Soul Sentinels 2: Pen and Paser (Siren Publishing Ménage Everlasting) Page 4
Pen knew the moment Nina entered the room. Goose bumps raced over his skin and the hair at his nape stood on end. It was the hardest thing he'd ever done to remain sitting in his seat at the table. His first instinct was to leap up from his chair, race over to her and pull her into his arms, but he didn't want to frighten her away. He had a feeling that Nina wouldn't appreciate his display of affection since they'd barely spoken to each other since they'd met.
Paser took a deep breath and stood. Pen held his breath and hoped his friend didn't do anything stupid. He didn't realize he was holding his own breath until Paser walked toward the kitchen part of the room and he released the air in his lungs.
When he looked toward the door, he saw the frown on Nina's face and wanted more than anything to know what she was thinking, but that wasn't about to happen. Her body language was showing all the “keep off” signs with her arms crossed beneath her breasts. She looked so small, lost and vulnerable. His heart ached for her and again he had to push the urge to go to her away.
He decided that maybe talking to her would ease her tension. “How did you sleep, Nina?” If he hadn't been watching her so closely, he would have missed the shiver that made her small body tremble slightly, and he hoped more than anything it was a reaction to his voice, and his and Paser's presence.
“Okay.” She sighed, and when she looked away, he knew she lied, but until she got to know them, he wasn't about to call her on the fabrication. Plus, he could see the dark smudges beneath her eyes, a testament to her fib.
“Are you hungry, little one?” Paser asked as he rummaged in the fridge for the breakfast ingredients.
“Yes.”
“Take a seat. I'll have breakfast ready soon.” Paser dumped the ingredients on the counter and turned to smile at Nina.
The corners of her mouth tilted up but then the frown returned. “I can help. I'm not used to being waited on.”
“It would be my honor to cook for you, and besides, I usually do the cooking for everyone.” Paser dropped the bacon into a large pan and then started on the eggs.
“Come and sit.” Pen patted the seat next to him, and to his surprised pleasure, she came and sat right next to him. “Did Zara tell you about…”
“Yes,” Nina answered quickly and then lowered her head.
“Do you believe her, Nina?” Pen asked.
“I don't know,” she whispered. “It's all so…fantastical. Like something out of a sci-fi movie.”
“If you have any questions, we will answer them to the best of our ability,” Paser said.
“I don't even know where to begin.”
“Just say whatever is on your mind, Nina. We won't get offended.” Pen could feel the heat of her body radiating out toward him. He could also smell her wonderful vanilla scent and her arousal. His cock jerked against the zipper of his jeans and he shifted in his seat, but the move didn't help to relieve the constriction on his hard dick. He knew that Nina was the only one who would be able to relieve him, but she had to accept them as her mates before he touched her. He wasn't sure he could stop if he started.
“How can I be your...mate? I don't even know you.”
“About six months ago, Ra told us that he would reward us for our service and loyalty. He told us would find the other half to our souls.”
Nina lifted her head and met his gaze. “So you're telling me that without Ra's interference we probably wouldn't be attracted to each other?”
“No. I don't think that's the case,” Pen answered, trying to keep the frustration from his voice.
“Then what? It sounds to me like your sun god had a hand in this attraction, and if that is the case, we may not have even been attracted to each other without his influence.”
“There is no way Ra could change someone's feelings, Nina,” Paser said as he brought over a cup of coffee, placed it in front of her and then put milk and sugar close enough for her to reach if she needed it.
“How do you know that? He's a god, isn't he? He could probably do anything he wants to.”
“If we had met under other circumstances, would you have found us attractive?” Pen nudged her chin up with his finger when she looked down at the table. When her face tinged pink with embarrassment he had his answer, but still needed to hear her say the words.
“Yes. How can you ask that? You're both tall, handsome and sexy. You have muscular physiques and could probably grace the cover of any magazine.”
“Are you normally attracted to good-looking men the way you are to us?” Paser pushed the jug of milk toward her when she reached for it.
Nina added a little milk to her coffee, stirred and then wrapped her hands around the mug. Paser raced across the room and began to remove the bacon from the pan. Nina's mouth dropped open as she stared at Paser. Her eyes wondered over Pen's friend from head to toe and paused when she got to his ass. Pen bit the inside of his cheek to stop the smile tugging at his lips. She must have seen him watching her from the corner of her eyes because she glanced toward him and then looked down at her coffee again. This time, her face went bright red instead of a slight pink hue.
“Are you going to answer the question?” Pen prodded.
Nina shook her head and then, to his relief, she met his gaze and answered verbally. “No, I'm not normally this attracted to strange, good-looking men.”
“We don't react to other women this way either, baby,” Pen said.
“I just don't know what to think about...all this. It's just too…surreal.”
Pen heard the other sentinels and Zara heading toward them and knew he didn't have long to reply, but he needed Nina to relax and feel comfortable in his and Paser's presence. He covered one of her hands with his and quelled the jolt of attraction from showing.
“We would never hurt you, Nina, nor would we do anything you didn't want. We don't expect you to agree to be ours right away. We'll give you all the time you need.”
