by R. E. Butler
“What’s so funny, baby?” Grant asked as they stopped inside the screened-in back porch.
She cocked her head at him. “I was just thinking how lucky I am to have two such handsome, sexy cats as my mates.”
“We’re lucky,” Aaron said with a low voice that slipped down her spine like a caress and made her skin tingle in awareness.
She heard a zipper, and Aaron turned her around to face the wall. She laughed. “It’s not funny,” he groused. “You don’t need to see any other males naked but us.”
“I wasn’t looking,” she protested as Grant moved in front of her and kissed her. She unbuttoned his flannel shirt while Aaron stripped next to them.
“Since it’s the weekend, the boys can stay up late, but don’t let them talk you into staying up later than ten, okay? They ate dinner, but they’ll want a snack, and you help yourself, too. Everything we have is yours, baby.” Grant shrugged out of the shirt, and Sam was momentarily stunned by how gorgeous he was. All that smooth, muscular flesh. It was all hers.
Aaron’s naked, hard body pressed against her as he pulled her into his arms. “I want to stay home with you,” he growled, fisting his hand lightly in her hair and tipping her head to the side to lick up the length of her neck.
“Oh,” she breathed, her hands flexing on his biceps as the wild scent of him filled the air around her.
His voice tipped deeper, “I want to lick every inch of your body until you’re writhing under me and screaming my name.”
Her eyes fluttered shut as the mental images flipped through her mind. Her body flushed and heat pooled in her core. He licked the shell of her ear. “Then I’m going to sink my fangs into your pretty neck and mark you as mine forever, sweetheart.”
If it was possible to come from words alone, she was walking a fine line of doing just that. She shivered from head to toe and slowly became aware of the complete and utter silence around them. Her eyes popped open, and ten pairs of eyes were watching them hungrily.
Blushing sharply, she buried her face in Aaron’s neck and laughed nervously. “Thanks for horning me up and then leaving me hanging.”
Grant cleared his throat, and the men muttered something unintelligible and then the screen door creaked open. The men moved out and down into the snow-covered yard. Aaron kissed the top of her head. “Sorry if I embarrassed you, sweetheart. I just couldn’t stop from vocalizing what I was feeling. I think getting ready to shift like this and having you here is making my cat go a little crazy.”
“It’s okay.” She tipped her chin up and kissed him. “I didn’t mind what you said. I minded that we had an audience and you’re leaving.”
He kissed her again, and she turned into Grant’s arms for a final kiss.
“What did you mean by marking me?” she asked.
“We want to bite your neck. It’ll leave scars behind that will tell anyone who sees the marks that you belong to us,” Aaron said.
She arched a brow. “Sounds painful.”
Grant’s mouth curved up into a slow smile. “Not if we make sure you’re really, really happy first.”
Aaron moved away. “We’ll talk about it more later, okay, baby?”
She nodded as Grant joined him and they shifted. She’d never seen a were shift before. It was positively amazing. Their human bodies twisted and reformed until she was staring at two mountain lions. Going to her knees, she reached her hands out, and they moved to her quickly, rubbing against her hands and up her arms, snuffling at either side of her neck. She giggled when their whiskers tickled her skin and hooked her arms around both of their furry necks and gave them a light squeeze.
Standing, she held the door open for them. They rubbed their cheeks against her knees as they walked past, bumping her with their bodies as they moved through the door and down the steps into the snow. The other lions waited for them in the moonlight. Her men stopped and looked up at her, chuffed, and then joined their pride. It was a scene out of a nature film, and the beauty of the felines in the snow captured her attention until they slipped through the woods behind the home and disappeared from view.
Chapter 10
*Eryx*
Eryx Fallon stood from the kitchen table and gathered the dishes as his brother, Ethan, lifted their youngest, Cameron, from the high chair and carried him upstairs to change him. Callie helped their twins, Evan and Elliott, out of their booster seats and said, “I’ll do the dishes later, Eryx, don’t you have to get ready for your shift?”
