The Claiming of Sasha [Panther Cove 4] (Siren Publishing Ménage Everlasting) (7 page)

The biggest problem was how to get their clothes dry. Getting naked would be the first step. Just thinking about seeing Danny’s and Trace’s taut muscles had her excited. Her stomach grumbled, and she realized they needed to eat, too. Sasha hadn’t brought her phone on the ride because the last time she had, it had jostled loose and she’d lost it.

“Greg, could I use your phone? I want to order a pizza. We haven’t eaten.” She also needed to call her grandfather. If her car sat in front of the house all night, he’d worry.

“Sure.” He handed his cell to her. “I’d planned on warming up leftovers, but I don’t have enough for everyone.”

She waved a hand. “No problem. I’ll order pizza for all four of us.” Being beholden to Greg would not be good.

It was bad enough that the three of them had to impose on his hospitality. He was radiating a pissed-off vibe, but he was enough of a gentleman not to verbalize his discontent.

She supposed she could have asked him to drive them back to The Cove, but it would have been a forty-minute drive each way, and she didn’t want to give him the chance to turn her down. Besides, by the time they got back to Delight, it would really be dark and she didn’t like driving down the mountain in a storm. Then there was the issue of having to return the horses to Panther Cove if Greg drove them home.

Who are you kidding?
She wanted to be confined in the house all night with two hot men.

Sometimes she wished she had a key to turn off her inner thoughts.

With Greg’s phone in hand, she did a quick search and found the number of the pizza place. While she waited for the store to answer, she asked all three of them when kind of pizza they liked.

“Anything you like, darlin’, but if it’s all the same to you, me and Trace are meat eaters.”

As were most shifters. Greg gave his preference, and she ended up ordering three different pizzas. Nico’s said they could deliver the food in forty-five minutes, which would be perfect timing. Next, she called her grandfather and told him about the storm and that they were going to stay at Greg’s.

“You’re not thinking of doing all three are you?”

Heat raced up her face at the implication. “Two is a good number.” Hopefully, no one would be able to decipher her comment out of context.

He laughed. “Have a good time then.”

She disconnected before he said any other inappropriate comment and made one more call.

“Hey, Julia, honey, can you do a favor?”

“Sure.”

She told her friend about getting caught in the storm. “I won’t make it back to open up tomorrow. Can you tack a sign on the door to say I’m closed?”

She already owed Julia so much all ready. Maybe she’d give her a gift card to Tanya’s sex store as a thank-you.

“Sure. No big deal.”

“Great, thanks.” She disconnected for the last time and handed the phone back to Greg. She dug out her credit card and placed it on the table in case the deliveryman came in less than forty-five minutes and she was still in the shower, assuming Greg didn’t mind. “Would you mind if I use your shower?” She swiped her wet hair off her face.

“Sure, help yourself. You can use mine, and the men can use the guest bath.”

“Great. Do you think we could toss some of our clothes in the dryer while we shower?”

“You sure?” Greg’s brow furrowed as if he was imagining all three of them naked having wild monkey sex.

She inhaled, praying her decision was the right one. “Yes.”

“You know where everything is.”

Now it was time to set her plan in action. She turned toward Trace and Danny, who were waiting patiently on the entry mat probably to keep from getting the floors wet. “Let me show you to your room.”

She half expected Danny to make some smart-aleck remark, but he kept quiet. When she stepped in front of the bedroom door, Trace pulled it open. She’d slept in here once and remembered where the wall switch was. The room had one queen-sized bed.

“Sorry, there aren’t two beds in here.”

Trace tossed her a comforting smile. “We can always shift and sleep on the floor.”

Danny moved closer. “Darlin’, we could have stayed in the barn and been just as comfortable as tigers. Is there something you want to share with us?”

Her pussy cramped. Here she thought she’d been circumspect, but apparently she’d done a bad job. “I didn’t want you to scare the horses.” Even she wouldn’t have believed that.

“I see.” Danny took off his jacket and placed it on the back of the chair then quickly removed it. “It’s a mite wet.”

“The dryer should take care of that.”

At least the fleece jacket he’d purchased would do fine in the dryer. Trace followed suit. When they just stood there, she planted her hands on her hips. “Strip. Your jeans won’t dry overnight.”

Danny laughed. “You going to watch?”

Perhaps she should step outside and have them place their garments in the hallway. There would be time tonight to slip into their room and into their bed. “No. Put your wet things in the hall, along with the towels, and I’ll put them in the dryer.”

On her way out, she took both jackets. While they undressed, she headed down the hall to the laundry room and tossed the wet laundry on top of the washer. She then ducked into Greg’s bath, grabbed a clean towel from the linen closet, and returned to the spare bedroom. She was all too glad to get out of the wet clothes. She’d just gotten naked and wrapped the towel around her body when someone knocked.

Crap
. It better not be Greg. “Yes?”

“Where are the towels, darlin’?”

She had thought Greg would have some in the spare bathroom.
Uh-oh
. The towels he’d brought out for them were probably the ones from there. She might be able to explain where to get new ones, but it would be easier to show him, so she pulled open the door.

Holy mother of God.
Danny stood there naked and grinning, holding their clothes. Peeking out beneath the pile was a huge hard-on.

“Danny?” She was lucky to have gotten that one word out, as all sorts of erotic thoughts raced through her brain.

“As I said. We need some towels. We can shower, but we figure old Greg wouldn’t appreciate us going buck naked to dinner.”

That got a laugh out of her. It was probably a case of nerves combined with the silliness of the image. She stepped past him, keeping her gaze away from his huge cock. What had she been thinking when she considered being with two men? From the looks of it, tiger shifters were more well-endowed than panther shifters. Heaven help her if these two men turned out to be her lifelong mates.

