Feverish (2 page)

Eden wasn’t sure if it would be that easy, but he hoped Dix was right. The search for their third had taken a long time, and now that they found her, he worried she wouldn’t accept them. If that happened, well, he didn’t want to think about that. For the past few weeks he and Dix shadowed her. They followed her from a distance.

It was a way to protect her from the demons as well. He hated not approaching her, but they didn’t want to do it too soon, because once they did it would somehow alert the demons. He wasn’t sure how it worked, but he knew that once they made initial contact with her, the demons would sense it. He and Dix scouted nightly to see if there were any demons on to them yet. Because once that happened they’d have to move fast or they could lose her. Her safety came first so they made sure they were careful.

He adjusted her in his arms and all of his stiff muscles relaxed for the first time in a very long time. He felt relieved like he never had before. As soon as she was cradled comfortably against his body he felt alive. Happiness filled his heart, and he could already tell she was perfect for them.

He walked towards her house feeling both excited and nervous about how she was going to react when she found out that he and Dix were her tiger mates. It wasn’t everyday a human learned about the supernatural world.

Dix crowded close to him without a word, but Eden could sense his need to be close. Fear radiated from his body and Eden found he was surrounded by too much energy. Dix wrapped cold finger around his bicep as if he craved the touch, and Eden gasped. The three of them were together for the first time. He felt a strange tug on his heart as it sped up and tingles filled him sending shudders through his body. The first touch connecting them all triggered something inside Eden. It was as if he was waking up for the first time. “Do you feel that?”

Dix looked over at him. “No,” he replied. “What’s wrong?”

Eden shook his head and smiled. “Nothing’s wrong. I don’t know how to explain it really, but I feel different—amazing actually.”

“Okay then, let’s get her inside.”

Without a word Eden stalked down the sidewalk anxious to get her house.

For so long he and Dix weren’t sure if they would ever find her. Each year that passed brought a feeling a dread and sorrow. They lived to find their third. It was everything they waited for their whole lives. It was the way of the tigers. Without their anchor, they would never be whole and eventually they would go crazy. He’d seen that happen too many times in his life, and it wasn’t something he intended to feel. As the eldest, it was his job to not only protect their female anchor, but Dix, the second in their tri-mating, as well.

Approaching Dara’s tiny house, he climbed the stairs and stopped in front of the door while Dix pulled her keys from her purse to unlock the door. Dix went inside first and held the door open. Eden stepped through her doorway and inhaled. The house was filled with her sweet scent. It coated his tongue and he groaned. Just the thought of tasting her had him harder than ever before. Tigers needed to mate. It was in their blood, but there was a difference between fucking and mating. With their third the bond would be unbreakable. When she succumbed to her desires, nothing would ever feel better to any of them. He could imagine sinking deep inside of her, while Dix took her from behind. The three of them would become one, and soon.

Dix turned on the light in the living room and turned towards Eden. “Lay her down in here.”

“Why not take her to her bed, that way she’s more comfortable?”

“Oh, probably because waking up in her bed with two strangers won’t help her feel very safe.” Dix shook his head and chuckled. “You have to calm down. I know you’re happy, and I am too, but we’ve already scared her more than once. We need to talk to her. Tell her what’s going on, and if she feels threatened that won’t happen. She'll run screaming. Is that what you want?”

Eden glared, but laid her on the couch. He didn’t like admitting that Dix was right, because no matter how close they were, they were still males. And males always had to be right. “No asshole. I was thinking she might want to be in her own bed. I don’t think she’ll be waking up any time soon. We might be waiting awhile.”

“I could wake her. We need her to know what’s going on so she’s prepared. The demons will be after her especially now that we’ve made contact. Just because we haven’t spotted any yet doesn’t mean they aren’t there. She needs to bond with us, before they get her. We can’t always be with her.”

“One of us can,” Eden argued. He didn’t like thinking about the demons taking her. They would drive her to the brink of insanity and then send her back to them. She wouldn’t be the same, and he wouldn’t ever be able to save her. She would eventually end her own life.

No one knew exactly
what
the demons did, but their long history told them enough. It wasn’t something Eden wanted to happen to their mate. The demons did everything they could to weaken the tigers. Their ultimate desire was to steal shifters’ powers. If they could possess one, they could tap into the powers and take it over. It wouldn’t be a good thing if one successfully gained control of a tiger— or any shifter for that matter. All Hell would break loose.

The only way she would be safe was to complete the bond. So far the demons hadn’t been successful. Once the triad was formed, the demons were no longer powerful enough to possess either of the males.

“That won’t be enough and you know it. Shadox Demons are stronger than either one of us by ourselves.”

“I know.” Eden ran his hands through his hair and sighed before nodding. “Wake her.”

Dix nodded and knelt in front of the couch with his knees planted the floor. He could feel Eden’s eyes transfixed on him as he laid a hand across her forehead and closed his eyes. He was powerful and could heal just about anything which came in handy. And even though their mate wasn’t injured she was unconscious. Heat filled the tips of his fingers as a bluish white light shimmered beneath his hand. He mentally pushed his power into their mate’s body. Magic hummed in the air and Dix relaxed his body. This was his gift, and he felt completely in his element. Her eyes shot open and she gasped looking at him widely. Then she screamed knocking his hand out of the way and scrambled to the corner of the couch shaking in fear.

“Who the hell are you?”

Dix stood up from the ground and backed away from her. He held out his hands to show that he wasn’t going to hurt her. He lifted a foot to step closer but the look on her face warned him away.

He froze. “It’s okay we aren’t going to hurt you.” He hoped his voice would calm her down. She should feel a connection, even if she didn’t know what it meant.

