appease her desire.
Tanner scooped her up off the towel, and she hurried to hold on around his neck as he strode after John. The flexing of his muscles beneath her hands reminded her of his vow to die in protection of her if required. She’d only had her wits and her powers to count on for so much of her life, and now she had two self-proclaimed protectors—two men perfectly built for the job.
In the constant dusk of the bedroom, John tossed the covers away from the pillows and then swaggered toward the bathroom. “I’ll be right back.”
His proud bearing struck a chord, and Sarah searched her memory for the reason.
Laying her on the bed, Tanner chuckled as he separated a fuzzy flannel sheet and one of the blankets from the layers of bedding to cover her. “You can’t blame him for strutting around. A stallion’s ego always gets a boost from mounting his mare.”
Stallion? Mare?
She pictured a door clicking closed in her mind. Neither man needed to know what was going on in her head until she worked through a sudden realization sparked by the analogy.
Except it isn’t an analogy. They’re horse shifters. That’s why the horses were gone this morning.
How could she have missed the correlation before now? The difference between yesterday’s foreplay and this morning’s no-holds-barred sex was a night spent in the tender care of her equine lovers. Had she known John and Tanner were her companions in the stable area, she likely would’ve dragged a pile of blankets outside to sleep on the ground. Instead, they’d led her to believe they were merely noble beasts belonging to the masters of the cavern.
Tanner slipped in beside her, stretching and yawning. She half expected him to drape a possessive arm or leg across her, but he folded his hands behind his head and grinned at her. Disappointment tried to elbow its way into her heart. Forcing it away, she let their lie by omission lead her emotions.
Returning from the bathroom, John slid in on the other side and mirrored Tanner’s pose. “I like seeing you in our bed, Sarah.”
She untied the leather string at the end of her braid and then began unweaving the damp strands. “As much as you liked having me sleep in your stable with you last night?”
His lips flattened into a straight line. “You…um…We planned to tell you.”
Halting the unwinding, she flicked her gaze from John to Tanner. “Of course, you did. Actually, I feel a bit stupid for not figuring it out sooner. You’re horse shifters, and you just happen to have a pair of horses in your humble manger? Horses that seemed to understand that I’d freeze if they didn’t share their body heat. You knew I wasn’t about to accept you, so you let me think you were sympathetic creatures willing to listen to my ramblings.”
Tanner frowned. “We were giving you more time to consider what we’d told you about us being your mates. Besides, shifting back to human form to talk to you wouldn’t have been a good idea.”
“Really? Why not?”
John’s cough sounded like he was trying to keep from laughing. “Horses don’t exactly wear clothes.”
He made an excellent point, and she wouldn’t have been ready to deal with them anyway. Still, how did they expect her to trust them if they kept secrets?
Rolling on his side to face her, Tanner kissed her shoulder. “You seemed happier with us as horses, and we wanted you to be comfortable here. I swear we never intended to deceive you.”
Linking his fingers with hers, John brought her hand to his cheek. “We didn’t understand why you were upset until you confided in us. Comforting you was more important than revealing our true selves, but we agreed to tell you after breakfast.”
Their reasons were honorable, and she could hardly argue with them now when she’d needed them to listen in silence to her confession last night. She’d required it to achieve what they had this morning. They hadn’t really had a choice.
Tanner placed his
Tanner scooped her up off the towel, and she hurried to hold on around his neck as he strode after John. The flexing of his muscles beneath her hands reminded her of his vow to die in protection of her if required. She’d only had her wits and her powers to count on for so much of her life, and now she had two self-proclaimed protectors—two men perfectly built for the job.
In the constant dusk of the bedroom, John tossed the covers away from the pillows and then swaggered toward the bathroom. “I’ll be right back.”
His proud bearing struck a chord, and Sarah searched her memory for the reason.
Laying her on the bed, Tanner chuckled as he separated a fuzzy flannel sheet and one of the blankets from the layers of bedding to cover her. “You can’t blame him for strutting around. A stallion’s ego always gets a boost from mounting his mare.”
Stallion? Mare?
She pictured a door clicking closed in her mind. Neither man needed to know what was going on in her head until she worked through a sudden realization sparked by the analogy.
Except it isn’t an analogy. They’re horse shifters. That’s why the horses were gone this morning.
How could she have missed the correlation before now? The difference between yesterday’s foreplay and this morning’s no-holds-barred sex was a night spent in the tender care of her equine lovers. Had she known John and Tanner were her companions in the stable area, she likely would’ve dragged a pile of blankets outside to sleep on the ground. Instead, they’d led her to believe they were merely noble beasts belonging to the masters of the cavern.
Tanner slipped in beside her, stretching and yawning. She half expected him to drape a possessive arm or leg across her, but he folded his hands behind his head and grinned at her. Disappointment tried to elbow its way into her heart. Forcing it away, she let their lie by omission lead her emotions.
Returning from the bathroom, John slid in on the other side and mirrored Tanner’s pose. “I like seeing you in our bed, Sarah.”
She untied the leather string at the end of her braid and then began unweaving the damp strands. “As much as you liked having me sleep in your stable with you last night?”
His lips flattened into a straight line. “You…um…We planned to tell you.”
Halting the unwinding, she flicked her gaze from John to Tanner. “Of course, you did. Actually, I feel a bit stupid for not figuring it out sooner. You’re horse shifters, and you just happen to have a pair of horses in your humble manger? Horses that seemed to understand that I’d freeze if they didn’t share their body heat. You knew I wasn’t about to accept you, so you let me think you were sympathetic creatures willing to listen to my ramblings.”
Tanner frowned. “We were giving you more time to consider what we’d told you about us being your mates. Besides, shifting back to human form to talk to you wouldn’t have been a good idea.”
“Really? Why not?”
John’s cough sounded like he was trying to keep from laughing. “Horses don’t exactly wear clothes.”
He made an excellent point, and she wouldn’t have been ready to deal with them anyway. Still, how did they expect her to trust them if they kept secrets?
Rolling on his side to face her, Tanner kissed her shoulder. “You seemed happier with us as horses, and we wanted you to be comfortable here. I swear we never intended to deceive you.”
Linking his fingers with hers, John brought her hand to his cheek. “We didn’t understand why you were upset until you confided in us. Comforting you was more important than revealing our true selves, but we agreed to tell you after breakfast.”
Their reasons were honorable, and she could hardly argue with them now when she’d needed them to listen in silence to her confession last night. She’d required it to achieve what they had this morning. They hadn’t really had a choice.
Tanner placed his
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