Mated to the Jaguars - Paranormal M/F/M Menage by Yamila Abraham

had to be punished.   Sometimes I forget how diabolical you can be.”   He glared at her.   “Of course I’m angry.   Don’t dare try to begrudge me that.”
    She was at a loss for a short while.   Votan waited while rapping his nails on the counter.
    “I’m not like that, though.”
    “Puh.”
    “No, I mean, you said I’m just the human form of Ixchel.   That I’m just like her.   Well, I always thought that too.   Whenever I went into my stream I was finding more of myself.   There were memories I hadn’t tapped into, but they were all relatable.   I’ve always been this same girl through all the lifetimes I’ve lived.”   She searched the floor for her thoughts.   “I just don’t see myself doing something like this.   If it’s revenge it’s absolutely stupid.   I’m hurting myself more than anyone in this situation.   Why would I?   And why would I hurt Maximon in the process?”
    “Maybe he defied you in your last lifetime.”   He shrugged with one large shoulder.   “How am I to know?   The facts are the facts.   This is what you’ve wrought, Ixchel.   You can refuse to own it all you want.   You did this to us.”
    “Then I had a reason.   And it’s not for stupid revenge.   If anything I’d just refuse to mate with either of you.   I’m not going to throw myself into such a bullshit situation.”
    “Then tell me your reason.”
    She grew irked.   “I don’t know what the reason is.”
    “Find out.   It’s simple enough.”
    “How?”
    He snorted.   “Fine.   I’ll show you.   And I’ll show you how to fix it.”   He put on his jacket.   “Let’s go.”
    “Go where?”
    “My hotel.   This will take time and I’m not willing to spend it in this desecrator’s home.”
    Michelle gave a groan of exasperation.   “My whole purpose today was to keep you here so that we could try to work things out.”
    “This thing can’t work out.”   He strode for the door.   “Stop trying my patience.   You at least owe me that.”
    I don’t owe you shit.   She grabbed a sticky note from the pad beside the phone and scrawled a fast message, ending it with her cell number.  
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Chapter 9
     
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    The fact that he had a suite at the Four Seasons convinced her that he wasn’t lying about his wealth.   This put both her mates on equal standing financially.   At least Votan couldn’t accuse her of dumping him because he was poor.
    “I’m still hungry,” he said, while going through the hotel’s binder.   “Can I order you dinner?”
    Michelle plopped onto the king sized bed.   (She’d only seen swanky hotel rooms like this in movies.)   The gracious offer eased the tension between them.   She followed that vibe.
    “Sure.   What do they have?”
    “Your favorites,” he said, without looking up.   “Raw oysters.   Duck a l'orange.   Baklava.”
    “Um.   I’ve never eaten any of that.”
    He picked up the phone.   “Why not?”
    “I’m a broke college grad from New Mexico .   The first time I flew on a plane was when I came here.”
    He grinned at her.   “You’re humble in all your lives.   It’s part of your charm.”   He ordered for both of them and hung up.
    “What about you?   All I know about you is that you stay in your jaguar form in the Yucatan jungle.”
    He looked her over a moment as though seeing through new eyes.   There was love in his gaze, a fondness that had been fostered over lifetimes that she didn’t remember.   And yet…it resonated with her.
    “The jungle always calls to me.   This lifetime took me away from my family earlier than most.   I was born to a defective mother and absent father.”
    “What do you mean defective?”
    “Maybe it was lead poisoning.   Maybe it was mercury.   The water was tainted where she grew up.   She was crazy.   Paranoid.   Violent.   By the time I was eleven she didn’t even know who I was.   My aunt