Protecting Their Mate [Panther Cove 1] (Siren Publishing Ménage Everlasting)
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Panther Cove 1
Protecting Their Mate
Panther shifters Derek and Hunter Black need to keep their clan’s secrets hidden. Reporter Jennifer Anderson, a tall blonde with legs that won’t quit, is the woman destined to be their mate. Too bad she doesn’t believe in destiny. Because she’s determined to uncover the truth about Panther Cove, the men will do whatever it takes to keep that from happening.
When her boss praises her for getting the coveted interview, she’s more focused than ever to find evidence of panther shifters and a secret society. Two gorgeous men, a romantic boat ride, and a kinky playroom cause her to question her priorities about what’s important. Only after the men come clean does she feel betrayed. Now she’s torn. She’s come to love them despite their need to keep their society secret. How can she save her job and make a life with the men she desperately wants?
Note: There is no sexual relationship or touching for titillation between or among siblings.
Genre: Ménage a Trois/Quatre, Paranormal, Shape-shifters
Length: 42,907 words
PROTECTING THEIR MATE
Panther Cove 1
Melody Snow Monroe
MENAGE EVERLASTING
Siren Publishing, Inc.
www.SirenPublishing.com
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A SIREN PUBLISHING BOOK
IMPRINT: Ménage Everlasting
PROTECTING THEIR MATE
Copyright © 2013 by Melody Snow Monroe
E-book ISBN: 978-1-62241-910-4
First E-book Publication: January 2013
Cover design by Harris Channing
All art and logo copyright © 2013 by Siren Publishing, Inc.
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED: This literary work may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, including electronic or photographic reproduction, in whole or in part, without express written permission.
All characters and events in this book are fictitious. Any resemblance to actual persons living or dead is strictly coincidental.
PUBLISHER
Siren Publishing, Inc.
www.SirenPublishing.com
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PROTECTING THEIR MATE
Panther Cove 1
MELODY SNOW MONROE
Copyright © 2013
Chapter One
Derek Black raised his sword and swiped the blade close to Hunter’s throat, but before the sharp edge reached his skin, his brother successfully parried the thrust.
“Damn, Hunter. Stand still.” His brother’s brown eyes twinkled.
If Derek had concentrated harder, he’d have been able to read his brother’s mind and known his next move. Too bad Hunter could do the same, which negated their mutual talent.
Hunter grinned and went on the offensive. “Aha! You’ll never nick me.” He thrust back his head in a mock arrogant pose.
Derek had already been stabbed at least three times today, and those cuts still stung like a bitch. Wanting to take advantage of Hunter’s momentary distraction, he advanced, but Hunter retreated. Determined to win this battle for once, their swords clashed and clanged.
I’m going to dip the sword his brother telepathed.
Forewarned, Derek lowered his blade but was a split second too late, allowing Hunter’s swipe to cut through his pants. A sharp ache ripped up his leg. Derek stepped back and held up one hand and pressed on the wound with the other. When he lifted his palm, blood caked his hand as well as his leg, which had already almost healed. “See what you’ve done.” He poked one finger through the hole in his shirt and tugged on the one in his pants. “More clothes ruined.”
Hunter laughed and leaned on his sword. “When will you ever learn you aren’t going to beat me?”
He was able to best every other foe except his brother. “Give me time.” Derek ripped off his shirt, as it was now useless, and tossed it in the trashcan at the far side of the gym.
He needed to do the same with his pants, but he wasn’t about to run around naked. Okay, he’d be willing to do that if he were chasing some beautiful woman to the bedroom.
One of the punctures to his gut had gone rather deep. He checked his wound and watched as the skin closed up like sand filling a wet hole. “I can’t believe you stabbed me. If I’d been human, you might have killed me.”
Hunter held up a finger. “Ah, there’s the rub. You aren’t totally human.”
“Good point.”
They both stopped to watch their top security team of Jeremiah and Mario duke it out with their bare fists on the other side of the gym. Mario hadn’t bothered to pull back his hair and it was caked in sweat.
“Twenty on Mario to win.” Hunter pulled a wad of bills from his pocket.
“You’re on.”
Both of their security men had been fighting for close to ninety years and had perfected the art of combat. Jeremiah delivered an uppercut that had to hurt. Derek even winced from the blow, but inwardly he cheered. If he couldn’t beat his brother with a sword, it would be nice to beat him with the bet. The problem when these men fought was that it was close to impossible to ever tell who won, no matter how bloody they got during the battle.
