Fantasy Lynxed [Teeth, Nails and Tails] - Brynn Paulin

[raone453k]

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Mika glanced at Bar as their hands kneaded the supple flesh of her thighs. This is torture, he told his cluster mate. She wants us. I can smell it, and I’m aching for her. She might feel differently when she wakes, Bar countered. They both knew the medicine woman, called Grandmother by all in their town, concocted tea that had a potent effect, much like drinking far too much beer. Summer was seeing them both through a drunken haze. He wanted her without the inebriated filter. Her skin is like silk, Bar moaned into Mika’s thoughts. Not helping, Mika replied. Sometimes, Mika regretted the telepathic link he shared with his friend, but they’d had the connection since they were children, so he was accustomed to never truly being alone. Though their remote town, Caribou Run, was reachable only by plane and a thrice-a-year Cat-train—freight pulled by Caterpillar vehicles—Mika had plenty of opportunities for solitude. Still, no matter where Mika wandered, Bar’s thoughts could always reach him. Once they claimed Summer, her thoughts would reach them, too. He ached for that. For half of his thirty years, he’d longed for that female connection. And here she was, in his home, but still beyond his reach. His hand slipped to her warm inner thigh, and the burning heat of her forbidden flesh radiated to him. He glanced at the damp curls at her apex, wanted to part her labia and draw his tongue through the arousal he’d scented there. It would be tangy and sweet as he circled her pearled clit and drove her to climax. His fingers curled as he fought the urge to follow through with his thought. Quickly, he moved his palms closer to her knees before he gave into temptation and delved into her pussy.

Summer moaned as he moved from the lure of her sex, and he gritted his teeth, his cock jerking with his need. A glance at Bar revealed his cluster mate’s hardened jaw. His cheeks hollowed, a tense muscle ticking near his temple as he too fought himself. Not that Mika needed to look at his friend. As he opened his thoughts, he heard Bar’s mantra. Don’t do it. Don’t do it. Don’t… Inhaling deeply, Mika reminded himself of the same. Breathing was a mistake. Summer’s heated scent filled him again, a heavy fragrance that sank into his senses as a weight that would never be removed. The lynx inside him growled. It prowled forward and threatened to break free. “Stop!” Bar grabbed him by the back of the neck, and it was only then that Mika realized he’d bent over Summer. Mika’s mouth hovered mere inches above his mate’s pussy, ready to part and lick the tender flesh. Already, he tasted her elixir on his tongue as he breathed her in. “By the gods!” he exclaimed, pulling away and darting toward the door where he’d be safe from acting on his desires. He leaned against the doorframe and took in the tableau of Bar running his hands over Summer’s body. Her skin had started to flush, particularly the flesh from her rigid nipples up to her neck. Her thighs had parted, revealing her even darker flushed labia. Her pussy shone with her moisture, her springy curls glistening. He drew a hand over his aching cock. This mindless desire wouldn’t abate until he’d sunk into her. “How long?” he asked Bar. Bar had always been the voice of reason. When Mika wanted to rush into a situation, Bar had a checklist of things to consider first. If Mika wanted to be a daredevil, Bar stopped him before they both got hurt. And if Mika rushed forward and indulged in Summer, he’d hurt them all. “At least until she’s healed enough not to need Grandmother’s tea.” “Of course.” Yes, of course, they had to wait. Shame filled him at the knowledge his overwhelming desire had nearly caused him to act inappropriately toward their mate. Bar stood, a small pained but sympathetic smile on his face as he glanced at Mika. He obviously understood and was as close to the edge as his friend.

I think we’re done here, he told Mika. He pulled the quilt over Summer. She moaned and snuggled into the pillow. “I could use a run,” Mika said as they stepped into the hallway and closed the door. A long, long run would stretch and exhaust him. But he didn’t have time for that. Bar needed the same, and they couldn’t leave Summer for long. “Grandmother’s tea will knock her out for a couple hours. Race you to the rock and back,” Bar replied, pulling off his flannel shirt then the tee beneath it. There was no need for him to explain which rock. They’d been running to the same place an hour up the mountain since they’d hit full-on teen angst years ago. Eagerly, Mika stripped. Bar was at his heels as he whipped open the back door and shifted as he leapt down the stairs to the yard.

