Ways in the Guardian: A Menage Romance Book Collection

by Barbara Downey

  Before she could pack up her things and rush for the door at the end of the day, he was standing by her desk. She pretended he wasn’t there for as long as it was possible but it was difficult when she had to listen to three people ask him for a drink that evening. She wanted to leave her desk in disarray and escape while he was occupied but she didn’t have it in her. She liked how neat and tidy it was in the mornings; she liked her filing and in-trays to be reliable, just like she was.

  “Josie, we need to talk,” Ryan said as she sidestepped him.

  “We did that already,” she replied.

  “No, we didn’t, I talked, and you ran away,” he said.

  “Like you ran away from my doorstep, naked,” she whispered.

  She was starting to get angry and confused and the fact that they were alone in the elevator didn’t mean she wanted to raise her voice. Her very normal life was not feeling so comfortable and she needed to feel more in control. She was just glad that his steady stream of admirers had given up for the day because she didn’t want another close encounter like the one with pinup girl in the coffee room.

  “I’m going to walk you home,” Ryan said as if she didn’t have a say in the matter.

  “I might not be going home,” she hissed.

  “Where are you going? I can come along too; we have to talk. Which way?” He asked.

  “That way,” she replied.

  “So you are going home,” he said grinning.

  The grin reached parts of her that were still focused on his naked form in her head and her knees went wobbly. If she could just keep it together for a while and not get her damp panties in a twist. All she had to do was keep it together and put one foot in front of the other. Ryan slipped his arm into hers and she thought he’d have to carry her home until someone tapped him on the shoulder.

  Chapter 6 - Ryan

  “We need to talk,” the man said.

  “Really?” Ryan replied looking back at Josie.

  “Just you and me, not the young lady,” the man replied.

  “I’m busy, what is it about?” he asked and could already catch Josie’s interest out of the corner of his eye.

  “That’s private,” the man smiled and winked at Josie.

  Ryan looked over at her and she was smiling shyly at the newcomer and blushing like a little girl. The man was encroaching on his territory and all it had taken was a wink to make her all girly and sweet. Why didn’t he have charm like that? The man was built like a marine but since his weekend of sickness, he was looking pretty hot himself.

  “I tell you what,” the man said. “We can both walk the pretty lady home and then we’ll have that chat.”

  He linked arms with Josie and she blushed further. Her scent was deepening into something that he’d expect to find in the bedroom and the hot marine guy was the cause. He wasn’t about to let her go. He wrapped his arm around her free arm and could feel the contents of her over-sized handbag digging into him. As they walked towards the park, he wondered what the sharp thing was in her bag and if she would have used it to beat him had she been the one to find him naked on her doorstep.

  “What’s your name, honey?” the man asked Josie.

  “Josie,” she answered in her sweetest voice, the one she hadn’t reserved for him.

  “That’s a pretty name,” he said. “And what’s yours?”

  “Ryan, but shouldn’t you know that if you came here to speak to me?” Ryan could feel the hairs prickle on his neck and his sense of smell seemed to intensify.

  “I didn’t know your name but we’ve met before,” the man said. “My name is Adam.”

  “Adam, I have never met you before and I’m not sure we need to chat,” he said.

  The color was starting to creep up his neck as they reached the park and his memory was way too sharp as he pictured himself streaking across the grass. He was pretty sure that Josie had the same image in her head because she was glowing. He could still smell that musky scent coming from Josie and he wished he could get rid of Adam and his beefcake arms and square jaw so he could persuade her to like him.

  “Ryan, we met just about there,” Adam pointed to the picnic bench that he’d been knocked under by the cat-like animal.

  “Oh,” Ryan said.

  He didn’t know what to think now, but he did want some answers. Adam was not in a hurry to discuss it with Josie and that was probably a good thing because she was thoroughly enjoying his muscular arm linked through hers and as competitions go, this was not one where he’d like to place bets on himself.

