by Jane Jamison
“John, we need to show her.”
“Show me what, Smoke? Show me what assholes you can be?” She checked an invisible box in front of her. “There you go. Job done.”
“Catnip, listen to us. We’re telling you the truth. We are the tigers you saw.”
She wanted to tear them apart limb by limb. How had she given her heart to three men who would torment her like this? “Right. Because you look so much like a big cat right now.”
“We’re shape-shifters,” interjected Smoke as he, too, got to his feet. “We’re men who can change into white tigers.”
She laughed, anger replacing humor. “Oh, sure. Now I get it. You’re like the werewolves in the movies. What’s supposed to happen now? Am I supposed to choose between you three and three vampires? Because I’ve got to tell you, the glitter thing isn’t real attractive.”
“Glitter?” John looked to the others.
“The vampires in that movie glittered in the sunlight,” answered Tatum.
“Hell, that doesn’t make any sense at all.” John shrugged. “I guess I still don’t get—”
“Will you shut up about the damn glitter?” Was she going crazy, or were they?
“Will you let us show you what we are, baby?”
Smoke was so earnest, so genuine. It didn’t make sense.
“You’re telling me that you can change into white tigers whenever you want to. Or do you have to have a full moon?”
“That’s a myth. Even werewolves don’t have to have a full moon to shift.”
Now she was sure they were the ones who were insane. “Werewolves? Around here?”
“There aren’t many in Twisted, but there’s another town called Forever that has a bunch of them. Shatland’s big on werebears. Then there are the vamps and other folks like fairies and the like. Do you remember the farmer? The one whose fence you mowed down? He’s a werewolf.”
“You three are out of your mind. Is it the water? Did it make you go bonkers?” Had she drank any of the well water instead of the bottled water?
“Let us show you.” John had grown calm, yet there was an underlying nervousness in the way he tapped his finger against his arm.
She didn’t know what to do. The men she loved had lost it big time. “You know what? Fine. Show me what you’ve got. But when you don’t change, I’m taking your truck and getting the hell out of here.” She jabbed at finger at them. “And don’t you dare follow me. Got it?”
“We’ll change, but you have to promise not to run.” Smoke narrowed his amber-filled eyes at her. “Can you do that?”
She shot them a rueful smile. “There’s less of a chance of me running than of you three turning into tigers.”
“Say you’ll stay.” John shoved a chair toward her. “Say you’ll sit down and stay put no matter what happens.”
She started to argue, to say it was useless to go through with the charade, then gave in. If the only way for her to get them to stop doing whatever they were trying to do—Force me to leave? Tease me horribly? What the hell are they trying to do?—then she’d sit down and let them embarrass themselves. She pushed the chair against the wall and sat down. “Give it your best shot, guys.”
They began to disrobe.
She fought the desire rising swiftly inside her as she watched them take their clothes off. Even if they were crazy, she still wanted them. The strange current whipping between them was as real as if it had been a lasso circling them and yanking them toward her.
“Do you feel it, baby? The connection?”
She wouldn’t lie. Not now. “Yes. I feel something. It’s like an invisible cord that makes me want to be with you.”
“We call it the connection.” John pushed his jeans to the floor. “We sense when our intended mate is with us. Call it fate or love at first sight or whatever. But it’s real, and it’s what brings us together so fast.”
“So you’re saying we were meant to be together?” If they’d told her the same thing before making love on top of the kitchen table, she would’ve believed them. But did she now? Even though what they’d said didn’t make sense, how could she deny what she felt?
“That’s it exactly, darlin’. Most shape-shifters have something like the connection. Without it, we might never find the woman we were meant to share.”
She swallowed hard and dropped her gaze to the floor. If she looked any longer, she might forget about what they’d claimed they were and beg them to take her again.
“You need to watch us change, baby.”
She lifted her gaze to Smoke and felt her mouth drop open. “What happened to your eyes?”
His eyes were filling with glowing amber.
“You’ve seen it before. The amber. Our eyes change color when our animal rises closer to the surface.”
Smoke’s words were jumbled, his jaw elongating, but she understood. The sound of breaking bones chilled her as she watched their bodies transform.
Arms and legs went first, changing how they bent.
White fur striped with black raced over their naked bodies.
Tails sprouted where none should have ever been.
Razor-like fangs erupted, replacing teeth.
Their faces, their handsome human faces, changed, growing broader, the eyes becoming more slanted.
By the time her men dropped to the floor as tigers, she was sure that she was the one who’d lost her mind. “Oh my God.” She gripped the arms of the chair as the tigers crept toward her.
Her heart should’ve pounded out of her chest. She should’ve fainted. Or thrown up. Or something. Yet the closer they got to her, the calmer she became. By the time they’d padded next to her, crowding around her like three huge kittens wanting their owner’s attention, she’d relaxed.
Was it the connection that kept her from screaming?
“It’s real. You can change into white tigers.” She tentatively reached out a hand and placed it on the cat in the middle. “John? That’s really you, isn’t it?”
