The Claiming of Sasha [Panther Cove 4] (Siren Publishing Ménage Everlasting) (10 page)

That was easy to answer. “No.”

“If you don’t, I’m betting it will eat away at you.”

He didn’t need Danny to tell him one more time how amazing she was and how he knew she was the one for them. “I know she might be our one and only chance at happiness, but I’m not willing to stay and give up everything we’ve built in Texas.” Not to mention how much his parents would be devastated to lose them.

“Maybe we could ask Sasha to come back with us to Texas.”

He cocked a brow. “She’d be miserable, and you know it. Besides, she owns her own business here. Let’s just get this shifter shit out of our system, go home, and forget all about it.”

“Ah, Trace?”

“What?” He didn’t need to have this debate. Hell, it wasn’t even a debate. The fact was, they’d be leaving soon and it was better for all parties if no one got hurt any more than they already had.

“You’re shifting.”

Fuck
. He glanced at his hands and then felt the hair grow on his face. He pictured the mountain views and the wonderful foliage they’d seen on their ride yesterday. His body calmed at the image. “I’m in trouble, aren’t I?”

“You might as well admit it. She’s the one, and there doesn’t seem to be anything you can do about it.”

Except leave
.

* * * *

It was a little after lunchtime by the time Sasha returned them to town. Since she’d been kind enough to introduce them to Panther Cove and then let them ride, the least he and Danny could do was take her to lunch.

“It’s our treat, Sasha. Where would you like to eat?”

“How about The Black Cat Bar? You remember the woman I told you watched my store the day I spoke with my grandfather?”

“Yes.”

“Well, she works the lunch shift there. She used to do nights, but once she found her two mates, Daven and Breck Sang, they insisted she spend more time studying her art and less time working.”

He knew what she was doing. She probably thought if they learned about the others who lived here and saw how happy they were, he and Danny might feel a sense of community and want to stay.

“Sure.”

When they first arrived in Delight, he’d spotted the place, but he wouldn’t have guessed the bar served food. He held open the door for them. Inside, the place was rather dark, but the bar counter looked to be as good a quality as any as he’d seen in Texas. For lunchtime, it was more crowded than he’d expected.

No surprise, when he stepped inside, the usual bad vibes struck him. Sasha grabbed his arm. “Don’t worry. The owner is a panther, but most here are just plain old humans.”

He wasn’t too sure of that. From the way his head pounded, there was a lot more than just one shifter.

They sat at a booth by the window, and he appreciated being able to see out. A pretty woman pranced up to the table, and his stomach vibrated.
Crap
. She was part shifter, just like Sasha. He knew there was more than one in this place.

“Hey, girlfriend.” The waitress gave Sasha a hug then gave them the once over. “Are these your two men?”

“Yes.” Sasha faced them. “This is Julia.” She then introduced them.

“You’re real cowboys?” She glanced to Danny

He wasn’t sure exactly what fake ones were, but maybe men around here liked to wear the boots and the hat but had never been on a range. “Yes, ma’am. Through and through.”

“You need to meet my two men. I bet they’d love to pick your brains about horseflesh.”

Danny grinned. “We’d be delighted.”

Sasha leaned closer. “Her two men live in Panther Cove. In fact, they were the ones being trained in the gym.”

Trace looked back at Julia. That put a different slant on things. “They were amazingly strong.”

Her grin made her eyes sparkle. “That they are.”

Sasha snapped her fingers. “I have a great idea. Why don’t you round up the gang and bring them over to my place tonight? We can have a party, and it will give Danny and Trace a chance to get a good, old-fashioned Delight welcome.”

Julia hesitated a bit too long for his liking, but he did appreciate the warm smile she gave him. “Will do. What time?”

“Eight?”

“Great.” This time Julia looked at him. “Hope you don’t mind a room full of you-know-whats.”

That almost made him smile. He figured she didn’t want to use the word
shifter
in mixed company. “As long as they don’t have a problem with Danny and me, we’re good.”

“Excellent.” She nodded to the menu. “You know what you want?”

Sasha passed out the menus. “We haven’t looked. You can bring us some water though.”

“Sure.”

Trace pushed out from the booth. “If you’ll excuse me. I need to use the men’s room.”

He did need to use the facilities, but he also needed time to regroup. He could see Danny was sinking farther and farther under Sasha’s spell. Since they’d always promised to share the woman they planned to spend the rest of their life with, he wasn’t sure how he was going to handle it if Danny wanted to stay.

Before he had a chance to even wash his hands, the door burst open and two panther shifters, who looked about thirty, stepped in. While they were a little soft around the middle, their snarls told him they weren’t to be taken lightly. Every sense shot to high alert, along with a million warnings.

“Gentlemen?” Clearly, they wanted something, and it sure as hell wasn’t to welcome him.

“You don’t belong here.” The thinner of the two spit on the floor.

After all the unfounded rejection that had been tossed his way since he’d stepped foot in Delight, he went ballistic.
No guts, no glory
.

He shifted and launched himself on these two jerks without giving a thought to the fact he’d never fought a panther in his life, but he’d been in plenty of bar fights to know that half the battle in combat was the attitude. And he was one pissed-off dude.

He had to hand it to them. They managed to shift right before he landed on the one nearest him. Trace’s claws extended, and he manage to get in a swipe before the man reacted. The panther stumbled, giving Trace the chance to slam the second one against the counter. He got a low growl as his reward.

Using his pent-up sexual aggression to his advantage, he clawed both men, but not enough to do much damage. These idiots needed a lesson in manners. Part of him couldn’t blame these guys, given he was one of those hated tiger shifters, but to attack without giving him a chance really made him mad.