Eryx sighed. He didn’t want to go into work. It was the night of the full moon, and Callie, as a werewolf, was compelled to shift and hunt. As mountain lions, they weren’t held to any particular night, but since Callie had come crashing into their lives, they’d gotten into the habit of going hunting on the full moon. Normally, their Aunt Lisa watched the kids while the two of them went hunting with Callie, but tonight was different.
The night before, their father James had called and asked if Eryx would mind taking his shift at the station so that they could all go hunting together. Except for the uncle who would stay with the cubs while the other adults shifted, the entire pride was going hunting together, something that hadn’t happened since the new males had arrived.
Eryx liked the new males, even though it was difficult for him to be around them with Callie. He trusted her implicitly, but he didn’t like how the males looked at her with such blatant longing. Eryx had trouble stifling the possessive side of his beast whenever they were all together. Of course he knew he could trust the males not to try anything with a mated female, but they were unmated and that meant his cat didn’t trust them around his mate. There wasn’t much he could do about that until they were mated themselves.
Ethan came downstairs with Cameron, set him on the rug, and sat down with him, bringing a few toys in front of him. “Dad called and said that Sam is going to stay at the boarding house with the cubs tonight.”
Callie joined him with the twins, and Eryx put the dishes in the sink and then sat down with his family.
“That’s cool,” Callie said. “I like Sam. She’s a sweetheart.”
They had met Sam the week before when they were invited to dinner at the boarding house. Eryx wasn’t sure that his uncles would ever find mates of their own, and he was surprised that both Grant and Aaron had chosen the same female. It made him wonder if all mountain lion matings were going to be multiples like his own.
“She is sweet,” Ethan said, shaking a rattling lion toy in front of Cameron, who reached his fat little fist out to grab it. “She’s good for the kids, too. They really want a mom.”
“The kids definitely deserve to have a mother’s love in their lives,” Callie said with a smile. “I’m glad our kids won’t ever have to wonder about that.”
She leaned back, and Eryx put his arms around her, kissing the side of her neck and taking a deep breath of the sweet scent of her skin. “I love you,” Eryx said, nuzzling under her ear where her scent lay heaviest. He slid his hands around her and bit gently on her pulse. She was extremely horny on the full moons, part of her being a werewolf. He and Ethan had taken turns watching the kids while one of them played with their wife upstairs. He didn’t think he could ever get enough of the taste of her skin or the scent of her arousal. She was like a drug, and he loved being addicted to her.
“You have to go to work,” she said ruefully, tipping her head to the side with a sigh. “And it’s not fair to make me all … warm … when you have to leave.”
“Chief can’t be late,” Ethan said with a smirk.
Eryx sucked his teeth in annoyance and shot Ethan a dirty look. Yes, he was the chief of police, but didn’t that mean he could be late sometimes? Especially when his wife smelled so delicious?
He growled low in his throat when Callie scooted away from him and stood gracefully, sweeping Cameron up into her arms. “Come on, my littlest cub. Let’s get our shoes on and go see Aunt Lisa.”
He found the kids’ jackets and boots and helped Et
han dress them. “I was just teasing,” Ethan said with a low voice.
“I know. I just hate being away on the full moons. It feels like both her mates should be with her on this night.”
Ethan frowned. “I hadn’t thought about it like that. So next time, tell Dad to make Alek take your place and that you don’t want to do anymore full moon night favors. I know the only reason he asked is because it’s the first full moon they’ve all had off work at the same time. Even Dylan, Hunter, and Chase who always work nights were able to schedule the time off.”
“I’m just feeling a little bitter,” Eryx sighed. “I’ll get over it.”
Ethan smiled. “Sure you will. And when you’re off your shift, our little kitten will be waiting in bed for you. I’ll even do you a solid and get the kids up and get them breakfast so you can have some extra time with her alone.”
“Yeah?” Eryx asked in surprise.
Ethan nodded and zipped up Elliott’s coat. “Of course.”
“Thanks.”
