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  His eyes moved over her face before he shot Brian a quick glance. “Come with us, Brian, and we’ll pleasure her together. The way she really likes it.”

  Brian tilted his head back, a challenging gleam in his eyes telling Kane he wanted her all to himself. When Kane leveled him with a glare, Brian grumbled in acquiescence and backed down. The two men exchanged a look of understanding before Kane bent to release the three remaining constraints holding Brian in place—a peace offering. His actions generated blatant appreciation in the depth of Brian’s blue eyes. Even though Kane was a man who took what he wanted, he was still a stand-up guy, a man of character and integrity. Traits that he held in high regard, and everyone who had the pleasure of knowing him highly respected.

  Jaclyn watched Brian’s straps fall to the floor. Honestly, she loved when Brian played it her way, but she loved it more when they all played it Kane’s way.

  Jaclyn turned her attention to Kane, a dominant by nature, to consider his mood. Playful. Naughty. Commanding. Which room would he want her to join him in tonight? The dungeon? The schoolhouse? The lab?

  The gentle placement of his hand on the small of her back made her shiver as he negotiated them through the crowd, up the stairs, and into the back bedroom. Brian followed close behind, the heat from his hard body reaching out to her, his stiff cock clamoring for attention.

  Ah, so it appeared Kane was in the mood for romance. She supposed she should have guessed by the tame way he was handling her. Jaclyn quickly looked around, taking stock of the room and the large bed centered in the middle. Soft candlelight bathed the cranberry-colored walls in a romantic glow and created warmth, ambience . . . seduction. She turned to Kane and offered him a smile, her show of appreciation.

  One large hand drifted downward to close over her bare sex. As the air around them charged with sexual energy, the smile fell from her face. Kane’s nostrils flared; dark eyes burned and raced over her as his finger traced her plump lips.

  “I’ve spent all week thinking about tasting your cunt, little lady.”

  His erotic words prompted her into action. Jaclyn inched back and dropped onto the quilted bedspread, her backside sinking into the plush mattress. When she widened her legs, her pink pussy glistened in the candlelight.

  “Then by all means.”

  A low growl rumbled in Kane’s throat as he sank to the carpeted floor, insinuated himself between her spread thighs, and made a slow pass with his hot, hungry tongue. A low, guttural, animalistic sound rose up from the depths of his throat. “Goddamn, girl, I swear you taste better and better every time.”

  After a small sampling, Kane inched back and ran his hands over her legs. He glanced at the café au lait birthmark that colored her inner thigh, and then traced the tip of his index finger over one of the three flamelike pigmentations. “I love the fire in you, baby. Let’s see if I can help extinguish these flames tonight.”

  She nodded eagerly, even though no man had ever made her feel sated, complete. But by God, she was willing to let Kane try.

  When Kane’s tongue breached her opening, Brian slipped onto the cushiony mattress beside her. His hungry mouth crashed down on hers for a deep, thorough kiss. Their tongues lashed and dueled; the heat between them was wild and explosive. A moment later Brian’s lips abandoned hers and trailed a path down her body until he reached her swollen nipples. Kane dipped a finger into her pussy at the same time Brian’s mouth closed over one hard pebble, the dual assault severely impacting her ability to form a coherent sentence.

  Jaclyn arched her back and bit down on her bottom lip. “Oh. God. Yes,” she cried out as baser instincts took hold of her.

  Kane pumped and withdrew repeatedly as Brian’s hand slid lower to pair up with Kane’s tongue. The two worked her inflamed clit until she nearly sobbed with pleasure. Minutes turned into seconds as they tended to her every primal desire in tandem, with each skilled lover ravishing her hot, needy body.

  She moved restlessly against them, demanding more. Reading her body language, Brian applied more pressure to her clit, and Kane slipped another solid finger inside her and picked up the tempo.

  Oh damn!

  Kane’s voice dropped an octave as he continued to finger-fuck her. “I want you to come for me now,” he demanded, his voice dark and raspy and so damn arousing to Jaclyn. “Cream in my mouth.”

