Her Warriors (11 page)

“It’s safe now.” Jacki claimed with a
feeling of pride. “I purified it with the Goddess’s energy.”

“As you did once before.” Geir nodded as
they all remembered that last battle.

“Yes,” she agreed. “Only this time, I
actually knew what was going on and was able to learn a great deal.
Bettina set me this task and now that it’s done, I don’t know about
you two, but I’m going for a swim.”

As she said the words, she began to shuck
her clothing. Shifters weren’t generally shy about their bodies,
but Jacki had never been quite so out-in-the-open about getting
naked in front of males she was attracted to. For one thing, in her
own Clan, she was surrounded mostly by lions. Those women were tall
and thin, muscular and svelte. Only among the few selkie shifters
had Jacki felt comfortable, but even then, she was always a tiny
bit rounder than the others.

She had big hips. At times, among the other
skinny-bitch lionesses, she’d felt like her hips weren’t just big,
but massive. And she had big breasts. Not that any males had ever
complained about that particular feature, but she was quite
different from her lion relatives in the Clan. And that had made
her self-conscious in a way that most shifters weren’t.

Much to her surprise though, she found she
didn’t care at the moment, if Beau and Geir saw her before she made
it into the cover of the water. The magic flowing through her had
taken away some of her inhibitions and her usual shyness. Her beast
was calling to her. It had been too long since she’d taken her
alternate form. The water was pure and sparkling—whispering to her
animal heart. Jacki stripped fast and walked straight into the
water, allowing the change to come over her until she could dive
cleanly under the surface in her seal form.

Heaven. Pure, unadulterated heaven.

Jacki swam the perimeter of the lake, nosing
around rocks and discovering all there was to see in this new
place. Her seal was full of curiosity about the place, the types of
fish and the size of them. Much to her delight, there were some
very large, tasty fish that she could easily catch for supper. She
snagged one in her mouth and surfaced to throw it onto the
bank.

While she would enjoy the fish raw either in
her animal form or as sushi, she thought maybe for tonight, she
would share her catch with the men, cooking them back at the house.
Then she remembered Tad and Mandy would probably still be there,
and she turned back to look for a few more fish.

What she found instead were two golden
tigers, paddling happily toward her. She felt joy in her heart,
seeing how much the big cats seemed to enjoy the water. They
definitely had that in common with her. She wondered for a moment
what they thought of her alternate form. Seals weren’t quite as
glamorous as furry, striped, fierce tigers, but she had her
talents.

She dove under the water, determined to show
them at least some of her skills as she swam loops around the men.
She would hit them with a flipper now and again in a soundless game
of tag that they could not win. But they didn’t seem to mind. They
played with her, splashing and frolicking like kittens to her seal
pup, until all three of them were played out.

Just then, she saw a big fat fish swim by
and she grabbed it with her teeth, slinging it onto the bank with
the other she had caught before. The tigers, seeing this, were not
to be outdone. Suddenly a fierce fishing battle was on as each of
the cats began to stalk through the shallows until they had a
nicely rounded pile of freshly caught fish heaped on the bank.

Jacki felt more at peace than she had in a
long time. She shifted shape as she exited the water, letting it
sluice off her skin as she headed for the grassy bank. She heard
the tigers go quiet behind her and knew they were watching her as
she lay down on the soft grass, letting the sun dry her skin.

The residual power of the Goddess still
pulsed through her body, making her feel good in a purely feminine
way. Forgotten were her worries over her size and shape. The hungry
regard of the two very naked men who came to stand over her made
her conscious only of them and the undeniable attraction pulsing
between her and them. She forgot all her insecurities in the heat
of their gazes.

Geir was on her left, Beau on her right. She
shaded her eyes to look up at them, noting that both were hard and
ready…and oddly, not fighting for dominance over her, or especially
over each other. That was rare for shifter Alphas. It was unusual
that two males who were unrelated got along so well when mating was
in question.

