The Claiming of Sasha [Panther Cove 4] (Siren Publishing Ménage Everlasting) (2 page)

“You know my back acts up when I sit too long. Besides, cars are too confining. I need to get out and run around.” He missed riding his horse. It was the only time he felt close to his animal self. If their ranch had more trees, he would have felt more protected to shift. “Maybe you ought to check out India. At least we know tigers exist there.” Danny would have to go it alone, though. Trace would never agree to be on a plane for that long.

Danny’s jaw loosened as he headed onto the interstate. “There don’t need to be real tigers for there to be tiger shifters.”

“I know. Look at us. But I thought being in a region known for them might increase the possibility of finding shifters.”

“It’s as good a theory as any.”

Getting away did feel good, but he hoped they didn’t spend too much time searching for what wasn’t there. The last time they asked questions about shifters in that South Carolina town, a fight had broken out. Trace still couldn’t wrap his mind around what had happened, but the topic seemed to piss off a lot of people.

It was about a two-hour drive from the airport to Delight, and when they finally rolled in, he had to say the place held some appeal. The town was basically one long road with two and three-story brick buildings lining the street. Not only was the sidewalk litter free, but the buildings themselves were neat and clean.

“Looks nice, right?” Danny grinned and shot him a glance.

“Where are we staying?” He hadn’t spotted any hotels on the way in.

“I booked us a room at a small bed-and-breakfast outside of town.”

“I was hoping for a Holiday Inn Express. They have the best cinnamon rolls.”

“There aren’t any out this way. You hungry?”

Trace had to laugh. At six foot three and nudging close to two hundred and thirty pounds, there wasn’t a moment in his life when he wasn’t hungry. “Always.”

“Me, too.”

Danny slowed, giving them a chance to check out the place. There was The Black Cat Bar, and two doors down sat the Highlander’s Café. “That place looks good.”

Only about half the parking spots were taken, and Danny pulled in. Trace hauled himself out of the front seat and stretched his stiff limbs. Danny popped out like he was ten. No sooner had Danny locked the car, than his senses shot to high alert. If Danny hadn’t stilled and looked around, Trace would have probably shrugged off the weird sensation as travel fatigue or something.

“You feel it, don’t you?” If they’d been in their shifter form, he could have telepathed his thoughts.

“Yeah. Holy fuck. There have to be shifters here.”

“Shh.” They didn’t need to be scoffed at before they got some food. Trace concentrated on the intensity of the feeling. When Danny got near, he could sense his brother’s presence even when he was out of sight, but this was different. Not only were the hairs on his neck standing up, but his gut was churning and his head hurt. “Let’s get in the restaurant. Maybe there are cell towers around here we’re reacting to.”

Danny tossed him a weak smile. “Or we just found our new shifter home.”

He wanted to toss out one of his usual retorts, but none came to mind. As soon as they stepped inside, the intensity of the ache lessened. The café looked cute. While the metal-rimmed tables looked like they belonged in the fifties, the floors and counter appeared clean. The wood wainscoting and plaid papered walls were decorated with Scottish memorabilia. About ten tables took up the space, three of which were occupied. All of the diners looked over at them but returned to their conversation seconds later. Visitors must not pass through Delight very often if the clientele took notice.

“Have a seat, boys. I’ll be right over.” That comment came from the heavyset woman behind the counter.

Her red hair was pulled into a bun, and her glasses sat low on her nose. In a way, she reminded him of his mom, and that thought helped ease the tension in his bones.

They took a seat by the window as Trace wanted to watch who passed by in case something odd occurred. Not that he expected to see a big cat race by, but with the way his body was vibrating right now he wasn’t confident of what he’d see.

The woman came by with a pad in her hand. “What can I get you boys?”

“A menu?”

She nodded to the stack standing on the table. Okay, that made him feel like a fool. “A coffee then for starters.”

“Same here,” Danny said.

She grinned as if these newcomers needed some kind of reality check. It was called travel fatigue, but he didn’t respond. As soon as she was out of earshot, Trace made sure the rest of the clientele wasn’t listening before he spoke. “What’s your plan for after we eat?” He didn’t know how one went about locating shifters.

“I want to get a sweater. It’s freaking cold here compared to Texas.”

That’s not what he meant, but he didn’t mind a quick diversion. The brisk air didn’t bother him as much as it did Danny. Maybe that was because he worked outside all day long and his brother locked himself up in his office with the computer.

He nodded to his thin jacket. “Is that all you brought?”

“Basically.”

“It’s November.”

He shrugged. It had been around seventy when they left, but Danny should have realized the North Carolina mountains would be colder. It didn’t matter. The problem was an easy fix.

Trace picked up the menu and scanned the selections. “Impressive. Everything looks good.”

“I’m going for the Highlander burger.”

That came with cheese, mushrooms, and onions. “Me, too.”

After they ordered, the food came quickly and was piping hot, just the way he liked it. They were so hungry that neither spoke until both plates were clean. He swiped the napkin across his lips. “That hit the spot.”

“Amen.”

He prayed it was the fatigue that was affecting him and not something else. God forbid if there really were shifters in this town. He never seriously considered what he’d do if he found others of his kind. “What would you do if you did find what you were looking for?” He didn’t want to be more specific in case anyone overheard.

Danny grinned. “Are you kidding? I’d want to learn everything I could. That would be so cool. We’d really belong.”

“We already have a loving family, who accepts all of our
quirks
.”

Before Danny could answer, the waitress came by with the check. “Get you boys some apple pie?”

As much as he would have liked a piece, they needed to check out the town so they could head back to Texas, having done all they could. He didn’t need Danny deciding he wanted to extend his stay because they hadn’t searched hard enough. “We’re good.”

