JAGUARTOWN: SPOTILICIOUS
LIZZIE LYNN LEE
Summary:
What happens in Vegas doesn’t always stay in Vegas.
Kelly Hillock learns it the hard way. What would she do when the hot guy she had a steamy one-night stand with tracks her down to New York and tells her that she’s his mate and she’s pregnant with his baby? Well, she hits him with a shovel, of course.
Marc might be super-hot but he’s clearly a grade-A nutjob. True mate? Baby cub? Werejaguar? Right. If she believes him then she’d be a candidate for a straightjacket, too.
Only, what he said is true—and more. Marc DaVaca isn’t only an eye-candy hunk and half-human. He’s also the boss of the Las Vegas underworld. Before long, Kelly finds herself swept into her growing feelings, the prospect of motherhood and the undeniable animalistic passion between them. Yup, when his brownie points keep adding up more than the spots on his fur, how could a girl say no?
First Edition 2016
©Copyright Lizzie Lynn Lee December 2016
Cover Art by (Lizzie Lynn Lee) ©Copyright (December/2016)
Edited by Amy Black
Proofread by Cassie Hess Dean
Galley Proofread by Lisa Bing
This book contains material protected under International and Federal Copyright Laws and Treaties. Any unauthorized reprint or use of this material is prohibited. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system without express written permission from the author.
This is a work of fiction. The characters, incidents and dialogues in this book are of the author’s imagination and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to actual events or persons, living or dead, is completely coincidental.
TABLE OF CONTENTS:
Summary
One
Two
Three
Four
Five
Six
Seven
About the Author
Join My Mailing List
Lizzie’s Bibliography
Special Preview from Romance Warfare: a Tigress’ Guide to NOT Secure a Mate
CHAPTER ONE
“Ladies and gentlemen, in preparation for landing, please turn off and stow your portable electronic devices at this time,” the flight attendant’s pleasant voice echoed over the intercom.
Marc DaVaca tipped the lid closed on his laptop. He felt like he was jumping out of his skin, and he still had over four hundred emails in his inbox that he hadn’t been able to look at, despite the almost-five-hour flight. No, it was partly because he was feeling a little claustrophobic. Air travel wasn’t his preferred method of travel, but he felt the need to get to New York as quickly as possible as soon as he’d found out that was where Kelly had gone.
His life had been upended in a matter of less than a week.
Four days ago, he’d thought that his life was settled, and he was content. He’d successfully transitioned into the alpha role of the DeVaca clan two years ago. Things were going well with all of the clan’s businesses, both those that were legal and illegal. He had a good life with his clan in Las Vegas. They were respected and feared, which was just the way that he liked it. But then a chance encounter with a mysterious beauty had changed everything literally overnight.
Someone touched his arm. He turned to the woman sitting next to him in the first-class seat. She threw him a professional “come hither” kind of look that came to him as a rather lecherous smile. Her eyes gleamed with pure lust. She was probably close to thirty, an attractive brunette with impeccable makeup and selfie-ready, bleached white teeth. Judging from the designer skirt suit that wrapped her lithe body, she could be a young executive on Wall Street or some corporate fat cat’s trophy wife.
“We’re almost there. I thought perhaps you’d like to get a drink in the city later?” she asked in a seductive fuck-me voice.
Marc wasn’t interested in the woman next to him.
He glanced at her fingers. No wedding ring. This woman had tried to gain his attention since they boarded in Vegas. Marc simply ignored her with headphones on his ears—a universal sign of “don’t fucking bother me.” Later, he immersed himself in his work. Because they were preparing to land, he had to put his headphones away and her invitation was unavoidable. Sure, he’d had his fair share of flings over the last several years. Until he found his mate, sowing his wild oats was practically a given. The woman next to him would have done for casual, overnight company, but his mind and senses were filled with the memories of someone else now.
Kelly.
The call for her was so fucking strong. It’s as if every fiber of his being was screaming for her, it drove him crazy.
He couldn’t get her out of his mind…
He would never be at peace until he saw her again.
“Thanks, but I have some business to attend to,” he politely declined.
“Hmm? But you have to take a break eventually, yes? I know an excellent restaurant on the Upper East Side that serves fantastic sushi. Let me buy you dinner.”
“I hate fish.”
She blinked, taken aback. But she didn’t give up. “How about steak? You know New York has the famous Peter Luger Steak House?”
What a pest. This woman didn’t know when to back off. “I’m not hungry, thank you.”
The woman’s mouth turned down into a slight pout, and he wanted to roll his eyes. It aged her face by at least ten years.
