Authors: Shelley Munro
“The damned sky is falling,” Felix snapped. “Get decent and come out.” He heard whispered conversation between his brother and his mate. “I’ll make coffee,” he said but only retreated when there were definite sounds of movement from within the bedroom.
Felix stopped by his bedroom and changed into work clothes. A red bruise stood out on his arm and he smiled, liking the souvenir of his night spent with Tomasine. Felix pulled on jeans and shrugged into a faded T-shirt before heading for the kitchen. 38
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He dumped the old coffee filter into the rubbish and topped up the reservoir with fresh, cold water. After opening the fridge and peering at the contents, he grabbed a loaf of bread, some butter, marmalade and jam and put them on the granite bench top. By the time Saber and Emily made an appearance, the coffee was ready. Felix poured three mugs of coffee and placed them on the table. Without being asked, he grabbed the jar of Vegemite from the pantry, set it next to Emily’s plate and sat to wait. Saber took a sip of his coffee and glared at him. “We weren’t ready to come out. What the hell is so all-fired important that you needed to interrupt us?”
“I’m pretty sure that Tomasine Brooks is a shifter.”
Saber blinked but didn’t react straightaway.
“Peeping Tom?” Emily demanded. “She’s the reporter.”
Felix nodded.
“How do you know?”
“Her scent,” Felix said.
“How could you smell anything other than that perfume she wears?” Saber took another sip of coffee. “She reeks of the stuff. Every respectable shifter in Middlemarch can smell her coming.”
“Even I can smell her,” Emily said. “And I’m plain, ordinary human.”
Saber drew her close and pressed a kiss on her lips. “Nothing ordinary about you, sweetheart.”
They shared a grin that a few days ago would have driven Felix from the house. But now after spending the night with Tomasine, his heart clamored for the same intimacy with his mate.
“I think she’s a shifter like us,” he reiterated.
“Did you question her?” Saber asked.
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Emily reached for a piece of toast and placed it on the plate he’d set out for her. She added butter then reached for the Vegemite. After opening the jar, she slathered the thick black yeast spread over her toast. Felix winced. He’d never liked the stuff.
“Stop staring at my mate and answer,” Saber snapped.
“He stares like that every morning,” Emily said, unconcerned. “It’s the Vegemite. You should be used to it.”
“I wanted to talk to you first,” Felix said, ripping his gaze off Emily when she lifted a triangle of toast to her lips. “There must be a reason she’s hiding from us all. A reason she’s here in Middlemarch.”
“Then why did she write a story about sightings of black cats?” Emily asked. Felix heard a vehicle pull up outside the house. “Sounds like Leo. He told me he was spending the whole weekend in Queenstown.” His younger brother stalked into the kitchen with a scowl on his face. Felix took that to mean he hadn’t located his mate. A surge of sympathy filled him. He knew what it was like—the yearning, the desperate need. Shit, facing up to the fact a mate was out there was bad enough, but not being able to find them when every sense screamed they were near was worse. Felix stood to grab another mug and poured coffee into it. He handed it to Leo and returned to his seat.
They all stared at each other in silence for a while. His older brother Saber appeared full of satisfaction while Leo looked as though he might hit the next person who spoke to him. Felix sipped his coffee, his thoughts slipping to Tomasine. He’d never particularly liked secrets. Time hadn’t changed him any.
“You fucked her, didn’t you?”
Felix’s head jerked up to meet his brother’s gaze. Although he was angry, his dark brows drawn together, Felix caught a flicker of envy.
“Don’t mind me,” Emily said tartly. “I might be smaller than you but I’m sure Saber will help me hold you down so I can wash your mouth out with soap.”
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Felix snorted at the picture her words presented while his older brother grinned.
“Anything for you, my love,” Saber said. His gaze narrowed on Leo. “Mind your mouth around Emily.”
“Sorry.” Leo looked so unhappy Felix felt sorry for him.
“We need to talk about sex,” Felix stated. He figured sex was as good a topic as any. Emily’s eyes rounded and her gaze landed on him. “Oh you poor boy. Don’t you know how?”
