Free Surrounded by Pleasure by Mandy Harbin

blushed, giving him a timid smile.
    He couldn’t have her being shy after everything they’d
just gone through. He leaned down, kissing her nose. “Sexy.” He kissed her
cheek. “Irresistible.” He nibbled on her ear, and she giggled. He smiled
against her in return. Mine . He
wanted to say it, but he didn’t. It was too dangerous to think like that. He
needed to figure out how to get ahold of his emotions.
    He eased off her to take care of the condom. He needed to
talk to Josh tonight before things got too carried away with Krista. He should
be out running with his brother, so as soon as Krista fell asleep, Toby would
seek out his brother’s help.
    Because he feared things had already gone too far with
her, and he didn’t want to stop.

Chapter Six
     
    Toby eased the back patio door shut, pulled off his robe,
and shifted. God, he loved being in his mountain lion form. He felt free, and
all the stresses of everyday life disappeared. All that mattered was food,
sleep, and mate. With that thought, he turned to look through the glass door of
his cabin. He couldn’t see Krista, but he knew she was in there. He wanted to
go to her, so he turned and ran into the woods. The sooner he talked to his
brother, the sooner he could be back in bed with the woman who was stealing his
heart.
    It was too soon. She’d only just arrived. How could he
have these kinds of feelings brewing for her already? As he ran, he found a
squirrel and chased it up a tree. The little shit was faster, so he climbed
down and kept running.
    He heard leaves rustling on the ground around the bend,
so he headed that way, figuring it’d be one of his brothers. When he ran around
the corner, he came upon two mountain lions tussling. At first he figured it
was a couple of his brothers, but then one of them tried to mount the other.
    Oh, shit . He’d walked in on Josh and
Mikaela about to mate in their feral forms. Not good.
    Josh spun around, hissing at Toby. Mine!
    Sorry. I-I wanted
to talk to you, but I see you’re busy right now . He started to back up.
Realistically, Josh knew that none of his brothers would try to take Mikaela
away from him, but Toby understood that, in beast form, logic was a little
harder to grasp.
    Josh made a frustrated feline growl, shaking his head to
the side as if it hurt. I’ll meet you at
your cabin in a few minutes .
    Toby wanted to argue that he’d rather not talk there, but
he was smart enough not to argue with his brother right now. Coming between a
lion and his lioness could just cause one big catfight. He’d just hang around
outside the cabin, waiting for Josh, so as not to disturb Krista. Okay .
    He turned and trotted back to his cabin. The feline cries
rent the air around him as Josh claimed his wife in that primal way. The fact
that those two were mating in their feline forms meant only one thing. They
were trying to get pregnant. Toby’s dad had always told them mating in that
form was reserved for procreation just like in the wild. People were the only animals
that fucked for fun—no other animals did. There was no proof that they couldn’t
get a female pregnant in human form, but mating in animal form only served that
one purpose.
    When he got back to his cabin, Toby shifted and put on
his robe. He sat on the railing, looking up at the stars. Time passed—he didn’t
know how much. But eventually, Josh came strolling up to the back porch.
    “Sorry, man. I didn’t mean to interrupt.”
    Josh shrugged. “Just keep what you saw to yourself, okay?
We want a baby, but we don’t want to tell everyone just yet. We’d rather wait
until Mikaela gets pregnant before announcing anything.”
    “Oh, hey. I understand. Totally. My lips are sealed.”
    Josh’s shoulders relaxed like he was relieved to hear
Toby wouldn’t spread their secret. “So, what’s bothering you?” Josh asked as he
climbed the stairs and leaned against the railing next to Toby.
    “It’s this thing with Krista. I like her, man. A