by Scarlet Day
Shifter Sanctuary 1
Leashed
Laci Dalton has never been tamed by man or beast and has no intention of rolling over any time soon. But her lioness is demanding a mate and creating havoc. When her brother tries to chain her to his second-in-command, Laci bolts for freedom.
Shifter Sanctuary is an exclusive retreat, but it’s also home to a BDSM club where shifters walk on the wild side. The resort’s lion-shifter owners, Tucker Steele and Colt Parker, don’t tolerate bad attitudes or trespassing hunters. If the furry and feathered want to play at Sanctuary, they play by the rules or don’t play at all. And for Tucker and Colt, their number one self-imposed rule is to never get involved with employees.
When Laci takes a job as a bartender at the resort, Tucker and Colt are tempted to break their own rules. If they can keep unattached males from stealing their newest employee, they might be the two shifters who can finally put a leash on this runaway she-cat.
Genre: BDSM, Contemporary, Ménage a Trois/Quatre, Paranormal, Shape-shifter
Length: 36,549 words
LEASHED
Shifter Sanctuary 1
Scarlet Day
MENAGE AMOUR
Siren Publishing, Inc.
www.SirenPublishing.com
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A SIREN PUBLISHING BOOK
IMPRINT: Ménage Amour
LEASHED
Copyright © 2014 by Scarlet Day
E-book ISBN: 978-1-62741-930-7
First E-book Publication: June 2014
Cover design by Harris Channing
All art and logo copyright © 2014 by Siren Publishing, Inc.
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED: This literary work may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, including electronic or photographic reproduction, in whole or in part, without express written permission.
All characters and events in this book are fictitious. Any resemblance to actual persons living or dead is strictly coincidental.
PUBLISHER
Siren Publishing, Inc.
www.SirenPublishing.com
Letter to Readers
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DEDICATION
This book is dedicated to the great staff at Siren-BookStrand, who gave me the chance to be a part of this incredible world of publishing. Special thanks to Harris for creating my favorite cover so far!
Table of Contents
Title Page
Copyright Page
Dedication
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
About the Author
LEASHED
Shifter Sanctuary 1
SCARLET DAY
Copyright © 2014
Chapter One
Laci ducked as a beer bottle flew through the air, missing her head by only a couple of inches. A dull thump and a string of curses alerted her that the guy at the end of the bar lacked her quick reflexes. She grinned. Served him right, the ass. He’d started making rudely suggestive comments to her the minute he had ambled up to the bar two hours ago. He wasn’t a local, so he either didn’t know or didn’t care that the bar was packed with her brother’s friends who wouldn’t stand to see Laci treated with disrespect. Either way, his crass behavior had led to threats, which then devolved into an all-out brawl. Laci knew that once a good bar fight started, her brother’s friends would just as happily fight each other, just to keep the fun going.
Another bottle whizzed toward her and Laci dropped to her hands and knees behind the bar. Glass shattered above her and broken glass, and alcohol rained down on her. She glanced up and cringed. The bottles of premium alcohol had been hit and she was now wearing most of the bar’s good liquor.
“Well, shit.” Her brother would be good and pissed when he saw this. He’d just replaced the broken bottles from the last bar fight.
“Laci, get out of here!” Laci glanced behind her to see Nicki, her younger sister, crouched behind the bar. “Go! They’ll calm down after you leave.”
Laci doubted that very much. The fight might have started because of her, but now that the fight was in full swing, they wouldn’t need her around to keep it going.
Beer bottles continued to fly and crash into walls, people, and anything else that got in the way. Laci thought it might be a good idea to start serving beer in disposable plastic cups. At least those wouldn’t cause concussions. Yelled curses warred with laughter. Laci rolled her eyes. Only her brother’s friends could get so much enjoyment from beating the shit out of each other. When furniture started flying, though, Laci figured it was time for her to take Nicki’s advice and make an inconspicuous exit. She hated leaving Nicki to deal with the aftermath, but if her brother’s friends were going to make the mess, they could damn well clean it up. At least, once they’d worked enough testosterone out of their systems.
