying about him,” Dusty said. “He’s a big boy. He can take care of his own psychosis.”
Tyler ran a hand through his hair then glanced between Dusty and Shane. “You two aren’t worried about him?”
Shane took a deep breath, and Dusty waited. He had plenty of thoughts on the topic of his twin, but he preferred not to discuss Cougar at all. It felt almost…disloyal.
“Yeah, we’re worried,” Shane said. “He’s been bad since Jillian died, but these last few weeks… I’m not even sure he’s been down to Clandestine except to check in with the staff.”
“Not good,” Tyler said. “Clandestine is the only thing that keeps him halfway sane.”
“It’s because of her, you know.” The moment it came out of his mouth, Dusty wished he could suck the words back in. Fuck. He had no right to say things like that unless he said them right to his brother’s face. Hopefully, they’d let it slide. Dusty gripped his beer can, squeezing it tight, praying they’d drop the subject and move on.
