Panther Magic (2 page)

“
Oh, Kate here doesn’t mean to offend you, I’m sure.”
Natasha shot her an imploring look as if to will her to go along, and under any
other circumstances Kate might well have done so, but not today. She was too at
odds with these conflicting emotions battering her insides, and, besides, this
attraction she felt toward these strangers … nothing good would come of this.
It would be so much better if they were assholes. That way she would be able to
resist them … maybe.

So instead she glared at her
friend.

“
Kate here can speak for herself, and if these two
think it’s okay to use animals in their act,
then
I
don’t really care if my opinion offends them, so—”

“
Have you actually seen our act?” Arran’s softly
spoken question took the wind out of her righteous sails somewhat, and she
tried her best to glare at him, too, which lasted all of two seconds under his
quiet regard. One eyebrow rose in query, and with his full mouth set in a grim
line, he radiated disapproval, and she couldn’t bring herself to hold his gaze.
Instead she shook her head, and she dropped her eyes down to his muscle packed
chest, which was not helping one iota. Wrenching her gaze upward again, she
finally settled for staring at his jaw. Mind you, that, too, was far too
distracting, covered as it was in designer stubble. It simply drew her attention
to his strong neck and the way his Adam’s apple moved as he spoke, even more
softly this time. There was no mistaking the edge to his words though that made
her want to sink to her knees and apologize.

She’d once heard it said that a
true Dom didn’t need to raise his voice, and she’d never truly understood that
until this moment, and they weren’t even in a scene. Lord
help
her if they ever were.

“
So, tell me, sweet thing, how can you form an
opinion on how we treat the animals we use if you’ve never seen us in action?”

Kate wanted the ground to swallow
her up whole. He had a point there, she guessed, but,
bugger
it all to hell and back if she was going to admit that.

She settled for shrugging her
shoulders, and jumped when Zeb grasped her chin and thus gave her no choice but
to look up at him.

“
Give us the courtesy of looking at us when you
condemn us without knowing all the facts, girl. Shrugging your shoulders like
that is downright rude, and I think you know what happens to rude girls. If you
think yourself safe from recriminations, because we’re in a public space, then
think again. I have no compunction of putting you over my knee right now.”

Natasha’s loud gasp broke the
tense moment, and Zeb smiled and released her as abruptly as he had grasped her.

“Sorry, Sir.”
Kate had to murmur that quiet apology when the loss of his touch on her skin
left her curiously at sea. Approval flashed across his far too handsome
features, and Kate got the oddest sensation when she stared into his eyes. They
seemed to briefly flash to a soft, glowing yellow, before she blinked, and she
looked back into their more usual warm chestnut.

“
However,
Sir,
” she said, and Zeb frowned and
Arran gave a short laugh, and shook his head in what seemed to be wry
amusement. “You are not my Dom. I have not agreed to a scene, and if you tried
to put me over your knee in any way shape or form without my agreement, public
space or not, I’d have you up for an assault charge faster than you can say
poor mistreated cat.”

There, put that in your pipe
and smoke it.

Kate crossed her arms again, in
an effort to hide her trembling hands, and focused on Natasha, instead of the
two overbearing hunks in front of her. Despite her insides churning like
clothes on a spin cycle, her lips twitched at the open mouthed expression on
her friend’s face.

Talk about giving her a
demonstration to prove the point that submissive didn’t equal doormat. They’d
had that discussion only this morning on their way over to the spa. Then again,
Kate was the first to admit that she was a rather bratty sub at the best of
times.

“
She’s got you there, bro.” Arran’s amused voice
brought Kate’s attention back to him, and she lost herself in the smile he gave
her. That smile alone would guarantee that most females would drop their
knickers in an instant
.
Not that she was most females, and besides she wasn’t
wearing knickers. Bikini bottoms didn’t count, surely.

“
I fear we’ve started off on the wrong foot somewhat,
and for that I apologize, Kate.” He looked across at his brother and some sort
of silent communication seemed to occur between the two men, because Zeb
nodded, and he, too smiled, showing a set of even white teeth that must make
his dentist very proud of him.

Kate groaned at her thought
processes. This was beyond ridiculous, really. Why did these two get to her so
much?

“
There is an easy way of remedying this situation,
however,” Arran said. “We would very much like to invite you to come and see
one of our performances, as our VIP guests.
You and Natasha
both.”

He nodded at Natasha, and for the
second time in the last few minutes, Kate’s friend looked as though she was
going to have a heart attack.

