Fighting for Julia [Panther Cove 3] (Siren Publishing Ménage Everlasting) (2 page)

Breck waved to Mario, who was setting cups on the bar as fast as he could pour them. He had to admit both of the men really seemed to be in their element here. Owning a brick-and-mortar store was not for him though. He knew he’d spent the rest of his days protecting The Shield.

Daven edged next to him. “What are we going to do?”

“What do you mean?” He glanced around to make sure no one appeared to be eavesdropping.

“We going to tell her?”

Breck actually laughed out loud. “That we’re her mate and that she has no chance of getting out of her destiny? Are you crazy? You heard Jeremiah. She won’t go out with us security types, especially if she thinks we’re her lifelong mates.”

His jaw tightened. “Then how do you expect to capture her interest?”

“Very carefully.”

* * * *

Julia loved mixing with the locals, especially since she’d run across all of them at one time. The four men who’d come in while she was talking with Kendis and Jen were the exception. She’d never seen them before. Since they were beyond hunky, she would have for sure noticed them. To her extreme delight, her senses told her all four were panther shifters. She’d definitely have to check them out. Too bad women couldn’t shift or she might have enticed them outside and suggest they go for a run.

For the next two hours, Julia handed out drinks and chatted with the people who bellied up to the bar, waiting for the newcomers to stop by. Only they didn’t. Jeremiah came up twice and picked up drinks for them.
Darn
.

Jen sidled up and grabbed a vacant stool. “How’s it going?”

“Busy, but I’m having fun.”

“I hope you don’t have to wait tables tonight.”

She laughed. “Alexandre insisted I take the night off.”

“That’s good. Can I help with anything? I’m a tea drinker myself, but maybe I can measure something for you or maybe wash some cups.”

“You? A devout tea drinker? I thought you couldn’t live without your latte every day.”

She grinned. “You caught me. I admit, there are times when I need the caffeine rush, but I’m becoming a convert. When I’m writing a story, I brew some fancy tea I’ve gotten from Kendis. There’s nothing better than the slight spice of tea to give me a boost.”

“If you say so.” An idea gathered. “Since you offered, there is something you can do for me.”

“Name it.”

She didn’t like asking for favors, but two of the newcomers hadn’t taken their eyes off her. It wasn’t the usual lustful glare, but it went deeper, as if they were trying to figure her out before approaching. “Put on your reporter hat and find out what you can about the two men who are speaking with your soon-to-be husband.”

Jen looked behind her. “Don’t need to. I know them. The taller of the two, with the slightly crooked nose, is Breckenridge Sang.”

“Ooh. He sounds rich.”

Jen chuckled. “I believe he comes from family money. He and his brother, Davenport, now work for Hercules and Casius.”

Her stomach tumbled. “Oh.”

Jen’s brow arched. “Oh?”

“Yeah. Why do all the hot ones have to be in such high-risk jobs?”
Damn
. And here she’d been fantasizing about what she could do with them in bed. Pouring chocolate over the tall one’s cock and licking it off had come to mind. As for the shorter one, he looked more of the cuddling type. She’d fantasized about letting him tie her up and lick her until she screamed his name. Now, she’d have to shelve that idea for some other men. “And why is it so damned hard to find a mate?”

Jen drank her iced tea. “Sometimes you have to overlook what they do for a living if you expect to find a
you-know-what
kind of mate.”

Jen hadn’t wanted to say the word
shifter
in public. “I’m not ready for that. I’ve waited a fifth of my lifetime already. A few more years won’t make a difference.” Though having waited seventy-six years seemed like an eternity to her. At least she only looked to be in her early twenties.
Yay, panther genes
.

“I suppose.”

Her two dads and her mom lived in Panther Cove, so the next time she visited, she’d have to make sure not to run into these two men. Seeing those two hunks might make her relent. “I’m guessing they live at The Cove?” The homes were very expensive and only the more essential people stayed there.

“Yes.”

That meant they were even more off-limits. “Hmm.”

Jen leaned forward on her elbows. “No harm in dating them. A girl’s gotta do something while she’s waiting for her perfect mate to come along.”

“My luck I’ll fall in love with them and end up fretting every time they leave the house.”

She wiped the counter in front of her and thought back to her days growing up in Panther Cove. There was this bronze statue in the middle of the compound that she used to play on. It stood a good ten feet tall and had three male figures on it. One was kneeling with the other two leaning over him. She never questioned what it meant, just that it was fun to run in between the tall figures.

It wasn’t until she turned ten that she learned the statue had been commissioned to honor all the slain panther shifters who died in the line of duty. Her heart still broke every time she looked at it now.

Jen rubbed her arm. “Julia?”

“Yeah?’

“Where did you go? Were you thinking about how your mom fell in love with two soldiers?”

She’d confided a lot of her youthful years with Jen because Julia wanted to make sure her friend knew what she was getting into when she married the now heads of Panther Cove.

“Kind of.” Jen needed to know of the horror of when her two fathers had gone out on patrol and hadn’t come back for days. Julia was nine at the time and remembered her mother crying for days. It turned out her dads had found a sick child and couldn’t leave him. Back then they didn’t have cell phones. “You know why my mom looks older than her age? It’s because she’s worried so much.”

“I’m sure she went through a lot.”

Derek, Jen’s other fiancé slipped next to her and nibbled on her neck. “I think Kendis is feeling lonely on the tea side of the store. Maybe you could keep her company.”

Jen twisted around and gave him a kiss. The tenderness sent a need deep inside Julia. She’d waited a long time to find someone to love her like that.

“I’d be happy to.”

The party was winding down, and yet Breckenridge and Davenport were still here, which kept her off-balance. She wished they would go. Jeremiah had fetched them several cups of coffee, almost as if they knew she didn’t want to be near them.

