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

He waved a finger. “Then your two men might come in handy.”

She didn’t like the way excitement had filled his face. “How so?”

“Maybe they’d like to be spies for us. Think about it. They could pretend to come here to join Gastron and his crew and find out information for us.”

“No.” It was bad enough that the two clans fought, not only in the States but all over the world. She didn’t want to be the cause of any more dissention. “We don’t need more violence. You know full well that if Gastron learned they were helping us, they’d be killed in seconds.”

She wasn’t sure these boys wanted anything to do with either clan, though Danny had acted very excited to learn he wasn’t the only shifter on the earth.

“Find out about them and then let me know what they say. I may have some use for them if not to be spies.”

She refused to use them as pawns. “They’re young.” Granddad didn’t usually recruit anyone under fifty.

“How young?”

“It’s hard to tell, but I’ll ask them.”

“You don’t look much older than twenty-five in human years.”

Panther men exuded an inner sophistication that these men didn’t have. “As I said, I’ll let you know.”

“If you want to be sure about their mixed heritage, you can always bring them here and let me check them out.”

Her grandfather would know the truth in seconds, but then he wouldn’t be able to let that knowledge go. “You’d grill them.”

“No more than any supportive parent would do for the only remaining unwed daughter or granddaughter.”

“I don’t need to be reminded.”

“I’d like an heir before I die.”

She stepped over to him and gave him a good-bye kiss. “That’s my plan. The longer I wait, the longer you live.” There was no way he meant she should hook up with these two. The image of carrying a little shifter in her belly made her pussy cramp.

Get a grip.

* * * *

Sasha couldn’t believe how nervous she was to meet these two. If they really were half panther and half tiger shifter, she wondered where they stood politically. They didn’t seem to have a clue about The Shield or The Sword. Given they appeared to be nice, they might want to embrace The Shield.

Nah
. The Shield would never embrace them. Or would they? Her grandfather didn’t seem to have issues with their mixed heritage, but the verdict was still out as to whether she wanted to really get to know these men well. They were visiting, which implied they’d be leaving soon.

Oh, shit
. Maybe it was all a ruse and they only pretended not to be aware of The Sword. The fact they came from Texas was easy to believe. There was a Sword contingent in Texas, and perhaps they had come here to meet with Gastron.

Sasha didn’t have the luxury of thinking through her options because, at that moment, the door opened, bringing in not only the cool winter air, but Danny and Trace.

They exuded a lot of energy, as if this was going to be the most important day in their lives, and she couldn’t help but be flattered. If what they said about not knowing other shifters existed, then they were in for a treat.

“Welcome.” She tamped down the excitement rushing to her pussy and her heart. This unusual reaction was not good. She needed to keep her wits about her.

Danny looked around. “You ready?”

“I am.”

She grabbed her jacket and purse. Trace pulled open the door for her, causing her step to falter. Who were these men? Their politeness gave credence to the fact they were who they claimed to be, but she wasn’t ready to let down her guard. She locked the door and raised her face.

While the sunshine felt good on her cheeks, the wind did bite.

“How about Delight’s Drinking Emporium?” She nodded down Willow. When their eyes opened, she realized they’d misconstrued the name. “It serves tea, coffee, and scones and stuff.”

“Oh.” Danny shrugged. “I thought you might be trying to corrupt us.” This time when he winked, her insides tumbled.

She needed to stop reacting. Not even wanting to look at them, she kept her gaze straight ahead. In that second, she forgot to check the traffic. A horn blared.

Quicker than she could blink, Trace’s hand stopped her. “Watch out!”

The truck drove by. Had she seriously been that oblivious that she hadn’t even looked?

Apparently so. Okay, inhale and focus.

It only took two minutes to get to the coffee shop. As soon as she stepped inside and spotted Mario behind the counter, all of her anxieties fled. He and Jeremiah had worked for Hunter and Derek at Panther Cove and were two of the finest security men around. She’d be totally safe here.

Kendis, their fiancée, was on the other side of the store serving tea. “What’s your preference? Coffee or tea?” She needed to know which side of the store to sit.

“We’re both coffee men,” Trace said.

“I go either way, but I’ll share a coffee with you.” She walked up to the counter and wished she could use telepathy like the men could.

Since the moment they’d entered, Mario hadn’t taken his gaze off them. While Trace and Danny were securing a table, she walked behind the counter and kept her back to them. “Don’t worry. They’re a panther-tiger breed and not from around here. They have no idea about Panther Cove.”

He cocked a brow. “If you say so.” He nodded toward them. “Just be careful.”

She smiled. “I will.” She held up a finger. “Oh, and I’ll have my usual.”

“You got it.”

She stepped in front of the counter just as Trace and Danny came up next to her. Trace studied Mario as if he were facing off with the enemy.

Trace leaned over, lifted her hair, and pressed his lips to her ear. “He’s not quite like me, is he?”

She would have thought his touch would have been repulsive, but instead it turned her on. These two really did appear to be rather clueless about who they were. She faced him. “No. And be thankful.”

“What can I get you two?” While Mario might have sounded professional to the average human, she detected an undertone of hostility.

“I’ll have a large coffee. Black.” She could almost feel Trace’s heat rolling off him.

Danny just grinned. “Make that two.” He handed his credit card to Mario. “Put all of them on my tab.”

The man didn’t seem to mind paying, but he wasn’t extravagant if his purchases at the store were any indication. The more she was around these two, the more she was convinced they were hybrids.