  He certainly didn’t have to ask her twice. As if on cue, her body clenched, and she erupted, her hot flow of release pouring into Kane’s eager mouth.

  “Yesss . . . ,” she cried out and raked her fingers through Kane’s thick brown hair so she could hold his luscious mouth to her throbbing pussy.

  The two men groaned in pleasure when they felt her first clench of fulfillment. Kane spent a long time on his knees, lapping up every last drop. Greedy boy that he was, he left nothing behind for Brian.

  After her convulsions subsided, Kane climbed out from between her legs and shot a knowing glance Brian’s way before turning to her. “Now I want you to get down on your knees and suck Brian’s cock. He looks like he’s in fucking agony. But don’t make him come. Not yet. I have other plans for him.”

  Lust sang through her veins. God she loved his take-charge attitude. Obliging, she slipped to the floor as Brian eagerly shimmied to the edge of the bed. She nestled herself between his spread thighs and lapped at the precome pearling on the tip of his cock. His low growl filled the room.

  “Mmmm,” she moaned, then drew a substantial amount of his length into her mouth.

  Brian jerked his hips forward as he fed her his cock. “Goddamn, that’s good.” He grabbed a fistful of her hair and followed the motion of her mouth, but it was damn hard to concentrate on sucking his cock with Kane parting her ass cheeks from behind.

  A burst of cold liquid over her ringed opening caused her puckered passage to clench. She gave a breathy moan, her thoughts in fragments.

  “Relax, little lady.” Kane burrowed a finger into her hole, stretching and widening her. “I know how to take care of you.” Kane prepared her and her body shook in anticipation, since she had figured out Kane’s plans for Brian’s cock. “I know what you like,” he added.

  She turned her full attention on Brian and worked her tongue over his erection, until he fairly vibrated beneath her. His liquid heat lubricated her hand, and she used it to polish the length of his shaft.

  “Fuck, baby, you’re so good at that . . . ,” he groaned and threw his head back.

  Jaclyn cupped his balls, and gave a gentle squeeze while she circled her tongue over his bulbous head. His veins swelled with blood and she knew he was close. Too close. She eased back a bit, giving only light licks, not wanting to run the risk of ruining Kane’s plans.

  “Time to fuck,” Kane announced again, his voice thick and gruff as he hauled her to her feet. He tore off his clothes, dropped to the bed, equipped himself with protection, and then pulled her on top of him. As she straddled his hips, he pulled open her pink lips and she moaned in bliss.

  “Ride me, little lady,” he said, and then exchanged a look with Brian. Brian nodded in understanding, sheathed himself with a new condom, and came around from behind.

  Jaclyn positioned Kane’s cock at her opening and slowly lowered herself, her cunt sucking him in, inch by glorious inch, taking ultimate pleasure in the depth of his penetration. Once their bodies fused, she bent forward and opened her back passage for Brian. Pleasure engulfed her as Brian gently worked his way into her tight backside.

  She gave a soft whimper as her eyes met Kane’s. He grinned, circled his thumbs over her areolas, and said, “That’s it, darling. Be a good girl while we fill you.”

  A few moments later, once she had them both deep in her body, she began moving restlessly against them, the three finding an erotic rhythm that matched their rising passion. Long sensuous strides amplified the tension inside her. Kane ran his large hands over her body, his touch alternating between her nipples and clit.

  Desire thrummed through her
as their bodies moistened and scented the air. When Kane’s simmering brown eyes moved over her face, it suddenly occurred to her that the two men were also fucking each other, rubbing their cocks together through the thin walls of her body. An erotic whimper bubbled from the depths of her throat. She began panting, gasping for air as pressure built up inside her. They began riding one another long and hard, her body tightening, shaking, her pussy muscles clamping hard around Kane’s cock.

  Her nails bit into Kane’s skin as a powerful orgasm swept through her. Her body exploded and dripped hot cream over Kane’s cock.

  “That’s my girl,” Kane whispered, giving himself over to his own release. From behind, Brian joined in. He groaned out loud, plunged deeper, and came high up inside her.

