A Lynx in Their Den [Shifting Desires 1] (Siren Publishing Ménage Everlasting)

by Marla Monroe

  “Give her the mice, Quill. Stop teasing her,” Shayne said with laughter in his voice.

  When Quill lowered his arms so that she could reach the stuffed rodents, Serenity hissed at him and sprang, knocking him backward so that they both hit the floor with her riding him down to the ground. The big bear cushioned her fall and that is how Creed found them when he walked into the kitchen. Serenity straddled poor Quill as he gasped to get air back into his lungs. Her fangs and claws were out as she hissed at him.

  “What in the hell is going on?” Creed all but roared.

  Serenity felt Quill freeze in midgasp. She retracted her claws and teeth to look up and see Zeth with his head down and a worried expression on his face. When she looked over at Creed, the big bear had fine fur sprouting across his bare chest and clawed hands. He looked furious.

  Oh hell. What had she done?

  Shayne stepped in front of his brother, blocking his view of her. Serenity scrambled off of Quill’s body and snatched her beloved mice from his grasp as she did.

  “Calm down, brother. The guys brought Serenity’s things back and were teasing her about her obsession with mice. That’s all. She jumped on Quill to get her stuffed mice from him. Nothing is going on.” Shayne’s normally calm voice had somehow grown even more tranquil.

  Creed’s bear slowly retreated, but his anger was still a palpable emotion. She stood in front of Quill, unwilling to allow the bear to be punished for something she’d done. Yes, he and Zeth had started it by teasing her, but she’d taken it farther.

  The sleuth’s Ursus slowly advanced toward her but his eyes were on the bear behind her. Serenity threw her hands up, still grasping the stuffed mice she’d taken from Quill.

  “He brought me my stuffed animals,” she said unnecessarily.

  Creed stopped advancing and tore his eyes from the male behind her to stare at the various mice she held in front of his face. His eyes roved over her from head to foot then returned to stare at the ridiculous toys in her hands. A twitch at the corner of his snarling mouth sent a wave a relief through her body.

  “Mice? Really? You’ve got to be kidding me,” he finally said just before he all but jerked her into his arms.

  “Hey! You have honey. I collect mice. Don’t you dare say anything.” She pretended to pout.

  He squeezed her tight enough she squeaked before he slightly relaxed his arms around her. “Don’t play games with the others while our bond isn’t complete, kitten. I can’t control my bear where you’re concerned.”

  The whispered words next to her ear sobered her. She hadn’t thought about how he would react to her being around the other bears of his sleuth. She was walking a tight rope by staying there with them. If she tried to leave though, Creed and Shayne would either try to keep her there or go with her. She just nodded her head to let him know she understood.

  “Your waffle is almost ready, Serenity. Why don’t you grab the syrup and honey out of the fridge? The bacon will be ready in a few minutes.” Shayne continued cooking as if there wasn’t a crazed bear lurking in the room with them.

  She slowly slipped out of Creed’s embrace and found the sweet stuff in the fridge to place on the huge table. Then she sat down when he pulled out a chair for her, scooting her closer to the table.

  “What do you want to drink, kitten?” he asked in a voice that had lost some of the growly quality.

  “Um, milk?” she said with a hopeful note.

  Shayne and Zeth burst out laughing, but Quill remained quiet. She glared at both bears.

  “I guess I should have known that,” Creed chuckled, pulling glasses out of the cabinets and setting them on the counter. “Quill, grab the milk and the orange juice out of the fridge.”

  Serenity watched the other bear slowly lumber over to the refrigerator and pull out the milk and juice. He set the juice down on the counter and handed the milk to his Ursus without looking him in the eyes.

  “I’m sorry, Quill. I overreacted. I know you weren’t trying to take her from me, but my bear is on edge right now.” Serenity was surprised that the big male would apologize to the other bear. It made her like him even more.

  Quill nodded then smiled. “I know what to get her for her birthday now—cat toys.”

  Creed groaned and Serenity hissed across the table at the bear.

  “Payback’s hell, Quill. Don’t forget that.”

