by Cara Adams
“I don’t turn into a puma or a panther or anything, do I?”
Omar didn’t think JB sounded particularly worried. Maybe he wouldn’t mind being a cat. “It doesn’t work that way. You have to be born with the genes.”
“I’ll need to get some birth control pills though, just to be quite safe,” said Ramona.
Omar nodded. He was quite sure she was safe at the moment, otherwise he would never have permitted either of them to take her bareback. But pills were better. “So, we tell Sam we’re going to mate. Who do you have to tell, JB? Larry? Then we talk about a larger house and we talk about a true introduction to Dominance and submission.”
“I don’t need to tell anyone. I don’t have a Master because I’m not in a relationship right now. But I’ll talk to Larry. I’m already getting some modular housing for Tor, Gaynor, and Cameron. I think just adding an empty module to the side of my house would work fine for us. Then we can fit it up however we want.” Javier fidgeted on his chair a bit then blushed a little and said, “To stay here, to go on living here, you’ll need to be accepted by the community. I mean, I don’t expect it’ll be a problem, but it does have to be approved. If you’re going to live here, that is.”
“Yeah, I know. Gaynor told me about that. Psychological testing and stuff. I’m okay with sitting the tests. If I fail, we can live somewhere else, as soon as the rogue group is dealt with,” said Ramona.
“You won’t fail. Neither will I. I’ll go tell Larry we plan to join the community.” Omar was confident everything would be all right.
“What about your job?” asked JB.
Yeah, he’d been wondering about that. He couldn’t exactly say he planned to take over running the pack. Or could he? These two people were his family. No. No. He was the Dom. He couldn’t place burdens and worry on them. “At present I’m doing most of the business management and administration for the pack. If they decide to move on instead of staying here, I’ll get another job.”
“Do you think they’ll leave? I got the impression they were keen to stay here now. This place is absolutely ideal after all,” said Ramona.
Omar noticed JB watching him carefully. The answer was important to him as well.
“It makes good sense to stay. If we’re accepted. We can sell the farm and use the money to buy houses for the pack here. The farm is too small for us, even though we’re a small pack. Here there’s much more wild area for us to run in, and I reckon Larry would let us plant some crops if that’s what some of the people want to do.”
They talked around and around the ideas for a while longer while Ramona made them coffee and they ate the last of the pancakes. But Omar wasn’t worried. He knew it would all work out just as he’d planned it.
* * * *
When JB told Larry about planning to mate with Ramona and Omar, Larry just nodded. “I knew you’d never take Ramona from Omar. I knew that Dom would never give her up. But this way you get her and a Dom as well, so that should suit you. If they plan to stay, they’ll have to be approved by the community. Ramona will be a shoo-in. I’m not so sure about Omar. He’s very Dominant indeed. What will you do if he’s not accepted?”
“I’ll continue to work here, if you’re happy about that. We’ll find somewhere else to live.”
“Not a problem then. Now, to work. Some of the people are very keen to put a high electric fence around the property. This panther business has made them more security conscious. What do you think about that?”
“Around the entire property? That’s miles and miles of fencing. It’d cost a huge amount.”
“Forget about the cost. Is it doable?”
“I’d need to check the maps. We’ve cleared both sides of the existing fences so that would be okay, nothing to short them out or prevent the connections, but there might be trees to lop or remove so they don’t hit the wires in a storm. Things like that. I’d need to calculate what we need. It all has to be steel wire, and we’d need insulators, connectors, posts, other things, too. Polywire’s a lot cheaper, but sighter wire is a much more obvious deterrent. One row of sighter wire at eye level and the rest polywire might work and not be so expensive. For such a huge order there’d definitely be a bulk discount. Or even build a regular wire fence and just insert a row of polywire in it. I’ll have to think about it. How long do I have before you need me to get back to you on this?”
“Couple of days?”
“No worries. Can do.”
