Read Jaguars' Reward [Impulse 3] (Siren Publishing Ménage Everlasting) for Free Online Page A

babe,” Vadim said, “and step out onto the terrace just for a moment.”
    “Okay, but I don’t see what—”
    “You will.”
    She followed the guys outside. Vadim and Zayd stepped up to the railing and watched her. She took a deep breath, coughed, and then took another.
    “Hey, it’s kind of humid out here.”
    “She can’t be pure shifter,” Zayd pheromoned. “If she was, she’d be able to breathe our air.”
    “I already told you she’s not purebred. If she was, she would have shifted when she attacked me.”
    Zayd screwed up his features. “She’s still got shifter blood, buddy. We have to forget about her as a mate.”
    “Think I don’t know that?”
    “The air’s a bit thin here in Impulse,” Vadim said, guiding her back inside. “Not everyone can breathe it easily.”
    They all sat down again and Vadim knew the time had come to explain.
    “I know you’re tired,” he said, “and this is gonna sound a little weird. But you need to understand that someone’s messed with your mind.”
    She laughed. “Don’t be silly. That’s not possible. I figured I’d been in the water for too long, or something.”
    “Nope. You said yourself that something inside your head made you attack me when you didn’t want to.”
    “We need to try and figure out who got to you,” Zayd said.
    “And why?” she suggested.
    “Oh, we know why,” Vadim said. “Tomorrow, when we’ve all rested, we’re gonna try and unblock the block, if you’ll trust us enough to let us do that.”
    “This is beyond creepy,” she said, shuddering.
    “No odder than you trying to kill the guy who saved your life,” Zayd pointed out. “And you don’t fight fair, in case you didn’t know it. Going for his balls was just plain mean.”
    A grin crept around the corners of her mouth. “I was looking for a large target.”
    Zayd roared with laughter. “And his are as big as they come, honey, trust me on this.”
    “Glad you find it amusing,” Vadim said, laughing as well. “Still, it’s time to turn in.”
    “I really don’t want to sleep with such a foggy brain,” Talia said. “I get all these images that freak me out. Besides, what if I feel the need to kill you again?”
    “You won’t,” Vadim replied. “The people who were controlling you are now too far away to keep the pressure on. They knew they only had one shot at it, and fortunately for me that failed.”
    She looked at them helplessly. “You might as well be speaking Swahili for all the sense you’re making.”
    “Just trust us,” Zayd said, offering her a full-on sexy smile that she responded to, probably instinctively, with a wide smile of her own. “We need to get some rest and so do you. First thing tomorrow, we’ll set about unlocking the Pandora’s box that’s lodged inside your brain.”
    “Okay. I guess you know best.”
     
    * * * *
     
    Talia felt like she was an actor in a play, looking on as someone else portrayed her life, unaware what went before or after the scene that was being enacted. It was weird, but also kind of exciting, in a masochistic sort of way. She didn’t believe it was possible for anyone to wipe her memory, much less control her actions. But Vadim and Zayd seemed so convinced that she was starting to believe it herself. The explanation helped to assuage her guilt. She’d tried to kill Vadim, but it wasn’t her fault because someone was screwing with her brain.
    Welcome to the blameless society.
    The two guys led her to the room where she’d slept before.
    “You got everything you need?” Zayd asked.
    “Some clothes would be nice.”
    “We’ll sort that in the morning,” Vadim said. “And we’re right across the hall if you need us.”
    He pointed to a single door. Did they share the same room then? Were they gay? The possibility disappointed her—they didn’t seem the type. Besides, the way Vadim had kissed her wasn’t how a gay man kissed a woman. The gesture was backed up with a ton of passion, and