As though in answer, he pushed his face against her palm and purred. His tail swayed back and forth.
The sensation of something coarse slicking over her hand had her pulling away. The cat that was Tatum flicked his tongue out then he, too, pushed his head against her hand.
I’m petting two tigers.
Her fingers slipped through their fur as they bumped against one another. “This is incredible. So incredible that I’ll forgive you for making me think I’d only imaged seeing tigers.”
They sat on their haunches, their amber eyes fixed on her. The sound of their breathing rumbled out of their chests. Completely calm, she leaned forward and put her arms around them as far as they could go. Their purrs grew louder.
For several minutes, they let her pet them, exploring how their powerful bodies felt under her fingers. She scratched them behind their ears. She put her face close to each of theirs. She even pulled Tatum’s tail, laughing as he hissed at her.
Then all too soon it was over. They backed away, transforming as they did. By the time, they’d changed back into the human bodies, no less perfect than their tiger ones, she’d made a decision.
“Now you believe us.” John’s statement wasn’t a question, rather a need for confirmation.
“Of course I do. Seeing is believing.” She rose on shaky legs, the excitement of the past few minutes finally working its way through her. “This is beyond incredible. I believe what I saw, but my head’s still trying to grasp it. You’re tigers. Real, live men who can change and become tigers.”
“We are,” confirmed John. “We should’ve told you earlier, before we had sex, but things kind of got out of hand.”
“Yes. You should have.” She shook her head, realizing the truth. “Although I’m not sure it would’ve made any difference.”
“That’s because we’re connected. We belong together. Even if your mind doesn’t fully understand, your body does.”
A question that had lingered with her came to her lips. �
��Is this the answer to Robin’s illness?” It all made sense. “You wanted to change her, didn’t you? If she became a shifter, would she be healed? Is that the option she turned down?”
“Yes, and she’s still refusing to let us help her.”
For Robin, staying human was more important than staying alive. “But why wouldn’t she choose to live? Is being a shifter so awful?”
“No. At least we don’t think so.” John looked to the other two men. “Still, she has the right to make the decision for herself.”
“Yes, she does.” What would be her decision? To be with the men she loved? To become what they were? Or to remain human?
“So?” Tatum shifted from foot to foot. “Will you stay and be our mate?”
He looked so anxious, like a young boy asking a girl to be his Valentine, that she hated telling him her decision. “No. I’m not going to stay.”
They hadn’t expected that answer. Staring at her, confusion knitted their brows. They looked as though someone had hit them with a hammer directly between their eyes.
“But you’re our intended mate.” Smoke stared at her, studying her as though she had suddenly grown three eyes.
“He’s right. You said you felt the connection,” argued a bewildered John.
“I do. But I have to think. What kind of life would this be? How would we have children?”
“Just like everyone else.” John let out a hard breath. “Our life is like anyone else’s. The difference is that we can change into tigers. Around here, that’s not a big deal. In fact, it makes us normal.”
“As for kids, we can have them.” Smoke glanced at the other two men. “They might be human or tiger or part of each, but they’ll still be kids you’ll love.”
“And what about me? Is it like being a werewolf? Can you bite me and change me into a tiger?” Would she want to change? So many questions whirled around in her head, but very few answers came.
“If that’s what you want.” John took her by the arms. “It’s totally up to you. Just like where we’ll live. If you want us to go back with you, then we will.”
“I don’t know what I want. Staying here, living on the ranch is very appealing.” She would love nothing more than to have a simpler life. “But I have a company that is failing. A company that is doing things I no longer approve of. I have to put my old life in order before I start a new one.”
“You’re saying you’re leaving, aren’t you?”
The sadness in Smoke’s voice tore at her. She was sad, too, but at least it was her decision. “Yes. I’m going to have someone come and pick me up tomorrow.”
“No, Catnip. Don’t leave.” Tatum’s voice cracked.
“Will you come back?” asked John. His voice didn’t crack, but the pain still cut through it.
“All I know right now is that I have to take care of business back home. I’ve already left it for far too long. Please”—she pulled out of his hold—“give me the time I need.”
Unable to look at their sorrowful faces a moment longer, she turned and headed for her bedroom. Her hand shook as she opened the bedroom door. Tears were in her eyes as she closed it behind her.
* * * *
“We’ve lost her.” Tatum dragged a hand along the back of his neck. “Fuck, we’ve lost her.”
John understood how his cousin felt. The pain in his chest hurt. He stared at the note she’d left behind, trying to make sense where there was none. Had they lost her? Yet, she hadn’t turned them down. Not really. “We have to give her the time she needs.”
Tatum had found the note after they’d come back home from doing their early morning chores. She usually slept later than they did, so they hadn’t suspected anything out of the ordinary. But when she hadn’t arisen around noon, they’d had to check. Tatum had snatched up the note she’d left on their bed.
John had already read it so many times he now had it memorized. Truth be told, her words would be burned into his psyche until they day he died.
