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Silje picked up her drink, controlled her shaking hand, and fixed an expression of interest to her face.
“Ladies!” The emcee’s voice boomed over the speakers as the lights dimmed, heralding the arrival of another act. “You’re in Hel!” Silje smiled grimly. As a Norwegian, it was ironic that her first visit to the Norse underworld should be here, in New York.
“Our next act is from the hellishly hot Brazil!” A chorus of raucous cheering arose, and Silje sat up straighter in her chair. These were the boys she’d come to see. “Presenting to you, in all their glory, two Hel-worshippers!” The cheering grew, punctuated by whistles and shouts.
The lights went out, then rose again, flaring brightly once in a blaze of color before dimming. The effect made Silje’s eyes go nuts. Her vision disappeared completely as her eyes dilated, trying to catch up with the wildly fluctuating lighting. Silje partially shifted, switching to the cat-eyes of her other form. She could see much better in the dim light with those.
Screams and applause reverberated around the club. Her companions, Diane and Candy, sitting on either side of her, exchanged grins.
One man was tall and slender, athletically muscular; the other a couple of inches shorter, and bulkier. Both were beautiful, and either tanned or naturally bronzed, their bodies gleaming with the light oil the strippers all used. She wondered if they had any tan lines. No doubt she would find out in due course.
Both wore feathers and nothing else, but enough to cover any tan lines they might have. Feathers traveled in swirls up their bodies, exotic flicks of bright color, and more feathers swept behind their backs like wings and cresting on their heads. All the audience could see of their faces were two sensual mouths under their gorgeous half-masks.
They kissed briefly before bursting apart, leaping backward, their eyes fixed on each other, and at that moment, the music started. Latin American music, but only drums, in a one-two samba rhythm. The bird-men rocked their hips side to side in a seductive motion that made their muscles ripple in the atmospheric lighting. The audience hushed, but one or two whistles punctuated the drumbeat.
The boys from Brazil were popular.
They circled the audience, letting the avid watchers get a good look at their ripped bodies. The stage jutted out in a semicircle and was low enough for people to touch, if they wanted to, but every time someone tried, the dancer moved away, laughing.
Then the feathers started to come off, the men scattering them like exotic birds ruffling their plumage. Silje shrank back, but a laughing Diane pushed her chair forward again. Now she sat in front of Diane and Candy. They were setting her up.
Fair enough. She tried to stay calm. Renowned in the European branch of Department 57 for her coolness in a crisis, she tried hard to live up to her reputation, but she was finding it difficult now, and it was getting worse all the time.
The Brazilians were hot. Genuinely hot. Not oiled-muscles-going-through-the-motions hot, but they really, really enjoyed what they were doing. They were billed as “Hel’s newest sensations,” so perhaps they were new to the male stripping scene.
The club owners had done their homework, too. Pictures of the Norse goddess Hela in various states of provocative undress were featured around the club, as were the real stars of the show, and the men who were to worship at her feet, and take their clothes off in the process. They looked alarming, from the All-American Marine to the more exotic offerings. Well, she’d seen them all now, and they were about as alarming as she’d imagined.
The club appeared to be the classier end of the business, though Silje couldn’t be sure, since this brought the total number of male strip clubs Silje had visited up to one. Although she had lots of practice hiding any nervousness she might feel, she was finding it hard now. Difficult, she quickly amended, squirming in her seat. She shouldn’t let the talent turn her on; she was supposed to be working here. Hard described what every act displayed at the end. She’d never seen so much cock in her life before, much less the erect variety.
This was not her scene, or so she kept telling herself. The first two acts were interesting, but easily resistible, and nothing touched her psi senses, which she extended to detect any unusual activity.
She tried a gentle telepathic probe toward the performers and met two mental brick walls. Nothing, which in itself was odd. Only other Talents could block telepathic contact as decisively as that.
Candy was a shape-shifter, and Diane could receive telepathic communications, a useful skill for a mortal at the Department. Out of the corner of her eye, Silje saw the glitter of the diamante tips of Candy’s outrageous manicure as she reached for her drink.