“Your loss,” she said under her breath.
If it wasn’t for his innate sense of hearing, he probably wouldn’t have heard the comment at all. That was it. She was due for a lesson. Marc abandoned his laptop and turned fully toward her. She perked up. The woman provocatively pushed her chest out toward him, no doubt thinking that he was perhaps changing his mind.
“What’s your name?” Marc asked.
“Amanda.”
“Listen, Amanda,” Marc spoke quietly as he used his gift of the power of persuasion on her. The woman’s eyes quickly glazed, deeply entranced. In his jaguar clan, Marc was the only one who possessed the ability to make others do what he wanted simply by uttering some words. As the boss of the Las Vegas underworld, his gift was quintessential in dealing with disagreeable individuals. His half-brother, Reid, had the power of speed, while his cousin, Alex, had the power of healing. His second-cousin, Juan, had the invaluable knack of finding people and things. Together, the DaVaca clan ruled over Vegas from behind the scenes. “Face forward, put your hands on your lap and don’t talk to me anymore,” he ordered.
She obeyed his command instantly. If Marc ordered she should stop breathing, she’d do it in a heartbeat. But Marc had never done the extreme, even when he meted out judgment to the offenders of his domain. He preferred the old-fashioned ways—fist, baseball bat, or gun.
Marc continued, “As soon as you get off the flight, you’re going to go home, and go straight to bed. You’re not going to wake up for three days. Then, you are going to go to work without taking a shower, putting on makeup, or combing your hair. You will wear your oldest pair of sweatpants and shirt. If anyone asks why, just say you’re tired of all the maintenance.”
The woman blinked at the end of his sentence, and kept gazing blankly at the headrest in front of her.
Marc knew he shouldn’t use his powers of persuasion for something so petty, but he had been crammed up in this tiny tin can for five hours wit
h her overbearing and unwelcome company. The woman had been nothing if not an annoyance, like a fly that he couldn’t quite swat away. He thought taking her overt self-confidence down a notch or two would probably do her some good in the long run.
As soon as the plane’s wheels touched the tarmac, he felt the loosening of the tension inside of his chest. Marc wasn’t a comfortable flyer on the best of days, and he could feel his inner feline scratching at his subconscious: Get me out, get me out, get me out of here.
“Almost there,” he said more to the beast than to himself. Werejaguars weren’t meant to fly in the sky. He preferred travelling by ground if he could help it. His kin had roamed the arid landscape of Nevada since the Native American Paiutes inhabited the valleys of the Great Meadows. They were ground creatures through and through.
He badly needed a stiff drink, but that was going to have to wait. Now that he was in the same part of the country, he couldn’t wait to find his mate. She’d already eluded his grasp for too long.
Marc hadn’t even bothered packing a bag. He didn’t intend on staying in New York long. Just long enough to locate Kelly and convince her to move to Las Vegas with him as soon as possible. He knew that this was going to be no small task. She was human, and he would have to convince her that not only were they fated to be together, but he was going to have to let her in on the secret of what he really was: a werejaguar. That would probably prove to be even more difficult for her to swallow than the first part, though it was the easiest to prove.
As he got off the plane, he sent a text to his half-brother, Reid.
Landed. On my way to her place.
Given his line of work, and the fact that his clan often had clashes with other shifter clans around territory rights, he was certain to relay his movements to Reid at all times. Reid was his second-in-command, and currently running the ship while Marc was gone. It was another reason he had no intention of taking an extended trip. Things had a tendency of going sideways quickly in the land of sin and overindulgence.
Find the girl. Get home safe. Reid’s replies were always short and sweet.
Finding the girl was necessary. Once a werejaguar found his mate, he knew it was for life, and there was no question of whether it was the right person or not. It simply was, and it was accepted. Marc was eager to get Kelly back to Las Vegas and introduce her to his clan. Plus, they had a lot of catching up to do in addition to getting to know each other.
He looked at the address again as he got into the taxi. He gave it to the driver and thought once again about what he was going to say to Kelly when he saw her. He knew that when they originally met, the whole encounter had been meant to be a one-night stand. A glorious, hot-as-fuck, one-night stand. Instead, he had unexpectedly found his mate.
It wasn’t unheard of for a werejaguar’s mate to be human. Given his role as the alpha of the clan, it was an issue that would spark some discussion amongst the clan members, mainly about his future heir. The succession in the DaVaca clan was determined by bloodlines. Other clans often chose the strongest. But the DaVaca clan was one of the oldest that had called the arid desert of Nevada home. Marc wanted to reassure his clansmen that everything was going to be fine.
