Sexy Beast VI. Lydia Parks

      They climbed the stairs behind AJ and followed him into a huge kitchen–dining room combination with a long table at one end that could have seated at least twenty people. It was set for nine.

      Tala and Mik were both in the kitchen. Tala sat on the counter with a glass of wine in her hand while Mik tossed a huge bowl of salad. He wore a shirt and jeans with a white chef’s apron and looked totally domestic. For some reason, Jazzy found it hysterical.

      The scent of something spicy and Italian filled the air. “I hope you like lasagna,” Tala said. “It was the one thing I had enough ingredients for without a huge shopping trip.”

      “There they are.” AJ waved as Nicky and Beth wandered into the kitchen. The two of them held hands.

      Deacon jabbed Jazzy with his elbow. “Wish I’d bet cash on that one.”

      “Shhh.” Jazzy bit back a giggle. She hoped like hell she never got that lovesick look on her face. Nicky and Beth looked absolutely sappy.

      Within a few minutes Mik had cleared off a long section of the kitchen counter and Tala set up tons of food and stuff to drink, for everyone to help themselves.

      Jazzy loaded her plate with thick slices of sourdough bread, a pile of salad, and a big square of lasagna. Everyone took a seat and started eating right away. No one talked about Nicky’s attack, though midway through dinner, Mik glanced at the clock over the sink and turned on a small television for the six o’clock news.

      The dead kid in the park was the lead story, blamed, of course, on rival gang activity and dangerous dogs out of control. Tala breathed an obvious sigh of relief. She smiled at Nicky. “Looks like we’re all in the clear on this one, but we can’t risk another incident like this.”

      Mik stood up and reached for a big jar of pills on the kitchen counter. “I want you guys to start taking one of these every day. They contain the same nutrients as you’ve been getting from the grasses in Keisha’s garden, just compressed. I expect the rest of you will be making your first shift within a day or two.”

      “We made some calls,” AJ said. “The property I was hoping to take you to up near Mount Lassen is unavailable to us, but I checked with friends and they said we can use their place in the redwoods. It’s out of the way, very rugged and wild, a perfect location to make your shift without risk of an unwanted audience. I’m going to talk to Anton, our friend, later tonight and find out what all we’ll need to take up there.”

      “We’ll leave early in the morning.” Tala took one of the big pills from Mik and swallowed it down with a sip of wine. “Is there anyone who might be worried about any of you? Family or friends?”

      Logan carefully set his fork down on his plate. Jazzy noticed that his table manners were impeccable. She’d been really nervous, watching to see how Tala and the guys ate, copying their every move. Logan seemed naturally comfortable at a nice table. Once again she wondered where he came from, who he was.

      “We don’t know a thing about you,” he said. At least he wasn’t being confrontational. Jazzy breathed a sigh of relief.

      “You’re right.” Tala smiled. There was absolutely nothing threatening about her, unlike the big Indian guy who hovered beside her.

      “Let’s see…Mik and AJ were cellmates at Folsom when Ulrich Mason, the head of Pack Dynamics, found them and realized they were Chanku. He managed to get their sentences commuted and got them out of prison. They were lovers behind bars and still are. In our society, they are also bonded, which means they are a mated pair.”

      “It’s like being married,” Mik said. He got up and stood behind AJ, rubbing his shoulders in a gentle caress. “One thing you’ll learn once you make your first shift is that your libido sort of takes over afterward.”

      “As in, you really, really want to get laid.” AJ smiled. He reached up and touched Mik’s hand on his shoulder.

      “What about you?” Jazzy frowned when she looked at Tala. “I thought you were with one of these guys.”

      Tala laughed. “I am. I’m with both of them.”

      Jazzy blinked. “Wow. I’m impressed.”

      “I was working the streets,” Tala said. “It was a crappy little town in New Mexico when my pimp finally got a bit too rough. I stowed away in Mik and AJ’s SUV to get away.” She gazed at both men with the same sappy look Jazzy had seen on Beth’s face. Then she laughed out loud. “They were both so hot, I couldn’t make up my mind, so I kept the two of them.”

      “Actually, she was like a little stray puppy tagging along. We felt sorry for her.” AJ’s sexy, loving smile spoke volumes, and when Mik leaned over and kissed Tala’s cheek, Jazzy felt her eyes well up with tears. To have someone love her like that…she blinked away the moisture and smiled.

      “What’s Pack Dynamics?” Logan stood up and began clearing plates from the table, much to Jazzy’s surprise. No one else seemed to notice how out of character that seemed.

      But then, she didn’t really know his character, or anything about him.

      “It’s an investigative agency founded by Ulrich Mason. He’s retired now and living in Colorado, but all of us, including Mason, are Chanku. His daughter and son-in-law run the business. They’re the ones using the property up near Lassen. Tia’s pregnant and I think Luc wanted to get her away to himself before the babies take over their lives.”

      “Babies? As in plural?” Beth had a huge smile on her face. Deacon was right. She and Nicky had definitely been having sex if she was smiling about babies.

      “They’re not positive,” Tala said, “but Ulrich’s convinced she’s carrying twins. Tia’s not so thrilled about even a hint there might be a twofer.”

      “If it was me, I think I’d rather shoot myself.” Matt rolled his eyes. “My parents had twin daughters after they adopted me. They were little monsters.”

      When the laughter died down, Tala said, “Well, Tia would never have horrible babies. She’s just the sweetest thing. You’ll meet her and Luc before long. Tinker and Lisa, too. Lisa’s my sister, Tink’s her mate. They’ve moved over to the main house to be with Luc and Tia.”

      “They’re all Chanku?” For some reason, it made Jazzy feel better, knowing how many of them there were.

      Tala nodded. “There are a bunch of us that I know of. Two bonded pairs in Maine, four bonded pairs in Montana—two of them have babies—and a pair in Colorado, the three of us here, and two pairs at the house over on Marina, here in the city. That’s twenty-one adults. And of course, now the six of you, which tells me there must be a lot more around.”

      Mik agreed. “Probably a lot more than we realize. Our goal is to find as many as we can. One thing we know is that we get our Chanku heritage through the females.”

      Tala shrugged. “Of course you do. Evolution would obviously pick the smartest and best of a species.” She flashed a grin at Mik.

      He growled and everyone else cracked up.

      “Mik’s right,” Tala said. “All the offspring from a woman carrying the Chanku genes will be capable of becoming shapeshifters, even if their mother never developed her potential. Whether the father is Chanku or not doesn’t seem to matter. It’s sad, really, because those that never find out what they are lead such sad lives, always wondering what’s missing, why they’re never totally happy.”

      “Horny all the time and never really knowing why.” AJ raised his head and looked at all six of the younger ones. “I would venture to say that most of you have had sex when you didn’t even like the person, or you’ve not cared what your partner’s gender was, or if you even liked them.”

      The guys all looked guiltily at one another. Jazzy glanced at Beth and both girls shook their heads.