Stray Cats [High-Country Shifters 2] (5 page)

Her mouth opened. “You wouldn’t.”

He grinned. “Would if I knew how.”

Damn it
. He was kidding with her. “I’m being serious.”

The glint in his eye disappeared and was replaced with something akin to fear. She couldn’t blame him for being scared. If he’d never heard of shifters, it could be quite frightening, she imagined.

Will cleared his throat. “Can you shift?”

“No.”

“Damn. That’s too bad. I was hoping we could both change into animals and do our animal thing together.”

She slapped his chest and laughed. “You’re kidding me again, right?” Why was she so bad at reading them? It must be the thin atmosphere on Earth.

Will stepped back and placed his right hand over his heart. “I swear. If you turn into a lion, I’ll do my damnedest to change, too. Then we’ll cuddle and see what happens.”

She glanced at Gage, who seemed lost in thought. Perhaps he knew what she was saying was the truth. She really needed them to believe her. “I bet you two are pretty strong. Stronger, in fact, than the average man.”

Will flexed his bicep for her. “Gage and I can take on anyone.”

“I’ll have to remember not to make you mad.” She forced cheer into her voice.

“Is that when we’re supposed to change into a lion? When we’re mad?”

She wished he wouldn’t make light of this, but she guessed if she’d been told she had a superpower, she’d try to laugh it off, too. “No. You’d change if I were in danger. At least I’d hope you’d change so that you could protect me.”

Now Gage smiled. “I don’t need to become a lion to protect you. That’s what Will and I do for a living.”

“You protect people?” They were like her brothers then. Thrills rippled up her spine.

“You bet.”

She needed to think about this. Getting them to see their true potential was going to be harder than she thought. Discussing this in the open wouldn’t be smart. “I need to be getting back. Walk with me, okay?”

“We’d never let you go alone,” Will said.

Both dropped off their skis at the rental hut before heading to the hotel. As much as she thought she’d dislike the cold weather, the air was a refreshing change from the always-present Anterran heat.

When they stepped inside the hotel, she removed her jacket. “Thanks for a wonderful day. I’ve got to change and get ready for my shift.”

“I thought you said you couldn’t transform into a lioness.”

She rolled her eyes, happy that for once she caught the joke. “You know what I meant.” Those two were going to be a handful.

To her surprise they followed her to the elevator. “I can see myself to my room.”

“We’re going to our room, too.”

She needed to watch what she said more closely. The door closed around her, and her skin prickled from the closeness. The elevator at Taryn’s house was open.

“You a little claustrophobic?”

She’d hoped they didn’t notice. Next time she wouldn’t wrap her hands around her body. “Somewhat.” At the second floor, she gladly stepped off. “Thanks again.”

The door closed, and she sighed. She’d had a wonderful time today. Both men had been considerate yet not condescending. Never once did they make fun of her lack of coordination. She could only hope they would be willing to sit down and discuss the idea of being shifters.

She recalled they were in room 317. As she headed to her room, she got a great idea.

* * * *

“What if it’s true?” Will’s body hadn’t stopped zinging ever since Sella had so convincingly stated that they were shifters. He dropped onto his bed, kicked off his boots, and leaned against the wall.

The idea was totally preposterous yet thrilling at the same time. Common sense told him it was all a sham, but in his heart he wondered what it would be like to have a talent such as that. He could picture himself chasing some criminal by being able to shift into lion form. A spike of adrenaline pumped up his heart rate. Hell, if he were a lion, he could outrun anyone. That would be so cool.

“It’s all bullshit.”

He spun around and faced Gage. “What would be her motive for making up something so absurd? Surely, she had to know we wouldn’t take what she said at face value.”

He shrugged. “Maybe to get us to go out with her again. She is intriguing. I’ll admit that. No woman has ever used the line about us being lion shifters before.”

He’d been thinking about the whole concept all the way back to the hotel. “She was right about one thing. The hair on my neck stood up when we got near her two friends.”

“It stood up because you were protective of her. You didn’t like her talking to those men.”

Will dragged the iPad from the side table and did a quick search on lion shifters. “Damn. The only thing it has about them is being mythical creatures.”

“You’re surprised?” Gage slipped a hip on the bed. “Type in
Anterra
.”

Will did and got everything from energy companies to wine distributors. “There’s no country or region by that name.”

“Damn, what is she up to?”

“She’s no spy if that’s what you’re thinking.”

Gage huffed out a laugh. “No. There’s something too innocent about her, but I will admit that as soon as I saw her I had this natural instinct to want to claim her.”

That got a laugh out of Will. “Claim her? As in, she is your mate?”

“I know. Weird, huh?”

“I say we ask her out tomorrow and see what she’s up to.”

Gage shrugged. “She’s got me curious all right. My cock hasn’t come down since I laid eyes on her.”

“Me, too.” He leaned back on the bed. “What if it were true? What if we were shifters? That would be cool.”

“But we’re not. I would like to watch her interact with others.”

“You thinking she’s trying to pull the
you’re a shifter
idea on a lot of guys to see who bites?”

“No. I don’t get that vibe.”

His brother must have something in mind. “What do you want to do?”

He shrugged. “If we spend the night sitting in the bar having her wait on us, it will look too obvious.”

He agreed. “How about this. I’ll head on down toward the end of her shift and try to catch her in action to see if I can sense something false. Maybe her two friends will be there. Perhaps they’ll be plotting something with her.”

Gage cocked a brow. “Don’t let your imagination get the best of you, bro.”

His imagination had already been hijacked.