Laci glanced toward the back wall. If she could make it across the few feet of exposed space between the bar and the back door, she’d be home free. But with glass shards littered across the floor and the fight raging around her, those few feet might as well have been a mile. She started crawling on her hands and knees toward the end of the bar, being careful about where she placed her palms. Glass shards dug into her bare knees. She ground her teeth
together and kept crawling, despite the pain. The damage from the glass would be nothing compared to what her brother would do to her when he caught up to her. That thought drove the pain to the back of her mind and forced her to keep going.
She peeked out from behind the bar, but another flying bottle forced her to pull back. It hit the floor and bounced off the rubber floor mat that stretched from behind the bar to the door. Her unwanted suitor, a young and inexperienced shifter from a neighboring town who was barely old enough to drink, wrestled with a local guy Laci had known for years. Each of them tried to land a solid punch on the other, but they were both sufficiently drunk to suffer from bad aim. She dodged around their legs, hoping no one would notice her as she made her escape. She scurried toward the door, still on her hands and knees, counting the inches until she could make her escape. Just as she reached up to hit the exit bar, the door flew open and cold air hit her in the face.
Laci stared straight ahead at a pair of blue jean-clad legs. She was eye-level with the knees, which were faded from wear. She bit her lip and dropped her gaze, dreading what she knew she would see. Sure enough, rattlesnake-skin boots poked out from the bottom of the jeans and confirmed her fears.
“What the fuck, Laci?” Her brother’s furious voice ripped through the air. Laci shivered as a chill washed over her, but it wasn’t from the freezing nighttime air. The bar fell silent, except for the strikes of a few late punches and a barstool that crashed into the wall a few feet from where she crouched.
Price gripped her arm and yanked her up off her knees. Laci realized he wasn’t alone. His best friend and second-in-command, Austin, stood behind him. Austin’s forehead creased and his gaze flicked between Laci and Price.
“Again, Lace? Really?” Price jerked his head in Austin’s direction and then pointed into the bar. Austin brushed passed Laci, avoiding her gaze as he stalked by. Laci hadn’t missed Price’s use of his nickname for her. Maybe he wasn’t as mad as he seemed. Then again, based on the scowl he wore, he probably was exactly that pissed.
Behind her, Laci heard Austin rounding up the customers, those who could still stand and walk on their own, as he herded them out through the front door. The rest were assisted by force. The previously rowdy crowd was exceptionally quiet as they hustled out of the bar. She turned her head in time to see Austin following them out to the parking lot, probably to make sure they didn’t start the fight back up outside. They might love a good bar fight, but none of them would stand against Price or Austin.
Laci turned back to Price’s hard stare. She defiantly held his gaze until he finally pressed his lips together into a fine line and began scanning her from head to toe. The accusation disappeared from his eyes and he sighed, his shoulders slumping as though all the anger had drained out of him. He dropped his hand from her arm and then walked passed her into the bar, grabbing one of the overturned chairs and setting it right-side-up again as he went.
“Sit.” His tone left no room for argument as he motioned to the chair. He turned his back on her and walked toward the bar, stopping when Nicki stood up from her hiding place. His gaze swept over her. “Are you hurt?”
Nicki shook her head and glanced nervously from Price to Laci.
Price nodded. “Then go home. Laci and I will be there soon.”
Nicki cast a worried glance at Laci. Laci nodded and jerked her head toward the back door. Nicki was five years younger than Laci and she was fiercely loyal to her, but Laci knew it wasn’t fair to expect her sister to watch while Laci got chewed out by Price. Nicki sighed and nodded, before making her escape out the back door. Laci knew Nicki would probably wait up at home for her.
Laci watched as Price rummaged around for something behind the bar. He paused long enough to point at the chair he’d placed upright. She thought about refusing to sit. She even considered bolting out of the still-open door behind her and making a run for it.
Price narrowed his eyes at her. “Sit.”
Laci huffed under her breath, but she stomped over to the chair and sat down. Price emerged from behind the bar with a wet dish towel, a glass, and the first aid kit they kept for emergencies. Or bar fights. He set them down on the floor next to her and then grabbed another chair. He dragged over in front of her and then sat down in it, so that he faced her.
Laci kept her eyes down, not wanting to meet the furious expression she thought she’d find on her brother’s face. Instead, she watched his hands as he opened the first aid kit and retrieved the tweezers. He handed the glass to her and then draped the wet towel over his right leg. He patted his leg with the palm of his hand. Laci hesitated, but then lifted her left leg and stretched it out across his lap. Blood trickled from numerous cuts on her knee and shin.
