Stray Cats [High-Country Shifters 2] (14 page)

Lara chuckled. “Being that busy isn’t always a good thing.”

The bathroom door opened, and footsteps sounded down the hall. Sella jumped up just as her brother appeared. “So?”

“They’re soaking. They want to see you. Have them dry off and then show them to Kellum’s old room. If they are able, they should shift and rest. You can stay as long as you need.”

She didn’t like the way his gaze kept catching the ground. “What aren’t you telling me?”

“The one you call Will is weak, but if you can keep him down, he should heal.”

The breath whooshed out of her, but the worry barely ebbed. She rushed past Taryn and ducked into the bathroom. The ten-foot-long tub held both men, and the water was red. While the Anterrans didn’t carry blood diseases, she had no idea about these two. Good thing they were brothers. Their bare chests were sliced up pretty badly, but she’d seen worse.

Sitting on the edge of the tub near Will, she ran a knuckle down his face. Her stomach churned, and it wasn’t just from going through the point. “How are you feeling?”

“Weak. I’m not sure I should be sitting in this water.” He started to get up when she pressed lightly on his shoulders.

“This water has special healing powers. However, Taryn said you could get out when you want, but once we get you dry, Taryn said you should shift and then rest.”

“We need to get back.”

She hadn’t expected Will to be the one to suggest they leave. “For one, you’ll have to stay a few days until the alignment point returns, and secondly, you are too weak to go anywhere. I’m going to stay with you and nurse you back to health.”

Will’s smile trembled. “I’d like that.” He reached into the water and grabbed his cock. The red water obscured seeing him clearly.
Darn
.

“When you heal I might be agreeable to let you make love to me.” She turned to Gage. “That goes for both of you.”

Gage stood. Now that she got to see him in all his naked glory, she noticed that his cuts weren’t too bad. She was glad Malik and Cavon were getting the full treatment though. She just prayed that both would make it. Right now, she had to hold herself back from lecturing these two about jumping in to help her two friends. In truth, if they hadn’t, Malik and Cavon would surely be dead.

She got up and led Gage over to the shower. “Stand here and let the wind dry you.”

“Wind?”

“Hold your horses, as you cowboys say.”

They’d probably used the hand dryer in the High-Country Inn lobby bathroom, but this was much more powerful. She waved her hand over the sensor, and the blowers got him dry in thirty seconds and then automatically shut off.

Gage grinned. “That was cool. The air was powerful, and it didn’t knock me over. How was it able to evaporate the water so fast?”

She shook her head. “I have no idea. How do your cell phones work?”

He opened his mouth as if to explain but closed it. He shrugged. “To be perfectly honest, I don’t know.”

“There are a lot of things in Anterra that I’ve never questioned. It’s here, and I use it because it works.”

“I see your point.”

Will dragged his body to the lip of the tub and sat. “Let me use that super air dryer.”

“No.”

“Why?”

“Your wounds might reopen.” His jaw tightened. “You’re the lucky one. I’m going to hand-dry you. Don’t you want that?”

For the first time since the attack, he smiled. “Sugar, I’d love nothing more.”

She opened the cabinet below the sink and pulled out a few loincloths. She wondered why her brothers didn’t buy towels like civilized people, but she’d make do. She placed the clothes on the edge of the tub. “Gage, help me get Will up.”

Will waved her away. “I’m perfectly capable of getting out.”

Knowing how stubborn men could be, she stepped back, ready to lend a hand if need be. As soon as he stepped from the tub, his knees buckled. She stepped forward and grabbed his arm to steady him. “Please just stay seated. I can dry you just as well if you sit on the ledge.” It wasn’t quite the truth, but she didn’t want him to exert himself any more than necessary.

Carefully, she patted Will dry the best she could. “Just sit for another moment.” She handed Gage a triangular cloth. “All the men wear these.” He probably had no idea how to put it on, so she moved close and wrapped it around him, making sure everything was covered. She didn’t want Lara to see how well-endowed her men were, though to be honest, she’d never viewed her two brothers
au naturel
, thank goodness.

“Do I get one?” Will asked.

“Yes.” She helped him stand and repeated the process. Now they both looked almost identical. “Now you two need to come with me.”

As if he knew Will might have trouble walking, Gage positioned himself on one side of him, and she took the other. All they had to do was walk across the hall. “You can stay in here.”

There was only one king bed, but as soon as they shifted, she bet they’d want to sleep on the floor. Will sat on the edge of the bed while Gage remained standing.

She sat next to Will and took hold of his hands. “Taryn told me to tell you that if you shift, you’ll heal a lot faster. I know this sounds kind of gross, but a lion’s saliva is the best healing agent.”

He scrunched up his nose. “You want me to lick my wounds?”

“You are a cat, you know.”

He looked away. To be safe, she stood and moved toward the door. The light reflected off the doorknob. When she turned around, Will was on the ground and Gage was standing.

“You, too, buddy. You don’t want your scratches to get infected.”

“You call these massive gashes only scratches?” When he winked, she relaxed.

She crossed her arms and gave him her best glare. Five seconds later another flash occurred. He stretched out on the cool floor next to his brother. At least now they couldn’t give her any grief since they couldn’t communicate with her. Since it was close to midnight, she went out to the living room to say good night and to see if Kellum had returned.

He had. He was at the refrigerator, pulling out a beer. She moved behind him. “How are Malik and Cavon?”

Her brother whipped around. “They’ll live, but Malik is pretty messed up.”

“I’d heard there were rogue wolves in Spirit, but I never expected so many of them to attack.”

He nodded and walked over to the sofa. She guessed that Taryn and Lara had already gone to bed.

