STORY EXCERPT

Mikael led the way upstairs to their living quarters. They extended across the entire top floor of the Institute, offering a 360-degree view of Impulse.

“Wow!” Layla dropped her purse on a chair and stared out the full-length window that looked directly onto the Intracoastal Waterway. “Impulse really is a narrow peninsula, isn’t it? You’re completely surrounded by water.”

“Yeah,” Philo said. “All good things come in small packages.”

“You guys live up here?” she asked, swirling around again to take in the roomy loft.

“Sure, we live over the shop,” Mikael said.

“Just the two of you? There’s room for dozens.”

“We enjoy our privacy,” Mikael said curtly.

He took a good look at Layla as she continued to enthuse over the view and their living arrangements, liking what he saw. Philo was right about her. He did feel a strong connection which he was fighting hard to suppress. Even so, a part of him over which he had no control was drawn toward her, and not just because she was attractive, sexy as hell, and clearly intelligent. Were it not for her occupation, he’d probably agree that she was the mate he and Philo had been waiting all these years to find and start trying to convince her that she was destined to live out her days with two shape-shifting tigers.

Forget it! Someone with an inquiring mind like hers would never be satisfied with the life on offer in Impulse, even if it did mean that her aging process would be significantly slowed. Besides, she hadn’t told them the complete truth. She wasn’t only here because of the sick kids. She had personal reasons for delving into their affairs, he was sure of that. He could tune into her mind frequency and discover what they were, but that would require a vast amount of psychic energy. Energy that he and Philo no longer had, due to their lack of a mate. Their powers had been on the wane for months now, the sudden decline worryingly rapid. What power Mikael still possessed, he would use to make his patients better, but because of his reduced capacities, the number of patients they could take was also reduced. Fortunately, there were no kids in the Institute right now, which was one of the reasons why he’d said Layla could stay for a few days. No areas would be out of bounds to her, and there was absolutely nothing she could find that would make her suspicious.

“I’ll show you your room.”

Mikael led the way without looking to see if she was following. His enhanced olfactory perception told him that she was. She had a unique scent about her that owed nothing to commercial perfume. It was a combination of lavender soap and a fresh, smoky outdoor odor that wouldn’t be apparent to a normal human. Mikael inhaled and held that pungent aroma inside him until his lungs protested trying to imagine what she’d taste like if he kissed that lush mouth of hers and licked her all over until she squirmed.

“Don’t like what you see, then?” There was a smirk in Philo’s pheromone.

“Butt out!”

“It’s lovely,” Layla said, looking around the spacious room and smiling at them both. “Are you sure I won’t be in your way?”

“We’re sure,” Philo said for them both.

“Well, that’s great. I’ll get my bag out the car later.”

“Give me your keys,” Philo said. “I’ll do the honors.”

“Okay, thanks.”

She threw the keys to Philo, but her aim was off. Mikael had just opened the closet to check it was empty when he sensed the keys heading toward his back. He put one hand over his shoulder and caught them without turning around.

“You’ve got good reflexes,” Layla said.

Shit!

“Bet he couldn’t do it again,” Philo quipped, taking the sting out of the moment as he caught the keys Mikael tossed him and headed for the stairs.

“Let’s wait in the other room.”

Mikael had no wish to be alone in a bedroom with Layla when he was doing his damnedest not to think of her in the sack. The battle with his inner self wasn’t going well, causing him to speak to her with the minimum of civility. They reached the sitting room, which was when Mikael expected the barrage of questions to start. He threw himself into a chair and stared moodily out of the window, not caring if he was being rude. After all, she was the one who’d foisted herself on them uninvited. To his astonishment, she didn’t say a word. That was such a rarity in his experience that he turned to look at her, wondering what she thought she was playing at.

“Okay,” he said, sighing. “I expect you have questions.”

“Actually, I was thinking of leaving. You clearly don’t want me here, which makes me wonder why you invited me to stay.”

Hell, she’s sharper than I realized.

ADULT EXCERPT

“In this room there are rules, darlin’. Philo and I are in charge and whatever we ask you to do, you do it without question. Are you happy with that?” He smiled at her. “I know you’re not big on taking orders.”

She mangled her lower lip between her teeth, but a grin still escaped. “Depends on what I’m being ordered to do.”

“We’re virgins when it comes to women, as you know. But that doesn’t mean we don’t know how to make one happy.”