* * * *
One of the other male panthers, Oliver, had been assigned to accompany Ramona to work, driving her each way and waiting for her to reassure him there were no strangers on the movie set or staying near her if there were. At first Ramona hadn’t been pleased about this, but Omar had pointed out it was either that or him doing it, and she knew she’d never be able to concentrate on her job with his gaze boring a hole through her clothes all the time. Apart from that, Omar needed to be with the pack. The situation with their leader, Sam, was rather precarious right now, and Omar would be torn in two, wanting to protect her and enjoying being with her, while feeling guilty about neglecting the pack when they really needed him, too. It was much better for them all if he concentrated on sorting out the pack.
A definite advantage of having Oliver with her was that he was interested in the movie business and perfectly content to stand around holding cables or whatever was needed, as long as Ramona was nearby.
Ramona suspected Oliver was the fittest man she’d ever met. Nothing seemed to make him out of breath. Today he was with her, sitting behind a fake wall, while she operated an extra camera. Nicholas and Curtis would be doing the main filming, but they wanted a few extra shots from the side, which was what Ramona was to do. Basically it was even simpler than that. She’d film the entire sequence, and they’d just pick a few seconds out of it to add into what the main cameras were filming.
Nicholas was a wolf, although very few humans knew that, and Curtis was a Dom, and again that was kept fairly quiet. When Autumn had convinced her to go to a Carnal Connections BDSM event, Ramona had not only met and fallen in love with Javier, but she’d also seen Nicholas and Curtis there. Autumn had insisted on being introduced to them, and Ramona had sensed the three of them forming a connection. Although whether it was possible for a cat and a dog to develop a relationship together was an interesting question. Still, it was surprising how often Nicholas and Curtis seemed to be found at Carnal Connections these days, like when they set up the lights and filming as a defense against a rogue panther attack.“It was a pretty neat trick them filming the rogue panthers at Carnal Connections that night. Now they’ll be mighty easy to pick out of a lineup if they do break in or something,” Oliver said.
“Oh, yes. I couldn’t believe how they had all those spotlights set up and everything. It must have taken them hours to do. It would’ve been too bad if the rogue group didn’t come after all.”
“Not a chance. They were bound to turn up, and sooner rather than later, as well.”
“So what’s your tip for the future? Do you think they’ll try again?” Ramona asked.
“Yep. I agree with the group that says they’ll break in from the back, over the fence line somewhere unexpected, and filter into the main compound slowly the back way. Likely have grabbed someone before anyone raises the alarm. That’s why Sam’s so paranoid about Leticia and won’t let her out of his sight. The woman can’t even go to the bathroom without him standing at the door, calling out to her to tell him she’s all right.”
Ramona laughed, but she wouldn’t be surprised if Oliver wasn’t even exaggerating. Sam could think of nothing but his daughter. He even slept on a mattress across the doorway of her room in the main house at Carnal Connections. “It’s a shame there isn’t a man she’s interested in. Having her mate or marry is the obvious solution,” she said.
“Well, I think it’s just as well she doesn’t have her eye on anyone. Her old man would never agree to his little princess moving out from under his contro
l. He doesn’t see her as an adult at all. I mean, sure she’s smallish in size, but she’s a grown woman and the old man just can’t—or won’t—see it.”
Ramona wondered if Oliver was interested in Leticia but had no more time to think, as just then she saw the cloud of dust that indicated the horses were coming. She made sure the tripod was steady and switched the camera on, focused it properly, and began filming. She tried to shoot from angles that the others wouldn’t be able to get, such as focusing on the leg muscles of the horses up really close, but mostly just made sure she kept the camera on the entire group instead of a single horse. Only after they were all past and it was no longer worth filming the dust in the distance did she realize she’d recognized one of the riders as not one of their own people.
“The leader of the rogue panthers was riding one of the horses. A man with longish, dirty-blond hair.”
“I noticed. He’s a damn good rider for a cat, too.”