“It was good to see Kranor. The question I need answered is, what were he and his friend Jude doing in Spirit? And what were they doing with those shifters? At one time, he’d been a good man.”

“Same thing they all do. He was there to blow off some steam and relax, I bet.” The man lived on the edge of society and rarely interacted with his own kind. That was because Kranor always hated violence. He never saw the reason for the wolves to want to take over all of Anterra. “When you were with him, did he say anything about the Spirit shifters in particular?” She supposed it didn’t really matter now that they all were dead.

“Just that he heard them bragging about robbing and attacking the citizens. When they shifted into wolves, no one could catch them.”

“It’s like being invisible, I suppose, if you can walk in as a man and leave as a wolf.”

Kellum nodded to the hallway. “Were those your men?”

He’d married someone from Earth, so she figured he wouldn’t give her any grief about bringing home two people from the same place. “Yes, but they weren’t planning on staying. The attack made it imperative that they seek help immediately, but as soon as they heal, they will return. With Malik and Cavon in such bad shape, Kranor thought it best they come here.”

“Even if your men went to the hospital in Spirit, they’d have to explain how they got their wounds. No one would believe they fought off a whole pack of wolves.”

“True.” She leaned over and hugged her brother. “I’ve got to make sure they’re okay. Good night.”

“’Night.”

As she slipped down the hall, she had to figure out a way to let her parents know she’d crossed the line and fallen in love with two shifters from Earth. Will and Gage would never agree to stay, but she sure was going to give it her all to convince them.

The last three days had been hell, trying to get Will and Gage to behave as they both wanted to explore. Taryn had insisted they remain in the tree house until their wounds further healed. They were going stir-crazy, but no one would show them how to use the elevator, so they had no choice but to stay put. She did show them how to use the remote on the television so they could watch the limited shows.

Will walked out of the bathroom and came into the living room. He ran his hands over his arms. “I’m almost totally healed. I’m thinking there’s a lot to this licking stuff. Too bad we can’t shift in Miami.”

She rolled her eyes. “If you could shift in Miami, you’d want to show off and would end up getting shot or captured. They’d think you’d escaped from the zoo.”

He slid in front of her, pulled her close, and lifted her chin. “Please let us look around. We won’t be here forever. I want to explore while I have the chance.”

She had to admit that when they awoke this morning, they seemed to have regained all of their energy. Getting the chance to show off her fine land might give them pause when the time came for them to go. “Fine. But I’m not giving you the complete tour of the world yet.”

Gage came out drying his hair with one of the loincloths.
Whoops
. She’d forgotten to show them how to turn on the blower.

“Did I hear someone mention going outside?” The grin on his face told her he was even happier than Will to get out.

She had to chuckle at their enthusiasm. “How about we go to the waterfall? It’s not far.” There was a great cove where Lara had said she’d made love to Taryn and Kellum.

Every night since her return she’d been interrupted with erotic dreams and hadn’t gotten good sleep. She slept on the big bed by herself while the men sprawled on the cool floor. All night she’d wanted to suggest to them to change and sleep with her, but she knew they needed to recuperate.

“Great.” Probably to prove they were in good shape, Will picked her up and swung her around.

“Put me down.” She was laughing so hard it was difficult to get the words out. The last thing she needed was for one of them to reinjure himself.

“I’ll do anything, sugar, if you’ll help us escape. Not that the accommodations haven’t been spectacular, but I need some fresh air.” He set her down and took a long, deep breath.

“Fine, but I need to round up some supplies. It will only take a minute.” She couldn’t wait to get them alone. And naked.

She found Lara in her bedroom. “Hey, can I borrow a backpack and maybe a blanket?”

Her sister-in-law smiled. “What do you have planned?”

A giggle escaped. “Remember that cove by the waterfall that my brothers took you to?”

Her breath hitched. “So you have been sleeping with them.”

She hadn’t come out and said the extent of her relationship, but from the way she never stopped talking about them, she assumed Lara could guess. “Just once each.”

“That’s all it takes. Wait until you have sex with both at the same time. It is divine.”

Sella’s face heated up. “We’ll see what the men feel like doing. I don’t want to push them too far on their first outing.”

Lara gave her a knowing smile. “When they see the pool and the hidden cove, trust me, nothing is going to stop them from taking advantage of the solitude.”

A giggle bubbled out. “I’m hoping.”

Yesterday, she’d gone home mostly to pick up some clothes but ended up telling her mom the whole story. Her mom wasn’t pleased about the lie, but she thought teaching the men about being shifters had been the right thing to do.

Once she packed the bag Lara found for her, she went back to the men. “Ready for an adventure?”

Gage groaned. “More than you can imagine.”

With her back to the men, she opened the door and called up the elevator. They didn’t ask how she did that because she had told them before that it was on a need-to-know basis. Once outside, the men spread their arms and jumped up and down, probably to test their strength.

“I never knew how much I needed the sun,” Will said.

She laughed. “Come on. I’ll show you the garden. A lot of families use this.”

Gage slipped next to her. “Where are all the people?”

“Everyone but a few, like my brothers, lives underground.”

From the way their brows furrowed and the glance they shot to each other, they were displeased. “We could never live like that.”

“It’s safe underground. There are no wolves.”

“I’d rather live in a tree house.”

“So would I, if the danger didn’t exist.” It was one of the reasons why she’d been so anxious to explore. “Come on.” She made sure not to hike too fast. While Will would have kept up, by the time he got there, he’d have been tired. “Make sure that you are always on alert for wolves. While we are in lion territory you can’t be too sure when a pack will show up.”