Speed Mating - A Midnight Liaisons Novella Read Online Free PDF

pulled away and glanced up at his face. Same old Vic. Must have been her imagination.
    "Thank you," she told him one more time.
    He waved her toward the door, the look on his face grim.
    As she stepped through the door, s he could have sworn she heard something crash in the room. She turned around to look, but then tiger scents were in her nostrils, and she was surrounded by three young, virile tiger males, and Estrella forgot everything else.
     
    ~~ * ~~
     
    In what could only be described as the world's most awkward quadruple date, Estrella took the three men out to lunch at the local barbecue pit. Her stomach was growling for food, and barbecue was a favorite with shifters - you could put away a ton of meat and no one said a thing about it. Estrella drove, and when she offered to pay for lunch, no one put up a word of protest. For some reason, that stuck in her craw. This was feeling a bit like she was auditioning for stud service.
    Well, hell. That was exactly what she was doing.
    Estrella's heart sank. Vic had made it clear that the guys probably didn't want a relationship, but if she wanted a baby that would be fully tiger clan, fully accepted, these three were her best chance. So she smiled and listened politely as they talked.
    Two of the men were brothers. Nelson Maher was an electrician, twenty-nine, and single. His brother Montgomery Maher was twenty six, an X-ray technician, and single.
    She immediately crossed Montgomery off the list. Too many X-rays, she told herself. What if her baby came out with radiation poisoning? Worse, what if he'd fried his junk by standing too close to the camera? For some reason, the thought of having sex with a sterile man repulsed her. Hell, if she was going to have sex for fun's sake, she wanted someone more like Vic…
    She shut down that train of thought immediately and turned to Nelson. "So, what do you like to do in your spare time?”
    Estrella could have sworn he flexed, just a bit. "I do some rock climbing and work out at the gym," Nelson said between bites of barbecue. "I like to stay fit. ”
    She brightened at that. "You do? That's terrific. Did Vic tell you? I teach yo ga and fill in as the Zumba instructor at my gym."
    Nelson gave his brother a sideways glance that seemed a bit too competitive, and turned his smile on her. "Well now, I like to do real exercising. You know, get a sweat going." That time, he definitely flexed. "Bench presses and the like."
    She bristled at his tone. "I see." Well, she could cross Nelson off the list. Arrogant prick. Like the father of her child was going to be condescending about what she did for a living. She was probably in better shape than Nelson was, if his muscle - or lack thereof - was any indication. "You must have just started lifting recently," she said sweetly. "When will you start to see results?"
    Nelson frowned.
    Montgomery smothered a laugh behind a mouthful of barbecue, which made her appreciate him a bit more. Shame about the possible sterility.
    She turned to the third man. Tall. A bit on the lean side but still fit. Quiet, but good looking enough. He had pleasant features and serious eyes. "You're not speaking," she told him, forcing the smile to stay on her face.
    He gave her an almost shy nod. "Cory."
    "That's a nice name," she said conversationally.
    "Cory Janitor," Montgomery broke in with a smirk. "You want your kid to be named Janitor?"
    "I...what? Really?" She gave Cory a startled look. His bright red flush told her everything.
    Oh. Oh no. If she were picking men for selfish, silly reasons...a horrible last name was definitely up there on things to avoid, in case her child wanted to hyphenate their last names at a later date. "I'm sure there's nothing wrong with that," she said politely. "So what do you do for a living, Cory?"
    He shrugged. "I'm a manager at Super Burger."
    "When he's not smoking weed in his parents' basement," Montgomery said with a snort. Cory elbowed him and gave a nervous laugh.
    These were