  “Oh, sweet Jesus . . . ,” were the only words she could manage to say.

  Temporarily sated, she collapsed on top of Kane’s chest, and worked to recapture her breath. Goddamn, that felt good. These two men pleasured her so nicely, she was certain she’d died and gone to heaven. That last thought suddenly brought her passion-rattled brain back to the reason she’d needed a good hard fuck in the first place.

  Because in three days, her true self would be dead.

  Dead . . .

  And it wasn’t going to be from pleasure.

  Chapter Two

  Even though the summer sun had already given its final farewell, nightfall did little to ease the sweltering heat hovering over the small rural town of Serene. With his jeans and T-shirt clinging to his body, Slyck left his post at the nightclub and quickly made his way down Main Street. His heavy footsteps sawed through the moisture-laden air and echoed in the eerie silence.

  Long, predatory, catlike strides carried him past the grocery store, the fire station, and the candy shop, before he reached the front door of the old town hall. The fluorescent light pouring from the window and lighting a long pale column on the dark sidewalk let him know the others were already inside, waiting.

  As his hackles rose in foreboding, his skin instinctively grew tight and itchy—the lure of the shift pulling at him hard. Fighting down the animal springing to life inside him and working diligently to cling to his human form, Slyck felt perspiration gathering in the center of his palms, forcing him to draw deep breaths in a concentrated effort to shake off the alluring call of the wild.

  Needing a distraction—something, anything, until the moment passed—he took a minute to examine the old wooden structure at the juncture of Main Street and Mulberry Lane. White chips of paint sailed to the ground and settled like dander on the overgrown mini rosebushes while ivy vines coiled around the two towering pillars flanking the solid front door. Even though the exterior of the nineteenth-century building needed a fresh coat of paint and a little tender loving care, the structure itself remained sound and would undoubtedly stand erect for years—Slyck should know, since he’d help raise it decades ago. He lightly tapped his knuckles on a cedar slat, reassuring himself that it’d be a long time coming before another reconstruction took place.

  Outwardly, the aged landmark resembled an historical building that one would readily find in any small town. But Slyck knew firsthand that sometimes looks could be deceiving. Because Serene’s town hall was far from typical, and the council members who were about to deliberate around a circular table were unlike any other council members in any other community.

  With the clock ticking, Slyck collected himself, pulled the door open, and hastily made his way inside, his brisk movements stirring dust in the still night air. Silence fell like a death sentence as he perused the room and quickly took stock of those already seated around the oaken table at the other end of the long hall.

  Satisfied that all members were present and accounted for, he secured the door behind him and proceeded toward his assigned chair to assume his familiar role of alpha leader. The old planked floorboards creaked and groaned like a wounded animal under his impressive size and alerted the others to his arrival. As he took his seat, his presence closed the powerful circle of five.

  Even though the Overseers had been meeting here for centuries, it never failed to astound him to see such a diverse group of species—all of whom had once been mortal enemies—coming together for a greater good. A millennium ago it was unheard-of for any one of the five to be in the same territory, let alone the same room, but here they were: a panther guide, a demon guide, a vampire guide, a lycan guide, and a coven guide—five Overseers who were all working together to keep their brethren in line and maintain order amongst their kind, while keeping their existence a secret from the rest of the world.

  Of course, to survive and walk undetected amongst humans, they’d had no choice but to join forces and form allegiances. Security and strength in numbers was a hell of a powerful thing.

  After the Salem witch trials in 1692, humans had grown suspicious, even bloodthirsty, for anyone perceived as different. With their very existence at risk, each supernatural species had acknowledged the need to put aside their hatred and prejudice for one another and unite forces toward a common goal—survival. Shortly thereafter, secret communities were set up all over the world, with an even distribution of the five species in each district to prevent one brethren from growing too powerful and dominating the others. Natural-born leaders from the family bloodlines emerged, accords were made, and truces were forged, albeit uneasy truces at times. Especially between Slyck, the panther guide, and Vall, the lycan guide in the Eastern Chapter.