3

Dara’s eyes rounded and shifted from one man to the other. Both of them were huge and she had no fucking idea who they were, but they expected her not to be afraid.

Yeah right.

She took a deep breath and narrowed her eyes daring them to make a move. Her mouth hung open ready to scream bloody murder if they so much as laid a hand on her and her voice packed a punch. Neither of them moved.

Smart men.

“We won’t hurt you,” one said.

His voice washed over her, instantly calming her. She closed her mouth and licked her lips. A growl echoed in the room and she looked at the other man. Heat flared in his eyes and she shivered.

“What the hell is going on?”

The man with one gray and one golden eye took a step in her direction but not too close. “May we sit?”

She shook her head. “No.”

The other man laughed and she narrowed her eyes further. He stopped laughing, but the smile didn’t leave his face. “You’re perfect.”

Dara’s eyes widened by the adoration in his voice and she sunk back further into the couch. “Who are you?” There was something familiar about them, but she couldn’t put her finger on what it was.

The one with multicolored eyes smiled and bowed. He really freakin’ bowed.

“I’m Eden, and that’s Dix, and you are?”

“Dara.”

Eden nodded as if he already knew and asking was only a courtesy, and his eyes shined with something—excitement? She wasn’t sure, but she couldn’t look away from him. His eyes, though strange, were beautiful. Something about him was so calming that all rational thought left her. The more she stared, the more she fell into his gaze. Tilting her head to one side she said, “You’ve been following me.” It was a statement. Somehow she knew these two were the ones following her.

“Yes,” the other man, Dix said. “We’ve been watching over you, waiting for the right time to”—he glanced around the room before bringing his heated gaze back to her— “introduce ourselves.”

“Stalking me you mean?”

Again Dix chuckled as if she was the funniest person in the world, but she didn’t find any of this funny. She didn’t find his husky chuckle funny either. No, instead her nipples hardened and she mentally cursed herself. How the hell did they manage to turn her on? They were strangers for hell’s sake.

And just like that, it was as if they could tell she was aroused because both of their eyes intensified, and she saw them sniff the air. Yes, they tipped their heads back and their nostrils flared as they took in a deep breath before two sets of eyes narrowed in on her. She gasped when they closed in on her, but she didn’t actually fear them. She wanted them, both of them, and deep inside she yearned for their touch. She wanted them to take the ache away. It was all too familiar, as if her dreams were coming to life.

“Oh no, this isn’t happening.” It was just like the dreams. The ones she’d been having for the past month. They were the most erotic dreams she’d ever had. So much so she’d wake up drenched in sweat and panting in need. Her body was feverish each and every time. Other than that and the earth shattering pains, which were noticeably absent, those were the only symptoms she suffered from.

Both men dropped to their knees kneeling before her. Dix’s hands rested on the couch cushion closest to her knee, and he watched her with so much emotion her stomach clenched. He seemed to be the more relaxed of the two with an easy smile and lines around his eyes and mouth indicating he laughed a lot. There was something about him that made Dara want to curl up on his lap.

Eden on the other hand, clenched his fingers on the cushions gripping it until the fabric tore. His chest was tight and the muscles in his arms strained against the fabric of his shirt. It was as if he carried the weight of the world on his shoulders, and though he spoke in calm tones she could hear the underlining tension.

“What’s not happening?”

Dara shook her head. “Nothing is happening. This is just too weird. For weeks I’ve been freakin’ out. I knew I was being followed, but how come I never saw you?”

“We’re good at blending in,” Dix answered, “and if we don’t want to be seen we aren’t.”

“We didn’t mean to scare you. We knew you weren’t ready for us then,” Eden said a bit calmer.

“Ready for you?” she asked and her voice squeaked. She had an idea where this was going, and if she was right, her wish was going to come true after all.

Eden nodded. “You feel it.” His lifted a hand edging it towards her like he worried she would freak out. She gulped as his large palm flattened against her chest. He didn’t touch her intimately, but the heat coming from the tips of his fingers soaked through her body. Her heart skipped a beat and her jaw went slack. No touch had ever felt better.

Licking her lips she nodded. “Why do I feel this way?” She stared at Eden until she felt another warm hand on her thigh. Okay so she was wrong, his touch was just as enticing as Eden’s. She looked over at Dix and gasped. He watched her with such a fierce hunger she gulped, and it didn’t escape her notice how his eyes tracked her every move.

‘They want me, but why?’

“Because you’re ours,” Dix said.

She hadn’t realized she said that out loud. “Yours?”

“Yes,” he said bringing his hand up to her cheek. One finger grazed her jaw and drew a path from her neck to the dip between her breasts. Her nipples tingled and hardened from his touch.

She hadn’t even realized Eden had moved his hand from her chest to her waist. His thumb rubbed small circles on her lower back in a comforting move, but she shivered as desire shot up her spine.

“We need you, and you need us. It’s fate,” Eden said. Their arousal was building, and she knew they weren’t lying, but she didn’t understand how it was possible.

“How?” she asked then moaned when Dix cupped her breast through her shirt. He rubbed his thumb across her nipple and her skin flushed from their touch. Her temperature spiked until she felt feverish. Her body was on fire for them. They were really there, touching her, and this time she could see them because the niggling thought in her head told her that these were the men who had been starring in her nighttime eroticism.

She recognized their touch. The feel of their fingers sliding along her bare skin, light and enticing. Sensual touches to build her up for release, yet in her dreams it never came, and she wondered if it would be different now that she wasn’t dreaming anymore. How this was possible she wasn’t sure, but she knew she’d somehow been with them in her subconscious.

Dix groaned and his eyes fluttered shut when her nipple hardened and the sound of her moan seemed to snap him out of his stupor.