Tane's Mate: A Paranormal Shifter Romance (Shifter's on the Run Book 1) (3 page)

The men sitting at the table looked at each other before giving small grunts but sitting still.

“She going to cook for us or what?” Dai asked.

“Yeah, I’m going to cook.” How else could she earn her keep? Pictures of her on her back with Tane on top of her slipped through her mind. No, sex was for pleasure not payment.

Opening the huge fridge, she saw that it was full. She pulled out some quick rise biscuits along with eggs, bacon and home fries. The men looked like they could eat a lot. Once she had everything on the counter, she turned back to face them.

“Jayden is the one who was checking out your legs.” Tane introduced him.

He was tall with a slim body and black hair in a military cut with beautiful brown eyes.

“You know who Dai is. The male sitting next to him is Benet.”

He raised his hand, “You can call me Ben for short.”

She smiled and waved back. Ben was a blonde with blue eyes and a nice smile. His body was thick like a body builder yet he gave the impression that he could move fast.

“The male next to him is Lorenzo and we call him Lore for short.”

“That’s a nice nickname.” She gave him a warm smile. His brown hair touched his collar and his green eyes were lit with merriment.

“The last one is Dev.” Tane finished making his introductions.

“You can just call me Dev.” His mouth quirked up in a smile lighting his brown eyes. His hair was auburn and he gave off a feeling of peace, something the others didn’t do.

She stood there staring at them fascinated to see so many alpha males in one room and no one killing the other.

“Food,” Tane gently reminded her.

Gently. She had to hide a snort at that thought. There was nothing gentle about the man. Quickly she had the oven pre-heating while she placed the rolls on the baking dish. She looked at the men and then at the rolls and grabbed another package out of the fridge.

Dev gave her a friendly nod like she had made the right call. She was sure they could be friends if she stayed long enough. Her smile disappeared; she wasn’t staying long enough. The men chasing her would love to get their hands on the six of them. The thought of Tane being treated like a lab animal stabbed her in her chest. That’s what they would do to him. Treat him like they treated her and there would be no one to protest or look for him.

Be cautious, she reminded herself. She couldn’t afford to care about people she didn’t know. Heck, the truth was she couldn’t even afford to care about animals. Her kindly old doctor turned out not to be so kindly after all. He told her how he had informed the people at her job that she died on the table. No, there would not be a funeral; her Will stated she wanted to be cremated and thrown to the four winds. Then he told her he had her pets—a cat and a dog—euthanized. Caring was out. All that mattered now was getting out alive.

The males at the table were strangely quiet as they watched her work. Maybe looking to make sure she didn’t poison or drug their food. She pulled the biscuits out taking the bacon and hash browns off as she poured the eggs into a large pan. Breakfast was almost done.

In a matter of minutes she finished, placing the food on large platters Tane set out for her. He grabbed them and placed them on the table encouraging her to sit next to him before they all broke out in chatter as they reached for the food.

Breakfast was an interesting affair. They all talked over each other accompanied by lots of laughter but what they didn’t do was let anything personal spill. By the time she was done eating, she knew all about the town that was far enough away to leave them alone but close enough to visit. They told her highlights of the things that went on in it, but the men were as much of a mystery as when breakfast started.

Once all the food was gone, Leza stood with a smile on her face and started collecting dishes. This was nice. She was used to solitary meals and the meals she had with others at work, not that she really made any close friends there. It felt like she had been alone forever.

Don’t get used to it, she cautioned herself. She was leaving the first chance she got. It was the right thing to do. To leave and let these men get back to their lives while she ran in order to keep hers.

Cleaning the kitchen wasn’t that hard. The others got up and each did a chore, Dai even swept the floor. Her eyes had to be big as saucers as she watched him. He threw her a little smile as he finished but they left the dishes for her.

“Who do you think kept this place clean before you came to fix us a fancy breakfast?” Dai asked.

