Taming The Tigers (7 page)

“Yes I did.” Malik nodded. “You saw why Maxim cannot leave the cascade.” Many of their people were in a similar situation. At least he and Gable had been lucky enough to conceal their deformities.

“Actually, he
could
leave here.” Carmen looked up at him, her head tilted in the way that had quickly endeared her to him. “There are dozens, if not hundreds, of people out there who tattoo themselves to stand out. He would only appear to have had tattooed stripes on his skin.”

“People do that sort of thing?”

“Yes.” She chuckled when he raised his brow. “There are a few who have had tiger stripes tattooed on them, leopard spots. Some of them have even had tattoos to make them appear as though they have scales and...” She paused, shuddering. “They’ve had their tongues cut to give them the forked appearance of a snake.”

Malik shifted his gaze to her uncles. “This is true?” He glanced back at his mate’s raised brow. “It’s not as though I don’t trust you,
malysh.
It’s just that it seems so... so—” He threw his arms out to the side. “Odd.”

“Our world
is
odd.” Wyatt chuckled. “However, it is no less dangerous for our kind. We have many who would see us dead, just as you have had in the past. We were glad to discover that your kind had not perished after all. Though,” he said, gesturing to Carmen. “If either of you hurt our niece,
you
will be extinct. You can count on that.”

“Gentlemen, gentlemen,” Viktor interrupted. “There is no reason for posturing. If the men say they are her mates, then they
are
her mates. The Caspian race is renowned for being able to find our mates from a distance. We are also the only tigers who mate for life, though our animal cousins do not.” He gestured toward the town behind him. “Now come, I will show you around the town while Malik and Gable get to know your niece.”

Thirty minutes later, they stood in the center of their living room, their hands in their pockets as Carmen wandered around their home.

“Is this it?” she asked as she came from the back where their bedrooms were located.

Each of them had a huge bedroom where they could go for privacy. However, they planned to share a room once they found their mate—
if
they ever found a female who would agree to be theirs.

“Yes. This is it,” he replied with a sigh.

She, no doubt, found them lacking. Theirs was a big home compared to those they saw in the human world, but they had no wondrous television or satellite radio. There were no bubbling bathtubs or microwave ovens. They didn’t even have electricity throughout their homes. If they didn’t need it, it didn’t exist in the cascade.

“It’s beautiful.” She smiled as she sauntered up to Malik and ran the tip of her finger from the center of his neck, down the line of his buttons to his belt buckle. “It’s almost as beautiful as its owners are handsome.”

She turned to Gable and did the same thing. “I think it’s time that we moved to the bedroom. Don’t you?” She gave them each a Mona Lisa smile and sauntered back the way she came. “Give me ten minutes to shower. I feel sticky.”

Gable turned to him, his face a blank mask. “It seems she has changed her mind about waiting three days. We cannot assert dominance over one another. In this, she must choose. Whichever bedroom she’s in is her choice for the first. Do you agree?”

“I agree,” Malik said with a nod. “What will the other do in the meantime?”

“If she is in your room, I will go to the river and jump in.” Gable grinned. “The water is freezing this time of year.”

“And I will do the same, should she choose your room.” He glanced back to the doorway before returning his attention to his best friend. “Shall we go see which bathroom she is using and find out which one of us is the lucky bastard?”

With a sharp nod of the head, they both strode to the hallway, each of them anxious to know who would be the first to have the honor of bedding their beautiful mate.

Carmen stepped from the shower out onto the thick rug, glad that someone in the cascade had determined that hot water was a necessity. She didn’t know if she could have handled a cold shower after the last twenty-four hours she’d spent on the road.

They’d stopped at a restaurant just before they reached the maritime museum that was the front for the parking area used by the Caspian people. She was tired, but excited and she felt as though a layer of crud had covered her body. After all, she’d been stuck in a car for the last several hours lusting after two men, while her body overheated from their close proximity.

Her time at Oak Lake seemed like so long ago. It was almost in the realm of distant memory. So much had happened since she had arrived to find the job offer no longer valid. At the time, it had seemed as though her world had come crashing down on her, certain that she’d wasted her time driving all the way to California.

