Leaf, Erin M. - Tango Trio [Dream Marked 2] (Siren Publishing Ménage Amour) (9 page)

Tessa chewed on the end of her pencil. Instead, the drug organization that created ‘Path simply went underground after that incident, even more so than they were before. ‘Path was still on the streets, still available, but no one knew who was manufacturing it. Tessa read further. The drug was created by extracting the blood of a bonded person, man or woman. The blood was then processed somehow, making it into a clear liquid that could be injected. Apparently it caused a simulation of what it felt like to be bonded, only without the deep, emotional attachment to another person. Users claimed they could feel other people’s emotions, but it was insanely addictive. Dangerous. Many people who weren’t bonded were desperate to feel what it was like, making ‘Path terribly seductive. Doctors believed that it damaged the way the brain processed electrical signals the very first time it was used. No going back. Tessa sat back in her chair, thinking about that. A drug that immediately addictive? Yeah, she could see how that would mean big money.

She
scrolled
down, skimming the article. According to this report, Tessa, Parker, and Jared had bonded into a second trio one year after the kidnapping. Why? What made the three of them bond instead of just her and Parker? Or Parker and Jared? She had no idea. No one did. Duncan and his bond-mates talked somewhat freely about bonding after they went public, but they skimped on the details. They never mentioned any special abilities, at least no more than the empathy all bonded couples had. They’d done a lot to bring bonding into the spotlight, Tessa knew, since news reports about bonding after the incident were scattered here and there on the web, but nothing concrete. No research, no studies. Every doctor interviewed about it claimed ignorance. One reporter even tracked down a doctor who’d done some testing on a willing couple, but the only conclusion he came to was that they were completely normal. No evidence of hormonal changes or elevated brain activity, at least not after the initial bonding. Everyone knew doctors had confirmed the hormonal changes that caused the bonding tattoos to manifest, using the body’s own melanin, but after that initial surge of imbalance, all systems went back to normal.

Tessa dropped her pencil, frustrated. She was different. Parker and Jared were different. She could feel it in her bones, in her brain. If she closed her eyes, she could navigate her entire house without bumping into anything because her sense of smell had grown so acute she knew where everything was based on the scents in the air.
And that is fucking freaky
. Tessa absentmindedly scratched at her arms again. She wished she didn’t have to wait so long before she could see Parker and Jared again.

Sweetheart, why don’t you go for a walk? I have a feeling you’ll do better outside
, Jared sent. Tessa sensed him standing by the long barre, watching his class practice. She felt his frustration through their link.

I’m sorry, Jared
, she thought to him.

Don’t worry about it. Just—
she felt him take a steadying breath.
You need to get a handle on yourself so that I can keep control. It would be very bad if I went feral in front of all these nice little girls.

Tessa nodded contritely, feeling Parker agree with Jared in the back of her head. She stood up and stretched, concentrating on her emotions. One by one she identified them—frustration, anger, lust, sadness, confusion—and filed them away. Grabbing her jacket, a bottle of water, and a granola bar for lunch, she headed out her back door, once again reveling in the wall of trees that greeted her at the edge of her yard. She didn’t own a lot of property, but it butted up against state game lands. Thousands of acres stretched behind her house, filled with nothing more than a few access roads and nature.

Chapter 7

Six hours later, Tessa emerged from the woods. Her hair was full of twigs, and her feet were sore, but she felt better. Sort of. While she was in the trees, her senses took over. She hiked for miles, intent on the sunlight filtering through the canopy. She delighted in the way the occasional creek sounded as it ran over the stream bed. Her nose instinctively catalogued everything—which animals had been visiting the meadow three miles from her house, how many ATVs had driven over the access road in the last week, the freshness of any scat she happened across. Tessa had no idea how or why her brain was suddenly able to process the world based on scent and sound rather than sight. She knew it had to be the bonding, but to what purpose? She shook herself, trying to get the dirt off her pants before she went inside. She wasn’t going to figure it out in the next few minutes after chewing on it all day, and she had to get ready to go to the dance lesson. Her body tingled at the thought of seeing Parker and Jared again. How was she going to keep her hands to herself? She turned to the stairs, headed for her bedroom upstairs, when suddenly, she smelled Parker. Her head whipped around, nostrils flaring, and a moment later saw his silhouette on her front porch. Whoa.

