by Jane Jamison
“Craig.”
A low growl had her whipping her hand back. Marrick, looking all the world like he was jealous, gave another growl and placed his head on her other knee. Were they competing for her attention?
Tentatively, she put a palm on each of their broad heads. Their fur was as soft as she’d thought it would be. The warmth from their bodies radiated through her hand along with the sizzle of the connection. They were huge, dwarfing her in size.
“You’re beautiful. Amazing.”
Their black stripes were perfectly placed along their bodies. Whiskers tickled her arms and their purrs calmed her nerves. Their tails swished from one side to the other. Like two well-trained dogs, they sat down on their haunches and gazed up at her, ready to follow her commands.
“No one’s ever going to believe me.”
Slowly, carefully, she went to her knees, positioning her body between them. Her arms slipped around their necks as she pulled them close. “You feel so good.”
What would it be like to be one of them? Would she be able to change if she accepted them as her mates?
Their purrs grew louder until, at last, the one who was Marrick pulled back. He padded a few feet away. Craig nuzzled his nose against her neck, made a soft mewing sound, and then eased away to stand next to his friend.
“You’re changing back, aren’t you?”
She blinked, their bodies blurring again as the transformation began. Would she get used to the awful sound of their bones breaking? Did it hurt? Were they hiding the pain from her?
A few minutes later, the men were back in their human bodies.
Craig pulled on his jeans and tugged on his shirt. “Are you okay, babe?”
“You’re men again.” She sounded like an idiot, stating the obvious, yet somehow it helped.
Marrick glanced toward the ceiling. “If the kids weren’t here, I’d show you just how much of a man I am.”
Oh, how she longed for him to do exactly that with Craig joining in. “I still can’t believe what I saw.”
Craig retook his place next to her. “Like Marrick said, it’s going to take time.”
“The main thing to remember is that you can trust us to take care of you.” Marrick joined them on the couch then glanced at Craig as though seeking silent permission. “We love you, Lisa. Both as men and as tigers.”
“The real questions are these.” Craig’s gray eyes studied her. “Do you love us? Can you accept what we are? Do you want us as your mates? Do you want to live with us and be our woman for the rest of your life?”
Could she? Was a life with them what she wanted?
The uncertainty about Marrick still remained. And yet, every time she looked at him, she knew John Bask had to be lying. Craig and Marrick were good men. Men she could trust no matter what anyone else said.
“What do you say, baby?” Marrick leaned forward and grazed the back of his fingers over her cheek. “Want to be ours?”
“Lisa, we’re hungry.”
Lisa twisted around at the sound of Kitty’s voice. The twins pounded down the stairs and into the living room. If they’d come in a minute earlier, they would’ve seen everything.
She needed time to think, time to sort out her feelings. The children had bought her that time. “I’ll stay. For now. But I’m going to need time.”
“Lisa—”
“No, Marrick. We said we’d give her the time she needs.” Craig stood taking her along with him. “But you’re staying for now, right? You won’t leave?”
“I won’t leave. At least not before I give you my answer.” She eased past Marrick toward the kids. “Who wants a peanut butter and jelly sandwich?”
Lisa followed the kids into the kitchen area, leaving the men in the living room. “Kitty, please get the jelly out of the fridge. Teag, you can get the big jar of peanut butter out of the pantry.”
“Really?” Teag stared at her with eyes so much like his sister’s.
“Yes. Really.” She didn’t blame him for being surprised. She’d had to order him to stay out of the pantry. The last time he got into the closet-like space, he’d made a huge mess. But right then, she wasn’t sure she could hold anything with her hands shaking so hard.
She’d bought some time to think. But how long did it take for a person to come to grips with the impossible?
Chapter Nine
They’re watching me again.
Lisa should’ve minded, but she didn’t. Craig and Marrick were obviously anxious to get her answer.
They’d said they loved her. Since the moment they’d told her, a firestorm of emotions had erupted, bringing forth questions she hadn’t dared to ask herself.