She glanced in the mirror and stared critically at her too common brown hair and brown eyes. Why couldn’t she have been more exotic looking? She could have been a blonde, or a red head with blue or green eyes. Instead, she had the most common hair color and the most common brown eyes. What would they see in her? How could she possibly keep their attention over the years?

Turning toward the door, she took a deep breath. They insisted that she was their mate. If that were true, they would be happy with the way she looked. They would be happy that her waist was just a little thick and her hips a bit too wide. If they loved her, it wouldn’t make a difference.

Her main worry was that they had just met. How could they possibly feel anything for her but lust? Hell, even
she
felt a healthy dose of that.
So much for waiting three days, you hussy.

A rustling on the other side of the wall told her that they waited for her. If she wasn’t mistaken, she’d heard the click of the latch on the bedroom door.

Her heart raced at the thought of walking out there without a stitch of clothing on. Would they still want her after seeing her full-figured body in the buff? Reaching for the knob, she closed her eyes and opened the door.

Cool air rushed in, her nipples tightening with the cool breeze. Her heart thudded in her chest and her breath grew shallow. A groan came from the direction of the bed and she opened her eyes. Was that a good groan or an
oh no, she’s not what I expected
groan?

Meeting Gable’s gaze, she released the breath she’d been holding. If his expression told her anything, it was that he liked what he saw. She cast her gaze lower, pressing her lips together.

“Either you’re very happy to see me, or you plan to clobber someone over the head with that thing.” She waved toward his groin.

“I’m very happy to see you.” The words game out on a low growl, almost as though he had a difficult time keeping his tiger at bay.

“Where’s Malik?” she asked after a quick glance around the room proved he was nowhere in sight.

“He’s down at the river taking a very cold bath.” He indicated his wet hair. I opted to use the shower in Malik’s room. I, too, felt... sticky.”

“What’s wrong?” Why didn’t he approach her? With the way his cock bobbed in front of her, and the little pearl of fluid she saw at the tip, he had to find her at least passably attractive. Didn’t he?

“I’m basking in your beauty.” He moved slowly, stalking her, almost as though he expected her to run away any moment. “Seeing you here like this is almost enough to make me believe in a benevolent god. I’m thanking all that is good that you are here and that you are ours. I’m almost afraid that you’re a dream and if I try to touch you, you’ll disappear and I’ll wake up... alone. It is one of my worst fears.”

Carmen swallowed thickly. How did he always know what to do, what to say, to make her feel better? It was almost as though he was saying he loved her already, but that wasn’t possible. They barely knew each other.

Normally, she wouldn’t sleep with a man she didn’t know. This was different. She was their mate. She hoped she was, at any rate—and if she wasn’t, she didn’t want to miss the opportunity of making love to the two men she felt the most comfortable with other than her uncles.

Closing the space between them, she reached up, one hand cupping his cheek, the other wrapping around his neck to draw his head down to her. “Kiss me. I’m not going anywhere.”

Gable stared down into Carmen’s beautiful brown eyes. Flecks of gold stirred in their depths as she pulled his head down until his lips covered hers.

Full lips pressed against his. Seemingly, of their own accord, his arms snaked around her, drawing her close, bringing her silky body flush up against his.

He splayed his fingers wide, sliding his hands up her body. Cupping the back of her head, he deepened their kiss. Tracing her lips with his tongue, he thrust inside when she opened. Breathing in her sweet breath, he picked her up. Carrying her to the bed, he set her on the thick comforter, and followed her down, covering her body with his.

Slowly, he kissed her, his mouth worshiping her, moving from her mouth, to her neck to suck her ear lobe, his tongue caressing the delicate whorl.

He reveled in her scent, the feel of his lips caressing her silky skin. He buried his face between her full breasts. His hands caressed, kneaded the soft flesh. She gasped when his mouth closed over one dusky nipple, his tongue swirling over the pebble-hard tip.