Mario nudged her. “Why don’t you take a break? I bet your feet are killing you.”

Every time she waitressed, she stood for hours at a time. Her feet weren’t the problem. It was her pussy that kept imagining all sorts of wonderful things these men could do to her that was making it hard to stand there. Too bad she’d never give them a chance to try out any of it.

“I’m fine.” No she wasn’t, but she’d never admit it.

For the next half hour, she couldn’t help but glance at the intriguing men. While they’d come in with two others, who she later learned also worked security at The Cove, it was the Sang brothers who fascinated her. She figured looking at eye candy wouldn’t do any harm. It was actually dating them that could cause a problem.

* * * *

Near the end of the party, Daven rushed behind Breck as he left the store. “Wait. Why are we leaving?”

His brother jumped in the front seat of the car, and Daven followed suit fearing Breck would leave without him.

“You saw her. She was taking a break and walking toward us.”

Now his normally rational older brother was losing his mind. “Wasn’t that the point of hanging out for hours? To see if we could interest her?” Sometimes his brother lacked common sense.

Breck stopped at the corner of Willow and MacLeash Boulevard and leaned back in the car seat. Though no one was on the road, he didn’t pull out. “We need to play hard to get.”

“Seriously? That’s your plan?”

He finally adjusted his cock that was pressing against his fly. He never remembered being rigid for this long. Having a mate was already distracting them from their job.
Christ
. He’d barely been able to keep up with some of the conversations this afternoon. All he could think about was sinking his dick in to Julia’s sweet ass.

“Yeah. The most important thing is not to tell her she’s our mate. That’ll make her run.”

He agreed with that assessment. “It’s no secret we’re part of the new security at the Cove.”

“True, but from the way she was looking at us, she’s hot for us.”

That didn’t settle well with him. “I don’t like deception.”

Finally, his brother made a right and headed back to their place. “It’s not deception. We’re just not telling her we’re her mate. Look, a girl’s got to know that we want her for who she is, not because some internal clock has clicked and has let us know she’s the one for us.”

“That’s not how the mate thing works.” He’d heard that when the woman who matched a shifter’s ideals came within a certain distance, one’s body activated his inner panther.

“It doesn’t matter. Fact is, she’s the one we’re going to spend the rest of our life with and that’s that.”

Sometimes, Breck could be so damned stubborn, but if he had a plan, he’d consider going along with it. “When are going to see her again?”

He turned left on to the road leading up the mountain. “When do you think we should see her?”

“So I get to have a say-so?”

“We’re going to share her, aren’t we?”

“Naturally.” As much as he wanted to turn around, he understood that like any good covert operation, it would take planning. “Let’s find a way to visit her in a few days.”

Breck grinned. “Now you’re thinking.”

He rubbed his crotch, hoping his poor cock could last that long. “I think it was Derek who mentioned her parents live at Panther Cove. Maybe if we explain things to them, they’d be willing to help us out.”

Breck grinned. “I like how you think, little brother. I say, let’s land us a mate.”

Alexandre kept his hand on her back as he escorted Julia to her car. She didn’t need a bodyguard. “I’m fine.”

“You’ve been distracted tonight. Hell, you’ve been distracted for the last three nights. I don’t need to lose a waitress.”

She reached her car and clicked the button to open the door. “I’m good. Really.” To be honest, one never knew when someone from The Sword would pop up, wanting to take revenge for some imaginary wrong, but since she wasn’t anyone special, she considered herself safe.

She pulled open her car door and looked over at him. Alexandre had to be the sweetest boss ever. So why couldn’t she have fallen for him? He was good-looking, an entrepreneur, nice, and a panther shifter. Except for having to break up a fight or two, his job was safe. What more could a girl want?
Two men who want to share me.

“Drive carefully. I’ll see you in three days.”

“Yup.”

Her mom had called and asked if Julia would spend a few days at home since it was her mom’s birthday. Julia could hardly say no. As she headed down the very familiar road, she watched for any animals that decided to cross the road. Since her car was the only one around, she let her mind wander to two men in particular, though why she insisted on tormenting herself she didn’t know.

Sure, they were easy on the eyes, but there was something about those two that drew her. Was it the easy way they laughed or how they walked around the room introducing themselves to the townsfolk as if being part of something was important to them? Or was it that she hadn’t had sex in so long, her priorities were getting messed up?

She struggled with the answer but came up blank. Good thing her house appeared as she rounded the bend or she’d still be struggling with the dilemma of having her body want one thing while her mind wanted another. She pulled in to the drive and cut the engine, surveying the dark and rather dreary house.

Stop feeling sorry for yourself.

“Suck it up, Julia.”

She hauled herself in to the house and turned on every light, and the brightness helped cheer her. Before she forgot, she traipsed into her studio that held her paintings. Since she was going to spend a few days at Panther Cove, her mom had suggested she bring a warm coat, in case it got cold, and do a painting of the lake for her. That would be her present.

Between going to school, waitressing, and working a few days at the coffee bar, she hadn’t had time to pursue her artistic passion. Getting to spend a few relaxing hours doing what she loved was a luxury.

Instead of packing, she hopped in the shower to wash off the stench of beer from her skin. Tomorrow, she’d get up early and head on up to see her parents. She’d already cleared it with her professor to miss Friday’s class.

The first beads of water relaxed her. She dropped back her head and let the stream pour over her scalp. When she dropped a palmful of shampoo on her head and rubbed, those damned erotic thoughts blasted her. She tried not to imagine standing in the shower with two naked men, one of whom would be rubbing her tits while the other would be dipping a slippery finger into her pussy, but she failed to halt the movie racing through her mind.