Did she love them?
The answer surprised her, coming back fast and furious.
I do love them.
How the hell did that happen?
“Read us a story,” demanded Teag. He kicked the covers she had lovingly tucked around him, messing up the bed. “Read us a story or I’ll bite you.”
Lisa gave him a stern look. He’d given her the same threat earlier and she’d called his bluff. Unfortunately, he hadn’t been bluffing. But at least he hadn’t bitten down hard enough to break the skin.
“I might if you remember how to ask nicely. And no more biting, young man.” He was a stubborn child who had to be told multiple times before he’d listen. Still, she had to hold back a grin. He was stubborn, yes, but he was so damn cute.
Kitty snuggled into her covers. “Pulease, Lee-Lee?”
“See, Teag?” Lisa bopped him lightly on the nose. “That’s how you ask nicely.”
He pushed out his lower lip as his stubborn streak fought with his yearning to hear a story. Finally, he gave in. “Pulease, Lee-Lee?”
“I’d love to. So which book will it be?” She held up three of their favorite books.
“All of them!” shouted Teag.
Lisa tilted her head and arched an eyebrow. It didn’t take long for Kitty to catch on.
“The Big Bad Werewolf.” Kitty held up her hands and formed claws then growled.
Did werewolves exist, too? She’d have to ask the men.
“The Big Bad Werewolf it is.” Opening the book, she waited until the twins settled down, and then started reading. Yet although she read aloud, her mind wandered.
What am I going to do?
Thirty minutes later, after reading two more books, she looked up from the last page and saw the children’s eyes closed, their chests rising and falling as they breathed in through their opened mouths. Returning the books to the shelf, she left the room as quietly as she could.
Craig and Marrick were in the living room, waiting for her as she’d known they would be. They were stretched out, reminding her of two lazy cats, their eyes half-closed and their bodies relaxed as though they were boneless.
“Are they asleep?” asked Marrick, his tone eager.
“Sure are.” She moved to the couch, settling in between them. “I need to ask you some questions. Hey, wait a minute. Aren’t you two going out looking for John Bask?”
“We decided we needed to be with you tonight.” Craig caressed her arm then leaned in for a kiss. The kiss, however, ended all too soon.
Were they afraid to leave her alone? Did they think she’d take off?
“Go ahead. Ask away.” Marrick was suddenly nervous, his body going tense.
She took a deep breath to steady her own nerves. “First of all, I need to tell you what happened the other day in the trees.”
“The day you got lost?”
Saying she was lost was a lame excuse and she didn’t blame Craig for the question in his tone. She leaned closer, letting the tingle of desire rush between them. The connection was stronger than ever.
I might as well get it out.
“I saw John Bask.”
Both men came to attention, leaning even closer.
“What? Why the fuck didn’t you say anything?” Marrick stared at her as though she’d lost her mind.
“No, he didn’t do anything to me and I don’t know why I didn’t call out.” She cringed, knowing she’d just lied. If she was going to make a life with the men, she had to tell them everything. “I’m sorry. That’s not true. I didn’t call for you because at first I was so surprised to see him that I didn’t think. Then he told me about Marrick.”
Marrick couldn’t have looked any more shell-shocked if she’d asked him to hold a grenade. “About me? What’d he say?”
She hated like hell to tell them, hated that she’d ever believed John. Hoping they’d forgive her for keeping quiet, she blurted out the truth. “He said you and Donna had an ongoing argument about the inheritance your folks left you. He said you cheated your sister out of her share.”
She couldn’t look at Marrick to see his reaction. She didn’t have to. The fury oozed out of him.
“That bastard,” muttered Craig. “You know he’s lying, right?
“I do now, but at the time, I wasn’t sure about a lot of things.” She gathered her resolve, determined to hold nothing back. “But that’s not the worst of it.”
“Go on. What did the asshole say?” Craig had grown angrier by the second.