Carmen moaned and arched upward, her back bowing off the mattress when he sucked one of the hard nubs into his mouth while twisting and pulling the other. She thrashed her head when he pulled back and blew air across the stiffened peak, and it tightened more. Thrusting her fingers through his hair, she pulled his head tighter against her, encouraging him to ramp up his sensual assault.

The scent of her arousal grew stronger and he growled against her skin, rubbing his face against the silken flesh of her lush breast. Moving his hand lower, he caressed her soft belly before skimming lower, his fingers brushing the downy curls at the apex of her thighs.

Gasping, she lifted her hips when he parted her slick folds. Thick cream coated his fingers as he circled the hard bud of her clit and she tensed, her luscious body growing rigid.

“Yes!” she cried. “I’m going to—” The rest of her cry was lost on a low moan.

Gently, Gabe bit her nipple and took her screaming over the edge of her first orgasm. He smiled, knowing that before this night was done, he would wring out at least two more such cries from her beautiful throat.

Panting, she reached down, her hand fumbling to grasp his cock. Gabe gritted his teeth when her fingers wrapped around him and she fisted the hard shaft, her hand sliding up and down the pulsing length. “I need you inside me. Now!”

“Not yet,
malysh.
I’m not finished with you, yet.” He chuckled when she lifted her head, meeting his gaze with a scowl. “Just a few minutes more. I promise.”

Moving lower, he grasped her hips, his fingers kneading her fleshy ass. He loved that she had curves. All his life he dreamed that his mate would be a woman with a classic figure.

Was the term... Rubenesque?

It doesn’t matter now.
He shook his head. All that mattered was that she was here, in his bed and she had just surrendered to him—to them. She was their mate, whether she believed it or not.

Gabe licked his lips. He couldn’t wait to taste her, to thrust his tongue deep inside her and lap up the cream weeping from her cunt. Lifting her ass off the bed, he took a deep breath. He closed his eyes, barely able to suppress a groan. She smelled glorious. With his thumbs, he spread her lower lips, greedily taking in the beautiful sight of her wet, pink flesh.

It was amazing how badly he wanted to sink his cock into her. He couldn’t wait to feel her wet pussy closing around him, milking his cock as he drove into her over and over. Leaning forward, he tasted the juices spilling from her empty vagina before snaking his tongue deep inside, lapping up the exquisite taste of her arousal before he sucked the hard bud of her clit between his lips and pulled.

“Gable!” She screamed his name when he thrust his fingers deep inside her, pistoning them in and out as she rode the crest of yet another orgasm.

He gave her clit one last slow lick before crawling back up her limp form. She panted beneath him, her eyes closed, her sweat-soaked hair plastered against her forehead. Reaching up, he brushed the hair from her face and kissed her as she wrapped both her arms and legs around him.

Slowly, he pressed against her slick opening. Her body opened, welcoming him into her tight sheath. Inch by inch, he pressed forward and then stopped. “Are you...” He fought to catch his breath. It was as though he’d just ran a marathon and he’d done little more than pleasure his mate. “Are you a virgin?” He hoped not. He didn’t know if he had enough patience to go slow with his control so near the breaking point.

“No.” Reaching up, she pulled his head to hers, her tongue thrusting between his lips, taking his breath away. “I’m not loose, but I’m not a virgin.” Her cheeks reddened. “I hope you’re not disappointed.”

“Disappointed? I could never be disappointed in you,
malysh.
In fact,” He paused to gin down at her. “That just makes my life a hell of a lot easier.”

With that, he thrust deep, his cock tunneling deep inside her. Over and over he pounded into her amidst her screams of encouragement until he knew he wasn’t going to last much longer. Reaching between them, he rubbed her clit with his thumb and she came, her clasping muscles milking his over sensitive cock and dragging him along with her. With a groan, Gabe collapsed on top of her, his body shaking with the force of his orgasm.

Carmen soaked in the huge tub in Malik’s room. Her muscles ached, but she felt great. How could she not? Making love with Gabe was, so far, the single most moving experience of her life. She could only imagine being with Malik would be the same.

She leaned back, basking in the warmth of the tub as the jets massaged her body. She couldn’t wait for Malik to join her. She hoped he would join her. She didn’t want to waste another minute with either of them.