  Ryan was starting to sweat by the time they had reached the entrance to Josie’s stairs and it wasn’t from exertion. His embarrassment was mounting and so was the disturbance in his stomach over what Adam was going to say.

  “It was nice to meet you, Josie, I hope to bump into you again some time,” Adam said kissing her hand.

  If that wasn’t flirting, then Ryan didn’t know what was. He felt the urge to trump it with some overblown gesture of his own but his embarrassment stopped him from doing anything brash and he just gave her a little wave and watched her walk up the stairs, taking her sexy smell with her. When he turned to face the muscle-man the guy was smirking at him and Ryan just wanted the ground to swallow him whole.

  “So, you in the mood for a steak? I know the best place to get one,” Adam said.

  Ryan thought about it for a couple of seconds and then his stomach growled. Regardless of anything, anything at all, he needed to eat, and he was craving some serious meat-fest. He nodded and walked beside the huge man back toward the street. Ryan was half expecting him to own a muscle car, complete with cheesy music and car stickers but he clicked the fob in his hand and a small unassuming car flashed back at him.

  “Nice ride,” Ryan said.

  “Better than yours,” Adam replied.

  “I don’t own a car,” Ryan said climbing into the hatch back.

  “Exactly,” Adam said and pulled away.

  It did occur to Ryan that he really shouldn’t have got into a stranger’s car. It doesn’t matter how old a person is or what size they are, they can still be abducted, especially by beefcakes the size of Adam, if that really was his name. When they pulled up outside a restaurant five minutes later Ryan recognized it as one of the places he’d always meant to try.

  “Nice,” Ryan said.

  “It belongs to my family,” Adam replied. “C’mon.”

  After greeting several other men in the restaurant, they sat down at a booth and ordered the surf and turf plus, which was a plate full of protein with some added garnish for decoration and a few fries to balance the meat. Adam didn’t say anything for a while and Ryan started to worry that maybe he was on a date, on a date with a guy who was twice the size of him and obviously knew more about him that he’d like.

  “So, what do you want to talk about,” Ryan asked.

  “Friday night in the park to start with, then we’ll discuss why running naked through the park isn’t such a great idea,” Adam said, still smirking.

  “Damn it, I will never get over that,” Ryan rubbed his flushed face and grabbed the beer he’d ordered for comfort.

  “First, I’d like to say sorry. I couldn’t stop to see if you were okay, obviously, you were and yet you weren’t,” Adam said swigging his own beer as he talked. “I was being chased, and I was looking behind me, I just didn’t see you until it was too late.”

  “What were you chasing? Because I thought I saw a huge panther or something and I’ve looked on the news but there’s no mention of it. Was it someone’s pet?”

  “Pet? Are you mad? I’m not a pet; I’m a pussycat but no one's pet,” Adam replied.

  “What?” Adam was confusing the hell out of him, why couldn’t he just get to the point already.

  “I’m the cat, panther shifter to be precise and that takes me to my second point,” he said and nodded to someone behind the bar for a fresh beer. “I scratched you when we tumbled and it looks like some of my sh
ifter venom got into your system, hence the naked run through the park.”

  Ryan laughed. He wasn’t sure what else to do because what Adam was saying was weird and laughable but in some dark part of his brain, a part that he wanted to lock up, it felt kind of real. So, he laughed some more as the fresh beers turned up and his eyes were watering from laughter. He no longer remembered what he’d found funny and Adam was looking at him like he was about to call in the shrinks.

  “You’re a fucking panther shifter?” Ryan hooted with laughter and heads turned to observe him.

  “Don’t make me slap you, Ryan,” Adam said in a low menacing voice, a voice that only Ryan could hear.

  Chapter 7 - Adam

  Adam knew that half the patron’s in the steak house were shifters but the other half were not and Ryan was losing it which posed the risk of the best-kept secret getting out. It was not acceptable, and he was getting some hard looks from family and friends. If he couldn’t stop the guy from acting crazy, he would have to pick him up and carry him out.

