her that,” Jai snapped.
“That would make you a perfect vessel for Hollingsworth,” Nero said with a frown. “He wouldn’t need his little clicker anymore, he’d have you. How do we know you aren’t some kind of plant? You were supposed to be an employee here. Who’s to say you aren’t?”
“Exactly what I was thinking,” Gaden said. “She can touch minds sure enough. She did mine when I was in my beast form. I saw home. But who’s to say this isn’t all part of a greater plan?”
“Shan’s not—” Jai spluttered, but Kazimir interrupted him.
“Are you so divorced from your instincts? Smell her! Past the delightful floral fragrance of her arousal, smell her mood.”
I started to wonder at the wisdom of what I’d done, having them all crouched over me like this. Five faces pressed closer, taking deep breaths in.
“I don’t give a shit if she is a plant. I’d much rather a hot spy who’s likely to get her hand on my dick than the clicker guys,” Zane said.
“So we vote,” Nero said, his eyes flicking around the group. “Zane’s in.”
“I’m in,” Caleb said. “I gotta be. She’s…”
“That’s enough for her to practise on, if no one else is willing,” Nero said.
“I’m in,” Kazimir said. “Indeed, I’m going to insist that I be the first ‘subject,’ as so many of you monopolised Shannon’s time yesterday.”
“Good, you can have any I’m allotted,” Gaden said. “If someone leaves a cloth with her slick on it in my cage, I’ll sort the sample out.”
I nearly recoiled when all eyes landed back on me.
“There’s of course the question of who collects it,” Kazimir said, his eyes sliding to the hem of my gown.
“Me. Anything other than what you’ve negotiated with her? I do,” Jai said. “I love her with everything I have. I grew up with Shannon, knew she was my mate as soon as I got to puberty. You don’t realise what you’re asking of me.”
“Yeah, we do,” Caleb rumbled. “No one’s disputing your bond, but every single one of us has loved a woman and given our hearts to someone, even if it wasn’t our mate.”
“And some of us did give their hearts to their mate,” Gaden said quietly. “I’ll leave the sample on the trolley, just get me the rag.”
He got up and walked out of the room, back to his cage.
“He lost her to a different member of the Capricorn Institute,” Nero explained. “She…died badly.”
Jai’s arm tightened around me.
“So we’re clear then? No one pressures Shannon, pushes her, or does anything that makes her uncomfortable?”
“We want to seduce her, wolf boy, not hurt her,” Zane said with a sneer, something that softened when he looked at me. “You go where I’m thinkin’ you’re going, she’s gonna be molten. Her blood will become fire, her body raging with it, and the only thing that will help is a shit-ton of cum.” He purred, seemingly lost for a moment in the mental image he was creating. “I just wanna be around to give a helping hand.”
Sweat pricked my skin, making me all too aware of my position on the bed, underneath so many men. My eyes roamed, struggling to process what Zane described. If those hands slipped closer, if my gown rucked up…
“Is this normal?” I asked, rolling up and settling against Jai. The heavy weight of his chest helped ground me. “Like, should I feel…?”
“We know how you feel, love,” Jai said in a low rumble, nuzzling my neck. “Your scent is broadcasting it everywhere. Well, if everyone’s clear, then you can give us a moment while I get Gaden’s jerk-off aid together.”
“You gonna tease her?” Zane asked, eyes sharpening. “Get her squirting?”
His words were crude, his interest naked, but there was something about Zane’s focus that had me squirming, causing him to smile.
“If anyone’s gonna do it, it’s gonna be me,” Jai growled.
“Consent is king,” Nero said with a nod, getting to his feet. “Message received loud and clear. You’ll get what Gaden needs, then she goes to Kazimir for practise. That OK with you, Kaz?”
Those pale blue eyes slid over me, and he smiled, that smug bastard look that should have pissed me off but didn’t.
“I look forward to it. And what is our Zane doing?”
“That’s for him to negotiate with them, isn’t it?”
Nero tried to model the behaviour he was looking for, but Kazimir moved so much slower. His eyes seemed reluctant to leave us, but get up he did.
“Until later,” he said before sauntering off.
“You want to