She rushed to the closet, grabbed two towels, and handed them to him. She only made eye contact and didn’t drag her gaze lower. “There you go.”

“Thank you, ma’am.” He winked, clearly remembering that particular nickname pissed her off.

She took the pile of wet clothes from him. “Go, but be quick. The pizza guy should be here soon.”

She tried to block the image of his rippling chest, lean waist, long legs, and yes, his huge cock, but failed. She put all of the clothes in the dryer and turned it on.

So that Greg wouldn’t be alone with the two men, she rushed into his shower. Her friend had spared no expense outfitting the bathroom. The shower not only had two showerheads, but several ones that sprayed water from the side. Only needing one overhead, she adjusted the dials. The instant heat was divine. She lathered her hair quickly and rinsed it fast. After a cursory cleansing, she turned off the faucet and dried the best she could. Since Greg had short hair, he wouldn’t have a hairdryer, and she’d have to be content to eat dinner with it wet.

Moving quickly, she stepped into the laundry room and checked the clothes. They weren’t dry, but at least they weren’t dripping anymore. She took out everything but the jackets. Putting on wet jeans was kind of gross, but she was lucky to have a dryer handy at all. After quickly folding the men’s clothes, she brought them to their door and knocked.

“Clothes outside in the hallway.”

Without giving them the chance to open the door possibly in the nude, she scooted into the living room where she found Greg watching television. He clicked it off.

“Thanks again for letting us stay here.”

“Sasha. What the fuck is going on?”

“Shh. They might hear you.”

“So what? It’s bad enough that you bring two guys into my house, but you invited two fucking tiger shifters here.”

She couldn’t tell which part upset him more—the two guys or the fact they were tiger shifters. “They didn’t even know other shifters existed until today.”

He shook his head. “You going to believe them?”

There was no use arguing. “Yes, I do.”

Greg leaned back. “Holy hell. You like them.”

Having rushes of excitement attack her body all day long was one thing, but to verbalize her desire was another. Speaking to her ex-boyfriend sucked, but she didn’t want any misunderstanding. “Kind of, yeah.”

The doorbell rang before he could respond. She jumped up, picked up her card from the table, and answered the door. As soon as the deliveryman stepped inside and placed the three boxes on the table, she made sure to add a good tip.

No sooner had he left than Trace and Danny appeared. Their shirts stuck to their chests a little, but she liked how it outlined their muscles.

Danny inhaled. “Smells delicious.”

Wanting to keep busy, she spread out the napkins and opened the boxes. “Dig in.”

“You two want a beer?” While Greg’s tone wasn’t totally friendly, she appreciated that he was trying to be nice.

“That would be great, man,” Danny said.

She’d noted Trace had said little since they’d arrived, but he’d always been the skeptical one. Even if her grandfather could convince Danny to join The Shield, she bet Trace wouldn’t go along with it. Both men, she was sorry to say, had horse blood running through their veins and didn’t seem to have a desire to right a wrong against a clan they never knew existed before today.

She debated bringing up the attack on a village in Iraq to give them more background as to why Greg was so standoffish. Twenty women and children had been slaughtered, never given a chance to defend themselves. The press said it had been al-Qaeda, but her grandfather told her many of them were tiger shifters.

After Greg deposited the drinks on the table, she decided to leave well enough alone.

They all dug in in companionable silence.

Sasha finished her first slice. “What went through your head when you found out there were others like you?” She didn’t direct her comment to either Sanders brother.

“Like us?” Trace’s tone came out way too bitter. “We were freaks in Texas, and we’re still freaks. Have you met anyone else who’s a half-breed, if that’s what we’re called?”

“Yes.” That made his chin tuck in. “Okay, maybe I haven’t, but my grandfather has. That’s why he knew right away what you were.”

Trace guzzled the beer. “What makes you so sure we won’t become one of the Swordsmen?”

She could see Greg almost smile at his term. “Because I don’t believe either one of you have a mean bone in your body. Have you ever killed anything?”

A dark streak crossed Trace’s face. “I had a put a horse down once. He jumped a fence and got hit by a truck. Saddest day of my life.”

She clasped on to his hand. “See? The Sword has no conscience. They’re pure evil. I bet a member of The Sword would be happy to kill a horse.” She then told them about the recent attack on the village.

Trace’s brows and mouth pinched. Danny tapped the table. “Don’t worry, darlin’. We don’t have any intention of getting tangled up with anyone as mean as that. We’re lovers, not fighters.”

She had to laugh. That was probably the most truth he’d spoken. For the rest of dinner, they talked about Greg’s farm, and Trace was able to give him some pointers on breeding.

Trace polished off the rest of his beer. “If I ever get this way again, I’d be happy to stop on by and give you more help.”

Greg’s face relaxed. “I’d appreciate it.”

Trace pulled his wallet out of his pocket, which had somehow come out of the rainstorm fairly unscathed, and withdrew a business card. “Shoot me any questions you might have. If I can answer them, I will.”

The hint of surprise on Greg’s face disappeared. “I will.”

After dinner they watched a late night football game. She wasn’t particularly interested if the Panthers won, but it seems every other male in Delight did. These three were no exception.

She kept yawning in the hopes the men would take the hint, but it became apparent the guys weren’t going to go to bed until the game was over. Since the rain was buffeting the windows pretty badly, she wasn’t going to suggest they leave anytime soon.

Finally, the game ended. Greg was happy, but Trace and Danny appeared indifferent. She stood. “I’m calling it a night. Thanks again, Greg, for letting us stay.”

“No problem. It was fun.”

She had to admit that once the Sanders brothers’ true colors became evident, Greg relaxed. She waved good-night and headed down the hallway not quite knowing her next move. Her logical side said it was best if she ignored the ache in her body, but her hormones had come alive for the first time, and she feared they were driving her to make some rash decisions.