by Terra Wolf
“Work?” I stared at him.
Something was off. Taking a mate wasn’t supposed to fall under the work category.
I pressed my hands in my laps. “Why don’t we just get this out in the open?”
“What?” He kept his eyes on the road. There were a lot of tourists out walking the streets.
“I know and you know. So why not just admit it before we have dinner together?”
“Admit what?”
I sighed. “Come on, Donovan. I know you’re a shifter. And I’m ninety-nine percent sure you’re a jaguar shifter.”
He cracked a smile. “I guess you would know that, wouldn’t you?”
“That’s what I’m saying. I know why you’re here. I know who sent you. So, why can’t we talk about it?”
He pulled the Jeep over at a small parking strip. There was a pergola in front of us with picnic tables. The line of restaurants was across the street behind us. He didn’t move to open the door. He fixed his eyes on me.
“Why do I feel like you’re interrogating me, Caroline?”
I swallowed hard. “I’m not trying to—I’m just trying to get things out in the open.”
“Interesting tactic for a rebel.”
“Rebel?” I stared at him. “What are you talking about?”
“I can see where the innocent act would probably get you far. Really, you’re good. But I’m not that naïve. Why don’t you come clean?”
My eyes darted back and forth. Suddenly I realized we were not talking about the same thing.
“You’re not here because of your list?” I could barely utter the question. There was tightness in my chest.
“My list?” He stared at me as if I were crazy.
I felt the humiliation spread through me. “Oh, God.” I pulled on the handle and jumped out of the Jeep. I ran for the beach, hearing Donovan calling after me.
“Caroline! Wait.”
I didn’t know why I ran or where to go. But I couldn’t sit in that Jeep with him knowing that he discovered I had a different interpretation of tonight. He was probably used to women throwing themselves on him. I was another silly girl who had gotten wrapped up in a fantasy that wasn’t going to come true. I cursed myself for letting myself believe that my fated mate was a gorgeous jaguar at the beach.
I had jumped to the conclusion way too quickly and with nothing to back it up. I was an idiot. A complete idiot.
“Wait up.” He caught up to me, pulled on my elbow, and spun me to face him.
“I’m sorry. I mixed you up with someone else.” I tried to pull free from his grasp.
His strong hands landed on my shoulders, holding me steady. “Caroline, this is serious. Did you think I was your mate?”
I couldn’t look at him. My eyes fell to the sand sinking into my cute wedges. I nodded my head.
“So that means you’re a she-panther?” he questioned.
“Yes. I’m a panther.”
“Shit.” He let go and staggered backward. I felt off balance without his hands holding me in place.
I finally looked at him. His brow was furrowed and he looked angry and confused. But still sexy. Why did he still have to look sexy?
“I’m sorry. I jumped to conclusions. I’m just going to head back to the apartment.” I attempted to walk past him.
“No. Wait.” He stopped me before I was back at the trail on the dunes. “Why here?”
“On the beach?”
“No. Charleston. Why did you think your mate was coming here?”
I noticed a couple take a seat at the picnic tables. The man revealed a bottle of wine. “First of all, this is awkward and I don’t really want to discuss it with you.” I wanted to get out of here with a little dignity left.
“Did he call? Did he tell you to meet him here? Have you heard from him?” Donovan kept pressing me with questions.
“Why do you care? It’s not you. So it’s really none of your business.” The embarrassment made me edgy.
His eyes softened. “It would really help me if you could tell me. Please.”
“No.” The wind whipped my hair around my face. “I’m here for myself. I haven’t heard from him. I don’t know who he is, of course. I just wanted a week at the beach. That’s all.”
“You came here on your own?”
“Yes, I love the beach. This is a me-cation or whatever people call it. I wanted a week before… before you know. Before I met him. And when you showed up outside my door, and I knew you had been in my apartment, I put two and two together and thought you had to be him.”
“Ahh.” Donovan’s eyes lit with recognition. “You found out about my recon mission?”
I glared at him. “Your pheromones were everywhere.”
“I was curious about why you had moved in next to me. I thought it had to do with something else.”
“Well it didn’t. It was just for my vacation.”
“Yeah, you’ve made that part clear.”
I looked away. “You’re not my mate, so I’m going to pretend this didn’t happen and go home and order a pizza.”
“Why would you do that?”
I paused. “Because I’ve humiliated myself. You’re not my mate. We’re not on the same page about this date. Just forget it.”
“No way.” He let his fingertips brush against the side of my face. I felt the chill run down my spine. “You might not be on my list, but that’s not why I asked you out anyway.”
I looked into his eyes. The ocean made the green sparkle with deep aqua flecks. God, why was he so gorgeous?
“I asked you out on a date because I thought you were hot and I wanted to have dinner with you. None of that is different for me.”
“Really?” I thought about what he said. “It wasn’t for recon?”
“Okay, maybe a little recon, but I really want to have dinner with you, Caroline.”
I couldn’t help but laugh. “You think I’m some kind of shifter spy or part of a revolution?”
He shrugged. “Not so much anymore.”