He reached for the check, but Danny intercepted it first. Something had gotten to his brother. He was usually such a tightwad.

Danny pulled out his credit card. “You know of a good place to get some warm clothes?”

The redhead studied him. “I’m thinking you’d like Sasha’s Sundries.”

Trace glanced at Danny then up at the waitress. “They sell jackets and stuff?” The name implied toiletries and other small items.

She smiled. “Ms. Sasha sells everything.”

“Where is it?”

“As soon as you leave here, take a right, and at Willow cross the street. It’s on the other side of MacLeash Boulevard. Can’t miss it.”

As soon as the waitress returned with the card, they headed out. When they stepped outside, the same ill feeling attacked him, but this time it wasn’t as intense. A cool breeze even cut through his jacket. “I might need to pick up a sweater or something warmer, too.”

As they passed Black’s Antiques, the shop next door, the ache in his temple intensified. Danny didn’t react, so he figured his imagination was acting up. All he could say was that this was one weird town.

Fortunately, Sasha’s Sundries was easy to spot. The name flashed hot pink. He hoped the waitress wasn’t pulling his leg and this wasn’t really some kind of women’s lingerie shop.

Danny crossed the street, and he followed. The left side of the display window had male mannequins and the right side women, so maybe they would find what they needed. If this didn’t pan out, they’d ask around for an outfitter’s store.

No other customers were inside when they entered, but as soon as he crossed the threshold, it was like a magnet took hold of him and dragged him forward. Adrenaline rushed through him at the uneasy sensation, and his damned claws popped out of the end of his fingers.
Holy fuck
. That had never happened before without his consent.

“Shit.” He kept his voice to a whisper, hoping not to distract the woman at the counter whose back was to them. Good thing she didn’t seem to be aware they were even there despite the bell ringing.

As if she’d read his mind, she whipped around, and his heart stopped. It wasn’t the fact that her black hair streamed down her back and hugged her small waist, or the fact that her high cheekbones framed the most perfectly gorgeous face and the most startling blue eyes, but it was the way her mouth was pinched, as if the devil himself had walked into the store, that had his cock straining and his heart pumping.

Sasha would have turned around as soon as the bell rang above the door, but she was trying to control the anger ripping through her veins. No tiger shifter had ever stepped foot in her store. He wouldn’t dare. As the granddaughter of the oldest living member of The Shield, they would know the consequences.

Good thing women didn’t shift or she would have launched herself at both of them. She was about to unleash a litany of vile words when she realized something wasn’t right. Why wasn’t her stomach churning, and why didn’t she have the usual vile taste in her mouth like she always did when tiger shifters came near?

She spun around and focused on the identity of these two men. She didn’t know them. That fact didn’t come as a big of a surprise as most tiger shifters wisely kept to themselves. If she’d been completely human, she would have found them extremely attractive.

Wait a minute
. Even though she was part panther, and as such, should have been revolted by their tiger status, she found them appealing. How was that even possible?
Shit
. Something akin to lust was spreading all over her body.

What’s happening to me?
She must have eaten something this morning to throw off her chemical balance.
Yeah, that was it.
The newfound answer helped calm her.

The taller of the two had neatly trimmed, light-brown hair, and the prettiest blue eyes she’d seen, though she hadn’t spent much time gazing at human faces.

The other man looked similar to the taller one, but his hair was blonder and much longer. In fact, she was surprised he didn’t wear his glorious hair pulled back, like most men did. His face had the same strong jaw, high brow ridge, and intense eyes, but this one’s lips were fuller, and his eyes were a light brown.

Stop it. Remember who they are and what you are
.

There was no way on this green earth that she should be drawn to these vile creatures, yet she inexplicably she was. Hell, if she ever brought home a man who wasn’t a panther shifter, her grandfather would disinherit her.

As if they didn’t even seem aware that she was a panther or that she was watching them, they headed over to the men’s department. Not that she expected a tiger shifter to cause a ruckus in her store, but she had to be careful. From the way these men were looking through the clothing, they were interested in buying some apparel.

Okay, she definitely needed to find out what these two were up to. Inhaling, she pranced over to them.

“May I help you?” God, she sounded like a too-eager salesperson.

Her initial warning bells kept ringing in her head.

Perhaps these two weren’t looking to get in a scuffle because they knew that with one quick call, a ton of panther shifters would descend on her shop before these two could get away.

“I’m looking for a jacket, ma’am. It’s cold in these hills.”

Ma’am?
That explained it. From their accent, they clearly weren’t from around here.

She realized the shorter one expected a reply. “Our most popular brands are either North Face or Mountain Hardwear.” His eyes brightened, and he returned his search through the jackets.

The one who hadn’t spoken lifted his hand to separate the jackets, and she caught sight of his claws and froze. The meaning of the claws scared her more than the claws themselves. Had he been a panther, she’d have known that he wanted her, but she had no idea what it meant when a tiger’s claws extracted. Was he angry? Or sexually excited? She almost hoped the former.

The blond faced her. “I’m looking for a good sweater. What can you recommend?” His calm tone made her think her first thought wasn’t right, but she sure as hell wasn’t ready to consider the second one.

“The sweaters are on the far wall.” She spun around and couldn’t wait to get away from them. Fire should be rushing through her veins. Instead, it was a mix of curiosity and more desire than had been in her body in forever.

If she had a bottle of liquor in the back, she would have taken a stiff drink to wash away this bizarre and unwelcome feeling. While she pretended to stay busy at the cash register, she kept an eye on them. The men wandered around, picking up clothes then putting them back. It was almost as if they were hatching a plan. She debated calling one of her grandfather’s security team members, but she really couldn’t report that these two were causing any trouble.