Jeremiah delivered a blow that had Mario reeling backward. Yes! Sometimes these guys took their combat too far.
I need to speak with them.
That sounded ominous, so he whistled to call off the fight, and both of his men stood at attention.
Jeremiah spun around and lasered a glare at him. “Why did you do that? I was winning.”
He should know better
than to question him, but as head of security the man often overstepped his bounds. If he hadn’t been the best man for the job, Hunter and he would have gotten rid of him at least fifty years ago.
Derek’s shrug came out exaggerated. “Didn’t want you to get hurt.” He loved nothing more than to tease him.
Jeremiah took one step before Mario stopped him. Both he and Hunter burst out laughing. “Sorry, guys. I couldn’t resist.”
Though he’d stopped the workout, Hunter was the one to motion the two sweaty men over. Only now did Derek sense the tension rolling off his brother.
Hunter shot a glance at him first then back at the security team. “I got wind that some members of The Sword are planning an attack on one of our government buildings.”
Derek hadn’t heard. You should have told me.
Later.
He was going to have a word with his brother about withholding information.
Jeremiah glanced between them, all anger at having been interrupted now gone. “What would you like us to do?”
“Keep your ear to the ground. Talk to Carmen. He’s the one who contacted me.”
He and Mario nodded and trotted off. Once they were alone, Derek faced his brother. “When were you going to tell me?”
“I just found out. I needed some time to clear my head and to figure out what to do.”
He raised a brow. “I thought we ran The Shield equally.”
“We do.” Hunter stabbed a hand through his short hair. “Sorry.”
Something was going on. Hunter never apologized because he rarely ever messed up. To show no hard feelings, Derek slapped him on the back. “What say we clean up, get something to eat, then head to town?”
Hunter smiled. “Good idea. I always pick up the best pieces of gossip at The Black Cat Bar.”
“There’s a lot more at that place that I’d like to pick up. And it ain’t just information.” He winked. “If you’re nice, I might even let you share.”
* * * *
Jennifer Anderson inhaled and stepped into a knee-length skirt, a white blouse that fit her body well, and one-inch heels. She wanted to look her best for her first day at her job. Intimidating a potentially short boss would be embarrassing. She’d traveled across the state from Raleigh at the chance to have her own byline, and she had every intention of succeeding.
She pulled her long blonde hair back into a ponytail and hoped she’d make a good impression.
Her cell rang and she checked the number. Ugh. It was her mom. She debated not answering as she didn’t want to be late, but maybe they could talk on the drive over. “Hi, Mom.”
“So, how did it go?”
Her mom must be having her memory issues again. “I’m on my way to the interview now.”
“You’re going to agree to do whatever they ask, right?”
Not everything. “Within reason.” When she’d worked in Raleigh, she’d gotten passed over time and time again—for men! It just wasn’t fair.
As she reached to grab her purse, she spotted the bills on the side table near the door. She’d brought them from Raleigh, not having the heart to open the envelopes until she got her first paycheck. She knew what each contained, as she recognized the return address. One was another overdue notice for her college loans and the other was from her bank. Her car payment was due.
Closing her eyes for a moment, she hoped the bills would disappear when she opened them. Nope. I’ll pay them in a week. She grabbed her purse and headed downtown to work.
She’d had to pay her landlord the first month’s rent along with a security deposit, which was why her funds were so low. The rent was highway robbery since this efficiency was a dump, but it was the best she could afford. It had come not only furnished, but it was close enough to work that she could walk. Today, however, she wanted to drive to avoid arriving all sweaty. The wind was blowing briskly and probably would have messed with her hair anyway.
Her mom’s voice interrupted her musings. “Just remember what happened when you had the interview with Mr. Jacobson and he asked you to—”
“Mom. Gotta go. We’ll talk later.” She disconnected.
She loved her mom, but sometimes she was too needy. Being reminded of her financial duties was something her mom harped on too often. While her dad worked two jobs, her mom couldn’t keep one more than a few months.
When Jen found a parking place right on the street in front of the three-story, brick building that housed the Delight Sentinel, she considered it a good omen.
