STORY EXCERPT

Emily woke clutching a handful of soft black and gold fur. Something beside her purred, or rather rumbled, like the sound a very large cat would make. Emily opened her eyes to see large and vivid emerald eyes peering at her and rough whiskers brushing her cheek. Was it a stuffed toy?

Then it opened its jaws to yawn, revealing rows of sharp teeth. She yelped, realizing what had been sharing her sleeping space was an actual leopard, although it was larger than any leopard she’d seen at the zoo. Emily nearly fell flat on the floor, except she landed with a soft thump over something. Coarser fur. It let out a little snarl, twisted a great head to peer at her. A wolf.

Emily struggled to scramble away. She found to her shock, she was naked. Her arm was in a cast, and the rest of her was covered in bandages. Her mind struggled for logic. What the fuck happened last night? Her back hit the sofa, which she realized stupidly, trapped her between the two beasts. The wolf stood on its hunches, and to her surprise licked at her cheek. Emily let out a shaky breath, nearly jumping when a soft black nose sniffed at her neck. The leopard. Shifters?

She remembered taking flight, running away from her own wedding, then being chased down and running for her life. Emily had been shot down, and crashed into a window. A quick look told her she had slept in a cozy apartment. Emily tried to calm her heartbeats and slow her breathing. She slept through the night unharmed, and someone had tended to her injuries. That meant they wanted her alive, right?

Besides, something about the way these two felt different, and smelled familiar. It was odd how she instantly associated safety from these two despite being strangers.

“Um.” Emily cleared her throat, surprised when another bark came from somewhere in the apartment and a sad one-eyed golden retriever padded out and sat beside the large wolf. From the nearby bookshelf she heard a thump and caught the glimpse of a long striped orange tail and cat eyes. “Hello. I’m Emily.”

“Good to finally know your name, little one,” a deep smooth voice remarked.

Emily turned her head, her breath hitching when she caught sight of the man that had taken the place of the leopard. Huge, tall, and broad-shouldered, all of him looked padded in hard muscle and ink. He had dark hooded eyes set in a rough and handsome face. Em’s gaze flickered from his noticeably erect member, to the slight dusting of hair up his well-defined abs and chest.

“Like what you see?” He reached out to tip her chin so she looked up at him.

Her cheeks heated up. Goddamn it. This man was a stranger, why the hell wasn’t she slapping his hand away and screaming at him to let her go? Granted, he and his wolf partner had patched her up, but that didn’t mean a thing. Emily had been around the worst sort of scum humanity could spit out enough to know everything came with a price. No one did anything out of the goodness of their hearts.

“James, don’t scare her.” The man, James, let go of her chin at the second man’s voice.

“Fine, Sam. You talk to her.”

Emily now sat shoulder to shoulder with a lean and handsome blond man around her age, Sam, presumably. Naked, Emily realized. All of them had no clothes on. Not a surprising thing since all of them there were shifters, but still both men had an eyeful of her. Emily awkwardly covered her breasts.

James flashed her a grin that sent a jolt right to her chest and pussy. “You shouldn’t cover those perfect tits of yours, sweetheart. They should be admired, tasted and marked.”

“Jesus, hon. She’s going to think we’re perverts or serial killers.”

“Are you?” Emily found herself asking, grateful that Sam handed her a blanket. She wrapped the fabric around her shoulders, aware of the bonds pulsing between James and Sam. Mates then? How odd. Okay. She could do this. Play whatever game these two were playing. James and Sam hadn’t harmed her yet, if they didn’t allow her to leave, then she’d find a way when they had their guard down.

James snorted. “Depends on how you define pervert.”

“What he means is,” Sam interrupted, pausing to throw James a warning look, before looking back at her, “you’re safe with us. No one is going to harm you under our watch.”

“Look.” Emily let out a breath. “Trust me, guys. You don’t want to get entangled in the mess I’m in and besides, if you mean what you say, then you’ll let me go?”

James gave her a dark and unsettling look, which for some reason made Emily shiver. What did he see when he looked at her? If she weren’t in such a normal setting, if she were at the local BDSM club she frequented back home, she’d say he was a Dom.

“No one is holding you captive, Emily. If you wish to leave, then do so,” James said quietly.

