Naughty Temptations

Chapter Five

Chapter Five

Davenport Restorations was housed in a huge combination warehouse and garage divided into sections for mechanical, body, upholstery and paint work along with a large showroom area. Offices were housed in an upper level with large windows that overlooked the whole operation.

“This is impressive. Much bigger than I imagined.”

Cam beamed at me, his jade eyes lit with a level of excitement to be showing me off that couldn’t be faked. He led me around the facility holding my hand, fingers interlaced, thrumming with the delight of a boy showing off his most prized possession.

Even Carson was caught up in the moment, smiling at everyone, proudly taking congratulatory slaps on the back from the men and gleeful praise from the few women employees.

Getting one of the females, a shifter, off by herself I casually said, “Carson and Camden swear they will only ever take one mate. One of my friends got burned by a male claiming she’d be his only mate. He now has five mates.”

Lindy nodded. “I have a few friends who got burned by purebred scum. But, honey,” she took my hands in hers and met my gaze, “you don’t have to worry about Cars and Cam. I’ve known them since we were in diapers and all they’ve ever talked about is finding the one female they both want to mate.” She squeezed my hands. “One look at them today and I know they’ve found exactly what they’ve searched for in you. You’re it. They’ll never take another mate.”

Her sincerity lifted a major weight off my heart. “Thank you. I’ve been nervous about letting them mark me.”

“Don’t be, Lorelei. It’s clear Cars and Cam are off the market and one hundred percent yours.”

There was no dimming the megawatt smile that settled on my face.

“Go on.” She bumped shoulders with me. “Go be with your males. They’re dying to show you the finished cars.”

Carson opened the showroom door with a flourish. Once we moved inside, Camden hit the lights and I stood there stunned speechless.

Areas had been set up and decorated to showcase cars from various eras. They had a full-blown fifties drive-in complete with neon lights and the dining trays that hooked on a car door. Glancing around, I saw sets for a racecar pit stop, a vintage gas pump, street signs and actual old-time street lights.

And the cars. I felt like a kid set free in the candy store. My eyes had to be bulging out of my head. Everywhere I looked, I found a new wonder. “Holy crap. That’s a 30’s Ford Woody. And a 65 GTO.” I waved my hands around at each car. “A 70 Mach One.” Spotting an orange beauty off to the side, my heart stopped for the space of several beats before I squealed and ran to her.

“God, she’s perfect. Sixty-nine Charger Daytona. Ohhhh, you sexy beast.”

Cam strutted over wearing a huge goofy grin. “Four-forty, V-eight hemi, four hundred seventy-five horses. This is my baby, Roxie.” He opened the driver’s door and held a set of keys out. “Want to take her for a spin?”

I sputtered and coughed, staring at him. “Y-you…you’re letting m-me drive her.”

“Hell yeah, Pussycat.” He placed the keys in my palm and folded my limp fingers over them, put me in the car and slammed the door, calling out, “Carson, catch the door.”

Cam slid in next to me as the big door rolled open. “I’m so glad you like her. I’ve waited a long time to see my mate drive Roxie.”

I sputtered some more then screeched, “You’re seriously letting me drive her.”

He nodded toward the ignition. “Go ahead, Pussycat. Start her up.”

With my fingers trembling, Cam had to help me get the key in the ignition. The engine started with a throaty growl. Cam leaned over and strapped me into the racing harness before doing up his own.

“Real light on the gas pedal until you get used to her. She loves to run and will slam you back in the seat with the g-force.”

Following his advice, I eased my foot on the gas while letting up on the clutch. I could tell she didn’t like to go slow and was chomping at the bit. Cam directed me around the side of the building to a paved oval track out back.

“Holy hell,” I mumbled. Leashed energy vibrated through the car and into me as I slowly drove toward the track. Jase, one of the guys I’d met in the shop, opened the gate and we eased inside. After the first couple of laps a change happened and I felt like I became one with the car. As I shifted gears and let her fly, my body pressed back in the seat and I howled in delight.

By the time I pulled her back into her spot inside the shop, I felt like I had grown wings. Boundless energy radiated through my body and needed an outlet. My guys understood and hustled me into Carson’s Caddy. The drive to their house passed in a blur as I excitedly babbled about Roxie and how I would show Cam my thanks when we got to his bedroom.

I barely glanced at the house on the short walk from the driveway to the front door. Carson put his key in the lock and frowned. “Door’s not locked.”

Camden pushed the door open and went in first. I followed Carson, still talking a mile a minute until I ran into his back when he abruptly stopped. Moving around him, I stared at the tall, gorgeous blonde who’d wrapped herself around Camden.

“It’s about time you got home. I’m in heat and I need you,” she purred. Spotting Carson she added, “I need you both so much.”

“W-who the f**k is that?”

“Oh, I’m sorry. I didn’t realize we had company.” The female, obviously feline, peeled herself from Cam and headed for me, hand stretched out. I shook her offered hand without thought, gaping at her.

“I’m Laila. Carson and Camden’s mate.”

A riot broke out around me and I stupidly stood there with my heart shattered in a million pieces on the floor. Laila gestured wildly at Cam and Carson, who shouted denials. No one else noticed the male sitting quietly in a chair across the room watching the drama unfold until he stood and walked over to join the heated discussion.

“See, Daddy. They’re rejecting me.”

When he spoke, the male had the booming, authoritative voice of a true alpha. “My daughter bears your marks. You will do right by her.”

“Marks?” Carson growled. “I have not marked her.”

The male pulled Laila’s dress collar to the side to display a mate mark on her neck then unceremoniously yanked up the hem to show another mark on her inner thigh, right below the edge of her barely there panties.

