Taboo Kisses (16 page)

She hadn’t borne
only
the were-tiger’s overbearing behavior, but the vampyr’s as well. Maximus controlled
her with the
choker
, and they’d both forced her sexually. Most female sirens were
involuntarily pushed
into sexual submission.
If they weren’t, none would ever mate because no
siren
wanted to lose their freedom to their
partner
.

And both of her mates had released her from their jurisdiction. At least if she decided
to remain with them, she wouldn’t be a zombie to their demands
but
would
retain her freewill. That was why she’d agreed to stay a month and why she’d given
him the lowdown on her ability to renege on a promise.

Shaking her head, Samey
a pushed away from the wall and followed the witch’s scent to the kitchen. Another
woman was seated at the breakfast table with Kat.
A shifter
,
and if her senses were accurate, she was a were-tiger.
Maybe
from Gabriel’s pride
?
Just so
long as she visit
s
without any expectation from either of
my
mates,
the woman will
be safe.

Sameya
refused to
contemplate why she was suddenly very territorial of men she had no intention of remaining
with at the end of the month.
She chalked it up to one more irrational behavior in the long list that was adding
up since meeting the guys.

The woman sat with a r
egal
air. Spine straight, shoulders squared
,
and head tilted so
her chin sat high enough
she gave the appearance of looking down on someone. Her
fashionable blonde hair
was sprayed into submission.
Did men
really prefer a hairstyle
they couldn’t
put
their fingers through?

L
ight blue eyes
were direct as
t
he
shifter
peered at Kat. High cheekbones and a wide sensuous mouth gave the woman a sultry
demeanor
.
She wore
a
designer light pink silk blouse.
A string of pearls circled her
slender
neck.

Sameya wouldn’t be caught dead in pink. Or such refined attire.
The pearls
were
n’t
her style
either
.
She bet below the view of the table, the pretentious woman wore a matching pencil
skirt and pumps.

Stunning
. E
ven
with
the shifter’s hoity-toity
demeanor, Sameya
felt gaudy next to her.

She sauntered on into the room, catching Kat’s
attention
. The witch
gulped
and sat a little straight
er
, while tossing the
shifter
a nervous peek.

The witch’s distress must’ve warned they weren’t alone because t
he woman turned to
ward the door
.
Her cool eyes assessed
Sameya’s lack of attire
,
and
t
he
other woman
sniffled when her gaze
snagged
on
Sameya’s
bare legs below the hem of Maximus’
s
shirt
.
Quickly, h
er attention
shifted upward and
caught
on
the vampyr’s
top hat she’d
crammed
on her head.
“I didn’t realize the boys were entertaining.”

Entertaining? She bit back a laugh. Yeah, they’d been
amusing
her with their cocks and one orgasm after another.
Jesus, what amazing things those were. She grew wet thinking about them. Cr
azy because she’d already had three
…or was it
four
?
What was the limit before someone combusted?

In place of her vocal humor, she tendered a smile and pulled out a chair to sit across
from the ladies. “What did you think the boys were doing if not entertaining?”
Up close the woman’s skin was flawless, like pale porcelain. Probably the type of
woman Maximus and Gabriel enjoyed more often than not.
She
tossed
Kat a cursory
glance
and her obvious nervousness told her much
. “I mean, you’re in their home
chatting with Kat instead of them
.
”

Was the shifter a former lover of theirs? Former being the operative word because
she wouldn’t share them with anyone
.
Not e
ver.

This
irrational behavior
was
at odds with her typical rational mindset
. She gave a mental sigh and, for the moment, accepted her deranged state of mind.

Was Kat so anxious
because the other woman was their lover
?
It wasn’t like they’d had time to inform anyone of their newly acquired mate.

The shifter elevated an eyebrow and tucked hair behind an ear with polished pale pink
nails.
“Little girl, you’ll mind your manners in my company.”

***

In no position to lecture Gabriel,
Maximus
ran his palm down his face
. “
Don’t h
ide behind your pelt
for long, Gabriel.
” He scratched behind the feline’s ears. “
We have
to figure out a way to make this up to her.
Maybe feeding her will make her more agreeable.
”

Gabriel
executed a
low-throated
growl
.

“You’re right. That’s not the way to a woman’s heart. I’ll talk to her instead.”
A shudder rippled down his spine and caused his stomach to sour
.
Maximus was a man of action. It was easier to ki
ll something than
verbalize
his
sentiments
.
“Join us soon.
We need to mention Tyron Gryp
h
on’s hard-on for her and how we plan to keep her safe.
”

Gabriel
’s puffing noise sufficed as
his agreement
.
Maximus went in search of Sameya.

