Free Falke’s Captive by Madison Layle & Anna Leigh Keaton Page B

telepathic connection, but the cougar hunter just walked in.
    Reidar glanced toward the door to see Beth enter the dimly lit pub. Uh oh. Should we leave? He turned back to Kelan who flashed him a smirk.
    Run? From her?
    Kelan, she’s a scientist with a knack for shooting your ass.
    “Good point.”
    “Kel…I know that look, and it always spells trouble.”
    “There’s one more little thing I didn’t tell you about the mad scientist.”
    Reidar finished the last of his beer and raised his eyebrows in question.
    “She’s into cages and collars.”
    “Bullshit.”
    “I’m serious as a heart attack.”
    Still skeptical, Reidar asked, “And you know this how?”
    “She likes to talk to caged kitty cats.”
    Reidar shook his head and chuckled. Beth might not be in it for the long haul, but he’d wanted to get his paws on her curvy body ever since they’d walked her back to her hotel.
    Kelan was right. They had a lot of time to find the one . And no one had forbidden them from seeing her again…as humans. “You think she’d like to play?” he asked, shoving aside the voice of reason that warned against any and all liaisons with the pretty scientist.
    We’ll see , Kelan said silently. She’s coming our way .
    Beth’s tummy fluttered the instant she spotted two of the Falke brothers sitting in a booth at the rustic, old world pub. The slightly longer hair identified one of them as Kelan, awake and apparently suffering no ill effects from the tranquilizer she’d shot him with that morning. And the other must be Reidar, who had stuck up for her and kept their brother from calling the police.
    For a brief instant, she thought about leaving, but she’d never been one to avoid responsibility. She knew what she had to do. Squaring her shoulders, she weaved her way through tables and chairs and across the dance floor to the side of their booth. When she arrived, though, her brain seemed to go completely blank. They looked at her with identical pairs of eyes, showing none of the censure she’d expected. Hazel eyes glinting with something hot and primal that made her scalp tingle.
    “Hey there, sharpshooter,” Kelan said, one side of his mouth kicked up into a slight grin.
    She tried for an apologetic smile, but the heated look he gave her made her lips tremble with nerves. She slipped a hand over her belly to quiet the butterflies. “Yeah, about that…I just wanted to say—to tell you I’m really sorry about tranquilizing you this morning. You’re okay, right?” He wore a collar now, the one she’d had or the one he’d loaned to the cat. When she glanced at Reidar, she noted he wore his too. There was something sexy about that—these big, strong, virile men wearing leather that way.
    “I’m fine, Beth,” Kelan murmured. “Now that you’re here.” His voice, a little more than a low growl, made certain parts of her body quiver in a stimulating, yet distressing, way. Too many months spent with microscopes and computers, and not enough playtime.
    “Really? I mean good. I uh…After this morning, I figured you’d be so mad, you’d never want to see me again.” She forced a soft chuckle out and glanced at Reidar. “I thought you’d both be glad to be rid of the crazy, gun-wielding scientist.” Would she ever be able to swallow the boulder stuck in her throat?
    “You armed now?” Reidar asked.
    Her abrupt burst of laughter was more genuine this time. “No, I’m not.”
    He flashed a set of pearly whites. “Good. Neither are we.”
    Not true. The man was armed with that captivating smile and kissable lips.
    Kelan held his hand out to her, and she stared at it a long moment before slipping her hand into his. He tugged her toward him, and she slid into the booth. His broad shoulders made her feel tiny, even though she was far from it. Both men’s bodies were lean, yet muscled and sexily outlined by jet black T-shirts. She took a quick glance down at their hands as Kelan’s thumb skimmed over her