The Claiming of Sasha [Panther Cove 4] (Siren Publishing Ménage Everlasting) (16 page)

Danny smiled. “We ate there the first day. We liked it.”

Trace released her. “As long as the panther shifters don’t come at us again, I’ll be fine wherever we go.”

She hoped once they associated themselves with Panther Cove word would get around. There was no telling how The Sword would react, however.

They were halfway to the door when Trace turned around. “Let me gather my gear.”

Sasha reached out and stopped him. “I’ll get it later.”

He raised a brow. “You sure you’ll remember?”

She laughed. “Trust me when I say I loved every minute of everything you did. I’m definitely bringing that gear home.”

Danny nudged Trace. “You sly dog. You left early so you could get in a quickie with my girl?”

She looped an arm around Danny’s. “It definitely wasn’t a quickie. Don’t forget the night at Greg’s was just the two of us.”

He grinned and her heart skipped a beat. “Darlin’, I’d never forget that night.”

As they left, she kept the closed sign in the window and relocked the door. The day was cool but sunny, and the heat felt good on her face. Being sandwiched between her two men gave her an incredible sense of peace, one she hadn’t felt in a long time, if ever.

The Highlander’s Café was only two blocks away. Since it was well past noon, they secured a table easily. Eileen, the owner, came over.

She grinned and ran her gaze from Trace to Danny. “I see you two found your warm jackets just fine.”

Trace looked up and smiled. “Thanks for the excellent suggestion.” He nodded to Sasha. “As you can see, the owner accommodated us just fine.”

Eileen laughed. “I’m sure. What can I get you all?” The men ordered hamburgers, but she ordered the fish plate, her usual lunchtime fare. “Be right up.”

Sasha wanted to learn how the sparring went. “I want details about your trip to Panther Cove.” Though the place wasn’t full, she didn’t want anyone to overhear and kept her voice to a near whisper.

Danny leaned close. “It was incredible. I thought Hercules and Casius would eat us alive, literally, but I guess our kind can get lower to the ground and have an advantage.”

Trace looked behind him then lowered his head. “We were faster, too. I seemed to have taken Hercules by surprise quite a few times.”

Really?
“I would have loved to see you work out. If you received any scratches, you healed quickly.”

“Neither of us got harmed much.” Trace leaned back up.

She had wondered why both men hadn’t come to her store together. “What did you do, Danny, after you fought?”

“Casius challenged me to a weight-lifting contest.”

She’d seem how strong the panthers were. “And?”

“Got my butt beat, but the trainers said that, with a little work, I might be able to outperform them.”

She couldn’t be more pleased.

Eileen came back with three waters. “You boys want a beer?”

“Can a cowboy rope a calf?” Danny said.

She chuckled. “Coming right up.”

Danny drank half the water in one gulp. “Forgot to mention, Trace, but Hunter could really use your help with the horses. Says he’s been thinking about mating two of them.”

“Sure. Happy to help.”

She sipped on her drink. “I’m not sure if Hunter mentioned it, but when he’s riding a horse, your kind can’t detect him.”

Trace glanced at Danny. “Did you know that?”

“No. I never thought about when you were on your horse if I could tell you were coming or not. I heard you, and that was good enough for me.”

She wasn’t sure they understood. “Our horses are really important to the men. They really could use someone full time to make sure they are ridden and well taken care of.”

“Hey, Trace. I think she’s trying to tell you that she wants you to stay around.”

That was exactly what she wanted to ask. “Well?”

“Sugar, I’m torn. I really am. Danny and I need to get back, but if all if goes well, we’ll hop on a plane straight back here.”

“Seriously?” She must have squealed too loud because someone from the table across the room glanced over.

“Seriously.”

Okay, this definitely had to be the best day of her life. She inhaled. “When do you need to fly back?”

Eileen interrupted them with their meal. “One Highlander’s special for you.” She placed a plate in front of Danny. “And one Glasgow burger for you.” Trace got the one dripping with cheese. Eileen put the fish dish in front of her. “Get you three anything else?”

Sasha looked between her men. “We’re good.”

Trace dug in, but she still hadn’t heard the answer. “How long can you stay?”

Danny’s shoulder sagged. “We’re leaving in three days, darlin’, but we’ll be back.”

They’d said they’d stay at her place since being at the bed-and-breakfast might be a problem. She planned on a lot of loving in those three days.

Perhaps the men weren’t thinking about how soon their time would end, because they inhaled their food. She only picked at hers. With the end so near, she dreaded each minute that passed. If only she could stop time, she’d stay here forever.

Their leaving shouldn’t have upset her so much. She’d been alone for a hundred years. A few more weeks apart shouldn’t make a difference, but these men had opened her eyes to how amazing it could be to love two men.

Danny placed his hand over hers. “You sure you have to go back to work?”

Leave it to Danny to ask that. “Yes. It costs money to keep up my house. Besides, if customers came and the store was closed too often, they just wouldn’t return.”

“I hear ya. Running the ranch takes a lot of cash, too, and the animals don’t cater to
Closed
signs.”

She laughed, but in truth, she didn’t want to hear about the ranch. The amount of pride in Danny’s tone told her he’d have a hard time leaving Texas. If she wanted them to return she had to make sure to make the experience quite memorable.

Once they finished eating, they walked her back to her store. “So what are you two going to do for the rest of the day?”

Trace glanced at Danny. “I think I’ll take a better look at the horses and check to see which ones might be candidates for breeding. I’ll pass the information on to Hunter.”

That implied his stay in Texas might be a long one. “And you, Danny?”