Hmm. She thought it a bit odd that the newspaper office sat above The Black Cat Bar, but the owner had probably gotten a good deal on rent. She could only hope the bar clientele didn’t get rowdy until after the newspaper closed for the evening.
She just had to remember that this job would be the stepping-stone to her future and not her last job. The family motto was always, “Do whatever you need to do to get the job done right.” She wished her mom had adhered to that more often.
There was a ground floor door that led up two flights of stairs. At the top, a tarnished gold plaque held the name of the newspaper. She knocked then let herself in. Chatter and clutter gave her the impression of a busy place. Six people, five of whom were men, sat at desks typing on their laptops. Three had earpieces and were talking on the phone at the same time. The one woman, who appeared to be in her late fifties, was scribbling something on a yellow legal pad.
The boss, a Mr. Diggers, said to seek him out when she arrived.
As she approached the nearest desk to the door, a man, who appeared to be in his twenties, disconnected his phone call, glanced up, and smiled. His welcoming face helped settle her nerves.
She stuck out her hand. “Hi, I’m Jennifer Anderson. I’m the new hire. Mr. Diggers said to find him.”
“Grant Tillman. Boss is in his office.” He thumbed in the direction of the glass-walled office.
Inside, a bald man wearing glasses was hunched over a computer. “Thanks.”
She wove her way through the crowded room and knocked on her new boss’s door. He glanced up, smiled, and rushed over to her.
He held out his hand. “You must be Jennifer. Please come in.” He motioned she take a seat.
While he seemed as nice as he’d sounded on the phone, now that she was here, her nerves flared up. You can do this. She sat down and crossed her legs at the ankles, just like she’d always been taught. Then she uncrossed them, not wanting him to think she was a typical woman. She could handle any job a man could.
“Welcome to Delight, North Carolina.”
“Thank you.”
“Are you ready to tackle your first assignment?”
That was a no-brainer. “Are the Panthers the best?” She was a big football fan.
Mr. Diggers got the strangest look on his face, and her stomach churned. Oh, shit. Her career had ended before it had begun. Her luck, he loved the Green Bay Packers or the New England Patriots.
Mr. Diggers seemed to have taken pity on her and sent her a kindly smile. “You’re new in town, so I think you’d be perfect for the job I have in mind.”
She leaned forward, glad he hadn’t decided to relegate her to a desk. “Anything. I just want to be a reporter.”
“I’m not sure how much homework you’ve done on Delight, but there is a large compound northwest of town that’s rather mysterious.”
Now she was intrigued. She liked mysteries and loved nothing more than to dissect all the information and try to decide fact from fiction. The information on the town had been scarce at best. All she’d found were Google images of the main street. In truth, whoever had taken the photos somehow made it appear a lot larger than it really was. “I didn’t find much.”
“If you’re here for any length of time, you’ll hear a lot of rumors about a secret society and panther shape-shifters.”
She worked hard not to roll her eyes or laugh. She didn’t believe in ghosts, demons, shape-shifters, or anything like that. “Seriously?”
“According to legend, these shape-shifters live for hundreds of years and have been in Delight for as long. The MacLeash family owns about a thousand acres of forest up in the mountains, though only a handful of dignitaries have ever been invited inside their compound. Many of those who reside behind the large iron gates do come to town. Hunter and Derek Black run the show, but old man MacLeash is said to still be alive. Both Hunter and Derek Black own an antique store two doors down the street, but for the most part they let others run it. It’s rumored that Geoffrey Harper, a college professor, and his brother, Darius, who is a medical doctor, also live in Panther Cove.”
“Panther Cove?”
“That’s what they call their compound. Sure, they fly the Carolina Panther flags at their entrance and are huge football fans, but many of us wonder if that’s just a cover-up.”
She wondered if someone hadn’t tainted this man’s coffee with a hallucinogen. However, if he wanted her to interview some dude who claimed to have come from another planet, she’d be the first to knock on his door. “Wouldn’t the postman know who lives in this cove place?”
He smiled. “You’re smart. They have a post office box in town. All letters are simply addressed to Panther Cove. No names. Nothing else.”
None of this was making any sense. “What would you like me to do?”
He pointed behind her. “As you can see, my staff is mostly men. If you want to be my top reporter, I need you to get to know Hunter and Derek Black. Intimately. All the women say they are handsomer than sin.”
As in have sex with them?
“I’m not sure I’m the right person.”