“
Oh, my, really?
We’d love to come, wouldn’t we, Kate? Oh, this is so kind of you, really. Kate
will be there, won’t you?”

It was on the tip of Kate’s
tongue to deny this assumption, but the way Natasha implored her with her big
feline eyes meant that she couldn’t, so instead she just gave a tight nod.
Natasha’s squeal rang in her ears, and the two men’s tight shoulders relaxed.
She hadn’t even noticed how tense they had become until that moment, and Kate
briefly wondered why this seemed to mean so much to them, before she was pulled
into a bear hug by Natasha.

“
Thank you, you’ll love it, you’ll see.” Natasha’s
whisper in her ear did nothing to quell the churning in her tummy when she
looked across at the two men. Cat that got the cream sprang to mind, and she
forced a smile on her lips, when Natasha finally released her, and Zeb and
Arran made their goodbyes.

Heat flared up her arms when they
both took one of her hands each and bending over them kissed them in an old
fashioned gesture that made Kate
want
to swoon like a
Regency heroine in the historical romance novels she liked to read.

“
Until we meet again,” Arran said.

“
I’ll look forward to your proper apology then,
girl.”

Kate tried to snatch her hand
away at Zeb’s outrageous words, but he held firm until she stopped struggling.
Only then did he release her hand after he turned it over and dropped a
lingering kiss on the rapidly beating pulse in her wrist.

With a smirk to send her bikini
bottoms aflame he winked at her, and left her to stare after the departing
forms of him and his twin.

“
Jeez, what have you gotten me into, Tash?”

Chapter
Two

Kate still wondered
this
four days later, as she got into the chauffeur driven
car provided by the men to transport both her and Natasha to the Palladium
where the two men were performing.
The Palladium, no less.

Jeez, as though she needed more
proof of how clueless she was. It had been somewhat of an eye opener once she’d
got home and Googled Zeb and Arran, as had the phone call from Luke
Masterton
. The owner of the spa-with-a-difference had taken
it upon himself to check it was all right to pass on Kate’s details. Kate had
been rather taken aback to learn Luke took such a personal interest, but all
had become clear when he admitted that Zeb and Arran were personal friends of
his.

He had sung their praises, in
fact, much to Kate’s silent amusement, once she had recovered from her initial
astonishment.

“
I understand that Zeb, in particular, came on a bit
strong in the swimming pool. I have, of course, reminded him of the spa rules,
though I gather you rather successfully put him in his place.” She’d heard the
laughter in the man’s deep voice down the phone. “I do wish I’d been there to
see it. Anyway, I just wanted to reassure you that both he and Arran are
experienced
Doms
, and you will be in safe hands,
should you wish to pursue this further.”

Kate grimaced, recalling this
conversation now. Did she want to pursue this ... whatever this turned out to
be? That was the million dollar question. For their part, the men had surprised
her by sending a lovely bouquet of flowers for her and signed posters for
Natasha. She had shrieked in delight, of course, and immediately replaced the
one she had on her bedroom wall.

Her freaking roommate had their
poster on the wall, for pity’s sake. She should have known about them. In her
defense, Kate surmised, that poster didn’t do them justice. Taken in the early
days of their career, they were both heavily made up, and wearing some form of
circus outfit. What had snared her attention, however, had been the two
majestic looking black panthers they’d been pictured with.

Her stomach had twisted in on
itself at the mere thought of such proud animals kept in captivity and being
subjected to the glare of the stage lights. No matter how many times Natasha
told her to just wait and
see,
and to keep an open
mind, the animal lover in Kate couldn’t reconcile with that. They might be
tame, for surely they couldn’t perform with them otherwise, but that still
didn’t make it right. Large cats like that ought to be roaming free in their
native lands, not jump through hoops at their owner’s commands, and be
transported and kept in cages.

“
They don’t use cages,
numpty
,”
Natasha had said, and Kate had shaken her head at her poor star-struck friend.

“
That’s what they say, but of course they’ll be using
cages. They’ve got panthers in their show, for flip’s sake. They can hardly let
them roam free through London, now, can they? No matter how tame they might be.
They need to be kept under control.”

The way Natasha had simply smiled
at her had been galling to say the least.

“
Next you’ll be telling me it’s magic.” Kate had
ground the words out through gritted teeth as her research on how exactly they
transported those panthers had come up empty handed. The exact how-
tos
seemed to be shrouded in mystery. All the men would say
in interviews was that it was a trade secret, and smile. And what smiles those
were.