How did one calm an agitated siren? They were lethal in any non-volatile situation,
how much more would she be when
vexed
. Good thing he was immune to her particular brand of charm and that she still wore
the collar,
otherwise he surmised
Gabriel
wouldn’t have remained unscathed
.

He had to figure out
a way
to explain
the
impulsive
ness of
shifters
, especially
when in the presence of their unmated
partner
.
All
without giving the appearance the breed was mentally unstable.

He had no idea how difficult
Sameya would
be, so he mentally prepared himself for any reaction
.
S
he’d spent a long fucking time
enjoying her single status
,
and he could understand why she’d planned to remain unmated. No one would want to
lose
their
freedom to another
. But they’d both proven to her
that wasn’t the type of relationship they wanted from her
.

In the right situation, he’d enjoy dominating her
—
‘Spread your legs’, ‘suck my dick’,
‘you’ll take it all’—but
that was the only kind of domina
nce he craved. And he suspected
s
he’d make the perfect submissive in the bedroom.
That was sex
. He’d never want to subjugate her personality.
M
any Doms would enjoy breaking her fiery disposition
in and out of the bedroom
, but he and Gabriel weren’t like that
.

Maximus found her in the kitchen,
sitting at the table with—holy fucking Christ—Gabriel’s mom!
And then
t
h
e
were-tiger
said the worst thing ever…“Little girl, you’ll mind your manners.”

This could go bad fast.
God love her
,
he adored the woman, but
Gabby didn’t have the good sense to recognize
the
more lethal
predator.
I
t’d been
centuries
since the shifters had had to fight for their dominance
. H
er
family
’s wealth and power gave her a false sense of safety. Because of that prestige in
the earthly mystic community, s
he expected everyone to mollycoddle her. That anticipation wouldn’t be forthcoming
from Sameya
who lived by a very different set of rules in Atlantis
, where she was at the top of the food chain
.

Shit! Not good.

Instead of hostility, Sameya chuckled
, s
hocking Maximus. His gal
notched a finger in Gabby’s direction, but peered at Kat. “She for real?

Kat squir
m
ed in her seat and sent Maximus an expression that clearly
pled
for his assistance.

Arching a disapproving eyebrow, Gabby said in her haughtiest tone,
“
Really,
Maximus, dear,
your
attire
isn’t appropriate
for mixed company.”

He peered down. Wearing no shirt, his nipple piercings glinted in the false light.
His pants hung low on his hips, exposing the beginning
tufts of his pubic hair.
He shrugged. “Wasn’t expecting company.”

“Kat is present!”
As a former friends
-
with
-
benefits, Kat had seen
him
dressed in less. “I do hope Gabriel will join us soon and
be
appropriate
ly
attired.” She sniffed her affront.

God, she was in snooty form tonight. Where the fuck was Gabriel? No one could micromanage
the woman quite the way he could.

“I’m sure you’ve seen him naked, so how would you prefer
Maximus
to
dress?” As Sameya pushed the chair out beside her and pat
ted
the seat, Gabby
’s mouth parted on
a
scandalized gasp
. “Join us, lover.”

His gaze snapped to
Sameya
, but
she was busy contemplating
his mother-in-law.
At w
hat game did
his sexy vixen
play
? Why call him lover in front of the other woman and…holy shit! The rest of what she
said sank in. She didn’t realize this was Gabriel’s mother, but thought she was
a lover
.

Maximus would’ve laughed if he hadn’t caught Sameya’s hostile glare. Fuck him, she
might not want them, but she was as protective as a shifter.

Gabby fanned her face, her tone high-pitched. “Why on earth would I see Maximus naked?”

Sameya opened her mouth to speak, but Maximus distracted her by catching the back
of her neck as he sat beside her. She glanced at him and he explained quickly. “She
is Gabriel’s mother, Sameya.”

“Mother?” His siren gaped at Gabby.

“Sameya, meet Gabby.” At her confused expression, he bit his lip to restrain the smile
that threatened to flash his fangs
. He
slithered his fingers through his newly acquired mate’s hair. God, he loved the discoloration
of
her red and black
tresses. “Gabby, meet our final mate.”

“God in Heaven,” Gabby said in her thick Southern drawl. “I can barely sense her power.
She’s a mere step up from a human. Are you sure
this is
your mate?”