  Cats and dogs just don’t mix, but it went even deeper than that. Decades ago Vall had tried to sway Slyck’s first-in-command—his enforcer of security—to overlook his pack’s unscheduled nighttime runs. In turn Slyck’s security officer turned Vall in to the community leaders, only to end up dead a few months later. He’d left town to commute to the Western Chapter for a security meeting, and they’d later found his car wrapped around a guardrail, his head torn clear off his shoulders, ending any of the other nine lives he had left.

  Although Slyck couldn’t prove it, he had always felt Vall had had some sort of involvement in the gruesome incident, which left him with a deep-seated belief that Vall had ulterior motives and always acted with his own best interests at heart, not the community’s.

  Slyck had insisted Vall’s position be challenged, but the ruling didn’t go in his favor. The other Overseers sympathized with Vall and his pack, and their continual need to leash their wolf. In the end only a small reprimand had been handed down to the mongrel.

  With that last thought in mind, Slyck avoided Vall’s silvery glare, stretched his long legs out in front of himself, and turned his attention to Harmony, the coven guide, who was in charge of chairing this Sunday night’s meeting, as per their assigned schedule.

  Harmony was dressed in a floor-length black silk robe, with her long, thick, dark hair pulled back in a severe bun. Her violet eyes panned each council member for the briefest of seconds before she initiated the meeting. Then, for the next hour and a half, they discussed council policy, funding, agendas, policing, bylaws, and the threat of exposure from rogue members living outside their gates. Naturally, not every member of every species saw the beauty and benefits of their secret society, hence the need for the Western Chapter to set up a task force to track down and eliminate all rebels. Before the meeting came to a close, Harmony opened the floor to discuss any new business. With that opening, Slyck spoke up.

  He hardened his expression and prepared for an impending confrontation with the canine. “It has been brought to my attention that a few of Vall’s pack have been running in the woods, near the perimeter.” He resisted the urge to add “again.”

  A moment of silence passed as Harmony absorbed that bit of information; then, “Vall, is this correct?” she asked in her usual, patient voice.

  Vall smirked at Slyck, his ruthless pewter eyes narrowing to mere slits. His stony silence spoke volumes as he threaded his beefy hands—large paws that would look at home on a Kodiak—through his long golden mane. He gro
omed himself with a casual nonchalance that belied his primitive temperament.

  In an attempt to lighten the situation,Vall rolled one broad shoulder, gave a humorless laugh, and said easily, “It was a little harmless run. A few of the teenagers enjoying the wind in their faces.”

  Slyck felt his temper flare from simmer to inferno. But since he was not a man who let emotions rule his actions, he worked to control his anger and fisted his hands beneath the table. His crescentlike claws bit into his flesh as his predatory instincts exploded like gunfire.

  Slyck drilled his gaze into Vall and held his ground as he leaned forward—a battle of wills. Since Slyck wouldn’t tolerate stupidity or insubordination, he continued with his litany. “As you know, a rule is a rule, Vall. No matter how big or how small. And these rules are in place for the community’s best interest.” He shot Vall a distrustful look, the underlying message clear in his tone. It didn’t take a genius to translate the meaning of his words, only a lycan. “We all have responsibilities that we must uphold. If we don’t, our community will collapse around us,” he added. “You know it, and I know it.”

  “No harm was done, Slyck,” he barked out, undaunted. “If your little kitties hadn’t—”

  Slyck unfurled his fingers and cut him off, refusing to tolerate his juvenile conduct. “Since I’m chief of security, it’s their job to report to me.” Slyck turned the conversation back onto Vall and his irreverent behavior, refusing to let him sidetrack the council, a technique the mongrel had skillfully mastered over the years. “The full moon was three days ago. They should have gotten their run out of their system then. We all know shifting at any other time during the month is purely for pleasure, an aphrodisiac, or to procreate, and such behavior is not tolerated, never has been, especially during our temporary halt in population.” Even though he had no solid proof, deep down Slyck believed Vall was trying to grow his pack, to build his army and shift the town’s power to his advantage. “If you don’t discipline them, then this matter will have to be handed over to Devon—”