  “Stop it, this is your last warning,” he growled.

  “I’m sorry,” Ryan giggled.

  Adam picked up Ryan’s beer and splashed a handful in the guy’s face. He gasped and went very still. Adam handed him a paper napkin and Ryan dried his face. People began to look away, but they sat in silence for a while before everything in the restaurant felt normal again. With his super-strength hearing abilities, he could tell that their interest was waning and they could resume their talk.

  “Eat your steak, it really is the best in the city,” Adam said and Ryan picked up his cutlery. “So, all that I’ve said is true. If you turn out to be bat-shit crazy then we’ve got a problem but otherwise, we can deal, okay?”

  “Okay,” Ryan replied through a mouthful of steak. “Wow, this is good stuff.”

  “Enjoy it sweet-cheeks, this place will be a regular for you from now on,” Adam said feeling the rush that the meat gave him. “Shifters need more meat than humans but if you eat plenty your body will use the protein to build the perfect human body and panther body, okay?”

  “Yeah,” Ryan grunted, but the sarcasm was noted.

  “Listen, you can believe what I say or not but didn’t you wake up naked on Josie’s doorstep after running around the park like a crazy cat?” Adam asked. “Ryan, if you woke up naked outside with your clothes shredded then you shifted, okay?”

  “Okay,” Ryan said but with less sarcasm and less color in his cheeks.

  “So, I need to teach you how to control the shift because if I don’t, every time you smell something delicious, be it meat or female, you will shift and chase them.” Adam said.

  They finished their steak and Adam knew enough to give the guy some space to think. It was sinking in but he wouldn’t truly believe until he went through the shift while keeping his consciousness and that was what they were going to work on for the next few hours. When Ryan had finished his meal, he led him to the basement which was the safest place to train a new panther, away from humans. He locked them in.

  “Strip, you’ll need those clothes for the trip home. Unless you’ve acquired a taste for streaking?” Adam asked laughing.

  “Who was chasing you?” Ryan asked, removing his shirt and shoes.

  “Just drunk humans,” Adam replied. “You need to lose all of your clothes, they come off in the shift, anyway.”

  “I’m not getting naked with you,” Ryan protested.

  “I’ll go first,” Adam said and left his folded clothes on a chair. “Watch me closely.”

  Adam winked at Ryan and then shimmered under the fluorescent lighting. He kept his eyes locked with Ryan’s as he changed shape and tracked him as he scrambled for the door. He padded up to the guy who was locked in tight and nuzzled his stomach with his wet nose. Ryan tensed, flattened to the wall while Adam sniffed and rubbed his silky fur against the man. He smelled good, even with the overpowering stench of fear. He licked the man’s ribs, he tasted good too.

  He shimmered once more and stood human, naked, and incredibly close to Ryan. He couldn’t prevent the grin from spreading across his face. Ryan was fun, even when he didn’t mean to be, and he was cute. His cat may well have chosen the man after all. He watched as Ryan’s eyes traveled south and caught sight of his engorged manhood.

  “Oops, I think my panther likes you,” he said. “Your turn, lose the clothes or destroy them.”

  “No way,” Ryan said, still stuck fast to the wall.

  “Whatever, relax and think about that cute little Josie. Remember the feeling when everything becomes sharper and more exciting that’s the beginning of the change. Imagine chasing her, pouncing on her, tasting her skin. Think about how good it would feel to lick her, think about that sweet little smell that was drifting up from her skirt earlier,” he said.

  Ryan shimmered and stood before him on all fours. He was a sleek cat, not as bulky as Adam was. Ryan’s trousers had busted at the waist and he stepped out of them and what once had been boxer shorts. It looked like he was going home naked again. Adam stroked his fur, it was silky and new. He knelt down and rubbed the fur under the panther’s cheeks causing him to purr. Ryan’s panther sniffed him and then licked him, a sign that they would be friends and that he trusted him, or at least he did in his panther form.