“Shit, Laci. You’re a mess.” His voice didn’t carry the anger and judgment Laci had expected. She glanced up and risked looking at his face. His gaze focused on her knee, and his forehead creased with deep lines, his lips turned down at the corners.
“It wasn’t my fault.” Guilt surged through Laci, even as she denied any responsibility for the scene of destruction around her. She cringed as Price tugged a sliver of glass out of her knee with the tweezers.
He dropped the shard into the glass she held and then went to work on another piece. He didn’t look up to meet her gaze. “It never is, Lace. But this is the third fight in four weeks. It’s getting worse.”
“I can’t help it, I just…” Laci’s voice trailed off. Any excuse she gave would just seem worn out. She’d already used all the excuses she could think of over the last few weeks. Besides, they both knew the real reason for the fights. She just wasn’t ready to accept it.
She watched Price work to pull the jagged glass from her leg, flinching when he tugged at the larger pieces. The tinkling sound the shards made each time one dropped into the glass seemed to echo in the silence.
Price finished with the tweezers and reached for the towel. He dabbed at her leg to clean the blood off. When he was satisfied that he’d gotten all the glass out, he slid her leg off his lap and motioned for her to lift her right leg. She didn’t argue.
Price continued to work in silence for a few more minutes, but Laci could almost see the thoughts running through his head. She wished he’d just yell at her, the way he had the other times she’d been in the middle of fights like this. But he didn’t. The silence felt worse than the yelling. She looked back down at her leg and focused on Price’s hands, while trying to ignore the dread she felt growing inside her.
When he did finally speak, his voice was low and tired. “It’s time, Lace.”
Laci jerked her gaze to his face, hoping she hadn’t really heard him say the words, but knowing in her heart she hadn’t imagined them. He glanced up at her and she felt her heart almost skip a beat.
“I can’t put it off anymore, Laci. You know I can’t.” Price dropped his gaze and tugged another sharp sliver out of her shin.
Laci shook her head. “No. I can’t.”
Price put the tweezers in the glass she held in her shaking hands and wiped the blood off her leg. Then he bent down and retrieved the antibiotic ointment. He squeezed a large portion into his hands and then motioned for her to put her right leg back in his lap. She did and he proceeded to spread the gel onto her cuts.
“You won’t need stitches this time, at least.” He didn’t speak as he finished with her legs and wiped his hands on the towel, but Laci knew it wasn’t the end of the conversation.
Price leaned back in his chair and looked at the front door. Austin hadn’t returned yet. “He’s a good man, Lace.”
Lace felt a lump form in her throat. She sucked in a breath, but the knot made it hard to breathe. “I know, but I don’t—”
“He’ll take good care of you.” Price ran a hand through his hair. “I know you don’t love him, Laci, but you at least like him.”
Laci scoffed. “Yeah, like a brother. Not like…” She had a hard time even finishing the thought, much less saying it out loud. Au
stin really was like another big brother to her.
“I don’t know what else to do, Laci. The boys have been running interference for you for months now, but it’s getting harder. You know my guys won’t touch you, but we can’t steer every outsider clear of you.” Price blew out a breath, while Laci held hers. “Laci, I’m sorry. But this has got to stop and there’s only one way to stop it. And Austin’s willing.”
Laci let out a sharp laugh, but there was no humor in it. “He’s willing. Gee, that’s flattering.”
Price sighed and stood up. He gathered the first aid supplies and took the glass from her, then walked back to the bar.
“You know what I mean, Laci. There are worse things than mating with my second.”
Laci knew her brother was right, but that didn’t mean she had to like it.
Austin chose that moment to walk back through the front door. Laci met his gaze and he stopped. He glanced at Price and she saw wordless communication pass between them. That ability between the two of them had always driven her crazy, even though it was normal between a pride leader and his second. She just hated being left out of the conversation, especially when she knew she was the topic.
Austin’s gaze flicked back to her and then dropped to the floor. Laci rolled her eyes. Great, he knew what Austin had told her. Awkwardness hung in the air between them.
Austin shuffled his feet a couple of times and then glanced over to Price. “I’ll just…uh…wait outside.”
He flicked one quick glance over to Laci, an uncomfortable smile crossing his lips for a moment, and then he turned and walked back out the front door.
