Mate With Me

Her hope of joining in on some inane fun in an attempt to clear her head of all the conflicting thoughts vying for space was abruptly crushed when she saw Abby and Grace skinny dipping with Damien and Jacob. She should return to her room, she thought as she stood rooted by the windows, making no move to do so. She had never been an envious person, never wasted time pining for what others had, but watching the four of them enjoy each other with unabashed delight made her wish her own relationship with Jon and Luc wasn’t still up in the air. She knew the happiness Abby and Grace were basking in hadn’t come easily, which gave her encouragement that her own insecurities would eventually work themselves out.

The water play suddenly turned erotic, Damien and Jacob pulling Abby and Grace to the steps and covering their wet, slick bodies with their own. Like any red-blooded woman, she could enjoy and appreciate both men’s tight, wet asses, but didn’t want to get caught ogling. Reluctantly. she started to turn away, but was kept in place by a tall, hard body, a body that had hers revved up in a matter of seconds.

“They won’t mind if we watch.”

Caitlin turned her head up to look into Jon’s hazel eyes, the unmistakable bulge of his erection pressing intimately against her ass, “How do you know?”

Jon smiled slightly. “I know.”

It wasn’t the unmistakable sounds of sex that were carrying through the open French doors that had Caitlin ducking around him, but the aching desire to grab Jon’s hand and pull him out to the pool to join the others. “I thought you had already left,” she stated accusingly. Of course, she knew it wasn’t fair to blame him because she was suffering in more ways than one over her decision not to have sex with them again until she was ready to accept a no holds barred relationship.

“Relax, Cat.” Jon couldn’t help but see what was going on in the pool, nor could he help but wish they were out there indulging themselves, but both he and Luc had agreed to give Caitlin some time to deal with everything they had subjected her to since walking into the Down and Dirty a week ago. Because of the strong pull of the physical attraction and needs they all experienced when first meeting their mates, members of the brethren typically consummated their relationships much faster than humans did, but the uprising of Isabelle and her attacks had thrown a wrench in Jon, Luc’s, Jacob’s and Damien’s pairings, adding a complication to an already tenable situation. As difficult as it was to hold back, especially after already having her, Jon and Luc refused to pressure her into a decision.

Stepping back, he told her, “We’re on our way out now. If you need anything, Damien and Jacob will be available.”

He didn’t give her a chance to reply as he turned and met Luc in the foyer and she watched them both dissolve into a fine mist, leaving her to return upstairs alone to deal with her heart that was beginning to feel as hollow as the Tin Man’s.

Caitlin was awake and up by one o’clock the next afternoon and at a loss of what to do with her day. She wasn’t used to having so much free time in the afternoons, her late nights making it difficult to get to bed before four or five in the morning. Usually, she didn’t wake until late afternoon, just in time to shower and get downstairs to open the bar. Bobby had called and told her he was being released, but his new love interest was picking him up and he’d be in good hands this week while recuperating. At least one of them knew what, or who they wanted. The mansion was quiet as she went downstairs, almost too quiet. It gave her a creepy feeling thinking about the guys, wondering what they looked like as they slept somewhere dark on the premises. Did they lay with their arms folded on their chest, still as death, or did they sleep like they were still human? Since picturing them laying as if dead wigged her out, she talked herself into believing they were in one of the numerous bedrooms throughout the house and still breathing.

By the time she had a cup of coffee, she knew she would go nuts hanging around the plantation all afternoon. Both Abby and Grace had invited her to drop in today at the bookstore and library to visit and right now, that sounded like a good idea. Going from indifferent parents to being a street rat to living above a bar hadn’t provided her with many opportunities to make friends, especially after Liddy had moved away. On top of having this whole ‘mate’ business in common, she had discovered she enjoyed spending time with the other two women.

Three hours later, Caitlin drove back through the tall, double gates of Damien’s plantation home and parked in front. She had enjoyed seeing Abby’s bookstore, having a sandwich and tea with her before going to the library. There she took Grace’s advice and researched the Preston brothers, discovering they were born in western Texas in 1833 and were believed to have been murdered and buried somewhere on their ranch in 1865 by carpetbaggers. There were no pictures of them, but she did unearth a grainy photo of their farmstead. They hadn’t had much, but they were willing to defend what they had. She couldn’t help but admire the hard working men they had been as well as the triumphant way they had made the best of their new life after being turned. Most men would not be as noble and self-giving when given immortality as well as the strength and powers that came with it.

Unfortunately, that information brought her no closer to making a decision on whether to pursue this relationship or not. Stepping out of her car, she looked up at the majestic plantation home that held ghosts from over a century and a half of existence. All along the upper floor, small terraces jutted out from double French doors, and she wondered again which bedroom her want to be lovers were holed up in.