Mario placed their drinks on the counter, and they carried them over to the table. Once they were seated, she sipped her sweet concoction. Boy, did that taste good.

“Tell me about your mother.” She wanted to know if their mom mentioned her background.

Both men schooled their features. Trace glanced at Danny and then looked deep into her eyes. “Our parents are dead. We never knew them. We’re adopted.”

She wanted to slink down in her seat, but she’d had to ask the question. That might explain why they didn’t know much about themselves. “I’m sorry. How then did you learn to shift?” When a child watched his dad change into an animal, he kind of figured it out.

Trace answered. It was almost like these two had a second sense and knew instinctively which one should field the question.

“I was chasing after my dog when he took my cap, and I really wanted my hat back. I’m not sure how it happened, but one minute I was a kid and the next I was a tiger.”

“Did that freak you out?”

“I don’t think I realized it until I heard my mom scream.”

“Oh, my. So your adoptive parents had no idea who, or maybe I should say, what they’d adopted?”

“No.”

She couldn’t imagine what that surprise did to them. “They didn’t ask to return you, did they?”

This time it was Danny who smiled. “They loved us too much by then.”

“How old were you?” She shot her glance at Trace.

“Three.”

No wonder their mom kept them. “Does anyone else know?”

“No one outside the family. The Sanders had two children of their own after they got us. They’d never tell. They’d lose their privacy if they did.”

She nodded. “You’re lucky they understand the ramifications of letting the world know that shifters exist. Teenagers can be dumb sometimes. Panther Cove worries about that shit all the time.”

Crap
. She probably should have kept the presence of Panther Cove a secret, but if they’d read the old issues of the Delight Sentinel, they would have learned all about the rumors. Hell, maybe that’s why they were here.

“Do the people of Delight know about you all?” Danny nodded toward Mario.

Every muscle stiffened. “No! And you can’t say anything.” At least she hadn’t divulged any real secrets.

“The man who runs the bed-and-breakfast knows.”

Fuck
. They’d gone there. “Basel Desnor?”

“That’s him. He asked us to meet his
leader
.”

She was afraid of that. It was now or never. She liked these two and didn’t want any harm to come to them. “First off. How old are you?”

“Twenty-five,” they said in unison.

“For real?”
Damn
. They were young pups. Gastron and his men would eat them alive.

They looked at each other. “How old are you?”

“A hundred, but I know you don’t believe me. My grandfather created a place he called Panther Cove a little over four hundred years ago. He’s still alive today.”

“Get out.” Trace almost looked like he wanted to leave.

She placed one hand on Danny’s arm and the other on Trace’s. “Look. There are a lot of things you need to know. Discussing this stuff here might not be smart. How would you like to meet the head of Panther Cove himself?”

Trace scooted back his chair, but Danny leaned forward. “Do horses eat a lot of hay? Hell yes, we’d love to.” His cheer disappeared. “You don’t think they’ll try to kill us, do you?”

He caught on fast. “Let’s hope not,” she said.

Trace had to admit Panther Cove was impressive. While some of the Texas ranches were vast, this place appeared more upscale. “What do these panther people do to make so much money?”

His head was throbbing, but he thought if he asked a question, it might take his mind off the discomfort. From experience, he noticed the ache dissipated with time.

Sasha drove around to the back of the complex. “A lot of things. Most have regular jobs or run their own business. While the man who worked behind the counter at the coffee shop doesn’t work at Panther Cove anymore, he used to. We have professors, doctors, and all types of entrepreneurs. When you work at a job for a few hundred years, you tend to save some money. Not to mention one gets more savvy with age.”

That made sense. The one thing though he really couldn’t get over was Sasha being one hundred. “Don’t your friends wonder how you stay so youthful?”

“That is a problem. Most of the time our customers get old and end up not coming in anymore, but once I had to say I was my daughter, if that makes sense.”

“Will we live that long?”

She chuckled. “Depends on how much trouble you plan on getting into.” She stopped in front of a huge, brick home. “This is where my granddad lives.”

Out of the corner of his eye, he spotted a few gardeners pretending to pull weeds, but he could see they were keeping their eye on them. “I wish we could spray ourselves with something so everyone doesn’t assume the worst of us.” Trace wasn’t sure if one detected a panther or a tiger by scent or if there was some other mechanism at play.

She smiled, and his cock hardened. In fact, for the whole trip up here, Trace had to work hard not to shift, and he didn’t like the loss of control one bit. He and Danny piled out and followed Sasha up the stone pathway. There wasn’t a blade of grass out of place. Even though it was closing in on winter, there were flowers blooming by the front door.

She pushed open the door. “Grandfather’s probably in his study.”

“Is he expecting us?”

“He is now.”

A large double door opened automatically, and a wizened old man roared out on his scooter. He stopped two feet in front of them. Apparently, he liked a grand entrance.

“So you two are the confused young men. Welcome.” He held out his hand.

That wasn’t the reception he’d expected. Sasha must have prepared him. Trace wiped his hands on his pants, held it out, and introduced himself. Danny did the same.

“I’m Gordon MacLeash, but you can call me Gordon MacLeash.” He let out a cackle that Trace was sure would rupture something inside him. “Seriously, just call me Gordon.”

The old man spun his machine around and zoomed back into the room where he came from. As soon as her grandfather was out of earshot, Sasha leaned over. “He likes to play mind games, so keep sharp.”

Trace wasn’t sure he had the ability to keep up with the guy, but for his own sake, as well as Danny’s, he sure would try.