They’re Talents, or they know about us, Silje sent to the two other women.
Candy’s response was laconic. Yeah, I noticed that.
So do we take one each?
Depends what you have in mind, girlfriend. Candy’s laughter echoed through Silje’s head. It’s your operation. You make the decisions.
So why exactly am I in charge of this? Her question was more from exasperation. She knew the answer.
Cristos likes to test his new operatives.
Silje gritted her teeth. She’d come highly qualified to the New York branch of Department 57, and the boss wanted to test her?
Fine, she’d pass his fucking test. With flying colors.
She would find whoever was dealing Cephalox in this place. First developed to help shape-shifters, now used against them, Cephalox was the shifters’ morphine, necessary but dangerous, volatile, and addictive. It gave mortals a high, and it was the new fashionable designer drug of choice. Closing this particular leak was a priority, before New York really got the taste for the stuff.
Decisions were difficult when the feathers were coming off faster, and she had a very fine male butt in her face. Or nearly in her face.
Oh, it really was a fine ass. Telling herself the dancers wouldn’t be interested in her didn’t help. Candy claimed all the dancers here were gay, but personally, Silje doubted it. Regardless, they were still fine specimens, and they danced really well. The dancer moved on, but not before she caught a flash of speculative dark eyes glittering behind the bird mask.
Shit!
She switched back to mortal eyes, and at once felt the loss of the enhanced cat-sense. But she’d seen enough, perhaps too much.
Now she knew what the difference was. These two performers were with the audience, not going through the motions. She felt their heat, their enjoyment of the moment, and knew they weren’t acting.
They came together, and their tongues extended to touch just the tips to each other, then the dancers spun away as the music escalated, and other instruments played over the hypnotic drumbeat. Was it getting hot in here? She saw a few other patrons removing jackets, loosening their clothing, and Silje wondered if the management had turned the heating up, just a little. It’d be a good ploy.
No, she was sure they hadn’t. The dancers made the temperature rise all on their own. Did they ever!
Their interest in each other and familiarity with each other’s bodies enhanced their swaying, sensuous dance. Nearly naked now, except for a small, hip-swinging girdle of feathers, every movement threatened to expose everything they had, but by some miracle, didn’t.
They joined spoon-fashion, the shorter one’s butt hard against the taller one’s cock, and they swayed. The man in front leaned forward. Their movements grew more explicit as the music sped up, and with the one behind leaning back, his mouth taut with ecstasy, he slid his hands around to his partner’s stomach and traced his navel in a teasing motion every woman watching wanted to emulate.
This wasn’t a hard-core club, so the audience watched, numbly, as two men went through the best imitation of sex anyone had ever seen. If they weren’t doing it for real now, they would be soon; nobody had any doubt about that.
Silje heard the collective sigh when the hand slid further down. “No touchee,” the signs festooned around the club read. She wondered, along with, she guessed, everyone else, if that was just for show.
The little feather kilt slid away, and at last the audience saw him.
Not that soft-core, then. Not soft at all. Shit, his cock - she hadn’t known they came in that size. In her sixty years of life, with her pathetic tally of lovers that barely reached double figures, Silje had never seen one so beautiful, so fucking big. She tried to think aesthetic thoughts, how beautiful they were, how they’d make a good Bernini sculpture, but it didn’t work. He was gorgeous, built, ripped. Hot, hard flesh, not cold marble.
When the taller man moved away, he took his partner’s remaining feathers with him.
“If those two really are gay, they should be a bit smaller,” Candy murmured in her ear. “They must have problems fitting in.”
Diane overheard and laughed. “I could help them. Jesus, these guys are hot!” She picked up a coaster and fanned herself. “And you think they’re - ” she broke off, too experienced to say what she was thinking out loud - Talented?
Either that or they’re after the same people we’re looking for, Silje responded, on surer ground now. What better way to flush out drug dealers than getting a job at the club? We need to keep in touch with these guys.
