Claimed by Her Panthers (14 page)

Jenika
scrunched up
her nose like the idea was completely ridiculous. Angelica had to agree with
her friend. It was something she hadn’t thought to ask. Her immediate
acceptance of all things paranormal shocked her a little. Since when did this
weird and wacky stuff become … normal?

“Of
course the Elders reside here. This is where the treaty was signed after all,”
Draken
stated simply.

Angelica
stared at the Vampire and then her mates. Here in Mount View? Australia? How
was that even possible?

Angelica
opened her mouth to ask, but
Jenika
beat her. “But
you said it was signed over 1000 years ago. Australia is only like 200 years
old. You’re a bit off there. Getting senile in your old age?”

Her
friend’s cocky attitude was in full mode, and Angelica cringed.
Jenika
wasn’t taking the news of being a fated mated too
well. The other woman had always seemed to be the embodiment of a “free spirit”,
so her response didn’t surprise Angelica. And
Draken
was doing himself no favors by acting as though
Jenika
should be grateful. Having your entire world turned upside down and thrust into
chaos was not something one was normally grateful for.
Jenika
needed time.

Unfortunately,
Draken
had a way of putting his foot in his mouth.
“No, the English have only been here for 200 years.
Australia,
and paranormals in general, are much older than that, little girl.”

Jenika’s
face morphed,
no longer sarcastic and humorous. Oh God, Angelica knew that look. There weren’t
many things her best friend could do to scare her, but that expression was one
of them.

“Little
girl?” she asked, deceptively calm, which caused Angelica to be even more
concerned.

Snickers
echoed from either side of her, and she threw back her elbows, smiling at the
grunts that responded. Her mates did not want to piss
Jenika
off, no matter how big or brave they thought they were.

Jenika
stood and
walked to the man who claimed to be her mate. Angelica couldn’t help but feel
sorry for him. He leant up against the side of the lounge, arrogant smirk on
his lips like he owned the world … like he had no idea that her friend was
about to hand him his arse. She almost found it hilarious. She felt sorry for
the guy, but it was hilarious.

They
all watched as
Jenika
moved closer. There was
something seductive in the way she moved, which just confirmed her friend had
something planned. A hand landed on
Draken’s
chest
and slowly slid its way south.

Oh God, what is
she doing?

When
Jenika’s
hand was close enough to cup
Draken
through his
slacks, that
was exactly what she did. The Vampire groaned even as Stephan and Owen turned
away.

“Little,
huh?” she asked, squeezing him tight.

Draken
gasped. “What
are you doing?”

Jenika
gave a careless
shrug.
“Just checking.”

“What?”

“Well,
you see, from my experience men who like to fling around words like ‘little’
are usually trying to draw attention away from other areas that may be on the
smaller side.”

The
way
Draken
frowned, glancing down to where her hand
lay, before gaping up at
Jenika
again was comical.

He
glared at
Jenika
.
“And?”

So arrogant and cocky.
It was like
watching
a train derail
right in front of her.

Jenika
let out a
noncommittal sound. “I’ve felt bigger.”

Angelica
tried to cover up her laughter as
Jenika
let go of
him, spinning on her heel and dropping a kiss to her cheek.

“I
think I’ve had enough excitement for one night. I’ll be over tomorrow,
hun
.”

“I’ll
walk you out.”

As
they left the room, it was to chuckled laughter coming from her mates and a
snarl from
Draken
. Those men were hopeless.

Before
Jenika
could leave, she reached for her arm. “Are you
sure you’re okay?”

“It’s
a lot to take in,”
Jenika
answered honestly. “But I
think the real question you want to ask is, am I angry at you for keeping it
from me … and the answer is no. We both know I would have said you were crazy.
Besides, you would have told me in the end. No secrets between us.”

Angelica
let out a relieved sigh. Her friend was right. She had been worried, but
honestly hadn’t realized that until
Jenika
said
something. “I’m glad we’re okay.”

“Always.”
Jenika
winked, before turning to walk to her car.

“You
all right, cupcake?” Stephan murmured in her ear as his arms wrapped around her
from behind.

“Yeah,”
she sighed. “Yeah, I really am.”

Her
brother knew, and now so did her best friend. She felt for the first time since
this had all begun for her, that things would actually be okay.

Chapter Seven

Stephan
woke up with a groan, the bright light of the morning sun shining unforgivingly
through the curtains. He peered at the clock next to the bed.
Seven-thirty.
Damn
.
Turning to his side, he was met with a gorgeous sight. Angelica lay sprawled in
her sleep, her succulent lips parted. He couldn’t contain his groan.

Angelica’s
eyes blinked open, her gaze pinning him almost instantly. Knowledge of his
desire for her burned, and a small smile played on the edges of her lips. It
amazed him how easy things were between them, how easy it was to read her and
be read by her.

“Like
what you see?”

The
words were teasing, yet he could see the same need in his mate. Would he ever
get enough?

“I
know I do,” Owen mumbled, still half asleep even as he beat Stephan to the
punch, claiming her lips.

He
wasn’t forgotten though. Angelica’s soft hand caressed him down his chest. A
shudder rippled through his body as Owen backed off, and Stephan took his turn,
pushing Angelica further into the bed. His stripped away the sheet, exposing
her luscious body to them and cupped her breasts.

“So
nice,” he said as he mouthed her breast. Angelica’s hand slid through his hair,
grabbing the strands as he nipped and sucked one taut nipple into his mouth.