It had done nothing to curb
Kate’s libido, far from it. The more she looked into Zeb and Arran, the more
obsessed she became with them. They did a fair amount of socializing, usually
with some blonde bimbo on their respective arms, and the jealous person inside,
which Kate hadn’t even
known
was there, wanted to
scratch those women’s eyes out.

It really was beyond ridiculous,
the way they occupied her thoughts and dreams. Oh my goodness, her dreams.
Regardless of what happened at tonight’s performance, she would have to bite
the bullet and get herself laid, preferably by both of them. Surely that would
cure her obsession with them. After all reality never lived up to fantasy, and
once Kate had scratched that particular itch, she could get back to normal. She
had been found daydreaming one too many times at work, as it was, and temp or
not, she’d be out on her ear soon, and for good.

Temping as an insurance claims
assistant might not be her dream job, but it did pay the bills, and with
Natasha off on a research trip to the Arctic Circle soon—the particulars of
which her friend was unusually tight-lipped about—she would need the income
more than ever. Natasha said her part of the rent would be upheld in her
absence by her boss Cole, but the mere fact that she couldn’t say how long this
trip would be for, and that she felt the need to assure Kate of the financial
implications of this research journey, made Kate uneasy.

Cool air rushing into the
interior of the car shook Kate out of her internal musings, and she glared at
the chauffeur who’d opened the door of the Mercedes to let her out onto Argyll
Street. From here it was a short walk to the Palladium, and Natasha bounced in
excitement next to her.

“
Oh this is so exciting.”

“
Have a nice evening, ladies.” The chauffeur smiled
and pointed them in the right direction. In no time at all they were in their
seats, right at the front of the stage, and Kate was sure Natasha would
combust. The air fairly shimmered around her friend, and her stunning green eyes
had never looked more feline than in the dim lighting of the theater.

With an impending sense of doom
Kate adjusted the hem of her clingy black sheath dress, and vowed to try to
enjoy this for Natasha’s sake. After all, the woman was off to the frozen
tundra next week, and after all the hard work her friend had put in, she
certainly deserved a night out on the town. Apparently they were going out for
a late meal after the show, according to the missive that was sent with the VIP
tickets, and the dress code was smart. Hence, Kate felt like the proverbial
trussed up chick. She was a trousers girl, through and through, and even at
work she preferred trouser suits to skirts and dresses, so this sexy little
number was an aberration. It had been the only way to convince Natasha into a
slinky dress, however, and just like Kate always knew she had, her friend had a
killer figure. Out of the shapeless clothes Natasha normally wore, she was
stunning, and Kate envied Tash her ass and boobs. Both were nonexistent in
Kate’s case. She was as tall as she was skinny, and she reasoned to herself, if
she had a rack like Tasha’s she’d be in danger of toppling off her stiletto
heels. At least she was used to them, unlike Tash, who kept muttering under her
breath that she would break an ankle before the night was out.

Shoes, and in particular boots of
any description, were Kate’s secret passion, and she had far too many to count.
Still, a girl had to get her kicks from somewhere, and Zeb and Arran were both
tall enough that even in her killer heels they would have to dip their heads to
kiss her.

Kate barely suppressed a moan at
that thought, fortunately masked by the music starting, and with a sigh she
settled down to watch the show. The warm up was an up and coming stand-up comedian,
and what misgivings she might have had soon dissipated into squeals of
laughter. He was good, very, very good, and the whole audience was in stitches
by the time he was done.

It made Zeb and Arran’s entrance
even more noteworthy. Dressed in tuxedos, they were drool-worthy, even more so
than in their swimming
trunks,
and Kate had to give it
to them. They were mesmerizing to watch. She couldn’t be sure if they could see
over the glare of the lights, but she felt pinned in her seat every time they
looked in her direction, and they did that a lot.

When they asked for volunteers
from the audience, the female screeches of excitement were something else, and
Kate grinned when they singled out Natasha to come on stage and join them. True
to form, her friend almost fell when she negotiated the last steps up, and Kate
watched in horror as she stumbled. She needn’t have worried however, because
Arran and Zeb were there in a flash to steady her, and the whole theater
erupted into good-natured laughter, when they insisted that Tash remove her
shoes.

“
We want to saw you in half, my dear, not take off
your ankle, after all.”