Oh God. They lied. They already have a mate. Haidee was right. I am such an i***t.

A cold sweat broke out over my torso as my heart raced and my head swam dizzily. My hands and fingers had gone numb while my arms tingled. And my chest, holy Christ. My chest was so tight and ached to the point I couldn’t breathe.

“That’s not our mark,” Camden denied.

“Someone marked her but it wasn’t us,” Carson declared.

This can’t be happening.

The words were faint, far away. Clutching my constricted throat, I turned and stumbled out the door with no thought other than getting out of there. Inside, my lioness clawed and howled her distress, demanding to be set free. I didn’t think, moved solely on instinct toward the tree line. Once I was enveloped in the safety of the woods, I surrendered to the lioness, letting the shift take me over.

I have no idea how long I ran. My cat took the lead and I let her have her way. I hurt too much to do anything else. For the briefest time I’d been so happy. The hottest males ever, twins, wanted me as their only mate. They’d proudly showed me off to their friends and employees. Cam had even let me drive his precious muscle car.

Now I felt like nothing. Lorelei didn’t exist anymore; there was only the hurt lioness racing through the trees, jumping over fallen logs, springing over a creek, chasing down a rabbit. I had no idea where I was—didn’t care.

Eventually sheer exhaustion took over and the lioness curled up on a bed of moss, chin pillowed on crossed paws, sleeping fitfully with quiet sounds filtering through the fog clouding her mind. Her ears perked up as she made out a distinct feline cry, followed by soft chuffing. Predators were about but she hurt too much to care and had no will to react.

The swipe of a wet tongue over her muzzle had the lioness’s eyes blinking open to stare passively at two large beautiful males who at first glance appeared to be tigers with the typical blocky head, stocky shape and reddish-orange coloring. Then she noticed black spots interspersed with the stripes and pelts ranging in color from white to mahogany.

A sniff identified the males as the ones who hurt her. Her heartache intensified. She sighed but didn’t move and closed her eyes. Maybe they’ll go away.

No such luck. The one closest licked her muzzle again while the other male nudged her flank with his big head. Stupid males.

They persisted and anger sparked to life. Lifting her head, she let out a mournful yowl, let her claws extend, and swiped at the closest male’s face, leaving a track of deep gashes in her wake. Turning away from them, she dropped her head back down and ignored the soft chuffs, growls, whines and chattering as they argued.

She huffed in dismay when the males lay down, one on each side of her. They continued to nudge and lick her until the lioness had enough. She sprang to her feet and loped away.

The males followed her for endless miles until she ventured into a rocky canyon only to discover there was no way out. She turned and faced the males, no energy left to run or fight. Brave or stupid, she wasn’t sure which, they shifted to their human forms and stood before her, naked and vulnerable.

“Come on, Lorelei. Just listen to us.”

The lioness sniffed indignantly and crouched low, ready to spring into motion with what little energy she had left if provoked.

“Yes, we know that female. I was an i***t and dated her for a while,” Cam admitted.

A low growl rumbled up from the lioness.

“Yeah, I know. Not my smartest move.”

“When Cam broke it off she kept coming around, trying to get him back, and if not she would have settled for me.” Carson raked a hand through his hair.

“We hadn’t seen or heard from her in more than six months, figured she moved on.” Camden sighed. “Those are not our marks on her.”

Carson’s expression begged her to believe in them. “If you’d stuck around a little longer, you would have heard that for yourself. She finally broke down and admitted the male who marked her left her behind for another female. Her father had seen the marks and demanded to meet her mate. She hoped to trap us. Her father is one of the most powerful felines in Texas. He leads a large pride. She thought there’d be a fight and we’d submit to being her mates.”

“Instead, her father ended up dragging her from the house, sobbing hysterically, and went to find her real mate.” Camden took a step forward, his jade eyes imploring. “We need you, Pussycat.

Carson moved up next to him and threw an arm around Cam’s shoulders. “We had lost hope of finding a mate. No female appealed to both of us. Resentment built and we started drifting apart.”

“We did,” Camden agreed. “We’d even started looking into selling the shop and going our separate ways. Until you clicked that chat icon.”

“God, you have no idea what it was like, our felines at odds and neither of us getting along. It was like being torn in half.” Carson hugged his twin.

“You’re our salvation. When we finally met you in person something clicked, all the tension abated and for the first time in forever…” Camden trailed off.

“We were in harmony with each other again,” Carson finished. “Because of you.”

Tears rolled down my face and I swiped at them before realizing that I’d shifted.

“We know you have doubts from growing up with the purebreds. Give us a chance to prove ourselves. We love you and there will never be another for us. Just you.”

Both men put their hearts out here, made themselves vulnerable, but it was the gravity in Camden’s jade eyes that touched me deepest.

I stood and took a tentative step forward. The twins followed suit. Each step I took, they matched.

A bit of light returned to Cam’s eyes and he chuckled. “I kind of wish you’d gone feral and tore her a new one.”

Carson punched his brother’s arm. “You idiot.”

“Hey,” Cam complained. “Admit it. You would have loved watching Lorelei show that tramp the damage a mated female can do.”

“Well yeah, but I wasn’t going to say it out loud.”

I snorted. “Shall we go find her?”

With another step they had me in their arms, surrounded by their warmth, covered in their scent.

“No, Pussycat. Let her father deal with her. We’re not letting you out of our arms for a long time.”

I sighed. “Okay, you get one shot at proving you’re not tomcats.” I pulled back my arm and punched first Cam then Cars in the biceps, shaking my hand at the sting from hitting rock-solid muscle. “Once I’ve made you mine, mess up and I’ll teach you the meaning of crazy feral female.”