A flash of lightning-swift pain shocked through him as his bones cracked and reshaped while fur erupted across his body. Paws hit the hard earth. Turning his head, he witnesses a blur of motion as Bar stood naked in the doorway then jumped toward him, his body rapidly re-forming into that of a giant lynx. Thick beige-white fur covered his limbs and body. Large feline eyes turned toward Mika, and he twitched his black-tufted ears. Problem? Of course not. Turning, Mika dashed toward the summit of the nearest peak. Caribou Run was nestled in the foothills on the northern side of the Brooks mountain range, hidden from the world and accidental discovery by hikers. No one came here by mistake. That was good. They didn’t need to be as careful with their shifts or with being seen in animal form. The entire village was comprised of shifters and their mates, so secrecy was imperative. Some caution was always necessary, though, especially when venturing farther from home. Strangers didn’t expect to see lynx this far north in Alaska. Gods help them all if they attracted bands of scientists to “check it out.” His broad paws carried him swiftly over the waning vegetation near his home and into the patchy snow at the lower elevations of the peak. He heard Bar bounding across the ground behind him. His cluster mate slammed into him, and they tumbled together across a large stretch of snow. Bar pinned him, giving him a head butt then chuffling before he leapt to the side and tore away. Cheater, Mika called through their thought connection as he righted himself and followed. Lynx, not a cheetah, Bar returned. Had he been in human form, Mika would have snorted at the rote retort that had passed between them a zillion time before. Both men were competitive, and they both played to win. Anything went in their competitions as long as no one got hurt. He was thankful he wouldn’t have to fight Bar for their mate. Her pleasure would be foremost in their minds. Their mate… Immediately, his thoughts turned back to his desire. Gods, he wanted her. Stop it! Bar commanded. Mika would have scowled had he been able to as a lynx. Instead, he growled low in his throat. Aside from being reckless, he tended toward single-mindedness. He wanted Summer, and his world wouldn’t settle into the right pattern until he’d had her—but what if she rejected them? It was always a possibility, and they’d never forcibly mate with her. But once the three of them joined, he and Bar would never willingly let her go. She’s going to smell the desperation rolling off you, Bar commented drily. Need, Mika corrected, unwilling to call his feelings what they were. Truly, he could jump the air-taxi into Barrow or even Fairbanks and find a woman to slake his needs. Sex wasn’t the issue here. He was ready for his one, the female who’d complete their triad. The gods had sent her. Why shouldn’t he be anxious to mate?

Gods, he had to clear his head. His feline scream filled the autumn air before he leapt forward and raced toward Bar, who, judging by landmarks, had managed to gain nearly a quarter mile on him. Unacceptable. Mika’s powerful legs surged across the near-frozen earth, his claws digging into ice and damp, hard soil as he ran. He pounced on Bar as they reached the rendezvous point, shifting as he wrapped his arms around the other man. Sparks of electric energy tingled across Mika’s skin as Bar shifted, too. His limbs tangled with Mika’s as they rolled. Mika buried his nose in Bar’s neck, chuffling, and Bar’s arms tightened around him. They had a strange relationship—close, affectionate, but unlike many bonded shifters, they didn’t share sexual relations. They were as close as any mates could be, and they found comfort in one another, but they’d never fucked, and Mika doubted they ever would. He breathed in Bar’s essence, the scent pouring into his being and calming him. Bar nuzzled his face to the side of Mika’s, and Mika shuddered as his cluster mate’s drugging pheromones dulled the knife-edged tension inside him. They tumbled across the uneven ground, patches of ice biting into their skin as they wrestled like cubs, each endowing the other with a good dose of the biologic chemical that would calm them. Bar pressed his face to Mika’s shoulder, gently biting him as they clasped each other. Mika groaned, pleasure and a strange lethargy rolling over him as Bar exerted his power. They acted as equals, but Bar was the more dominant of their pairing. Mika shifted back to lynx form. He couldn’t help panting as the exertion of the magic, coupled with the run and wrestling, weighed down his body. Fighting the pain of the shift always took some of his strength, but thankfully, his body secreted some hormone to counteract the pain, and it was gone as quickly as it started.

“Ready to go, then?” Bar asked, rising and showing no concern for his nakedness. Mika rubbed against his thigh. His head tipped back to brush Bar’s hip until Bar reached down and buried his fingers in the fur between Mika’s ears. Mika rumbled his appreciation low in his throat. For a split second, the air sizzled with energy as the space where Bar had stood blurred as Bar changed—then a lynx, slightly larger than Mika, stood in Bar’s place. He started down the slope with Mika on his heels. They’d been gone long enough. It was time to go back if they hoped to be at the house when Summer awoke.