She had to giggle at the word fancy. “That was just breakfast. Imagine how you would feel if I made French toast or something.”

Jay made happy noises and rubbed his tummy. “I think I would marry you.”

She laughed out right as Tane threw him a look and a deep growl came from his mouth making her jump.

“Stop that,” Dai hissed at him. “You’re scaring her.”

“Nah, I’m all right, it was just unexpected.”

The animal in her sat up and looked at Tane, her interest going through the roof. Leza felt wetness trickling down her legs. She needed some clothes as she tried to press her thighs together without anyone noticing.

Drying the last pot, she looked down trying to figure out how she could escape in a long blue shirt because that’s all she had and no way could she fit any of their pants.

“I’m going into town,” Tane announced as he stood up.

“Oh good I’ll go with you,” Leza said with a too bright smile.

He turned and looked at her, his eyes slowly caressing her body from the top of her head down to her toes that still had a little of the purple polish hanging on. She tried to curl them up so he wouldn’t see them.

There was no way she was mourning for stupid things like her toenails that she always kept polished because the little pop of color made her feel feminine. There was no more feeling pretty, she was a monster. Maybe she could pop her claws and her fangs and fight her way out of here. Six against one her mind mocked her. How will you handle them all?

If they were normal men. Normal? Let’s assume their not all filled with animals even though you can smell a zoo in here. They are all tall and extra wide with ropes of muscle, they don’t need an animal, to them we are a snack. Yeah, her animal knew what it was talking about even when it coiled to fight its way out at her word. Her animal was strong and so was she, but neither of them was stupid.

“You can’t just keep me here.”

“Watch me.” Then he walked out the room, threw a glance at the men over his shoulder and disappeared outside.

“Looks like you’ll be keeping me company,” Dai said, taking her hand and leading her to another room.

“The least you could do is tell me about your house.”

He shook his head no and turned on a television and a light that didn’t seem to add to the brightness of the room.

*~*~*~*

Tane stood in the doorway and didn’t know whether to laugh or shake his head at the tension. All of his men—brothers now, sat there with taut shoulders as they took peeks at Leza. Her eyes were glued to the television as if it was a life line.

Leza was the first female like themselves they ever saw. Tane could sense she only had one animal in her but she at least had an animal. His brothers were fascinated because if there was one female like them then there could be others. They would want to go looking, he knew they would. It was something they would have to discuss but not until they knew what was happening with Leza.

His eyes took her in, she was so soft looking. His shirt was on her mixing with her smell calling to his animals, all of whom were screaming mine.

Leza wasn’t leaving; she just didn’t know it yet. He’d always been attracted to women like her, soft with brown or bronze skin. But Leza was so much more than just his type. She called to him on some fundamental level like she was designed for him. There was no way he was letting her go; he just had to figure a way out of the cluster fuck they were currently in. He took in the lamp that Dai had turned on. Yeah, his twin was taking precautions; she wasn’t going to be happy when she found out what came next.

“Everybody having fun?” Tane walked into the room with a scowl on his face and bags dangling from his fingers.

She jumped up with a guilty look on her face.

“What’s in the bags?”

Tane ignored the look on her face as his eyes stopped on her breasts watching them heave up and down.

“Miss me?”

“No, just wondering how long I would have to wait until I could negotiate my freedom.”

“That eager to die?”

She frowned then looked sad for a minute before shaking her head.

“Just wanna give you the best chance to live.”

“I doubt that, beautiful. If you wanted to give us a chance to live, you would never have driven on our property. But you’re just beginning to realize what you are. I have something for you.”

He handed her the bags.

“Go ahead take them back to the room and take a look at them. I think you’ll like what’s inside.”

She took the bags and walked out the door looking over her shoulder amazed when no one followed her. Finding the room wasn’t hard, her animal automatically made mental notes of where everything was.

She closed the door behind her before dropping the bags on the bed. Three deep breaths then she leaned against the wall. It had been so tense in the living room she thought she might lose it.

