brown ones.
“Don’t be scared,” Eli began, then frowned. “Shit, that’s a scary thing to say, right? Jackson, you explain.”
Jackson gave him a shove. “What, because I’m a harmless tech geek who couldn’t possibly scare anyone?”
“Exactly,” Eli said, smiling.
Paisley had no idea what was going on. All three of them were still holding hands. She knew she ought to let go, but she didn’t want to. She liked the warmth and strength of Eli’s and Jackson’s hands holding hers. It made her feel protected and loved.
I must be out of my mind , she told herself. These men are strangers. Why in the world would they protect me, let alone love me?
She wrenched her hands free. Immediately, she missed touching them. That was weird.
Strangers! Paisley reminded herself. Strangers who’d set a trap for her, then grabbed her and practically smothered her in a bath towel.
Strangers whom she was dying to touch again. She was still trembling and hot from that inexplicable surge of desire. She shoved her hands under her thighs to stop herself from grabbing theirs again.
“Okay,” she said, turning to Jackson. “Explain.”
“So, just to start with, we’re not forcing you into anything,” Jackson began. “If you want to leave at any point, you can go.”
Quickly, Eli added, “Once we exchange numbers. We want to hire you no matter what, so don’t just leap out the window and vanish as soon as you hear Jackson’s explanation.”
Jackson sighed. “Eli, that’s also a scary thing to say.”
Paisley couldn’t help laughing at Eli’s put-upon expression. “Eli’s not that scary. Spit it out, whatever it is.”
“All shifters are born with a destined soulmate,” Jackson said. “They may never meet. But if they do, they’ll know the instant they touch each other.”
“A soulmate?” Paisley repeated incredulously. “Like, your true love?”
“That’s right,” Eli said. “Mates love each other for as long as they live. You know ‘till death do us part?’ Like that.”
Hearing those romantic words spoken so plainly by a tough guy like Eli made it feel real. At least, she believed that they believed it. And she’d sure felt something when they’d touched . But true love? Soulmates? Even if they did exist, Paisley wasn’t the sort of woman who’d have one.
She couldn’t believe it. She’d always been alone. As far back as Paisley could remember, she’d known that she was the only one of her kind.
But she wasn’t. There were other people who could become animals. She was sitting right next to two of them. There were even other werecats!
A closed-off place in Paisley’s heart opened a crack. If she’d been wrong about being the world’s only werecat, maybe she’d been wrong about other things too. Maybe she wasn’t destined to be forever alone.
“So I’m the soulmate of… one of you?” Paisley asked doubtfully. “But which one?”
Even before the words were out of her mouth, she was trying to decide which man she hoped was her soulmate. Eli was strong and tough, but she’d seen that he had a gentle side, too. If he loved a woman— if he loved her — he’d protect her and never hurt her. And he was so handsome and sexy. But Jackson was just as handsome and sexy, though in a different way. He had a playful attitude that appealed to her. And he was brilliant and rich. If he loved a woman— if he loved her — he’d provide for her and never bore her.
Paisley examined each man for flaws that might tip the balance, but all she could see was more to like. Eli’s sky-blue eyes, Jackson’s mahogany-brown eyes. Jackson’s midnight black hair, Eli’s brown sugar hair. Jackson’s lean grace, Eli’s burly strength.
Paisley grinned to herself as she remembered Goldilocks trying out the bears’ beds. This bear is too hard . This bear is too soft. But this bear is just right.
But as far as Paisley could tell, both bears were just right. If it was up to her, she didn’t