“Do you think he’s human? Not a shifter then?”
“No. As a human they’d never accept him as their leader. He might be half and half, though. That may have caused him to be rejected by his original pack and want to form his own. It might also be why he’s so keen on having a pure-blood mate. A woman like that would raise his standing among the pack a lot.”
“He’ll have had to give Nicholas his name and address and details about himself. That’s good news. We can tell them to Larry and Omar,” she said.
“Betcha anything you like they’ll be false.”
“Dammit, likely you’re right.”
* * * *
Predictably, Omar went ballistic when she told him about the rider. “He was riding a horse. He went past me in the middle of the herd, and in a cloud of dust. He wouldn’t have even known I was there. I was filming from behind a false wall.”
“It’s too dangerous for you to be at work. What if he’s looking for you?”
“Don’t be ridiculous, Omar. You know he won’t want me now. If he was planning to do something bad, I’d be more likely to believe he’d steal the horses.”
“That would make sense. They could ride them onto the property, jump the fence out in back somewhere, and come in that way.”
“You’d better make the new fence too high for a horse to jump, then,” Ramona said, smiling at Javier.
“Yeah, I already planned that. Some of those big cats can jump mighty high.”
“Are they really going to build a brand-new electric fence?” asked Omar.
“They were prepared to do that, yes, but it’s very expensive. We’re going with a high wire perimeter fence, with barbed wire facing out at the top and a single electrified strand that will be almost invisible as an inner fence. The outer fence will be too high to jump and difficult to climb, as the barbed wire will be overlapping outward. If they get past that, hopefully they won’t be expecting an inner electrified fence as well and will set it off.”
“It still sounds expensive,” said Omar.
“It absolutely is. It’ll also be a bitch to install, but we’re doing it as fast as we can. Even ahead of Tor, Gaynor, and Cameron’s home, which isn’t finished yet. I have two teams digging post holes already.”
“I’ll see if I can free up another couple of men to help you. The sooner it’s done the sooner we’ll all sleep more soundly,” said Omar.
“Great, thanks.”
Ramona smiled to herself. The two men were cooperating better than she’d ever expected they would so soon in the relationship. Of course, JB was pretty laid back and easygoing, but even Omar had relaxed quite a bit around them both. Excellent news.
“What about the extension you’re going to add to this house? What will the rooms be?” asked Ramona, deliberately trying to keep the conversation going on something they could all contribute to, hopefully without getting upset.
“I was thinking of making a storeroom. You’ll likely both have things you want to bring with you but don’t need all the time.” Javier looked up at Ramona, a little hesitantly, she thought.
“Oh, yes, winter coats and boots. We can store them in summer for example. Good plan.”
Omar nodded, too, and JB smiled at Ramona then went on. “My living room isn’t all that big. I was thinking we could use that more as a den, with a desk and the TV and so on, and leave a great room in the new module for when we had visitors. A place where a group could sit on couches and in armchairs without being overcrowded.”
Ramona noticed Omar shoot JB a piercing look. Ramona had wondered if Omar would take over pack leadership from Sam. Sam sure wasn’t coping right now. If Omar did become the Alpha, there would be regular times when a larger group would meet together. A great room for them to use made good sense, and they’d still have the den for JB and her to be in, if it was a male-panther-only type gig. Making such a suggestion showed JB was right on the ball, though. Omar hadn’t said anything in front of them, and she’d only worked it out because she was a pack member. JB didn’t even have that connection. He may be quiet and shy, but he was mighty fast on the uptake.
“You’re doing great so far. What else?”
“I hadn’t decided. There’d be room for a guest bedroom or a second bathroom. What do you think?”
“Could we have a second bedroom with perhaps a half bath? That way guests wouldn’t need to come to our bathroom. Not just guests sleeping over but also people here for meetings,” said Omar.