  Quill just grinned and accepted the glass of milk from his leader to place in front of her before returning to take tall glasses of juice from off the counter as Creed poured them.

  “Where is everyone else?” Creed asked.

  Zeth spoke up from where he stood next to where Shayne was pouring more batter on the waffle iron. “They should all be here in a few minutes. Locke and Otto were making sure the cameras are working and will be a little longer.”

  “Cameras?” she asked, looking from Zeth to Creed.

  “We’re setting up our security system. One of the things we do is install and monitor security systems,” Creed explained. “While they’re working on setting the system up, they can keep an eye on the hunters then once it’s all set up, we can watch from inside the house.”

  “Okay. After breakfast, I need to get back to work. I’ve got a program that I was supposed to have finished yesterday. I need to contact my client and explain that I’ve had an emergency and will have it ready by in the morning.” Serenity wasn’t going to let her business suffer just because she had hunters on her trail and a pair of mates clamoring for her attention.

  “We’ll set you up in the office with me, but save some time to help Shayne with designing the bathroom you wanted.” Creed’s knowing smirk irritated her but she wasn’t going to pass up the chance to have her dream if there was a chance of it coming true.

  “Spa. It’s not a bathroom, it’s a spa,” she corrected him.

  “Set up your workstation first while we finish clearing out the area so you have a good idea of the space you have to work with. Then I’ll come get you and you can show me what you want,” Shayne told her.

  She couldn’t stop a wide grin from exploding across her face. It was all she thought about while she finished two waffles and a handful of bacon. The bears ate a good deal more than she did and the thought of what their grocery bill must look like made her a little ill.

  Shaking it off, Serenity offered to help with the dishes since Shayne had cooked, but he explained that it was Bane’s turn to wash dishes. They all took turns with all of the chores. The only exception was that Otto wasn’t allowed to cook at all. He took double shifts on guard duty instead.

  “Yeah, after he nearly burned down his apartment three times trying to cook, his stove was pulled out and he had to live with a microwave and takeout after that,” Zeth told her.

  She couldn’t imagine a shifter who didn’t know how to cook. They needed such large quantities of food to fuel their bodies that it was almost ludicrous to imagine. Still, she didn’t laugh. Instead, she followed Creed down the hall to his office. The room was quite large and they had already set up her precious equipment on a second desk that butted up against Creed’s.

  “Wow. When did they do this?” she asked as she sat down to check that everything was correctly hooked up.

  “Last night after we went downstairs. Don’t worry, everything should be right. Both Bane and Locke are computer experts and handle all of that part of our business.”

  She grinned over at Creed and promptly lost herself in her programming. She always felt most at home behind a computer where she understood the logic and processes much better than she did the world around her. It wasn’t lost on her that as long as she was in her zone, creating programs for her clients, she didn’t have to think about what she was going to do about her lynx, the two bears, and the anal sex issue, which was more than a pain in her ass at the moment.

  Chapter Eleven

  “Yes. That’s exactly what I want. When the guys get back with my samples, you’ll see how it will look,�
�� Serenity told Shayne.

  “I hadn’t thought about moving the door over. It gives more space to the vanity area. I like it,” he said with a nod.

  Excitement flowed through Serenity’s bloodstream at the knowledge that she’d finally get her dream spa. She shoved the nagging reminder that her lynx still wasn’t willing to allow the two bears to take her like they wanted to. She’d figure something out later. Right now, she had a dream to fulfill.

  “Here you go.” Seth and Warren returned carrying her dream box that held everything she needed to show Shayne her spa.

  “Any trouble? Hunters?” Shayne asked as Seth set the box on the floor.

  “No problem. In and out without detection,” Warren said. “There’s still one in the tree behind the house, but the one that had been in the bushes outside the back door is gone. We didn’t see him anywhere else around the house.”

  “Do you think they are giving up?” she asked hopefully.

  “I doubt it. They’re probably regrouping and deciding what to do next,” Shayne said.

  “Great,” she sighed. “Let’s map out where I want everything and I’ll show you my colors.”

  “As long as there isn’t anything pink or lavender, I’m fine with the colors,” he said.