“Of course I know how,” Felix snapped. To his annoyance he felt heat gather in his cheeks. Dammit, having a female around the place put a whole different complexion on their round-table chats. They had to watch what they said and now it seemed the topics might be censored. “Is this the thanks I get for making you toast?”
Saber smoothed his hand over the untidy fall of his wife’s hair. “Shush. This isn’t the time for teasing.” He directed his gaze to Felix and then to Leo. “I didn’t know this until I found Emily. Uncle Herbert never mentioned it but when you find your mate, you might have an overwhelming need to shift. Hell, the first time with Emily I went through a partial change. I meant to warn you all but we haven’t been together in the same place and I’ve been busy.”
“As you should be,” Emily said with approval.
“It’s bloody difficult to concentrate and you might have the urge to bite and mark your mate straightaway. Control was easier once we’d had sex a few times.”
“Almost as if the sex soothes the feline genes,” Felix said thoughtfully. “What about now?”
Emily gave an exclamation of horror and slapped her hand over Saber’s mouth.
“You are not talking about our sex life,” she snapped.
“We hear it enough,” Leo grumbled.
Felix was glad to see Leo was looking happier. “Might pay to tell the twins next time they ring. It gave me a hell of a fright.”
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“Me too,” Saber said dryly.
“So that’s why you liked sex from the rear all the time,” Emily blurted.
“Hey, sis.” Felix reached over and tugged on a lock of her hair, feeling real affection for his sister-in-law. “Too much information.”
Emily gave a mortified moan. “Perhaps this is a good time to talk about Peeping Tom. If she’s a shifter will her daughter be one too?”
The males glanced at each other in shock.
Saber shook his head and said what they were all thinking. “A female shifter child. That’s pretty unusual. Most of them are boys.”
“Doesn’t she have a cousin as well?” Emily asked. “Could she be a shifter as well?”
Leo whistled. “Well, hell. Three female shifters. Do you think it’s possible? They all smell of the perfume. Do you think that’s why?”
“What are we going to do? How do we find out? And how did she know where to find us?” Felix knew what he wanted to do, and that was hunt the female down and take her somewhere private. He wanted to confront her and demand she tell him the truth. Felix wanted to fix whatever had driven her to hold back her identity from her kind. He frowned. It had to be something big.
Saber grabbed a piece of toast. “I’ll talk to the elders this morning. Do you know where she comes from? We’re the only shifter community in New Zealand that I know of.”
Emily drained her coffee cup and stood to grab the pot. She topped up everyone’s cup before returning the empty pot to the coffeemaker and flicking off the power switch. “I believe she comes from Australia but her accent is more English. Not that I’ve spoken with her in any detail.” Emily returned to her seat. “Do the shifter colonies in other countries have contact with each other?”
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Leo leaned back in his chair until the front legs left the ground. “Felix, do you know? I presume you guys did talk a little last night.” His brother grinned, the dark depression lifting when he smiled.
Felix decided he could take a little teasing if it stopped Leo from dwelling on his mystery mate. “We talked.”
“And what did you learn?” Emily asked.
“Nothing I care to share,” Felix growled, thinking about the way it felt being deep inside her pussy, the way she purred when he touched her and her scent. He knew her natural scent would smell wonderful. Felix could hardly wait. Perhaps they could try making love in the shower. His cock tightened in a lustful stab against his fly. A shower would be the first of many places he’d make love to her…
“Mind out of the gutter,” Emily said, jabbing him in the ribs. “We need a plan not daydreams. And we need to learn why she wrote that story.”
Felix grabbed a piece of toast. It was cold, but he buttered it and spread raspberry jam over it anyway. While Saber was discussing Tomasine with the elders, maybe he’d do a little snooping of his own.
* * * * *
Tomasine crept into Sylvie’s bedroom and checked on her daughter. Although she trusted Gina implicitly—they’d been through a lot during the last two years and she knew Gina would protect Sylvie with everything she had—she always felt better when she knew Sylvie was safe. As normal, only her daughter’s head was visible from beneath the covers, her long dark hair cascading across the white pillow. Tomasine took a deep breath and brushed a lock of hair from her daughter’s face before creeping from the room. She passed her discarded shoes and bag in the hall, humming under her breath.