Mating disputes, while they rarely occurred,
often ended in bloodshed, sometimes death, so this was something
remarkable indeed. Remarkable too was the sheer size and beauty of
the two males. They were big tigers—a race she had only been
exposed to recently. Many of her relatives were lion shifters. She
was used to big cats, but tigers were a little bit different from
her king-of-the-jungle relatives.

For one thing, she found them sexier. Those
stripes and the slinky way they moved made her want to pet them. Or
maybe it wasn’t every tiger that made her want to do such things.
Maybe it was just these two, very special tigers.

“Lay with me,” she whispered up at them.
“Let the sun dry us before we have to go back.” The power of the
Goddess was slowly leaving her, making her feel languid and a
little lazy. Or maybe it was more fatigue than anything else, but
either way, she just wanted to lay there for a little while, her
men beside her.

And when had she started thinking of them as
her men
? Oh, dear. Was she really seriously considering the
threesome Bettina had talked about? Were
they
considering
it? She looked from one to the other as they sank down to the soft
grass on either side of her. Were they even capable of such a
thing? All the signs so far indicated that they might be. But did
Jacki dare to ask it of them? It would be a sacrifice for
them—sharing a mate instead of having one woman all to
themselves.

If they went through with this, she felt
like she would definitely be getting away with something. Two
strong males to see to her every desire. Two to protect her and
cherish her and make babies with her. Two mates to love and cherish
back. Did she dare?

Jacki was still very confused about the
whole thing, but she was willing to suspend judgment right now and
just go with the flow for a little while. Bettina had advised that
she see where things led before worrying the situation to death,
and Jacki vowed to do her best to follow that advice.

She reached for their hands—one on each side
of her. They were close, but they weren’t quite touching. She
appreciated the patience and care they displayed for her person.
Many male shifters went on the attack when they saw a woman they
wanted. Especially if she was naked. These two knew somehow that a
show of aggression wasn’t the way to win her. Selkies were more
subtle than that—and Jacki in particular, needed more than
that.

She was a woman of power in her own right.
She needed to be wooed.

Chapter
Seven

“I think that worked out pretty well,” Beau
said, drawing her attention, though he seemed to be looking at the
sky and contemplating the movement of the leaves on the trees. “I
mean, our beasts all seemed to get along. Don’t you think?”

Geir rose to his elbow and looked at her and
then at Beau. “You’re right.” He seemed a little shocked. “At no
time did I want to rip your head off.”

Jacki laughed at his rather bald statement
though it was clear Geir hadn’t meant it as a joke. Beau smiled
too, though he didn’t laugh outright. English wasn’t Geir’s first
language and sometimes his foreignness came through in unexpectedly
humorous ways, she was learning, much to her delight.

“Our cats seem to think they’re evenly
matched,” Beau confirmed. “And they like the seal too. My cat
thinks she’s cute and is a little envious of her skill in the
water. My tiger loves the water, you know.” Beau leered a little at
her, in a comical way that made her giggle.

“That was duly noted when you joined the
Clan, Beau.” She remembered the way Beau had bested some of the
Clan’s lions in the water, much to their chagrin.

“You have dealt with seals before, right
Beau? Is this lack of aggression normal?” Geir asked, seeming
intrigued.

“Not normal at all,” Beau admitted. “Much as
I like them, my cat is always tempted to hunt. I mean,
always
. I fight my instincts all the time when I’m in the
water with them. Thankfully, even if I lost control, they are way
better swimmers than I am. I felt secure knowing they can
outmaneuver me on any given day.”

Jacki was surprised. “I had no idea,” she
admitted.

“That was the point. I didn’t want to get
thrown out of the Clan because I have a little aggression issue.
I’ve been this way all my life. I have more than my share of the
animal in my soul. The tiger is at the forefront most of the time,
even when I’m in my human form. I know it’s not like that for
everyone, but for me…it’s a way of life.” Beau looked away as if
admitting his affliction was something shameful. Jacki squeezed his
hand. “But I handled it better when I was around you, Jacki. That’s
part of the reason I finally decided to stop roaming and take the
position offered to me in the Kinkaid Clan. It was to be near
you.”

“Because I tame the beast within you?” she
asked, needing to know if that was the only reason he had joined
her Clan.

