Shifters’ Captive(18)

Swallowing, she banished her wayward thoughts and darted a glance at the two men, afraid they could read her mind. Perron looked back at her and grinned. Maybe he could see into her head—a dream had brought him to her side.

His eyes skimmed over her as if she was still naked, and her nipples tightened. The ropes fell away from his body, and he rose from the chair, his cock bobbing before him.

Sherrie turned to the bed and searched for something to cover his groin. She flung the sleeping bag at him. “Don’t you carry clothes with you when you change?”

“No.” The men answered in unison then exchanged a cold-eyed stare.

“Must make for some awkward moments when you turn back into human form.” Grant let the sleeping bag drop from his hand and stalked across the floor with catlike grace to stop in front of Sherrie. John was right behind him, hackles bristling and eyes narrowed. He looked ready to attack if the other man so much as touched her.

“So you’ve never had a psychic experience before.” Grant studied her and his head moved slightly as if he was inhaling her fragrance. “Where are you from? Who are your people?” She resented the staccato questioning and answered succinctly. “My mom and I never lived in one place long. I don’t know who my dad was.”

He regarded her silently and nodded. “Well, you’re no shifter, but you’re not purely human, either.” He jerked his head at John. “You had sex with him? What was that like? Did you feel anything strange?”

“That’s enough!” John inserted his body between them, standing almost chest to chest with the other man.

Perron snorted. “I’m not asking from curiosity, Balto. She might have latent tendencies only now coming to full maturity. I wasn’t always able to dream travel or experience psychic visions myself. It developed within the past couple of years with no particular trigger, as far as I could tell. Or it could be that Sherrie’s psychic abilities are brought out by contact with our kind.”

“Is something like that possible?” Sherrie thought of how her senses had expanded when she held Liberty’s hand and how being around John had made her edgy. After sex her senses were heightened as if she’d been wrapped in a thick quilt before and was now uncovered and wide awake.

“Anything’s possible,” Perron answered. “Psychic dreaming, precognition, telekinesis and other mental abilities. Energies can be shifted or mutated in many ways. Sex is one of them.”

“What am I supposed to do with this power? How does it work?”

“Maybe you can find this entity with your mind, without holding Liberty’s hand, and learn his strengths and weaknesses.”

John moved closer to Sherrie, sliding a hand around her waist. “I don’t want to put her in danger by having her let this thing inside her head. Let’s start toward the caves and see if we can size him up physically first.”

Grant shrugged. “We can head out now as far as I’m concerned.”

“Sherrie will need clothes and hiking gear. I’ll get supplies from my shop and be back in a couple of hours. Meanwhile, she can get some sleep.”

Perron gave an impatient sigh. “I thought wolves were like Boy Scouts, always prepared, but it looks like you kidnapped her without much of a plan. Now you have to run an errand and leave me to guard her.”

“She’s not going to be with you.”

“Were you planning on leaving her here all alone and unprotected?” Grant’s eyes widened in an astonished cat’s stare. Sherrie couldn’t help smiling.

“Safer than leaving her with you.” John scooped his discarded shirt from the floor and slipped his arms into it.

“I promise not to disturb the lady’s sleep.” He pressed his palm over his heart, but the vow was diminished by the fact that his cock was pointing at Sherrie. “She can keep the door locked and bolted.”

“Go on. I’ll be okay.” Both flattered and mildly annoyed by his protectiveness, Sherrie squeezed John’s arm. She leaned in to plant a kiss on his cheek, but he turned his head and laid claim to her mouth with his. The possessive kiss was for Grant’s benefit, but Sherrie didn’t care. It was hot and deep and pulled on that thread within her that led straight to her clenching pussy. She gripped the sleeves of John’s unbuttoned shirt and longed to slide her hands up his stomach and chest to feel his warm skin and the solid muscle beneath. She felt Perron’s gaze burning into them, watching and craving, and that made the kiss all the hotter.

When she finally pulled away from John and glanced at the panther, his eyes were molten gold.