To my men ~
Please forgive me for not saying good-bye, but I knew if I did, you’d do your best to talk me out of leaving. I have to go home. The company is a mess. Not only because of bad business deals my father made but because I left the company in the hands of an unscrupulous man. A man I now know was embezzling company funds. I have to face the problems head-on and figure out solutions to make things right. It might be too late, but I have to try. And I have to do this on my own.
But that’s not all of it. After what you showed me, I need time to think. Time to get away from the connection that draws us together so that I can look at things logically. Please honor my request for distance and don’t come after me.
I love you. I hope you know that. You asked me to be your mate. I want to give that request the consideration it deserves. Although you never said as much, I felt that you love me. I hope I’m not wrong.
I promise I’ll give you an answer when I return. Until then, stay safe.
Love,
Catnip
“She said when she returns, not if. That’s a good sign, right?” Smoke stood at the window as though waiting for her to drive up. “And she called us her men. That’s good, too.”
“How’d she leave anyway? She didn’t take our truck.” Tatum plopped down on the sofa and rested his forehead in his hands.
“She caught a ride from someone. Maybe she called a friend.” Smoke groaned but never took his attention from the road. “What does it matter? She left.”
“We have to believe she’s coming back.” John couldn’t think of any other way to handle it. If he didn’t believe she’d return, he’d go crazy.
“She used the nickname I gave her.” Tatum looked up, his face filled with hope. “That’s another good sign.”
“It is,” agreed John. “But best of all, she said she loves us.”
“You’re right.” Tatum cheered up even more. “She said she loves us. That proves she’ll come back.”
John cleared his throat and shoved away the worry nagging him. “I hope so. But we can’t go after her. If she needs to take care of things back home, then we let her do it. She’s a strong woman. Forcing her to stay wouldn’t have worked even if we’d tried it. Instead, we play this her way. We wait. She’ll come back to us. If she’s really our mate, she’ll come back to us.”
His brother and cousin remained silent. Striding out of the room, John didn’t let them see the doubt he feared was written on his face.
* * * *
Catherine dashed into the house, not bothering to knock. After all, if she believed what the men had told her—and she did—this was now her home, too. The sun was setting behind her, casting shadows into the empty home. “Guys? Hey, guys? Where are you?”
She hadn’t wanted to call. Had, in fact, wanted her homecoming to be a surprise.
Homecoming.
What a beautiful word.
Although the problems with her company would take more time to work out, she’d found that she couldn’t stay away any longer. A month had nearly killed her. Their faces were what she thought of every morning while lying alone in bed. Their touches, their kisses were what she dreamed about every night as she cuddled in her bed, the pillows around her being pitiful substitutes for their hard, hot bodies.
She’d called them a few times, but hearing their voices, hearing the unspoken plea in their tone for her to come back, had only made the time without them harder. After that, she’d sent daily texts but kept the texts restricted to easy conversation and updates about her company. Somehow, without her telling them, they’d understood that any talk of being their mate and moving in with them wouldn’t help and instead, would only serve to hurt all of them.
Scanning the living room, she hurried into the kitchen and, finding it empty, ran down the hallway, pushing open the bedroom doors. “I’m home,” she sang out to a silent house.
“Shit. Maybe I should’ve told them I was coming.” She’d hoped that by arriving at sunset, she’d find
them home, getting dinner ready. If all went as planned, she’d be their dessert. Disappointment swamped her, but she discarded it. This was only a short delay. They’d see the car outside when they came home from either working on the ranch or at the hospital and know she’d come back. Then the celebration would begin.
Yeah. It’s only a delay. That’s all.
The sound of their footsteps coming up the front porch had her turning toward the front door.
They’re here!
She dashed down the hallway and into the living room—and promptly slammed to a stop.
Tatum had his arm slung around a beautiful blonde’s waist. John was on her other side, the two of the capturing the sexy woman between them as they had done so often with her. Smoke’s laughter filled the air as he walked backward, his full attention on the woman.
John and Tatum pulled up short. Their gazes, along with the brilliant blue gaze of the woman, locked on her.
Who the hell is she?
Fortunately for her pride, she didn’t say the question out loud. Instead, she stared pointedly at them. Had they really been her men? Had she been played with her being the mouse and they the real live cats?
Smoke whirled around, surprise etched in his features. “Catherine, you’re here.”
“Yeah. I’m here.” Was she so easily replaced? Had they asked this woman to be their mate, too? “But not for long.” Knowing she couldn’t get past them, she spun around and ran for the back door in the kitchen.
“Catnip, hold up!”
There was no way in hell she was going to stop until she was in the car and headed home.
My real home.
Not this fake-ass home.
Tears burned her eyes, but she’d be damned if she’d let them fall. Not until she was fifty miles away from their ranch.
She should’ve known she’d never make it back to her car. Still, she let out a cry that turned into a string of cuss words as she was caught and held against an unmovable force.