* * * *

All night, while she served her drinks, she kept glancing at the entrance, wondering if one of the men would show up. She had tomorrow off and had hoped they’d suggest another outing. If she could get them close enough to the alignment point, and if they were willing to concentrate enough, they might be able to shift. Whenever she’d asked Taryn and Kellum how they did it, they’d shrug. It was as natural as learning to walk, they said. One just got up and turned into a lion.

The question she kept asking herself was whether she should tell them her plan in advance. Will actually seemed the more adventuresome of the two, so it would be Gage who would be the hard one to convince. By the time the bar was about to close, she hadn’t come up with a game plan.

As she finished wiping down the last table, Will sauntered in. Her pulse raced, and a smile spread across her face. Since she wasn’t serving anyone, she raced over to him. Throwing her arms around him would be a little over the top even in Anterra.

“You came!”

“Just to see you, sugar.”

Her pulse soared, and her traitorous pussy dampened. She never got that kind of reaction to the men in Anterra. “You want a drink?” She could use one. Her throat had turned dry, seeing him again.

“Of you.”

She didn’t quite understand what that meant, but from the way his eyes twinkled, it had a sexual overtone. “I have an idea.” She might as well blurt it out.

“I’m listening.”

“Would you and Gage be willing to take a hike with me tomorrow? I want to show you something in the forest.” That was non-committal enough.

He shrugged. “I don’t see why not. Say ten?”

“Perfect.”

He winked and left.
Darn
. She wished he’d stayed a little longer. She’d be the first to admit that she was disappointed that the two hadn’t been eager to see her tonight. It didn’t matter that they’d spent all day with her. She missed them already.

Hey
. Maybe they were debating the shifter issue and were afraid she might drop another weird comment on them. Perhaps he’d come down to see if she was putting the moves on other men and telling them the same thing.

Stop analyzing
.

Since the bar was empty the bartender told her she could go. He’d close. She practically skipped back to her room, needing some time to figure out what to wear on their date.

She looked through a few items and after two hours finally settled on an outfit.

Unfortunately, she was so excited about seeing if the men could shift that she hardly slept a wink, an event that hadn’t happened in a long time. All night she tossed and turned, trying to figure out how she, a non-shifter, could teach two men how to change form. That would be like trying to teach a teenager to drive when she herself had never driven. She prayed by being near the alignment point their natural instincts would take over.

The next morning, she gathered her jacket and gloves and took the stairs down. The moment she spotted Gage and Will in the lobby, her stomach twirled and her pulse raced. She tried telling herself her reaction was due to the fact they were shifters, but if that were the only reason, why hadn’t that response ever happened to her in Anterra where every male was a shifter? She’d have to think about that later.

Both men were wearing small backpacks. She walked up to them as casually as she could and smiled. “Hi. I see you came prepared to hike.”

Will nodded. “We even got the hotel to pack up some box lunches.”

She scrunched up her nose. “I don’t eat boxes.” She couldn’t imagine why anyone wanted to.

He laughed. “You are a hoot.”

She merely smiled, not sure why he’d want to compare her to an owl. Maybe they all needed some fresh air to clear their heads. “Ready?”

Gage nodded to her hands. “You don’t want to bring any water with you?”

“I don’t have a water bottle.”

Will held up a finger and rushed over to the check-in counter. A minute later he returned with a plastic water bottle. “Here ya go, sugar.”

These two were so considerate. She hoped they’d think highly of her after her little experiment. She wasn’t sure where to put it, so she stuffed the bottle in her pocket.

Will held out his hand again. “Why don’t I carry that for you in my backpack?”

Once more his consideration endeared him to her. “Thanks.”

It was only a short walk to the lift. On the way up, Gage jumped on the seat next to her and mentioned something about some bet he’d won. She liked them both equally, though she sensed she’d have a small fight on her hands with Gage when it came time to shift.

He moved closer. “You know where you’re going?”

“Yes.” She wanted to tell them all about Anterra and the alignment point and how it worked, but if she overloaded them with too much information, Gage would probably throw up his hands and hop on the lift back to town.

She tried to make this trip a fun adventure for all of them. “How many times have you two been to Spirit?”

Will glanced at Gage then counted on his fingers. “I’d say five times.”

“Have you ever hiked these woods?”

They both shook their heads. “When we come it’s mostly to ski,” Will said.

“Good. Then this will be new to you.” The path was more worn than when she’d arrived two days ago, mostly because it hadn’t snowed. It appeared as if this were a popular place. “I have a spot in mind. It’s about an hour from here. Is that okay with you two?”

Gage smiled. “When we were in the Special Forces we’d have to hike for hours. Will and I were in Iraq in temperatures over a hundred degrees, carrying an eighty-pound pack. We’re tough.”

“I figured. You both are in amazing shape.” She prayed it was appropriate to say what she thought. Lara seemed outspoken, so she figured all Earth women were.

Will wrapped an arm around her shoulder. “So are you.” He winked, and her traitorous pussy clamped down hard. It must be the difference in atmosphere that was making her so responsive to these two.

Their toughness would come in handy if she could figure out a way to help them become lions, but she wasn’t going to spring that on them until they’d arrived. The trip through the forest was delightful as it reminded her so much of Anterra—minus the snow and cold.

They came to the three-pronged fork. “It’s the left one.”

“You sure? Have you been here before?” Gage asked.

“Yes.” She wasn’t saying anything until they reached the point where she’d entered. It seemed like no more than ten minutes when they arrived. “Time for a break.”