Dual Threat Read Online Free

to where they were? She backed away from Evan long enough to catch her breath and glance around. Instead of being on the highway or one of the city streets of Cleveland heading toward another club, Ian had pulled the truck into a garage. She recognized the tools on the walls and the black Chevy truck in the other bay. They really were home. Another thought crossed her mind. Home meant the night had started and started meant there would be an ending. The word temporary flashed in her brain. For a girl who didn’t deal in messy attachments, she sure didn’t want to end whatever she’d started with Evan and Ian.
    “Let’s go inside.” Ian opened his truck door first, but sat still in his seat. “Getting chilly.”
    Kaia hunkered down on her seat between Ian and Evan. Moments before, they’d been touching and fondling. She watched Evan out of her peripheral vision. He unbuckled his seat belt and opened his truck door.
    “It’s crazy.” She fumbled with her buckle. “I don’t know what you two have planned, but I’m scared and excited.”
    Evan left the door open, but didn’t leave. “Why? Afraid we’ll bite?”
    “I’m not worried about the biting.” She chuckled. “You’re tigers. Biting has to factor in somewhere.”
    “Then what is it?”
    “Our friendship. I know what I want to do tonight, and once we cross that threshold, there’s no going back. Are we sure we want to take whatever we’ve got between us to the next level?”
    “Lines are meant to be crossed.” Evan tucked a lock of her hair behind her ear. He grazed the barbell in her cartilage, and a jolt of pleasure went through her. “Second thoughts? You can always say no. We respect you no matter what you decide.”
    “I’m not one of you.” Her thoughts swirled in a million directions, but the one thing she kept coming back to, she voiced aloud. No amount of play, or sex, or even good times would happen for the long run. She wasn’t a tiger shifter. They’d find their mate, and she’d be left alone. She wanted them to be happy, but damn it, she wanted to fit into that happiness somewhere.
    “What are you saying?” Evan tipped his head.
    Kaia took a deep breath and let it out slowly. “I’m not a tigress. Tigers only have other tigers as mates, and I don’t want to be just another good time.”
    *
    I knew this was coming. Ian scrubbed his hand across his mouth. Finding one’s mate wasn’t exactly easy. Having a twin meant being a matched set before the mate entered into the equation, and so they had to find someone who could handle both him and Evan. The moment she walked into the club, he knew she belonged to them. She walked with a grace rarely seen in full-blooded humans. She reminded him of the tigresses he’d known while he trained as a security specialist. But she didn’t come with the bullshit many women brought into relationships. Kaia spoke her mind and did what she wanted, even if others were hurt in the process. Seeing her upset and acting unlike herself cut him deep.
    “Let’s go inside.” Ian placed his hand on hers. “We can talk there.” His larger hand dwarfed her smaller one.
    “He’s right.” Evan stepped out of the truck. “I need to start the water.” Without another word, he hurried into the house.
    Kaia kept her head low and didn’t move.
    He needed to tell her something. Anything. Ian turned in his seat and placed his other hand on hers. “Shifters are funny animals. We turn into something else and have the senses of both critters. I’ve got a twin, so I can feel what he feels and understand what he’s thinking. All that doesn’t mean I have to be with one certain individual. Tigers are even stranger. Yes, we’re meant to be with other tigers, but sometimes rules are meant to be broken and sorted out in a different way.” He tugged her into his lap. Her eyes widened, but she didn’t fight him.
    “Kaia, I want you.” He held her jaw in both hands. “Evan wants you. We’re going to