Tessa, open the door
, he asked, mind-to-mind. She smiled and strode over, unlocking the door and swinging it open. An instant later, his mouth was on hers, devouring her. She kissed him back, desperate to taste him before wrenching away when they both sensed Jared’s mental slap.

Shit! Knock it off, you two!
Jared sent. His dismay was palpable. Tessa sensed him walk to the door at the back of his studio and slip through, hiding from his class. His arousal was so acute that she winced.

Parker, get out of there. You can’t fuck her while I’m trying to teach
, Jared ordered.

Tessa felt Parker begin to get angry, thinking Jared was jealous, then he immediately calmed back down when Jared shoved images at them of what happened when one of them orgasmed. It wasn’t jealousy. How could it be? Tessa felt a surge of embarrassment when she realized that if she and Parker made love, Jared would feel everything and climax right along with them whether or not he was physically present.
Ugh
. The chagrin was biting. She hadn’t meant to put Jared in that position.

Do you want me to come in front of all these people?
Jared snapped. His thoughts were sharp and frustrated. He had a roomful of teens in this particular class.

“Fuck!” Tessa pushed at Parker, who let her go. “You have to get out of here. We’ll meet at the studio later.” She hissed, dashing upstairs to the bathroom. She closed and locked the door, not that it mattered. She could still sense Parker’s desperate arousal through their bond.
Suck it up, Parker!
She concentrated on Jared and found him back in the studio, coaching his afternoon hip-hop class. He had his hands shoved in his jeans pockets, hiding his arousal. She winced. She didn’t know how the hell he could teach like that.

Tessa, I’m sorry. I thought it would help
, Parker sent, one foot on the stairs.

Parker, the only thing that will help is if you get the hell away from me
, she thought at him, flinching when he punched a wall. He stood there for a minute, breathing in and out, controlling his inner wildness. When she felt him leave, Tessa allowed herself to slump down onto the floor.
Shit
.

* * * *

An hour later, Tessa drove to the studio feeling somewhat more in control. The arousal was still there, but it was like background noise—annoying but ignorable. At least that’s what she kept telling herself. She pulled up Jared’s driveway, frowning when she saw at least five other cars already parked.
Oh yeah
. She paused, listening to her car tick as the engine cooled off.
The ballroom class
. Somehow it’d slipped her mind that she and Parker were supposed to be learning how to dance. She’d been so focused on getting to Jared she forgot about the lesson.

Okay
,
I can handle this.
She took a few deep breaths, letting the scents of the trees in Jared’s yard calm her senses. She hopped out of her car just as Parker’s red pickup rolled up. She waited for him on Jared’s porch.

“Hey,” she called as he got out of the car. She tried not to enjoy his snug jeans or the way his blue shirt brought out the color of his eyes, but failed. He was just so very fine-looking, standing there with his gorgeous aura glowing copper in the sunlight. Tessa caught a flash of Jared’s agreement before she managed to shut down that train of thought.
No lusting after Parker or Jared until later
.

“Hey,” he responded sheepishly. “I’m sorry about earlier.”

Tessa shrugged. “It’s all right. I’m struggling, too.” She sensed that he was deliberately using speech instead of telepathy in order to keep the intimacy of the bond contained. Smart man. She noticed that Parker wore long sleeves today to hide the tattoos. She hadn’t. Tessa glanced down at her arms, bared by her short-sleeve top, and hoped that anyone who saw the paw marks would just think she’d gotten funky tattoos.

Parker ran his hands over his face then pulled at his hair in frustration. “I thought once we bonded this kind of shit would stop. No more headaches or weirdness. That’s what I’d heard about bonding before all this happened.”

“Yeah, me, too. Everything I read today confirms that, though there isn’t a lot of data to go on. I’m beginning to suspect a trio-bonding is more complicated than the usual duo-bond.”

Parker nodded as he pulled open the studio door. Tessa followed him inside, mentally preparing herself as the couples she remembered from yesterday turned toward them.