“I want to talk to the Noble brothers about some workout routines I can do while in Texas.” He patted his flat belly. “Gotta get into shape.”

He already looked amazing. In fact, Danny might even be the stronger of the two. “Well, I’ll let you two do your thing, but maybe we can have some fun back at my house tonight.” She winked.

Danny scooped her up and returned her wink. “You can count on it.”

“Don’t forget to bring the toys, sugar.” Trace tossed his best dom look.

She might have to stop by Tanya’s for an eye-catching outfit. “I won’t.”

After she unlocked the door and removed the sign, Sasha stood at the window and watched the men head to their car. Even being away from them for a few hours was going to be hard.

* * * *

As soon as Danny started the engine, Trace got an idea. “You mind stopping at Tanya’s Sex Store for a minute?” He’d seen a few other items that he hoped would entice their woman.

“Sure.”

Sasha really seemed to get off on being a submissive, and that totally turned him on. He directed his brother to turn down Marchant Drive. “Pull in there.”

Once they parked, Danny stood in front of the window. “You sure about this?” He faced Trace. “I think I’m in love with her. I don’t want to hurt her.”

Trace laughed. His brother had a lot to learn. “Women love it when you take control. Sasha is so special. She pushes me to my limits. Even though I’m the one blindfolding her, she truly is the one in control. If I didn’t know she loved the pain and the excitement, I wouldn’t do it. This is for her enjoyment as much as mine.”

They’d shared a lot of women, but he had to admit, he didn’t often exert his dominant side with Danny present. With Sasha, however, it felt right.

The store had no customers. The owner, Tanya, was putting items on the shelf. She turned around. “Well, hello again. I guess your lady friend liked the toys?”

“Very much so. This is my brother, and we’ve come to browse.”

“Let me know if I can help.”

While Tanya looked like the type to enjoy the kinkier side of sex, he wasn’t ready to discuss his preferences with a stranger. “Thanks.”

He spotted what he’d been thinking about and picked it up. “What do you think of this?”

“You want to constrict her movement like that?”

“It’ll give us full access to her pussy. I’m thinking of maybe dripping chocolate syrup all over her body and licking it up.”

Danny grinned. “Can we get some whipped cream?”

“If you ask me to buy some cherries, I might have to punch you.”

His brother laughed. “I think I need to reevaluate some of these toys.” He picked up the nipple clamps. “What about these?”

“Already bought them.”

Danny whistled. “Sasha liked it?”

“More than liked.”

“She’s gotten under your skin, hasn’t she?”

The moment he saw Sasha’s willingness to push the limits of her comfort zone, he fell more in love with her. The universe was a strange place. Here, he comes out to North Carolina to follow some crazy notion about shifters, and he finds out that not only is he not alone in the world, but that a woman had been picked out for them by some unknown force. “Yes.”

“Good. Let’s get these and head to Panther Cove.”

“Sounds good to me.”

When they arrived at Panther Cove, they headed to the training center. About ten shifters were there. Although Trace had a reaction to being near so many, it didn’t take long for his sour stomach to settle. He seemed to be getting used to being around these men.

Bantam Jackson trotted over and looked at Danny. “You’re back for more?”

“I wanted to get with you sometime about some training techniques.” He told him they’d be in Texas for a while and that he wanted to get in shape.

“The best thing to do is spar with your brother. Most of the fights occur in animal form, but when in public, we still need to be well-versed in hand-to-hand combat. There are some great street fighting books you might like to read.” He glanced at Trace. “You two are coming back, right?”

He nodded. “Just as soon as we make sure our ranch is in good hands.”

“Great.”

He wanted to see to the horses and faced Danny. “If you don’t mind, I’m going to check out the stables.”

“Sure. Go.”

“Hey, Trace?” Bantam looked back over his shoulder at the men he was training as if to see they were doing what they were supposed to. “You up for a little sparring later? I know you’ll be leaving soon, but I can assure you that Hercules and Casius would really appreciate the opportunity once more to work out with you tigers.”

“As soon as I check on the horses, I’d be happy to.”

“Awesome.”

Trace headed over to the stables. While there was feed in the stalls, it didn’t look like the person they’d hired had taken the time to brush the horses or exercise them. If the horses were that valuable to The Shield’s attack, they should take better care of them.

Trace spent the next few hours checking out the horseflesh and making notes about which ones he thought should be checked out by a veterinarian. He sensed Danny’s presence a few hours later.

“We should probably go, bro.”

Trace stopping brushing Knightsbridge and put away the equipment. “Damn.”

“What?”

“I told Bantum I’d spar with Hercules again.”

Danny waved a hand. “Bantam asked if we could spar tomorrow instead. Apparently, Hunter called a meeting and needed them there.”

“I’m good with that.” He wanted to stop by the store for the items they’d discussed. “Since we have to pick up the chocolate sauce and whipped cream, maybe we should get stuff to make dinner. You good with that?”

“As long as it involves dessert, I’m good.”

This was going to be some night.

* * * *

Just Sasha’s luck, a bunch of tourists came to town from Florida and were surprised it was cold in the North Carolina mountains this time of year. Had they not shown up a few minutes before five, she would have closed up early. The three older women had to try on almost every jacket in the store, and their husbands were worse. Close to five thirty, they finally checked out.

Before anyone else strolled in, she flipped over the
Closed
sign and rushed to the back for her bag of goodies. She’d replayed wearing the blindfold, the gag, the wrist ties, and the nipple clamps over and over again. Each time, her pussy gushed more and more. Maybe it was the fact she trusted Trace so much that made the experience amazing.