“For that, yes,” he replied, looking deep
into her eyes. “But also because I just…like you. I like being near
you. I like hearing you laugh and you…” He seemed to be having a
hard time admitting all these things, but Jacki felt like he was
giving her the moon. “You make me happy, Jacki. Happiness has been
in very short supply in my life.”

“Oh, Beau,” Jacki whispered, turning to him
and letting go of Geir’s hand.

She touched Beau’s face, cupping his cheek
with her palm as he rose off the ground to meet her. His lips
covered hers in a soft kiss that quickly grew. Their bodies were
slick with residual water from their swim and when she felt his
chest rub against her bare breasts, she squirmed against him,
wanting more. She felt the rumble of his purr against her chest and
it made her move back, breaking the kiss.

Suddenly she remembered they weren’t alone.
She looked to her left, but Geir was on his feet, his clothing in
his hand as he walked away from them.

“I’m sorry,” she whispered, meaning it for
both men.

Beau let her go and sat up, resting his head
in his hands for a moment, as he bent over his upraised knees. He
looked pained. As pained as she felt, watching one of her tigers
walk away. Jacki got to her feet.

“Geir, wait…” She went after him, grabbing
her clothing off the ground as she went.

She hopped her way into her pants, then
threw her shirt over her head as she walked along, sticking her
underwear in her pockets. He had paused to step into his pants,
allowing her to catch up to him.

“I’m sorry, Geir,” she repeated softly.

“No need to apologize,” he said in a
resigned voice. “It’s clear that our beasts get along, but the
human part of me isn’t ready to deal with this yet.”

He stood, buttoning and zipping his jeans,
his muscular chest gleaming in the sun. He was powerfully built and
Jacki wasn’t unaffected by the sight of him.

“If it’s any consolation, I’m really
confused,” she admitted. “I have feelings—strong feelings—for both
of you. I’m sorry we’ve all been put in such a strange position,
and I’m not sure what to do about it or how to proceed.”

“One step at a time, I suspect,” Beau said,
coming up behind her.

She glanced back at him to find he was
wearing his pants, his shirt held in one hand. She was surrounded
by shirtless, hunky men, but they were all a little too on edge to
do anything about it. Or were they?

Beau was at her back, slowly pushing her
forward with gentle pressure until she stood very close to Geir. He
hadn’t moved. His head had quirked to one side as if in question,
or some of the confusion she was feeling.

She lifted her hands and placed them against
his chest, feeling the racing beat of his heart. He wasn’t as
unaffected as he appeared on the outside. She moved her hands,
stroking him as she stepped closer. Beau stayed where he was, about
a foot or two from them, still close enough that she could feel his
warmth against her back, but allowing her the freedom to choose her
next move.

She chose to kiss Geir. Rising up on her
toes, she sought his lips with her own. She initiated a sweet kiss,
but Geir soon turned it into a sultry assault on her senses. Still
waters ran very deep with this man and she felt the hardness of his
chest against her—the thin fabric of her shirt not much of a
barrier as she lifted her arms to twine about his neck, sinking her
fingers into his short blonde hair.

When he began to purr, she didn’t pull back.
She was coming to expect that low rumble against her chest and it
felt welcoming and really, really sexy. The kiss turned molten and
she almost stumbled backward with the force of Geir’s passionate
assault, but Beau was there. He caught her with his hands at her
waist, his strong chest against her back.

A little growl behind her and the thrumming
of Geir’s purr against her front made for a heady mixture of
sensations. She didn’t squawk when Beau’s hands lifted her shirt
upward, skimming it off over her head as Geir let her mouth go for
a few milliseconds. And then Beau’s hands were on her skin and
Geir’s mouth moved to her neck…and then downward.

Beau pushed his hands into her pants—one in
front and one behind—while Geir’s mouth found her breasts. She
squealed then, a high-pitched tone that rang through the empty
forest like a bell of delight, when Geir sucked on her nipple. Her
hands were in his hair, mussing the blonde locks that were usually
so perfectly groomed.