“Oh my dear! Are you okay? Jared told us you had food poisoning!” Ann, the woman who’d introduced herself the day before, bustled over.

Tessa smiled. “I’m okay, it was just a twenty-four-hour bug.” She hoped the woman wouldn’t try and hug her. Tessa was afraid her hard-won control would snap if she did. Only Jared and Parker were allowed to touch her.

Wait, what?
Parker sent to her, surprised.

Tessa blinked, just realizing what she’d thought. Whoa. Territoriality. What the hell?

I’m feeling the same thing
, Jared thought to the two of them.
I think I’ll have to use you or Tessa to help me demonstrate the dancing steps today. It was all I could do not to snap at my other students when one of them bumped into me accidentally.

Shit
. Tessa side-stepped Ann’s advances. “I’m fine, thank you so much for asking. I think I ate some bad shrimp for lunch, and it just hit me all at once. Jared took good care of me,” Tessa explained as she sat down, smiling up at Ann. The woman hovered over her uncertainly. Tessa reminded herself that she was just being nice.

Do not scratch my student
, Jared sent, both amused and concerned. Tessa sent back an affirmative, wishing the woman would back up a bit.

“Well, okay. I’m just happy you’re feeling better,” the woman said, regaining her cheerful momentum. “And you took her home! How gallant!” Ann patted Parker on the arm, not seeing him wince and shy away. Abruptly, Tessa’s fingers began to throb at the tips, but she barely cared. She was too busy fighting down her impulse to smack Ann for touching her bond-mate.

Uh-oh
. Tessa frowned. She closed her eyes and tried to ignore the outrage she could scent all over Parker. He moved away from the older woman, somehow managing not to growl or otherwise indicate his displeasure.

“Hello, folks. Let’s get started,” Jared said from the entryway to the studio floor. He wore a long-sleeved dress shirt that covered his bonding tattoos, and black pants. The dark-purple color looked great on him, accenting the lovely silver of his aura. Tessa knew he was trembling, but it was barely noticeable. She didn’t think it was obvious to the other students. She could tell he was just as disturbed by Ann’s friendly touch as she and Parker were. Oh well. Another freaky thing to deal with. Tessa sighed quietly and stood up, plastering a smile on her face.

“Hi, Jared,” she said, following the others. She was very careful not to brush against anyone.

“Hey, Tessa. You’re feeling better, I hope?” he asked, faking concern for the benefit of the others.

She nodded and smiled at him. The closer she and Parker got to Jared, the more he relaxed.

“That’s great. Okay, we’re going to start with the basic waltz box step. Since all of you have already learned this step, I won’t be separating you into two groups. Instead, I want you to practice moving with your partners.”

Tessa stepped into Parker’s arms, relishing the way his strength felt against her body even as she tried to shield her surge of desire from him. She feared it was futile—he could probably smell her arousal. She glanced at Jared, not surprised to see him watching them, eyes intense. Jared could certainly smell her, too. This was going to be interesting.

“Remember, folks, just concentrate on doing the steps. Don’t worry about the waltz’s rise and fall technique yet,” Jared called out as he started some slow music. When Parker began to lead, Tessa felt him shiver as she pressed against him. Every part of their bodies were in perfect sync. After a minute or so of dancing, Jared called out the next step they learned yesterday, a hesitation step. Tessa glanced at the other students, wondering why they looked so clumsy. One couple almost tripped and fell.

“I think it’s easier for us because of the bond,” Parker whispered to her.

“Hmm,” Tessa replied, breathing deeply. What was that delicious smell? She glanced around again, still amazed at the lack of grace the other couples exhibited. They could barely move without stepping on each other, yet even the minutest signal from Parker was enough for her to follow his lead. Whatever. She had more important things to concentrate on. Tessa sniffed again, trying to find the source of the scent. Was it Parker? She leaned in slightly, and the scent intensified. Tessa suddenly stiffened. Good lord, it was Parker. She could scent his arousal just as surely as she could smell herself. How was that possible? She wasn’t surprised they could smell her, given the way a woman’s sexual arousal manifested, but how could she smell them? Damn. Her pussy began to throb.