Free Dual Threat by Wendi Zwaduk Page B

you. You talk more, but yeah, I’d like her to pick both of us too.”
    “I know.” Evan sighed. “What if she’s ready to tell us something else? Anything is possible.”
    “She said he beat the shit out of her, but that’s been almost two months ago. Remember? We intervened and fixed the issue. He hasn’t laid a hand on her since.” Ian’s tiger roared. No one hurt his mate, even if she wasn’t his—yet.
    “We’ve got to brace for anything and get the hell out of this truck. She’s waiting.” He nodded to the door where their sister, Sonya, stood. She’d cocked one hip and flipped her long blonde hair over her shoulder. Even from a distance, her giddiness rolled off her in waves.
    Ian stuck out his hand to his twin. “May the best man win.”
    “Yeah,” Evan said with a grin, “both of us.”
    *
    Evan followed his older-by-a-few-minutes brother into the club. Their sister bounced over to where they stood awaiting the ticket taker to print their pass for the night.
    “You’re late.” Sonya adjusted the straps of her halter top. “Tommy didn’t think you’d even show.”
    “We did,” Ian muttered. Go figure, the moment they got into the club proper, his brother chose to clam up.
    Evan shook his head. He wanted to believe she shared something special with them. His tiger wanted to believe too. Every time he watched her dance, his animal roared and his erection remained until the wee hours of the morning. Other women didn’t affect him like the raven-haired vixen. He wanted to caress her curves and lick every inch of her delectable pale skin. When she hugged him, he craved her body even more. He’d be her friend forever, but platonic sucked assholes when he really wanted to make love to her.
    Evan’s tiger knew exactly who he wanted the moment he saw her too. The animal sniffed her scent, and the pheromones in her body called to him. Clawing, biting him from within, the animal craved this person. Like Evan could deny his animal? But being part human, he needed to bide his time. His tiger insisted on snatching her from the bar, but he’d play it safe and give her room to return the feelings. He’d be lost without his mate, but he’d survive—maybe. Heartbreak killed more than its fair share of tiger-shifters, and sent a great many more to insanity while waiting for their true mate.
    Evan swatted his brother on the shoulder. “She’s doing the circle tonight. Let’s take a window each.”
    Ian nodded and opened the first door to the circle. Evan opened the door to the left. The circle, a stage ringed with windows so each patron could watch without touching, gave the dancer safety and the patron privacy. The stench of cigarette smoke wafted around him. His boots clunked on the tile floor.
    Evan wrinkled his nose and then brushed his boot over the vinyl seat. Nothing liquid gleamed on the brown surface, so he sat and propped his feet on the shelf. Others used the room to jack off while the girls danced. Not him. He drank in every detail of Kaia and imprinted them on his permanent memory. If he’d never have her in his arms, he’d hold her in his dreams.
    The girl in the circle, a thin, shorter girl with red hair bounced around a chair. Her breasts jiggled with every step, and her tiny nipples puckered. Evan sighed. The woman defined conventional beauty, but she didn’t elicit a thing below his belt. His tiger ignored her. Damn it.
    He waited until the redhead finished her dance. A blonde strutted onto the stage next. Not Kaia. He knocked on the wall to Ian’s stall and then stepped into the hallway. Another dancer, one with cropped black hair, slipped between Evan and the wall. She glanced at him, winked, and then pursed her lips.
    He nodded and offered a slight smile. Again, nothing happened below the belt. Well, hell. His brother stepped out of his stall and cleared his throat.
    The girl’s eyes widened. “Twins. One flavor I’ve never tried.”
    “Ian! Evan!” Kaia bounded toward