“He told me you and Donna got into a fight.” She forced her gaze to meet Marrick’s. “He said you’re the one who killed her.”
Marrick’s mouth fell open. He sat back, staring even harder at her.
“That son of a bitch.” Craig bolted up and paced to the other side of the room. “I swear, once we find him, I’m going to tear his lying tongue out.”
Marrick, however, remained silent.
“Marrick? Are you all right?”
His jaw worked, tensing and releasing the muscle there. “And you believed him.”
If only she could’ve been anywhere else at the moment. Yet she’d already waited too long to tell him. “I was scared and he was so convincing.”
“You’ve got to be kidding. You believed him?” Craig shot her an accusatory glare.
“Maybe. For a while. But I don’t think I ever really thought it was true. If I had, I would’ve left.” Had she thrown everything they might have together out the window? Had one stupid mistake ruined it all?
Marrick got up, making her ache to reach out, grab his arm, and keep him by her side. He went to the other side of the room. “What do you believe now, Lisa?”
Was he willing to listen? Was he willing to forgive her?
“I know who you are, Marrick. I’ve watched you with the twins and I’ve seen how you are with other people. And how you treat me. There’s no way in hell you could’ve hurt your sister.”
“Are you sure?” His anger was gone, replaced by sadness.
Seeing him hurting was worse than seeing him angry. “Yes. I’m sure.” She had to get all her feelings out. “Part of why it was so hard was because I could sense you were holding something back. Now I know you were. I don’t blame you, but it didn’t help to know you weren’t being completely honest with me.”
“We couldn’t tell you. You would’ve run off. As it was, if it weren’t for the kids, we’re not sure you would’ve stayed even with the connection between us. I guess we were as confused as you were.” Craig came back to the couch, his body relaxing as the anger left him.
“I sensed you were keeping a secret, that you knew more than you were letting on.” She glanced from one man to the other. “And you were.”
“She’s got us there,” admitted Craig.
“Then there was this strange, exhilarating sensation whipping between us. I didn’t know what to think, yet I was sure you weren’t telling me everything. About John Bask and more.”
“She’s right. We can’t blame her for letting John get to her. Not when we weren’t coming clean with her.” Craig twisted toward his friend. “What are you thinking?”
Reading Marrick was hard to do. His expression had gone neutral.
“Marrick? Can you forgive me for thinking you could ever hurt your sister?”
“We lied to her.” Craig’s tone implored his friend. “By my way of thinking, we’re in the wrong more than she is.”
“If you’d called for us, we could’ve caught him.” Marrick’s anger was back. “This nightmare would be over.”
“You’re right. I should have.”
“Come on, man. Give her a break. You know how convincing John can be. He can talk a mole out of a hole when he wants to.”
Marrick stared out the front window, putting his back to her. If Craig hadn’t taken her hand to comfort her, she wasn’t sure she could’ve stayed in her seat and waited.
“I’m sorry, Marrick. I really am.”
He whirled around and stalked over to her. For a moment, he stood there, towering over her. Then, suddenly, he dropped his hands to the back of the couch, capturing her between his arms.
Lust swallowed her whole. Every fiber of her being wanted nothing more than to be with them. She squeezed Craig’s hand as she searched Marrick’s face. If he threw her out, she’d never be able to get over them.
“Do you trust us? Really trust us?”
She’d half expected Marrick to yell at her and demand she leave. Instead, he’d asked one of the questions she’d wrestled with since seeing John. Her decision had been made hours before, making answering him easy.
“Yes. I trust you.” Only a weretiger could’ve heard her almost inaudible response.
“Do you love us?”
Surprised, she held back even though the answer was already on the tip of her tongue. Meeting his gaze dead-on, she gave him the one and only truth that really mattered. “Yes. I love you. Both of you.”
“Good. Then no more doubting us. Got it?”
“Yes.”
“And you’re staying. Not for the kids, but for us. Right?”
“Yes. But I love them, too.”