That whole act should have been
cheesy, but somehow it wasn’t, and when they made Tash disappear in a flash of
light, Kate shot to her feet with everyone else to applaud loudly. So far so
good, but the panthers were next. She knew they always kept them to the end of
their show as their big finale, and she barely suppressed a scream when Arran
materialized right next to her in another big puff of smoke, and dramatic
music.

He winked at her, and then
addressed the rest of the theatre with great flourish.

“
Who here is ready to call on the magic panthers? We
need a beautiful woman to coax them out, and I do believe I have just found
her.”

Kate’s immediate protest died on
her tongue, when Arran chose that moment to place his large hand on her nape.
Heat scorched her skin, and her body responded instantly as Arran pulled her
closer into his body. He let his fingertips trail down the row of piercings tracing
her spine, and a faint rumble rose from his chest. It reminded Kate of the
deep, content purr of a cat, which should have sounded ridiculous even in her
head, but somehow was sexy as hell.

He dipped his head and inhaled
next to her ear, and the crowded theater faded into the background as she fell
back under his spell. Maybe he was using some sort of strange magic on her. It
certainly wasn’t normal the way she literally turned to putty in his hands just
by being this close to him.

Arran continued the downward
journey of his fingertips, until the fabric of her dress stopped him. She’d
chosen this dress specifically for its scalloped neckline that left her back
exposed. With her hair tied up in a messy up-do it left acres of skin exposed,
and showed of her back piercings. They were a relatively new addition, and she
liked showing them off. Arran pulled her closer still with one heavy hand
resting just on the small of her back, so close that she could feel his stiff
cock digging into her belly.

Kate sucked in a breath, as her
body responded instantly to the certain knowledge that he was as affected by
her presence as she was by his, and she squeezed her thighs together to relieve
some of the delicious ache in her clit. Already her thong was getting damp with
her arousal, and the lacy scrap of fabric would soon provide no protection at
all. She ought to be mortified by this, especially as Arran and Zeb seemed
determined to drag her on stage.

She was dimly aware of Zeb
talking on stage and the audience responding to him, but every cell in her body
was too focused on Arran right now.

“
Beautiful.” He whispered the word into her ear, and
let his hand trail lower briefly, until he could squeeze one of her butt
cheeks. “Tell me, sweet thing, have you got any piercings in more intimate
areas, perhaps?”

His voice had taken on a
distinctive growl, and Kate whimpered and grasped the lapels of his tux jacket
to steady
herself
as red hot arousal coursed through
her veins. That voice alone did things to her, and then there was his delicious
scent. It seemed to be getting stronger, or maybe that was just her lust-fueled
brain’s imagination, and she shook her head, not trusting her voice to work
right now.

“
Shame, that
would be
fucking hot.” A shiver went down her spine as he released her and held out his
hand as the music on stage reached dramatic levels. “Let’s finish this show.
Close your eyes for this bit, pet.”

Artificial smoke covered them
both, and Kate dutifully shut her eyes. It seemed as though the ground fell
away from them, and Kate barely suppressed a shriek, when Arran swept her up in
his arms. Air rushed by, and Kate got the distinct impression she really didn’t
want to see what the hell was going on. Besides, the whole experience was far
too discombobulating as it was.

She sensed Zeb moving in next to
her, when Arran put her back on her feet, and when she felt the warmth of the
stage lights on her skin, she opened her eyes.

Arran was speaking now, some
mumbo jumbo about an offering to the panthers, but she wasn’t even listening,
too caught up in the expression in Zeb’s eyes, as he looked at her. She
couldn’t put it down to a trick of the light now, as his gaze bled from molten
chocolate to glowing soft yellow, and the air shimmered around him. Arran
pulled her back and out of the way, and with another dramatic sequence of
music,
flash
lighting, and yet more smoke Zeb
disappeared. Her scream died in her throat, when a snarling black panther
appeared in his place, and the audience erupted into raucous applause.

****

Zeb crouched low and snarled his
freedom. It felt good to be back in panther form, and his beast damn near
purred at being this close to his mate. Her scent drove his animal wild. He
wanted nothing more than to wrap himself around the human, lick and bite her
fragrant skin, and sink his teeth into her flesh to cement this bond between
them.

Arran watched their mate warily
for her reaction, while maintaining a fixed smile for the benefit of their
audience, as he ran through his practiced spiel. Zeb, too, bowed and ran
circles round his brother and their mate, as per their act. They were
performers after all, and the show had to go on, but, boy, how he wished they
would all just bugger off and leave him alone with Kate. Well, Kate and Arran.