Nina released a long sigh and nodded. Pen removed his hand from hers just as the others began to file in. Sometimes he hated that they all had enhanced hearing and could discern conversations from far away, but this time he was grateful the others had given them some alone time with their mate. He'd heard Set, Sab and Zara coming toward them earlier, but they had turned back around and given him, Paser and Nina privacy.
He nodded to Set and Sab when their gazes met, and would have acknowledged Zara, too, but she was looking at Nina. “Are you okay, Nina?”
“Yeah, thanks,” Nina replied.
Everyone sat down and Pen introduced Nina to the other sentinels. After Paser brought the food over, they began to eat. When Pen saw Nina wince as she moved, he knew she was in pain. “How's your shoulder?”
“Sore, but better than it was.”
“Maybe we should take you to see a doctor?” Paser suggested.
Nina shook her head. “No, I'm fine, just bruised.”
“You could have a fracture,” Zara said.
“No, I don't. I've fractured my collarbone before, so I know I would be in a lot worse pain if that were the case. I'm fine, don't worry.”
“Have you ever encountered the demonic before last night, Nina?” Set asked.
“No, and I hope I never do again. I've never been so scared in my life.” Nina shivered with remembered fear.
Pen hated her seeing her scared and needed to comfort her. He placed his arm around her shoulders and hugged her. She looked up and met his gaze, and when he saw the desire in her eyes, he nearly lowered his head and kissed her. If Paser hadn't cleared his throat, he probably would have done so in front of everyone else and forgotten they were even there.
Nina's cheeks grew pink and when she shrugged her shoulders, dislodging his arm from around her, he clenched his jaw. He felt rejected and pain pierced his heart. The others talked about what they were going to do for the day, and although he listened, he didn't join in.
“I need to go home,” Nina blurted out.
The pain Pen felt a moment ago was
pale in comparison to the piercing agony stabbing into his chest, and from the ragged breath he heard Paser draw in, his friend was in much the same condition. He didn't want to let Nina out of his sight, and not just because he wanted her so badly his entire body was aching, but because of his natural inclination to keep an innocent safe.
“Why?” Sab asked before Pen could refute her proclamation.
“I don’t have any clothes.”
“Are you going to come back here?” Zara asked.
“Yes. There is no way in hell I'm staying at my place alone if I've been targeted by those…things.”
Relief and elation surged through Pen. She wasn't trying to get away from him and Paser. He gave a slight nod to Zara, thanking her for getting the information he most wanted from his mate.
“We can take you home to get some stuff, but it's really not necessary.” Paser pushed his empty plate aside and leaned back in his chair. “We can buy you whatever you need.”
“Thanks for the offer, but no.”
“Why not?” Pen asked. “We can afford to get you anything you want. We've accumulated a mass of money over our lifetime and getting you a new wardrobe wouldn't even put a dent in it.”
“That's not the point,” Nina snapped, inhaling deeply before releasing the breath slowly. “I pay my own way.”
“Of course you do,” Pen said quickly, trying to appease her ruffled feathers, “but we would love to help you out. We aren't going to hold spending our money on you over your head, baby.”
“We like you, Nina and we want to help you.”
Nina nodded. “Thank you. I'm sorry I jumped to the wrong conclusions.”
“Where do you work, Nina?” Zara redirected the conversation.
“The Province Pub in Price. Shit! I'm going to need to call my boss. He's going to be so pissed off at me. Maybe I can still go to work.”
“No, not happening, sweetheart,” Paser said. “If you're working and we need to go fight some of the demonic, you would be a sitting duck.”
“But surely I'd be safe surrounded by people.”
“No, you wouldn't.” Pen ran his fingers through his hair. “If Apep has worked out how to use unsavory characters so his shadow demons can possess their bodies that means that the demonic could be more in number than we first suspected. The prick was only ever able to use the innocent until recently. Any disreputable person could be a threat to you.”
“Why?” Nina asked.
“Why what?”
“Why are they doing this?”
“Evil is always looking for ways to rule and conquer. Ultimate power is the goal. If Apep succeeds, humanity as we know it will cease to exist and he would end up destroying the world.”
“He wants to be able to bring the underworld to the surface?”
“Yes, and if that happens, we're all doomed,” Set said.
“What am I going to do about my apartment? I won't be able to pay the rent or bills if I can't work.”
“You can move in here,” Paser stated. “We can store whatever you want in the warehouse section of our home and you can stay in our spare room.”
“For how long?” Nina asked.
“For as long as you like, baby,” Pen answered and hoped like hell she would end up staying for eternity.
“Thank you. I'll try to find a way to repay you when this is all over.” Nina rose and began to collect the dirty dishes.
“Leave them, sweetheart.” Paser took the plates from her hand.
“You cooked. The least I can do is clean up.”
“We'll do it,” Mit and Wen said at the same time.
“It was our turn anyway.” Wen smiled at her.
“Thank you.”
“Are you ready to go, Nina?” Pen asked as he stood.
“I would really love to get changed into clean clothes, but since that isn't an option, I'll just go and brush my teeth.”