Eryx held the door open as Callie walked outside with Cameron in her arms and a diaper bag over her shoulder. Ethan followed with the twins. Eryx shut the front door and helped Callie and Ethan strap the kids into the car seat and booster seats in the SUV. Eryx drove them to Lisa and Rhett’s home and helped unload the kids. He kissed Callie soundly, lingering on the porch with her petite body in his arms, until she wiggled away and promised that she wouldn’t mind if he woke her up when he got home from work.
Saying goodbye to his wife and brother, who were hanging out with Lisa and Rhett for a little while before it was time to hunt, he climbed into the SUV and headed to the station. Lisa and Rhett didn’t have any kids, and Lisa loved being an aunt. Her own family had disowned her when she married Rhett because they didn’t believe that humans and shifters should inter-marry. There were people out there who were prejudiced against shifters of any kind. Then again, the female mountain lions were prejudiced against anyone who wasn’t a lion, so hatred could certainly go both ways.
Eryx checked in with the woman who ran the night desk. She was a were-bear from Chief Pope’s den, a grandmother of seven who had been retired for a few months before she decided she wasn’t ready to take up knitting yet.
“Evening, Mrs. Grandy,” Eryx said as he walked into the small station. She sat behind an L-shaped desk with a computer, two phones, and an overgrown spider plant sitting on the corner.
“Hi, Sheriff. How are your lovely wife and your sweet cubs?”
“As lovely as ever and starting to get into things.” Eryx stopped and filled up a mug with coffee, stirring powdered creamer and sugar into it.
“They’re at that age. You better lock up the breakables.”
Eryx chuckled. “We learned that the hard way, when Elliott grabbed the tablecloth last week and started to walk, pulling the dishes with it. Thankfully no one got hurt, but that meant we had to go out and buy new dishes and it was a set that my Dad gave us for our wedding.”
“Oh, that’s nothing,” she said and winked. “My grandson Robert dropped his mom’s iPad in a sink full of soapy water.”
“Ouch.” Eryx walked back into the small office and sat down in the metal desk chair. Evenings were usually quiet, except for the occasional call for a stranded motorist or the youthful destruction of the town by teenagers who liked to toilet paper and egg teachers’ homes. In many ways, Ashland reminded him of King, but it was different in better ways, the least of which was the complete lack of female lions.
Two hours later, Eryx had returned calls, answered emails, ordered supplies, and finished up two reports. Grabbing a walkie from the charging station, he slipped his hat and wool coat on. “I’m going to patrol for a while.”
She looked up from the book she was reading, smiled, and waved him away as she turned her attention back to the book that had a cover with a shirtless man with long blond hair clutching a bosomy redhead who was having trouble keeping her dress on. He unlocked the cruiser, waited for it to warm up a bit, and then headed out to patrol.
There wasn’t much to see in town. Mostly small neighborhoods and lots of farms like his Uncle Rhett’s. He drove by the school, swinging through the parking lot and checking to make sure that no one was up to any mischief, and then continued his rounds, stopping finally at the one restaurant in town — a greasy spoon — Cherie’s Diner.
“Evening, Sherriff Fallon,” Cherie said, as Eryx stepped inside and brushed snow off the shoulders of his wool coat and tucked his hat under his arm.
“Evening, Cherie.” Eryx smiled at her. “Cup of coffee to go, please.” Cherie’s had the best coffee, outside of coffee served by his wife when she was naked, and he always made it a point to stop in when he was working a shift to say hello.
She nodded and moved off to the side. “I’m glad you stopped by. I have something for your sweet wife.”
Eryx smiled inwardly. He could guess what it was. Last week, Callie had asked Cherie if she knew how to make cannolis after she and Ethan had watched an Italian cooking show and the dessert caught her eye. Cherie hadn’t, but promised to look into them. Sure enough, Cherie put a Styrofoam coffee cup on the counter in front of him, along with a clear plastic to-go box containing four cannolis.
“Callie will love them, Cherie. Thank you so much.”
Eryx fixed the coffee with the little creamer jug and several packets of sugar on the counter, stirring it several times with a spoon that Cherie handed him.