“That’s doable. The storeroom doesn’t need to be big. Just space to walk in with floor-to-ceiling shelves is all.”
“Excellent. That’s all done then,” said Omar, looking at both her and JB. She nodded. JB had certainly chosen well. Not only had he guessed their needs, he’d gotten it all planned out with no fuss. Ramona gave him a hug and a kiss. “You’re totally awesome.”
JB blushed.
“Hey, what about me?” asked Omar.
“You’re awesome, too.” Ramona kissed him, too. After all, she loved them both, and things were going well between them. Of course this was very early in their combined relationship. Kind of like the honeymoon phase, she guessed. There was no guarantee the men would continue to cooperate with each other, or that Omar wouldn’t come over all Dominating and try to prevent her living her own life outside the house.
Chapter Four
Now they’d both agreed to submit to him, Omar spent a lot of time thinking about how to give them a special first experience of his Dominance. He wanted something potent, extreme even, but short lived. A beating that would have them moving cautiously for several days after it, remembering every delicious touch of the whip wasn’t quite what he wanted. Nor was leaving them handcuffed or tied up and teasing them on and off all night.
Finally, Omar thought of the perfect scene and made a trip to the nearest grocery store.
“Go to the bedroom, get undressed, then come out to the kitchen. It is time to begin our scene,” he told Ramona and JB after supper that night.
JB’s cheeks flushed, always a giveaway sign with him. Ramona lowered her gaze to the floor, but not before he’d seen the sparkle in her dark eyes. Good. They were ready and willing to play. He really ought to have discussed safe words with them. Well, he’d do that later. For this scene, which would last only about a half hour, he’d give them a word of his choice.
He walked into the kitchen. He needed to get a few things ready for the scene. They both arrived very quickly, another sign they were more than willing to trust him in this.
“Hands behind your backs.”
They complied, JB a little awkwardly, and he moved behind them, snapping the handcuffs around their wrists, ensuring their arms were not pulled too tightly and their wrists wouldn’t chafe unnecessarily. His subs were his responsibility. His task was to bring them extreme pleasure with a bite of pain but not to cause them any ongoing damage.
“Turn and face the counter and watch me.”
He took the hand of ginger from the shelf where he’d placed it earlier that day. �
�Fresh ginger is always best,” he said, wondering if either of them would know what was about to happen. Ramona might not, but JB, having lived in a BDSM community for quite a while, might guess.
Ha! He was correct, as always. Ramona was watching him, obviously unaware of what would come next, but JB was licking his lips, his face more flushed than ever.
Omar cut a finger from the hand of ginger, extending his cut through the hand, making a long, uniform shape. Then he repeated the cut with a second finger. “One for each of you,” he said, watching them. JB’s chest was rising and lowering faster than before. Oh, yes. He knew what was coming and was looking forward to it.
Omar peeled off the outer brown skin and smoothed a couple of bumps from the finger with his knife. The aroma of ginger filled the air, and JB was wiggling with excitement now, more than ready to play the scene. Ramona was watching, catching JB’s excitement, but she hadn’t yet guessed what would come next. For Omar, having both of them play this scene was hugely arousing. He had the innocence of Ramona, who he would introduce to figging, see her first time at it, watch all her reactions. But he also had the added satisfaction of JB, someone who knew what would come next and was therefore much more aroused with the suspense and anticipation before they even began the scene. Omar’s cock was growing harder by the second, filling with his own excitement at leading and guiding his subs.
Two-thirds of the way down the first finger, Omar carved a slight concavity to make the finger act as a butt plug. He needed to be able to pull it out of his subs if there was any trouble or if they no longer wanted to play the scene. It was no big deal if the finger broke and stayed inside them. Nature would take care of it. However, as a caring Dom, Omar insisted on remaining in control, so he was careful to carve the gingerroot exactly so—deep enough to form a plug, not so deep it would break off inside his sub. Omar laid the first finger aside and repeated his actions with the second one.