“We’ve had enough time to plan our campaign,” Philo added.

“We like to play hard and rough, but we promise never to hurt you and if we do anything you don’t like, you only have to ask us to stop, and we’ll quit immediately.”

“Thanks.” She ran her fingers down the length of Mikael’s thigh. “I can’t imagine that situation arising, but it’s good to know there’s a safety net in place.”

“We’ll still carry on fucking each other, Philo and I.” Mikael reached out to touch his buddy. “I love him as much as I love you. Nothing’s changed there, except you’re welcome to join in, like you did before. The thing is, we’ve had this fantasy for decades about fucking our mate at the same time, cunt and anus.” He paused, worried that she might be appalled by the idea. “Will you let us do that to you, darlin’?”

She gulped. “Sure, I’d love to experiment, but you’re both so huge that—”

Philo chuckled. “Don’t worry, babe, women’s bodies are built to expand.”

“That far?”

“Honey,” Mikael said, “we’ll get you so worked up that you won’t know which way is up. You’ll be so desperate for it by the time we’ve finished tormenting you that you’ll take us both with ease.”

“And that’s a promise,” Philo added.

“But first things first.” Mikael leant up on one elbow. “I can’t do much when I’m all weak like this, but you can help me out with that. Once you restore some of my strength you’ll find out what I can really do for you.”

“Yes, sir.”

“Actually, we’d prefer it if you addressed us as master in the bedroom, but sir will do almost as well.”

“Yes, master.” Layla straddled Mikael’s body and pushed gently with one hand until he was flat on his back again. “Since you’re so weak and you’ve never fucked a woman before, I think I’d best do all the work.”

Mikael chuckled, reaching up to remove the clip from her hair and watching as it cascaded over her face and tumbled down to brush against his.

“No arguments this end,” he said. “Go right ahead and have your wicked way with me, wench.”

Layla leaned in, still wearing her soft leather boots, and claimed his lips in a drugging kiss. Her lips were still shiny and wet with mauve gloss. Mikael made it his mission to kiss it clean away, and didn’t waste any time setting about his assignment. Damn it, their little tigress was more tempting than she had any right to be! He crushed her mouth beneath his as his hands wandered to her bare ass and kneaded the firm globes. She made some unintelligible noise around the kiss, which he took to be pleasure. He removed one hand and homed in on a breast. Shit, the basque was too tight, preventing him from delving inside the cups and touching her nipples.

“I’m on it,” Philo said.

He loosened the ties at the back of the basque until there was room for Mikael’s fingers to creep inside. He extended one of his long, vicious claws and used it to circle her areola, careful not to scratch her delicate skin. Philo loved it when he used his claws on him. Judging from the way that Layla’s mouth opened beneath his, making it even easier for his tongue to tangle with hers, she felt the same way.

Mikael encountered Philo’s hand massaging the buttock he’d just released. He briefly covered Philo’s fingers with his own and then returned his attention to their bride.

“You’ve got us both playing with your ass now, darlin’,” Philo purred in her ear as she returned Mikael’s kiss. “I bet that sweet pussy of yours is just dripping with anticipation.” He obviously put that theory to the test, lips smacking together as he sucked his fingers dry of her juices. “Yep, I was right. You sure do taste sweet, babe.” Mikael heard Philo’s hand come down hard on her ass. “But no one said you could leak all over our bedsheets. Naughty, Layla!”

She tried to break the kiss and respond to Philo’s taunt, but Mikael wasn’t ready to let her go. His lithe tiger tongue worked its way farther down her throat, and he was still clawing playfully at her rock-hard nipple. Layla to let out a series of cute, needy moans that made Mikael’s heart soar. He’d waited a long time to hear his mate respond to him with such unbridled enthusiasm.

It was Mikael’s turn to moan when Philo’s hand closed around his balls and squeezed. Layla wrenched her lips from his and kissed her way down his throat, pausing when she got to his chest to suckle one of his nipples. The two of them homing in on his most sensitive areas had Mikael thrashing his head from side to side, desperately wanting to delay the moment, equally desperate to feel himself inside Layla’s wet warmth and regain some of his power. He was too weak to hold out for much longer. He needed to fuck her, and to fuck her now. He grabbed her hips and guided her toward the head of his penis.

“You know what I need, babe,” he said in a throaty whisper. “Make me feel better, honey. I’m hurting pretty bad right now.”