Lily, Cherie’s granddaughter, dropped her tablet on the counter with a huff. “That damn woman and those jerks left me a penny for a tip.”
Cherie frowned. “I’m sorry, hon. I told you they were trouble.”
Eryx paused as he was putting his hat back on. “Who was trouble?”
Cherie waved absently at him. “A handful of these rough looking guys and this one gorgeous blonde woman. They came in for a meal awhile ago, and she spent the whole time with this look on her face like she smelled something awful.”
Eryx’s world narrowed down to the table that Lily pointed at when he asked where they sat. He strode over, and the scent of female mountain lion almost bowled him over. One was here? Were there more? Who was she with? How long had she been in town?
He closed his eyes and opened his mouth to touch the deeper scent receptors, allowing his cat free enough to filter out the heavy scents of grease and food that had masked the female in the first place.
Niecy. He recognized her scent because she was the mother of his Uncle Aaron’s three boys. Why was she here?
“What were they driving, Lily?” He pulled his cell from his pocket to call Ethan and check on Callie.
“A big black van with tinted windows. I didn’t see the plate, sorry,” Lily said.
Eryx nodded and said, “If they come back tonight, call the station.”
“Sherriff?” Cherie questioned.
“It’ll be fine, Cherie. Thanks for the coffee.” He grabbed the plastic container of cannolis and his coffee and stormed out the door, pressing the call button to dial Ethan’s cell, hopeful that his brother hadn’t shifted yet and would answer.
When Ethan answered, Eryx explained about the female. Ethan and Callie were just getting ready to shift and hunt, so Eryx had caught them at the right time. Ethan scouted around the house immediately and didn’t scent the female or any other men. Eryx felt his pulse relax slightly. The males in the pride had always known there was a chance that the females might try to find them. Even after the deaths of Melania and Farrah, who had been the most outspoken of the females in his and Ethan’s generation, the pride had known that eventually the females might come to make trouble. But if they weren’t going to his home to try to harm Callie, then why were they in town? He reached for the radio to call the station when his uncles crossed his mind. They were hunting tonight, all of them. The cubs were alone in the house with Sam!
Throwing the car into drive and switching on the lights, he called his uncles’ home, hoping against hope t
hat he wasn’t going to be too late.
Chapter 11
Shivering suddenly as she became aware she wasn’t wearing a coat, Sam rubbed her arms and headed inside, shutting the door behind her.
Five eager faces greeted her. She smiled at them — her boys — and said, “How about we make some cookies for your dads and the pride?”
They clapped in excitement, and in no time, they’d helped her gather all the ingredients from the pantry. Turning over the bag of chocolate chip cookies, she chewed on her lip and read out the recipe, letting Kevin work the mixer as she helped the others add in the ingredients. When she was little, her favorite memories of her mother were the times spent in the kitchen, sharing and talking. The boys chatted animatedly about school and what they wanted to do on Sunday. Their happiness at the fact she was staying the night told her she’d made the right decision. She still stood by her desire to take Aaron and Grant to meet her parents first, before she moved in, but that was going to happen Sunday night.
The stove beeped its readiness, and Ben put two cookie sheets on the counter. When they were full, they went into the oven, and Brian set the timer. A game was in order while they waited. Owen and Nathan brought out a dry erase board on an easel and a few markers while Brian and Ben found the kids’ version of Pictionary in their game closet in the hall. Splitting up into teams, they took turns drawing and guessing, and she laughed herself silly.
When the first batch of cookies was done, another batch went into the oven. Glancing up towards the stairs, she wondered about Henry and decided to take him a treat. Putting a few cookies on a plate and grabbing a glass of milk, she left the boys to play without her for a few minutes and walked up to the second floor to Henry’s room. Knocking, she waited until he said she could come in, and then she walked inside.
The room was neat as a pin. The walls contained a few posters of some movies she didn’t recognize, and there was a bookshelf stuffed full of paperbacks. A small fish tank, sitting on the dresser, held a bright blue beta with red fins. Henry didn’t look up from the desk in front of the window when she put down the cookies and milk next to him.