  “What do you have against pink?” she asked looking innocent. She had no intentions of putting pink anywhere. She’d always hated it since her parents had painted her room pink when she was twelve in an attempt to soften her tomboyish ways out of her.

  “It’s too girly. I can handle having your things strewn around the bathroom, but I’m not showering in a pink bathroom. I won’t back down on that one, babe,” Shayne said crossing his arms.

  She poked out her lips in a pout and batted her eyelashes at him. “Maybe just a little pink?”

  “Not even a stripe. No pink. End of story. Now what other colors do you have in there?” Shayne asked picking the box up off the floor to go through it. “I don’t see anything pink in here. It’s all stone colors and dark greens.”

  She grinned as he growled at her. She could see the playful glint in his eyes and hoped it would last long enough for her to convince him that the business part of the bathroom needed to have its own space, complete with a door.

  For the next hour, she and the others worked on her plans and argued about logistics of how to put in heated tiles and the towel warming rods. She was having a ball. Shayne was so obviously frustrated that it was cute. He was trying to keep her happy while cutting down on some of the hard work creating the spa she so deeply wanted would create.

  “Face it, Shayne,” Seth said with a smirk. “You’re already pussy whipped. Get it? Pussy whipped?”

  Serenity couldn’t take offense it was so funny, but she did have to step in between the two bears before they came to blows.

  “That’s enough, Seth. Shayne. You guys need a break. How about a sandwich to tide us over until dinner tonight? I know I could sure use something to eat.” She smiled up at Shayne, one hand on his naked sweaty chest as she batted her eyes at him.

  He visibly settled down and nodded, but growled one more time at the other bear before taking her hand and all but dragging her toward the door leading up to the main floor. She could hear the others behind them snickering and flashed a stern look at them over her shoulder. They immediately sobered up and looked down at their booted feet instead.

  I could grow to enjoy this. Just wait until they meet their mates. The shoe will be on the other foot then, and I’ll make sure they wallow in their meals of crow.

  “We’re going to clean up before eating. I feel like a pig that wallowed in drywall,” Warren said.

  “It will take a little while to make the sandwiches anyway. Take your time.” Shayne waved them off as he escorted Serenity to the kitchen.

  “I’ll get the ingredients out of the fridge,” she said. “What sort of meat?”

  “Better grab it all,” he said. “They’re going to want three or four each. You worked them hard, baby. You’re a slave driver.”

  She grinned but didn’t say anything. Watching him reach for the chips in the top of the pantry made her drool. She quickly slipped back to the fridge and began pulling out the makings for sandwiches and set them on the bar where he’d already set two loaves of bread. Sheesh, how many sandwiches was he planning on making?

  As Shayne put together sandwiches for them, she watched the play of muscles over his body. He had an amazing body. Even hot, dirty, and sweaty, she had the urge to lick the bead of sweat rolling languidly down his back, about to disappear behind the waistband of his jeans. God, the jeans! They encased his lower half as if they’d been shrunk wrapped on his body. His squeezable ass challenged the denim seams. It was all Serenity could do to resist going to her knees and taking a bite out of one juicy-looking butt cheek. She managed to convince herself and her lynx that it would be much more satisfying to wait until the jeans weren’t an issue. Tender beefy flesh would taste oh so much better than nasty material.

  “Serenity? Baby? Did you hear me?” Shayne was asking before turning around.

  “I’m sorry. I was thinking about the shower. What did you say?” she asked in all innocence.

  “Do you like regular mustard or spicy mustard? We have both.”

  “Spicy. I like things spicy,” she purred up at him, licking her lips.

  His eyes immediately widened then his lids lowered as his bear caught her meaning. She enjoyed seeing how quickly she could arouse him with just her words. Her lynx wanted to forget the snack and take that bite out of the bear instead. Serenity knew she needed the food or she wouldn’t be worth anything later.

  “Baby, you’re hot enough to melt the sun, and I love hot things,” he said as he slowly stalked her, backing her up to the fridge and pinning her against the door with his body.