Owen
leaned in, echoing his movements with the other breast. She whimpered and
thrashed beneath them, crying out their names. God, he wanted to bury his cock
deep inside of her.

Pleasure
pooled at Stephan’s spine when he felt Angelica’s hand wrap around his cock.
Stephan could already feel the beginning of his orgasm as he thrust his hips
into Angelica’s hand, which was pumping him furiously with short, even strokes.
He covered her hand with his as Stephan rolled his hips backward and away.

“Not
yet.” Stephan blew out a deep breath, bringing his body back under control.

Goddamn,
he wanted the woman now.

Turning
onto his back, Stephan grabbed a panting Angelica and draped her over his
chest.
“Time to ride me, cupcake.”

He
brushed his knuckles over her cheek as she straddled his waist. Angelica was so
damn stunning sitting on top of him, gazing down at Stephan heatedly, her eyes
glittering with lust and love. The feel of her pleasure soaked him. She crushed
her chest to his, her nipples feeling like cut diamonds as she slowly impaled
her body on his cock. Reaching for her, Stephan slanted his open mouth across
Angelica’s. Heat and womanly spice, the taste of her flooded his mouth.

“Oh,
God,” Angelica moaned. Stephan looked to the side to see Owen behind her. He
knew exactly what the man was doing.

“You
take us so well, cupcake,” he crooned, trying to hold still as Owen prepared
her.

Stephan
reached behind Angelica with one arm, curved it around her neck, then turned
and pulled her in close for a kiss filled with heat and intense passion. He
wanted to distract her from what Owen was doing, to make her forget for the
moment until there was nothing but pleasure between them. Stephan raised
Angelica’s head, kissing each eyelid as he felt Owen begin to move behind them.

Angelica
stiffened, but Stephan bit her shoulder with his blunt teeth, bringing her
attention back to him.

“It’s
always so intense,” she whispered to him.

“You
were made for us,” Owen panted. His voice was a fierce whisper as he ran his
hands over her sides, reached under, and cupped her breasts, palming them,
massaging the large yet soft mounds.

Angelica’s
fingernails dug into Stephan’s chest. He would take the pain, knowing the
pleasure she was going to experience. Stephan began to move, grabbing her hips
and thrusting up into her hot pussy as she moaned and tilted her head back.
They set up a rhythm, their thrusts matching as Angelica fell apart between
them. The pulse of pleasure was overtaking Stephan’s mind. It wrapped over the
head of his erection like tiny fingers of paradise as Angelica’s body impaled
his cock over and over again.

“Oh God.
Please,”
Angelica begged.

“Please
what?” Stephan asked with a growl, though he thought he knew.

“More, faster.”

Doing
as she commanded he quickened his thrusts as Angelica arched her back and cried
out her release, the tight channel of her pussy milking his cock. Owen grabbed
her sides, pounding hard as he, too, shouted out his release. Completely sated,
he felt Owen fall to the bed as Angelica draped her worn body over him.

“Morning,”
she said, her voice husky with sleep.

Stephan
chuckled, kissing her forehead.
“Morning, cupcake.”

“Now
that’s how you wake up in the morning,” Owen
announced,
a big shit-eating grin on the man’s face.

Joining
the laughter, Stephan couldn’t agree more. He could seriously get used to this.

An
hour later Stephan found himself showered and at the stove cooking up a storm.
Pancakes were done, and all that was left was the bacon. A soft noise off to
his right showed Angelica walking into the kitchen, and he felt his mouth drop.
Fine didn’t even begin to cover how gorgeous she was.

Angelica
was dressed in a thin, pale blue summer dress and barefoot, and Stephan didn’t
hesitate to grab her the moment she was within reaching distance. He swooped in
and claimed her lips, tilting her back over his arm. He kissed her with a
wildness and hunger he hadn’t known he was capable of. His tongue slid along
and then swirled around hers. He nipped her lips and opened her mouth wide to
push his tongue back into her mouth. Angelica moaned, clutching him, fists tightening
in his t-shirt. The low ache of his cock, which seemed to always simmer when
Angelica was around, burned so hot and bright he wondered why he wasn’t
bursting into flames.

He
swallowed her gasp when he slid a hand down and under the hem, lifting the
dress to settle it on her stomach just above the waistband of her panties. He
began to move, caressing over her skin and moving lower and dipping under the
lacy material.

Angelica
broke the kiss with a chuckle.
“Again?”

Stephan
stared deeply into her eyes as he moved his hand to cup her heat. “Yeah, you
feel good, cupcake.
So wet.
Can’t
get enough.”

Stephan
looked over at Owen, who had just entered the room and edged in closer behind
her.

“Let
me kiss our girl.” Owen didn’t wait for a reply. He leaned forward, clasped her
hips, and lifted onto the counter.

Angelica
met Owen’s gaze, a sly grin on her face. “You guys are insatiable. Something I
can do for you, Owen?”

“Oh,
there is plenty you can do,” was all Owen said before his mouth was on hers.

Owen’s
hands followed the same route Stephan had taken, and he could tell that
Angelica was aching as badly as they were. Insatiable had taken on a whole new
meaning for them.

“Owen,”
she pleaded. “Please.”

“God,”
Owen groaned. “So wet, your panties are soaked already.”

“Yes,”
she gasped.

A
knock at the door cut through Stephan’s distraction. “Shit. I’ll get it.”

Throwing
Owen the spatula, he palmed his hardened cock as he exited the kitchen and went
to answer the door. Bad fucking timing didn’t begin to cover it. Whoever it was
had better hope it was a damn emergency.