  When Ryan shifted back to human form he was covered in a silky sheen of sweat and sporting a fantastic hard on. Panthers were pleasure seekers and Ryan’s panther liked him just as much as he liked Ryan, in both forms. Ryan was mortified and grabbed his boxer shorts but found they were destroyed to the point of uselessness. Adam did like to be right and he had warned the guy.

  “Well, I’d love to do this all night but I have work in the morning and so do you. So, I guess I’ll take your naked ass home,” Adam said grinning.

  “What?”

  “I warned you, you didn’t listen,” Adam was now the one giggling.

  Ryan wrapped his ripped trousers around his exposed bits and followed Adam up the stairs and out the back entrance. Adam took his time opening the car doors, leaving the embarrassed man to stand around under the streetlight. It made him happy, cats were playful creatures and his had found a new favorite plaything.

  Chapter 8 - Josie

  Josie ran to her window to watch the pair walk through the park. Adam had made her feel desirable and womanly, in every conceivable way. When she’d raced up the stairs to her apartment, she could feel the steady throb from between her legs and that just confused her a little more. Adam was built for strength with bulky muscles and wide shoulders and Ryan had always been of the cuddly build, but not anymore. Ryan was lean and firm, and she wanted to feel those ridges on his abdomen. She really liked being sandwiched between the pair of them.

  When they disappeared from view, she spent several hours trying to think of anything but the two strong men. She tried to read. she tried watching television, and she checked her email three times. Her brain was on a single track and it was making her feel hot and restless. She had even spent time daydreaming through every conceivable fantasy where she could end up in between them, naked. This was not usual behavior for her and she didn’t know how to deal with it.

  She finally managed to convince herself that Ryan was in trouble of some kind and needed her. He had spent half the day staring at her and he had walked her home. He needed her and she should go to him. She put on her clothes and then removed them again. She didn’t want to wear her work clothes, or dress up and risk looking desperate but her slouchy sweats were not an option either. In the end, after wrecking her wardrobe, she stood in front of the mirror in tight-fitting jeans and a pastel sweater. Understated, classy, and comfortable, or at least that was the look she was hoping for.

  The park was a dark expanse of unknown and she was glad that she’d gone with the running shoes. She took off at a pace that could be described as a really fast jog. She didn’t want to look nervous, but it was practically her middle name. When she arrived, she stood at
the end of the walkway that led to his door, plucking up the courage to knock. And then a familiar voice cut through the silence.

  “Ah, I can explain,” Ryan said from the top of the stairs.

  She looked back at him and gasped. His hair was tangled and his shirt was untucked because there wasn’t anything for it to be tucked into. He was clutching what looked to be the remains of his work trousers in front of him. Of all the scenarios she had imagined this was not one of them and she couldn’t help but stare with her mouth gaped open.

  “I need to get inside,” Ryan said edging around her.

  He opened the door and went through, flashing his scrumptious behind. She was still staring until she realized that he was holding the door open for her. She stepped in and he shut the door, leaving them closed in and occupying the tiniest space. He smelled good, and he was close enough to touch but she didn’t dare move.

  “I’m going to take a quick shower and find some clothes that are not ripped,” he said trailing one finger down her cheek. “And then I’m going to find us a beer each.”

  She watched his naked butt enter the bathroom and then remembered to breathe. How could this man wander the city naked and semi-naked twice in one week? What was he some sort of naturist? Half of her said run, run now and the other half said ‘I wish that door was see-through’ and she had no idea which side to listen to.

  “You can sit down,” Ryan said exited the bathroom wearing a low-slung damp towel and beads of glistening water everywhere else.

  “I’m not sure I should be here,” she said and stepped towards the front door.

  “Please stay,” he said, and she melted just a little.