ADULT EXCERPT

“Why suddenly so shy, little one? There’s no reason to hide from us, when we can smell your arousal,” Sam remarked. James stood by her shoulder. When they noticed her gazing at the visible bulge in their trousers, and licking her lips, they laughed.

“You can only have this if you’re good, little one,” James said in a rumbling voice.

“I’ll be good, Sir,” Emily whispered. Who was this woman, who looked like her and wantonly let words spill out of her mouth without thinking them over? Emily realized a second later she didn’t care. James had been right. She felt the pull and she wanted to play in the dark with them.

“That remains to be seen. Part your legs,” Sam ordered. Emily did, letting out a breath when Sam closed the distance between them.

He clasped the back of her neck, tilted her face upward and took her lips. Unlike James, he took his time kissing her, enjoying the taste of her. God. No one had kissed her like this in ages. Sam explored, licked and nipped at her teasingly, like he had all the time in the world. Her insides quivered, melting into jelly, and when he parted, she panted, looking at him in frustration.

“Sam is a talented kisser, isn’t he, little one?” James asked. He came by the side, and ran a hand down her thigh. Emily let out a needy sound, gasping when James reached out to pinch one of her nipples until it peaked through the thin material of the shirt. “I asked you a question, sub.”

“Yes, Sir. Very talented.”

“I’m flattered.” Sam took a step back. “Now spread your legs. Show us just how aroused you are.”

Em’s cheeks reddened, but she obeyed. She spread her legs, showing James and Sam her glistening pink folds. “Please, Sir.”

“And what are you exactly begging us for, sweet?” Sam asked.

“I—” Emily faltered. She didn’t know.

All she knew was the mix of emotions running through her and making her high. Later, she’d disassemble every little piece of puzzle that just happened and examine why she let her emotions and body run the show, instead of her head, but now she knew for a certainty she wanted them.

Screw the implications of her reckless actions. James and Sam might be her mates, but at this stage it was too early to tell. This strange need building inside her at least—hadn’t been manufactured. It felt real, and she wanted real after living in a cage all her life and repeating the words and actions taught to her like a silly well-trained songbird.

Sam pressed a finger to her lips. “Hush, little one. We know.”

“Let’s take that damn shirt off you,” James suggested.

Emily let James pull off her shirt. Again, she couldn’t help but note how both men were careful of her injuries. Seeing her bared, their gazes took on an edge that made her shudder.

Sam sucked the hollow of her throat, the spot where a collar could be buckled, then her collarbones. He left a trail of kisses on both her breasts, ribs, belly, before gripping her thighs.

“W-what are you doing?” Em asked.

“I said I wanted to taste both your lips.” Sam knelt and Emily was sure even her neck turned red.

Emily was about to sink her fingers into Sam’s thick crown of hair, but James caught them. Her breathing hitched when his fingers closed over her wrist secure as any restraint.

“Sit up straight.” Emily obeyed, feeling his hand rubbing her back. She arched her back until her tits thrust upward.

“Lovely, little one,” James commented. “Sam, doesn’t she have perfect breasts?”

“Perfect to put clamps on,” Sam agreed. The way Sam hungrily stared at her exposed pussy should have been illegal, Emily thought. He easily gripped her thighs apart, before lowering his mouth to her soaking cunt.

Emily’s entire body buckled when Sam stabbed his tongue between her folds. He licked, explored and sucked, but James’s grip on her and Sam’s hold on her legs kept her in place. She moaned, aware James cupped one of her breasts and began playing with them.

“Very nice indeed.” James pinched her nipple again, and sent a wonderful jolt of pain to contrast the intense pleasure Sam gave her with his mouth. “I can’t wait to see these bounce when I fuck you.”

Emily didn’t know her face could get any redder, although she wasn’t prudent by any means. Logical thought fled her when Sam closed his mouth over her swollen clit while James continued toying with her tits.

“Come, Emily. Now.” James’s commanding voice tolerated no arguments. Em’s entire body shuddered. A loud throaty moan spilled from her lips as she came all over Sam’s mouth. She was vaguely aware of James stroking her hair, his breath warm against his ear. “Good girl.”

Emily shivered, feeling Sam standing and coming back with some wet wipes to clean her up. She remembered their needs. “How about I return the favor?” Her voice sounded lazy, languid.