Do we go backstage? Diane queried.
What, and show them who we are? An amateur’s mistake and she was anything but amateur. The Department paid extremely well for its agents’ services. Not that most of them needed the high pay, but it was nice to be appreciated. No, we follow them. Have either of you detected anyone else here who might be Talented?
A pause. Nope. That from Candy, and then another negative came from the only male they’d brought with them, the vampire Dubreis, currently serving at the bar. Dubreis managed to get a temporary job as a barman. She hadn’t realized how ripped he was until she saw him in the topless getup the waiters wore here, but he didn’t do what these two dancers did to her. She clamped her thighs together, but that only made the sensitivity worse, and she felt moisture seep between them.
She really had to get her mind back on the job and face her problems, as she always did. We’ll follow them when they’re done.
Oh, God. Just when she thought they couldn’t take the audience any higher, they did.
This time by kissing. Just kissing. They stood in profile, their cocks aligned against each other, but they didn’t move their lower bodies now. The hip swaying stopped, and only their mouths moved against each other. There was no way this was anything other than a full-on French kiss, open-mouthed and passionate. Their cocks twitched, and when the drumbeat accelerated, the dancers sprang apart, as if an electric current had burst in their faces.
Although their masks covered the top half of their faces, firm, clean-shaven jaws and the occasional glint of dark eyes gave the illusion of good looks. It was completely impossible to see any more. Long, dark hair swept the shoulders of the shorter one, and the other either had short hair or wore it tucked up under his mask. Reflexively, Silje touched the neat French roll at the back of her head, assuring herself her hair was correctly pinned and tucked. It got in the way when it was loose, but she hadn’t ever taken the obvious step of getting it all cut off.
Now their hips swayed again, and they danced around each other, and then pressed together, back to back, ass to ass. Using their shoulders as support, they slowly sank into a limbo position, legs wide apart, strong bare feet planted on the floor. Their erect cocks jutted into the air, tight, hard balls supporting them, and their chests curved up in powerful bows of muscle and bone.
Then, without pause or touching their hands to the ground, they stood up in one simultaneous, synchronized movement.
The lights went out.
The audience erupted in applause.
Silje switched to cat eyes again and saw them leave the stage.
I’ll make my way around the back and let you know when they leave. Dubreis was good, picking up her instruction almost as soon as she’d thought it.
Thanks. We’ll stay until the end, in case we pick anything else up.
She hadn’t realized how hard she was applauding until her palms began to burn. Next to her, Diane and Candy were screaming and whistling, but good though the act was, she wasn’t ready to go that far.
Not yet, at any rate.
Buy the Book |
"Cats' Eyes is a truly
fascinating look at vampires and shape shifters. This
is a world that has many components that set it apart
from other writers in the field. The story is well
constructed and told. The characters are endearing
and they make the reader want to know more about them.
This is a must have for anyone who enjoys shapeshifters
in their romance.
Lynne Connolly has a gift for creating an amazing
paranormal world. Her characters are passionate and
sensual and the story just works. This is the kind
of novel that is a must have for any collection, especially
for fans of Ms. Connolly. I look forward to reading
her next book and seeing where she takes us."
Kimberley Spinney for Sensual Romance
This reviewer is thrilled
to see another Department 57 story from Lynne Connolly.
Cat's Eyes is a wonderful, exciting tale (oops, pun
intended) that will grab the reader and take her on
a sensuous journey. Ms. Connolly has written a really
hot story that includes some male on male action and
a wonderful menagé a trois that is not only
sensual but very romantic. It's enough to get every
reader purring. This is one very talented author who
gets better with every book she writes. Silje is a
woman who has been alone for some time and has not
yet been able to meet her Mr. Right, so she is in
for a big surprise when she meets two of them. Devante
and Ari are men to drool and pant over. Two Brazilian,
hot hunks, what a fantasy. This is a great read and
this reviewer can highly recommend it and is looking
forward to more from Department 57.
5 hearts! Valerie for Love Romances and More!