Her eyes zeroed in on one bag. What could be in there? She slowly approached it reminding herself he wouldn’t blow up his own home so it had to be safe. Opening the first bag, she gasped pouring the silky lingerie onto the bed. God they were gorgeous. Had he really found all of this in that little town? Quickly she went through the other bags to find shirts and pants, the kind that she would wear if she wanted to dress sexy but lethal at the same time.

In the end it was what was in the last bag that touched her heart. There were five different colors of nail polish and a bottle of nail polish remover. What man bought nail polish? How did he even know? She dashed at her eyes—the unexpected gesture touched what she had left of a heart.

It wasn’t easy knowing what to do. In the end she took off the remainder of the nail polish and painted her toes a bright orange. One of the marvelous colors he bought for her. Why? She shrugged. A well-dressed super hero needed polish and a moment to feel feminine. Thoughts of long days pampering herself brought a sad smile to her face. She had been so alone in her former life. Not how she wanted to live, it was just a pattern she fell into.

Now she had this new life and she was still alone but she was scared too. Running for her life and wondering if she would ever have that middle ground where she had true friends and a man of her own. At this point she should be happy to be alive, but meeting Tane made her want more.

Once her polish was dry, she zipped off to take another shower and used the lotion she found in the bag with the other toiletries he gave her as a gift. She dressed in a pair of simple leggings and a cami. It was a nice low key outfit. Before she ran she would change into the cargo pants he bought her and the army camouflage shirt. It would help if the shirt wasn’t a sweet pink. It had to be his idea of a joke.

Taking a deep breath, she made her way out the room. How long could she hide in the bedroom? All day if given a chance but she wasn’t a coward.

Jay looked up as she entered the living room. “You look cute. I must admit I miss the shirt, but at least you don’t smell like Tane anymore.” The smile he gave her was big.

Tane walked over to her pulled her into his arms and assaulted her mouth making her knees weak. The kiss made every bone in her body soft and he placed her in a chair before she could even catch her breath or register the kiss.

He looked around the room meeting the eyes of every male.

“I was just kidding, Tane,” Jay shook his head.

“You listen here.” She pushed herself to stand not sure if her legs would buckle or not. “I’m not yours and you can’t treat me as if I have no say in what happens to me. I’d rather be dead,” she tossed out.

“The kitten has claws. Good, don’t let Tane get away with it. He’s too accustomed to being in charge as it is,” Dai said with a smile and a wink.

“I’m serious, Tane.”

“I know you are, Sweetheart, and I will try to remember it. Now you may want to sit down before you fall dawn.”

She glowered at him before giving him a grunt and reluctantly sitting. He was right.

He glanced at her toenails and then gave her a bright smile.

God save her from alpha males.

“Leza, I have a problem, and it’s what to do with you. The easy answer continues to plague me. Kill you. Although that would solve my problem, I have noticed you’re not a fan of that solution.”

He raised his hand when she opened her mouth to speak. Nodding she stayed quiet, and allowed him to work out his inner thoughts.

“We could keep you here. Something you also don’t seem to be a fan of or we could let you go. The last you like, but only because you really don’t understand the jeopardy that places you in. As well as the jeopardy that places us in when we have to mobilize to rescue you.”

Tane paced as his eyes swung from the others to Leza then back again.

“Tell me how you escaped.”

“They moved me. It was something they never did. I was chained in the car until one day they brought me into a diner and they had to take the chains off of me. I remember sitting there eating, wondering how I could get away. One of my guards went to the rest room the other got a phone call and took it outside. I was sitting there unchained and alone. I ran. Out the back door until I saw a car. I didn’t know if I could still do it but I tried. I hot-wired it, something I learned in my youth, and took off.”

“So they let you escape.”

“No! I…yeah I guess they did. That was way too easy. At the time I was so focused on freedom that nothing else registered.”

“Why did they let you escape, Leza?” Tane drilled her, still pacing the floor.