She was too restless to go inside and wait around for Abby and Grace to get off work or for the sun to go down so the guys could rise. Irritated that she thought she needed someone to keep her company, she looked across the wide green expanse of the well-kept lawn to the moss covered trees that led into the bayou. Perfect, she thought with an uplifting of her spirits as she headed that way. As a child, she had come to know the beauty and the treachery of the bayous and had a healthy respect for both. She knew which plants to stay away from, could detect the shape and movement of an alligator yards away and could still shimmy up a tree with the agility of a gold medal gymnast if need be. She had never felt so free as when she was alone in the bayous and she has missed the freedom of losing herself in the swampy, tree shrouded depths since Dan took her in.

Eager to explore and test her skills once again, she instantly felt the cooler air as she entered the dense landscape. As she explored Damien’s property, she soon discovered one bayou was much the same as another and had no trouble navigating through the damp brush, making note of certain landmarks that would lead her back out. She was careful about

looking up periodically for the barely discernible sunlight, mindful of the time she would need to get back before her vamps awoke.

That thought stopped her in her tracks as she realized that was the first time she had willingly thought of them as hers. Maybe she was closer to making a decision than she thought. Looking at her surroundings, she had to admit the moss shrouded, ‘sleeping waters’ of the wetlands provided the perfect background for the legends of voodoo rituals and vampire lore, the perfect setting for Damien and the brethren. She was grinning as she turned to head back to the house, again marveling at the ease with which she had accepted the truth about the existence of vampires.

Halfway back, she came to an abrupt halt, her grin disappearing as two huge tigers emerged from the trees to block her path. “Lions and tigers and bears, oh my,” she mumbled under her breath as she took a small step back. She tried not to let her fear show, tried to control the shaking that was taking over her body as she swallowed convulsively over and over in an attempt to keep the bile lodged in her throat from coming up. One more slow step back brought her up against a tree and had both tigers taking one step toward her. Without further thought, she turned and grabbed hold of a sturdy vine, pulling herself up to the lowest branch with a swing of her body.

“You guys stay right there,” she told them shakily as they both moved closer to the tree. “Oh, crap, do tigers climb trees?” Unable to answer her own question, she swung up to the next branch just in case. Looking down, she was relieved to see they were just sitting there calmly, staring up at her as if she was nuts. Straddling the heavy limb, she relaxed a little when they made no attempt to come up after her. “Good kitties,” she praised them softly, wondering how the hell she was going to get back to the safety of the manor.

“Her car’s here,” Luc said when Jon came downstairs from checking their bedroom for Caitlin. “She has to be around here somewhere.” He wasn’t too worried yet. Caitlin had readily agreed to stay at the plantation this week, giving them a chance to end Isabelle’s attacks and, hopefully, complete their bond. Now that he had not only gotten to know his mate, Luc found he was no longer reluctant to claim her and end his carefree bachelor ways.

“Let’s look out back. Maybe she walked down to the pond.” Unlike his brother, Jon was worried Caitlin’s need to exert her independence might lead her to do something rash. Damien’s property was completely secure with high fencing and top notch security, but they would never assume rogues couldn’t breach the premises.

Fifteen minutes later, they both started to get concerned when they saw Tasha come out of the bayou, look at them, then turn back around. When she turned her head, let out a small growl and then took another step toward the bayou, they got the hint she wanted them to follow her.

“Don’t tell me she’s gotten herself into trouble in there?” Luc ground out as they followed Tasha’s twitching back end.

“Let’s find out.” Caitlin, where the hell are you? Jon asked her, hoping she was able to hear and answer him.

Caitlin jumped at the sudden, welcome intrusion of Jon’s voice in her head. Even under the dire circumstances, her body had no trouble responding to the intimate contact. I’m up a tree, literally. What’s the deal with the tigers? She had no doubt the men knew the cats were in the swamp, what she didn’t know was why.

Luc grinned at Jon, then answered her. They’re Damien’s pets and won’t hurt you. Come down from there.

I’ll wait for you. No matter what they said, she didn’t trust the gleam in the male cat’s eyes as he stared up at her unblinkingly. A few minutes later, Jon and Luc stood staring up at her with frowns on their faces, hands fisted on their hips.

“Get your ass down here, Cat,” Luc told her as he stroked Micah’s head to show her how friendly he was. “You shouldn’t have come in here in the first place.” Now that they had found her, he had to work on keeping his lust in check. Promising to give her some time and space was proving to be harder than his cock was right now.

“I don’t need a lecture,” she answered tartly as she grabbed the vine and swung down, keeping her distance from the cats despite their assurances.

“Obviously you need something.” Jon grabbed her hand and headed back out with her in tow. “Why didn’t you stick closer to the house?” The dangers of the swamp were nothing to take lightly, and he shuddered to think what could have befallen her if Micah and Tasha hadn’t kept an eye on her, just like they had Grace. Only Caitlin didn’t seem uneasy about her surroundings, only about the cats.