Well, I'm very happy
to have found Ms. Connolly. Her characters are deep,
her sex is hot and her story is fun. The bad guys
are really bad and the tension is good. The suspense
is well done.
This isn't one of those ménages where the guys
make sure they never look funny at each other. These
two are a couple before they meet Silje. Silje has
been in a conservative social situation for a very
long time, so has a lot of catching up to do. But
these three have more than just sex and the emotion
runs high.
I'm impressed with the depth of this story, especially
considering its length. For more fun check out her
“chat with the heroes“. These are heroes
from other books but there are no spoilers on this
page.
Grade: B+ Nikki from The Good, the Bad and the
Unread
I have loved and faithfully followed
the entire Department 57 series and I believe Cat's
Eyes to be the best one yet. This episode breathes
new life into the series with all new characters but
for a brief appearance by Cristos and the mention
of his counterparts from other countries around the
world. Silje is a staid and innocent immortal widow
and the boys from Brazil, where anything goes, are
hot, hot, hot but very sensitive to Silje's comfort
physically and emotionally. There is an arousing sex
scene between a male and female while another male
watches during self gratification and several greatly
arousing ménage a trois scenes, but all were
delicately handled so that I was not uncomfortable
reading any of them. Devante and Aristides are both
alphas with strong territorial tendencies that come
naturally for jaguar shifters. Together they introduce
Silje to her very sensual sexual side, making her
whole for the first time. The love story is so good
it is almost too good to be true. It is an extra bonus
that this unusual love story also comes with secret
agents solving the mystery of the illicit drug ring
and capturing the criminals. I highly recommend Department
57: Cat's Eyes. It has something for everyone.
Karen Haas Just Erotic Romance Reviews 4/5 stars
CAT’S EYES is easily Lynne
Connolly’s sexiest book yet. Each installment
of the Dept. 57 series only gets better and better,
as Lynne Connolly has a gift at incorporating superb
action with a very sensuous romance. Lynne Connolly
uses the shape shifting abilities of the characters
to their full effect as the Talents of the characters
are integral to the storyline. Don’t miss out
on CAT’S EYES as this story has it all!
Reviewed by Anne for Kwips and Kritiques. 5 Klovers
While part of a series Cats Eyes is
a stand alone novel. Lynne Connolly has created a
wonderful world and fascinating characters. It was
great fun to watch Silje begin her new life in New
York, and I enjoyed watching her character grow into
the woman that she wanted to be. Ari and Devante are
two sizzling hot men. The scenes of them stripping
and the eroticism and sensuality that they displayed
burned the pages up. When Silje is brought into the
relationship, the temperature rises so high that it
breaks. The plot was well conceived and riveting.
My only complaint is that the other books in this
series are currently unavailable, and I will have
to wait to get my greedy hands on more of Department
57.
Reviewed by: Hayley for Fallen Angels. 4 Angels
I only wish I knew about Department
57 earlier! That is how much I enjoyed this book,
I couldn’t wait to read more books in the series
and went looking for another. The author did a great
job of developing the characters in just a few words.
I loved how the shape-shifters were related to local
lore rather than rely on the same old standard Others.
While this is not a suspense novel the plot certainly
had enough tension to keep the pages turning while
the relationship between Silje, Devante and Ari, the
real story, explodes and the passion just leaps from
each page. The love between Devante and Ari might
make some readers uncomfortable. I thought it really
added an enticing and inventive aspect to the book.
The sex scenes were powerful and passionate without
us losing sight of danger and suspense of the storyline.
AMG for The Romance Studio 4.5 hearts
Lynne Connolly sets the shifter world
ablaze with this explosive story of passion and intrigue.
With adrenaline pumping precision, Lynne lays a sizzling
pace to the story with the hypnotic beat of a Latin
rhythm that brings to mind the sensuousness of the
samba, whether done horizontally or vertically. Definitely
a promising new beginning for Lynne's DEPARTMENT 57
series which is not to be missed!
By Romance Junkies Reviewer: J.T.
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