  The rumble coming from his chest pulled an answering growl from her cat. Serenity nearly moaned at the way his scent and the hard planes of his chest tightened things inside of her and made her pussy moisten in need. Dear God, she’d started something without really meaning to, but there was no way she going to put on the brakes. She wanted him just as much as he obviously wanted her. The impressive bulge blooming between them told her that loud and clear.

  “Fuck, babe. You know how to play with fire, don’t you,” he said with a low growl.

  “Like I said. I like things spicy, big guy.” She slipped down to her knees and unfastened his jeans before he could say anything.

  Serenity had his thick dick in her hands in seconds. She squeezed him at the base then lowered her head to tease the already dewed slit with the tip of her tongue.

  “Hell, fire, damnation! The others will be here in a minute for that promised snack,” he managed to rasp out as she sucked on just the crown of his cock. “It won’t take them long to wash up.”

  “Then we’d better hurry.” She punctuated that by taking him to the back of her throat and growling around him.

  “You little minx!” Shayne pulled her to her feet then lifted her, turning to settle her on the end of the counter between the stove and the fridge.

  He held her face between his hands and claimed her mouth in an almost bruising kiss. She could feel the barely restrained desperation in the way his muscles tensed beneath her hands on his chest. Serenity needed all of him. She wanted to see what she was in for when the bear lost control. With that in mind, she raked her nails across his chest, making sure to catch the brown discs of his nipples in their journey to his stomach.

  * * * *

  Shayne jerked his mouth from hers and growled deep in his chest. His bear was beside himself wanting to take her. The man wasn’t arguing one bit, except that he was worried about harming her in the state his wild half was in. His hands ripped at the fastening of her jeans, nearly ripping the zipper out of the material in his haste to rid her of the covering.

  “Shoes,” she rasped out before he tangled the legs of her jeans up with them.

  Cursing, Sha
yne stopped and took the time to pull off the shoes before jerking the jeans from her feet. All that stood in the way of his mouth now was the cotton scrap of cloth covering her pussy. He stared into her eyes and extended on clawed tip to rip through the offending material. When he jerked the torn edges from her body, she hissed at him. Instead of taking offense, Shayne sank to his knees and spread her legs wide before burying his face in the sweet nectar of her juices that coated the lips of her sex.

  Nirvana. That’s what she was to him. Every delicious inch of her sexy body was made for him and his brother. She completed him and they hadn’t even sealed the mating bond yet. God only knew what it would feel like when they did. Right now, he was on fire for her and couldn’t get enough of her sweet honey.

  He growled around her as he thrust his tongue in deep. Her answering whimper was music to his ears. Shayne ran his tongue all around her clit, then sucked in each fleshy lip to clean every trace of juice from it before returning to claim her clit. He held her still with one hand on her hip and entered her cunt with one finger to test her readiness. As much as he needed to be inside of her, there was no way he’d hurt her if he could help it. She was his mate, the laughter in his world and the future mother of his cubs. She deserved nothing but pleasure.

  When he could add a second finger to stroke in and out of her, Shayne knew she was ready. As much as he wanted to bring her to orgasm with his mouth first, his bear was just before taking over. He needed to be inside of her—now!

  Jerking his mouth from her weeping slit, Shayne surged to his feet and gripping her hips, pulled her closer to the edge of the counter. Every muscle in his body strained in her direction. Still, he searched her eyes to be sure she was with him. The feisty little feline’s mouth was open as she panted, her eyelids heavy with desire as if she didn’t have the strength to open them any farther. Serenity’s nails dug into his shoulders, pulling him toward her. Her legs wrapped around him, drawing her closer.

  Shayne fisted his shaft in one hand and pumped it slowly, milking a drop of his cum to the slit before slowly pressing forward and breaching her pussy, slipping between the lips like an oiled piston. The sensation of hot, wet flesh rasping over his dick as he slowly slid deeper nearly snapped his control. Her cunt sucked at him even as the heels of her feet dug into his ass in an effort to urge him deeper. His cock felt as if a hundred burning mouths were sucking on him all at one time. Nothing had ever felt so good.