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After scanning the newspaper she’d picked up on the way home, watching the latest of the news headlines on the television to check for any clue as to Joseph’s activities and drinking several cups of coffee, Tomasine headed for the shower. As she moved toward the bathroom, her mind drifted to Felix. The feel of his body draped over hers, the thrust of his cock and the intense pleasure that still simmered through her. Inside the compact bathroom, Tomasine slipped off her stockings and reached behind her back to undo her zipper. One careless shrug was all it took for the dress to slide down her body. She scooped up the sea green dress and hung it on the hook behind the door. Tomasine pushed aside the plastic shower curtain to flick the shower control and wriggled out of her panties. The pipes clacked and groaned but gradually the water ran warm enough for her to enter the shower. The water streamed over her head and down her face and chest. She reached for the shampoo. Her body was pleasantly achy and she bore a few sore spots on her shoulders where he’d nipped her during his climax. Not enough to break the skin but enough to drive her pleasure higher. Tomasine felt her body moisten at the thought. Sex with Bernard had never been like that—it had been hard and brutal and he’d taken her whenever and wherever he’d felt like it. No matter who was present at the time. Tomasine had grown to hate her husband. If he hadn’t died, betrayed by his cousin Joseph when he’d tricked them both into visiting the clan members on the savannah, she might have succumbed to her growing rage and done the job for him. Tomasine washed her hair, rubbed soap over body and rinsed quickly, aware the girls would wake soon. She’d meant to ask Felix questions but the man had distracted her with sex. And how. Tomasine scowled as she flipped the water off and reached for a towel off the chrome rack attached to the wall. She didn’t usually allow herself to become distracted. A knock sounded on the bathroom door. “Tom, hurry up and get dressed. You have a visitor.” The urgency in Gina’s voice galvanized her to action. Her heart pounded as she wrapped the skimpy towel around her body and opened the door to peer from the bathroom. The coast was clear. She scampered down the short passage just as the front door opened. Felix stepped inside followed by Leo. They stooped to 44
Peeping Tom
remove their shoes before straightening to watch her in silent contemplation. Their close attention brought apprehension.
“Don’t you wait until you’re asked to enter?” Tomasine snapped.
“Gina told us to come inside,” Leo said in amusement. “She’s making coffee.”
Gina would because she had a crush on the man and knew Tomasine was interested in Felix. Tomasine pushed back the sudden fear she felt at having two strangers in her house. After the previous evening, she knew Felix wouldn’t hurt her. He’d had every opportunity last night yet she was still here to tell the tale. In hindsight she’d taken a risk, but she hadn’t been getting anywhere with the shifters who lived in Middlemarch, not in her reporter guise. She’d had to do something even if she’d found a mate in the process and made things worse.
“She didn’t tell you to gawk at Tomasine’s legs,” Felix said, shunting his brother toward the room they used as a combined living and dining room. The kitchen was off these rooms. She heard the clank of the taps and pipes when Gina ran the water, probably to make the proffered coffee.
“Aw, you spoil all my fun,” Leo said, but he stepped out of sight and not long after Tomasine heard him talking to Gina. She heard an answering giggle and smiled. That’s what she wanted for both girls—a slice of normality. Innocent flirtation and teenage crushes. Heck, she’d even welcome the odd tantrum or two.
“Morning, sweetheart.” Felix’s green eyes gleamed as he closed the distance between them.
Alarm struck. She was fresh from the shower. It was too late for perfume. And Felix was too quick for her. With two strides, he reached her and yanked her into his arms. His lips slammed down on hers in a rough and possessive kiss. He clasped her to his chest, plundering her mouth, his fingers tunneling into her wet hair. A moan formed in Tomasine’s throat as jolts of pleasurable excitement stabbed through her. Her grasp on the towel loosened when she wrapped her arms around his neck and held on tight. 45
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Her mind and body remembered the pleasure she’d experienced and that increased the sensations coursing through her now. Moisture pooled between her legs as he pushed past her control with his wandering hands and talented mouth. His large hands cupped and kneaded her bottom and she felt the thrust of his cock against her stomach. His scent, masculine with a hint of soap, roared through Tomasine. More. More.
More
. She wanted a soft bed with Felix thrusting between her legs.