“And you still want to have dinner with me even though I jumped out of your Jeep and accused you of being my fated mate?”
“Especially now.” He winked. “Can we go to dinner together?”
I felt the nervous tingle deep in my belly. He might not be my mate, but there was no doubt I was attracted to him. I had been since I ran into him in the hallway. Maybe there was a way to salvage this disaster.
“Yes, I’d like that. But, can we forget about the first half of this date?”
“Already forgotten.”
I felt his fingers thread through mine. There was warmth in his hand as he led me over the top of the dune. We walked in silence across the street and into the restaurant.
Maybe I was the stupid one, but something about Donovan made me feel as if there was no reason to be embarrassed. As if the conversation between us suddenly exposed our true selves in a way months of dating couldn’t. It was silly and it was a crush, but I’d never felt this close to someone just holding his hand.
7
Donovan
I believed her. Maybe I was a fucking idiot, but I believed every word that came out of her beautiful mouth. There didn’t seem to be a deceitful or malicious bone in her body. The look of horror on her face when she realized she had misread the entire situation had cracked something under my ribs. I felt it rip and tear when she darted out of the car. I chased after her, desperate to know if she was okay.
Holding her hand as we crossed the street pulled at me. I felt this undeniable need to protect her. Something about her had awakened my jaguar. I tried to push him back in a corner, but every time she looked at me with those piecing green eyes, he came clawing out.
Yes, he wanted her, but there was more to it than that. He wanted to talk to her. Listen to her. Make her laugh. Hold her. I didn’t know what was going on. I’d never felt anything like it before.
I guided her through the restaurant, keeping my hand on the small of her back
. The waiter seated us next to the window. There was a candle in the center of the table, and a wine list. We could see the ocean across the street even though it was dark under the stars.
Caroline seemed calmer since we had taken a few deep breaths and started the date over. She had been right. My motives were underhanded in the beginning, but I did want to have dinner with her. Only now my reasons had changed. I no longer believed she was part of some type of rebellion. I didn’t need to get information out of her. I didn’t have to pry her for answers to take to Case.
I could enjoy myself. I wanted to spend the night with a graceful, gorgeous panther.
It didn’t help that she wore the skimpy dress I had seen in her suitcase. Every time she leaned forward, I caught a glimpse of her luscious breasts. The black lace on her bra barely covered her nipples. I could picture the lace sliding down, exposing her pink skin. I suppressed a growl.
“Do you have a recommendation here?” she asked.
“I think everything is good.” The candlelight flickered against the hollow below her throat and I was having a hard time thinking about food. I wanted to feast on her. She could feed a hunger I had been feeling for weeks.
“I think I’ll try the flounder.” She folded the menu in half and smiled.
The waiter returned. “Have you decided on drinks?”
I ordered a bottle of wine and waited for him to return with our glasses.
“Caroline, about earlier…”
“Don’t.” She eyed me, and I saw her panther warning me. “Forget about it.”
I had to drop it. We had pushed the reset button on the night, and if I didn’t honor her request, I might not be able to repair the damage from a second round.
“How about you tell me where you’re from,” I suggested.
“We’re telling each other the truth now?”
I nodded. “Yes.”
“All right then. I’m from Gables, Georgia. It’s about seven hours from here. What about you?”
“Sort of a long story, but I’m from Campbell, Tennessee.”
“How is that a long story?” She leaned back as the waiter returned with our bottle of chilled wine.
I took a sip and approved the selection so he could pour our glasses. We ordered and he promised to return quickly with our meals.
“It’s a long story because my territory moved. I was relocated.”
“How does that happen?” She sat forward in her chair, delicately balancing the wine glass in her hand.
It never happened before, but suddenly I was spilling my family’s history. It came out of me as quickly as the waves washed on shore.
“My father was a king. And God, he was powerful. He was strong. But something happened to him. It wasn’t enough. He couldn’t be satisfied with what he had. His jaguar army wasn’t quick enough or dominant enough. So he tried to take over another king’s region. The short version of the story is he lost.” I took a gulp of the wine. “So I was relocated to the new territory and I work for a different king now.”
“The king who had you thinking I was a spy?”
It did seem ludicrous. “Yes. That one.”
“Will you try to get it back? Are you going to reclaim your territory?”
I shook my head. “No. There’s too much happening now. I have friends in the new Tribe. I even consider the king my friend some days.” I smirked. “Taking that territory back would hurt too many people. My father should have left it alone. Greed cost him. I’m not going to make that mistake. I saw what it did to my family. I saw what it did to our entire territory.” It hurt thinking about that part of my past. “It can’t happen again.”
“But your birthright is to be a king. You were a prince.” She looked astonished.
I shrugged. “I was. And some days I wake up pissed as hell. I’m angry. But I can’t go on a killing spree just to prove a point and win back land. Some battles are lost before they’re begun. This is one of them.”
Caroline’s eyes were on me. But she wasn’t pitying me. I felt the warmth and the empathy. “I’m sorry, Donovan. I really am.”
She reached across the table and I felt the softness of her skin as she wrapped her fingers around my hand.