“Good enough.”
She let out a small yelp of surprise as Marrick took her under the arms and yanked her upward. He was already taking the stairs before she realized she was slung over his hard shoulder.
Craig chuckled as he followed behind them. Marrick stalked toward her bedroom.
She couldn’t contain her joy, laughing as she playfully beat on his back, pretending to want to be set free. It seemed like forever since their time in the barn. She’d hungered for them since that day, but until her body had touched Marrick’s, she hadn’t realized just how much she’d thirsted for them.
She was still laughing when he tossed her on top of the bed.
“Be quiet. We don’t want to wake up the kids,” warned Craig.
She nodded, but her attention wasn’t on what he said. Her passion flared to a higher level as Craig unbuttoned his shirt. Every inch he exposed turned her on more. Every hair on his chest was a signal to her pussy to get ready. She dug her fingernails into the covers, doing her best to resist jumping up and tearing his shirt away.
Hurry, damn it.
Her gaze shifted to Marrick. Now that’s the way to do it.
Marrick’s shirt was already open. He’d torn it apart, letting buttons scatter everywhere. His chest was as amazing as his friend’s with as many hard ridges topped with stone-like pecs. Six packs weren’t the way they were built. Their abdomens were eight packs of warm flesh she ached to skim her fingers over.
Craig’s shirt was finally off. He and Marrick started working on the button on the jeans, and then the zipper. She swallowed, already imagining the taste of their cocks, the texture of their skin as she ran her tongue over their lean bodies.
Their wide shoulders led to rounded arms of toned muscles. Strong arms came to strong hands. The V’s of the stomachs led the way downward to the treasures that waited underneath the simple denim. Their jeans hung on their hips until she was forced to take her eyes up to their faces. What were they waiting for?
“Guys?” She sat up, praying they hadn’t changed their minds.
“Strip, baby,” ordered Marrick.
Suddenly, she was shy. It didn’t make any sense. They’d already seen her naked. They knew what her body looked like. And yet, having them stand there, watching, made her nervous.
“Go on. We want to see your beautiful body.”
She warmed, thrilled by Craig’s praise. Slowly, she tugged the shirt over her head and wished she’d put on a prettier bra and panties. Not that it would matter. They wouldn’t keep them on her very long.
Two low growls of pleasure rumbled and their eyes sparked with amber. She pushed the hair out of her face. “Just to be sure, you don’t change while having sex, do you?”
“I won’t lie.” Craig heeled off his boots, reaching down to tug one off, making his back and arm muscles ripple with the effort. “Our tigers rise to the surface when we get turned on, but we’d never turn them loose.”
“Unless you wanted us to,” added Marrick. “If you decide you want us to change you into a weretiger, then tiger sex can be a lot of fun. Rough, but fun.”
“You can do that? Change me into one of you?” Would she want to be a weretiger? The idea was fascinating, yet scary.
“If you want. It’s up to you.”
“What about having kids?” She hoped the subject wouldn’t diminish their lust for her. Yet, instead, the glint in their eyes said differently.
“We want kids. Do you?” Marrick dropped his jeans, letting his erect cock jump outward and point straight at her.
For a moment, she forgot what the question was. “I’m sorry? What’d you say?” His cock was magnificent. Long, curved with dark veins running the length of it. Pre-cum glistened on the end, teasing her to take one quick lick.
“Do you want kids?” asked Craig. “Not only Teag and Kitty, but biological ones, too. We love the twins as much as our own, but we’d still love to have you pregnant.”
She let out a long, slow breath as Craig took a tube of lube out of his pocket. With a glance filled with sin, he shoved his jeans to the floor. His cock, just as wonderful as his friend’s, bounced with his movements.
“So you want me pregnant and barefoot?”
“If you want. Stay at home with the kids or work. It’s up to you.” Marrick crawled onto the bed, coming up one side of her. “Maybe Curtis will give you a job. He owns Roar.”