“We'll wait for you here.”
Nina nodded before hurrying away. Pen slumped back into his chair and ran a hand over his face.
“She'll come around, Pen,” Zara said.
“I hope you're right.”
“She's attracted to us.” Paser walked toward the door.
“Yeah, but is the attraction enough to sway her decision?” Pen asked.
Chapter Four
The more Nina was near Pen and Paser, the more attracted she became. After they had brought her to her apartment, there was no way she could refute what she'd been told about them and the other sentinels. Once they'd stepped outside, Pen had lifted her up into his arms and taken off. The speed they'd traveled at had been phenomenal and she'd had to close her eyes or she’d have ended up getting sick as the world blurred by.
It had taken them so little time to get to her place and now she was packing a bag with the clothes she would need. When they had followed her in after she'd unlocked the door, she had looked at her home with new eyes and cringed at the coldness of it.
Nina had never had much money and thankfully had leased the one-bedroom apartment fully furnished, but as she'd looked about she thought it looked bleak and tired. Her home wasn't really a home at all. It was just some place to lay her head whenever she got tired or prepare a meal when she was hungry. There were no soft cushions, knickknacks or photos to break up the dull beige décor. There was an old orange sofa which sagged because the springs were gone and the stuffing in the cushions was almost nonexistent.
She hadn't even been able to afford to buy a new mattress but had instead bought a plastic sheet and mattress protector to cover it in case there were any nasties lurking in the material. All she had were the clothes in the closet, which didn't even half-fill the single cupboard, and the few bits and pieces in the dresser.
Until this moment, she'd never realized how she hadn't really been living. She’d been existing from one paycheck to the next barely making ends meet. Thankfully, Pen and Paser didn't say anything as she quickly stuffed her things into her bag. Now that she was done, all that was left was to inform the landlord she was leaving and call her boss to tell him she was quitting.
“Do you have everything?” Pen brushed her hand aside when she would have lifted the battered case from the bed.
“Yes.”
“I just need to go and tell the landlord I won't be coming back and hand over the keys.”
“I'll come with you,” Paser said.
“No, that's okay. I can do it myself.” Nina didn’t want either of them speaking to her landlord. The guy was a dick and would no doubt give her hell for breaking her lease. There was no way in hell he was going to give her the bond back. “I won't be long.”
Nina headed out and when she got to the landlord's door, she took a deep, fortifying breath before knocking.
The door was practically pulled off its hinges when it was opened, and it took everything she had not to grimace. Ted Frost was one of the most disgusting people she'd ever had the misfortune to meet. His beer gut was so big that his dirty, stained T-shirt didn't even cover it, and he wore loose track pants low on his hips, but it was the body odor wafting from him that nearly made her gag. “What?”
Luckily she'd pulled the apartment key from her keyring so she wouldn't have to hang around too long to get it off. She held the key up and toward him as she spoke. “I'm leaving.”
“What? You can't. Your lease isn't up.”
“I know but I don’t expect the bond back.”
“Too right, you little bitch. I could sue you for everything you've got.”
“Go right ahead,” Nina dropped the key at his feet. “I don't have anything so you'd lose in long run.”
Nina turned away when his face began to get red and the vein in his head throbbed with his rising ire. She didn't even make it one step away before he grabbed her arm in a cruel grip. She turned back ready to knee him in the balls to get away, but he was a lot stronger than his fat body looked, and before she knew it, she was being dragged into his messy, dirty apartment.
“You owe me, you little slut. You can pay me on your back.”
Fear skittered up Nina's spine and she was about to let loose with a scream loud enough to wake the dead. She'd already drawn in a lungful of air, but as she opened her mouth to scream, she was set free.
Pen had her landlord by the scruff of his shirt and, without any effort, lifted the prick from his feet. Paser wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her back against him.
“Are you all right? Did he hurt you?” Paser asked.
“No, I'm fine.”
Pen turned to look at her. His eyes ran over her body and stopped when he got to her arm. She looked down to see that she had red marks where her landlord had gripped her hard.
“You think you're tough picking on someone smaller than you?” Pen snarled his question. “Only cowards hurt women. If I ever hear you've hurt someone smaller or weaker than you again, you'll regret it.”
Nina couldn’t see Pen's face after he turned away from her, but whatever he did scared the shit out of her landlord. The strong scent of urine permeated the air and she had to cover her mouth and nose so she wouldn't gag. Pen turned to face her and that was when she saw the fangs, but instead of scaring her, the sight of his elongated teeth and murderous expression ramped up her libido.
She didn't even know she'd moved until she felt her ass pressing back against Paser's thighs and he moaned. That was when she felt the hard ridge of his cock against her lower back, and this time, when she began to pant, it wasn't from fear.
Pen dropped Ted, and when he landed on his knees in his own filth and whimpered, Nina nearly laughed. He was just a yellow-bellied coward, after all. The last twelve months had been hard on her because he was the worst kind of bully. It had been lucky for her to have been working nights at the pub, which made it easier for her to avoid him, since the asshole worked during the day.