“Thank you.” It felt natural talking to her about it.
“I think it shows what kind of leader you would be. The kind of king you were born to be.”
“And what’s that?” I was curious about her assessment of me.
“The kind who is compassionate. The kind who knows he has power, but doesn’t abuse it. The kind of king every royal jaguar should try to be.” She let her lips part slightly with a smile.
I felt her words in my chest. Did she really think that about me? I’d always thought it would have been a worthless vendetta to seek revenge for the loss of our territory, but maybe Caroline was right. Maybe I had more compassion for the shifters than I realized.
“Want to hear something really crazy?” I asked.
She nodded.
“I’ve never talked about it. Never. I don’t talk about what my father did. Or the territories. Everyone in the Tribe knows. They accept it. And I accept it, but we don’t talk about it.” I squeezed her hand, absorbing the warmth. “But I just told you. It felt right. And I have no idea why.”
She smiled. “Maybe because I’m a good listener.” She paused. “And a stranger. You know you’ll never see me again.” Her eyes changed. Her teeth bit into her lower lip, and it took everything I had not to jump over the table and try to kiss her.
Her lips were luscious and plump. I wanted to feel them under mine. I wanted to kiss and bite her. More than anything, I wanted to take this girl to my bed. Sharing the details of my past opened some kind of bond with her. It was quick and unexpected, but I felt it just as deeply as if we had known each other a lifetime.
The waiter interrupted the moment with two huge, steaming plates of food. He presented Caroline’s first and then mine.
“Anything else?” he asked.
I could tear into him for making me release her hand. I didn’t want to let go. I wanted to feel like this for the rest of the night. The connection I had to her was unreal.
“No,” I snarled.
The man scurried back to the kitchen and Caroline laughed.
“I think you scared the poor guy.”
“Serves him right. I thought waiters were supposed to interrupt when you had a mouth full of food, not when…” I didn’t know how to finish the sentence, only to say that my heart was about to jump out of my chest.
“When?” She looked at me expectantly.
“When you’re looking into the eyes of a beautiful woman.”
There was a swirl of blush climbing up her neck. If that made her blush, I wondered what she’d think about all the other things I could do.
“Tell me something about Campbell,” she requested. “I’ve never been to that part of Tennessee before.”
“It’s nothing like Charleston. No palm trees. No water. No bridges.” I sighed. It was stupid, but I felt a little homesick. “I love the forest. I do. It’s true. I’m just going to say it. Trees are the best.”
She laughed so hard she had to press her napkin to her lips.
“I guess you haven’t tried to scale a palm tree yet?”
“Right. A jag in a palm tree. Not going to happen.” But I laughed. Her happiness was contagious. Her smile. Her light. I was drawn to it.
By the time we left the restaurant we had finished a bottle of wine, our meals, and a chocolate dessert Caroline insisted we split.
I didn’t know if she was dragging out the inevitable or if she really enjoyed food that much. I held her hand as we walked to the Jeep.
“Can we walk on the beach for a minute?” she asked.
My keys were already out. “Sure.” I stuffed them back in my pocket.
We walked over the dunes on the same path I had chased her a few hours ago.
“Isn’t it amazing here?” She looked up at the sky. “A
ll the stars are brighter.”
I wrapped an arm around her waist, sliding my palm against her hip. God, she felt amazing. We walked toward the shore.
“You really like the beach? It’s kind of strange,” I commented.
“Why? Because everyone else like us prefers the forest?”
“That’s exactly why.”
She turned toward me and I inhaled the scent of her shampoo in the air. My thumb traced over her lower lip and she stopped talking. Her eyes closed as I leaned down to her lips. It wasn’t a gentle kiss, but I couldn’t hold back. My arms encircled her as I devoured her mouth. My tongue slipped between her teeth and began to roll against hers.
I heard the purrs coming from her chest as her hands crept up my back and locked around my neck. Everything intensified so quickly. I couldn’t get enough of her. The wine on her lips. The softness of her body pressed to mine. The smell of her hair. The sounds she made. All of it was fucking sexy. I bit her bottom lip, dragging it with my teeth.
“Oh,” she purred some more.
My hands tangled in her hair and I thought about how I could take her here on the beach. How my body craved her more than I knew was possible. I inhaled deeply, trying to balance myself.
I pressed my forehead to hers. “Let me take you home.”
She nodded. “Okay.”
I stopped to kiss her again, but within seconds, we were both swept up in another passionate kiss. At this rate, no one was getting off this damn beach. My hands snaked up the back of her skirt, squeezing her firm ass with one hand. Fuck, she was hot.
“Caroline,” I breathed. “I want you.”
“Me too,” she moaned. “I want you too.”
No more stopping. No more beach kissing detours. I pulled her by the hand until we were both strapped into the Jeep and headed toward our apartment building. I didn’t care about red lights or late night joggers. I needed her.
8
Caroline
We ran up the stairs to the second floor. Donovan had the door of his apartment open before I even saw his keys. His hands were in my hair and his mouth covered mine with the most delicious kisses. I groaned as we stumbled to his bedroom.