The one who’d banged into the cabinet staggered a bit and came after Trace. He dodged the shifter then came right back at him and butted heads. That should have given the guy a major headache. The first one hissed and charged. Without thought to his own well-being, Trace reared up and swiped a paw across the panther’s face. He must have hit his eye because the man yelped.

Time to go
. These two had hopefully learned not to fuck with him again. He shifted and raced out of the door before they followed.
Crap
. Now he had to face Sasha and Danny.

By the time he made it across the bar and to the table, Danny was staring at him. “What the hell happened to—”

He nodded toward the bathroom. “Me and some boys had a disagreement about whether I belonged here. I say we boogie.”

Sasha’s mouth opened. He could tell she wanted to ask about the incident, but now wasn’t the time. Feeling blood trickle down his lip, he picked up a paper napkin and dabbed the injury. By the time they got to the car, it should heal. It was one of the few things he liked about being a shifter. His ability for wounds to regenerate came in handy.

Trace clasped her arm and led her outside. As soon as they slid into the car, his relief washed over him and he couldn’t help but laugh.

“What’s so funny?” Sasha started the engine.

“Probably nothing. Just me letting go of my tension. Although it worked out in my favor this time, there seems to be a constant stream of issues with tiger shifters in Delight.”

Maybe this would convince Danny they needed to leave.

Sasha slapped the wheel. “Please don’t judge people by those two jerks. I saw them stalk in. They’re idiots.”

“Doesn’t make it any less of a fact that basically we don’t belong.”

Sasha wanted to strangle those two dudes who’d attacked Trace. If she remembered correctly, they worked at the quarry, and she thought she’d heard they’d been arrested last year. It must have been for disorderly conduct. Those two never should have questioned the integrity of Trace, though she did understand their concern, just not the way they handled themselves.

She could ask Jennifer to look up these men’s arrest since she worked at the newspaper, but even if Trace found out they were troublemakers, it probably wouldn’t convince him that this was an isolated issue.

Hell, maybe it wasn’t. Look at her reaction. She’d assumed the worse before she realized who and what they were.

Perhaps if The Sword hadn’t committed so many crimes against humanity, no one in the town would judge people because they belonged to a particular group. Regardless, tonight she wanted to prove to these men the people of Delight, and in particular the panther shifters, would embrace them should they decide to stay.

If she were a betting person, she’d say Danny was leaning toward joining The Shield and Trace couldn’t get away fast enough. She prayed tonight’s event would change his mind. If she got even luckier, she’d be taking both of them to her bed.

“I’ve got some sandwiches at my house, if you don’t mind ham and cheese.” Most likely Trace wouldn’t want to chance another restaurant.

Danny leaned forward from the backseat. “It’s one of our favorites.”

She doubted that was true, but he seemed the type not to cause any dissention. Trace, however, was the hothead.

They arrived back at her house in ten minutes. Had they not been in such a hurry to get the hell out of town, it would have occurred to Trace that their rental car was parked in front of her store. Tomorrow would be soon enough to pick it up.

Fortunately, she wasn’t open on Sunday, so she didn’t have to worry about having some angry customers waiting outside for her to open. It was bad enough she had to close yesterday. Tonight, she planned on enjoying the party and sleeping in tomorrow.

When she pulled into the drive, Danny leaned forward. “Holy shit, darlin’. This is a palace.”

She was afraid he’d say that. “Like I mentioned before, when you live to a hundred, you can save a lot of money if you’re careful.” She cut the engine. “And no, my grandfather did not bankroll this place for me.”

She glanced over at Trace. Surely one of them would have made that comment.

Trace held up a finger. “I’m keeping quiet.” When he smiled, her heart sang. This man could turn her world upside down with a look.

Once they got inside, she jacked up the heat, as there was a chill in the air. Making love when it was too cold wouldn’t be good. “Make yourself at home while I fix the sandwiches.”

“We can’t let you do that alone, darlin’. We’re equals in this relationship.”

Now her pulse soared. Danny really thought they had a relationship? She had to admit this was the first time she’d had any hope at all of settling down, and she understood they’d be a hard sell.

She pulled the meat and the condiments out of the refrigerator and tossed the loaf of bread on the counter. “Do you mind making us sandwiches while I take an inventory as to what we’ll need for the party tonight?”

“No problem.” Danny picked up the lunchmeat.

As she was reaching into the cupboard to see how many paper plates she had, Trace came up behind her. He leaned against her back, and her skin sizzled. “You don’t have to do this on our account. I know why you’re trying to though, and I appreciate the effort, but it isn’t necessary.”

Damn
. She twisted around in his arms and tilted her head up. “What’s wrong with wanting to give a nice welcome to some fellow shifters?”

Trace dragged a thumb down her chin. “Save yourself the time and energy and just admit it. We look like the enemy and give off the same vibes as the enemy. So what’s to make people believe we’re not the enemy?”

He had a point, but she refused to give in. “For starters my reaction to you was different than that of an ordinary tiger shifter.”

He chuckled. “That so? How exactly was it different?”

She bet her grandfather had explained everything to them. “Instead of my hair prickling, my stomach churning, and my head pounding, I just felt queasy.” He laughed, and the sound went straight to her pussy.

“I’m so glad to know that I only make you a little sick.”

“It’s different now that I’ve been around you. I don’t have any bad side effects being near you.”
Now I experience lust all the time
.

“I wish that were the same for me.” He stepped back.

She hoped that meant that he was still having a hard time controlling his inner beast and not that he felt ill around her panther being. Wanting to test her theory that he suffered because of the first reason, she pulled down his head and kissed him hard. The response was not what she expected. She thought he might jerk out of her grasp. Instead, he lifted her onto the counter and stepped between her legs. Just thinking about having his cock in her made her pussy drip.