The hard part was that courting a human was completely different than courting another shifter. There was a certain amount of finesse that was delicately required. There was nothing easy about what he was setting out to do, but he hoped based on the glorious one night they had spent together, that Kelly would at least listen to him with an open mind. He was aware of what it was going to look like when he showed up on her doorstep with no warning.
Marc felt himself grow even more anxious the closer he got to the address. When they pulled up out front, he was surprised to see that it was a small, charming rowhouse in a neighborhood that looked clean but a little bit on the downtrodden side. He felt his inner feline growl in the back of his consciousness. It didn’t like the fact that his mate with living in a place like this. His mate was meant to be the equivalent of a queen in his clan. She deserved better.
Kelly deserved better.
There was one other thing that he had to tell her that could cause her to kick him immediately to the curb. The reason sounded outlandish that even the most unprejudiced human wouldn’t accept it with face value. And there was no way she could know that she was pregnant with his cub. But he knew, and it was the final piece of the puzzle convincing him that this was his intended mate.
A mere human female who carried the future heir of DaVaca clan.
Marc started up the sidewalk thinking again how he was going to start the conversation. He started to knock on the front door when he heard the faint sounds of humming coming from somewhere around back. He followed the noise.
The hum was pleasant and soothed his nerves. That was how he knew that the sounds had to be coming from Kelly. As he rounded the corner of the house, he stopped in his tracks. He wouldn’t have picked her to be a gardener. But nonetheless there she was in what appeared to be a small vegetable garden behind her home.
The sun shone down and lit up the paleness of her long, blonde hair. Her curves, even from the backside, caused an immediate stiffening of his trousers. His fingers itched to touch her, but he knew this was a “proceed with caution” kind of situation. Her hum stopped mid-note.
He saw her head turn, and her profile was even more lovely than he imagined. She was up on her feet with lightning speed, and he saw her put a hand over her chest. Her eyes widened when she recognized him. He put up a hand, and he wasn’t sure whether it was to say it was okay or hello. For a moment, he was speechless, blinded by the full glory of her beauty.
“What are you doing here?” Kelly asked in a small, breathless voice.
He had to wonder if she felt the same animal magnetism that he felt at that moment. He was doing everything he could to keep his jaguar under control. The big bad cat inside him wanted to claim her.
Now, now, now…
“I had to see you again, Kelly,” he said. He ducked his head just a little as he stepped toward her. The good news was she didn’t back away. “You left without even saying goodbye.”
He saw her mouth twist in an ironic grimace.
“They’re called one-night stands for a reason, Marc. I didn’t have any expectations that you were going to buy me breakfast or anything.”
Normally, he would have appreciated this sentiment, except this was a completely different set of circumstances. This was a one-night stand that was supposed to last forever.
It was fate.
“There are some things that I need to talk to you about. Things you need to know.”
She pulled a cell phone out of her pocket of her sundress. “You aren’t familiar with this technology?”
Marc chuckled slightly. Okay, his mate was no wimp and had a sense of humor. He appreciated a woman with spunk.
“There are some things that are better told in person,” he said.
“This is really creepy, Marc. I think you should go.”
“Sorry, I can’t do that. We need to talk,” he insisted.
“I really would like you to go,” she repeated.
Why was she so stubborn? There were so many things to discuss between them. The words came tumbling out of his mouth before he could stop them. “Kelly, I need to tell you that we are meant to be together. You are my mate, and you are pregnant with my cub.”
She looked puzzled at first, and then her eyes widened with fear. “What the hell are you talking about?”
Marc took a step toward her, and he was so focused on her face that he missed the appearance of the shovel that she must have been hiding behind her back. Before he could say another word, Kelly whacked it across the side of his head.
The world went dark.
CHAPTER TWO
Four Days Earlier…
Kelly was keyed up after the casual Vegas wedding she had attended that afternoon. She was so happy for her cousin, but every time she went to someone else�
��s wedding, it dredged up the same old feelings reminding her that she was no longer married herself. Even though it had been four years since Adam walked off from their marriage, it still stung more than she cared to admit.
The rumor mill had recently spouted out the news that his secretary, the woman who Kelly had walked in on him screwing, was pregnant. The two were planning a fall wedding. It wasn’t that she wanted to be with Adam; it was more that she just didn’t like being alone anymore. Seeing the happy couple in front of the minister that day made her melancholy.
Her friends, Becca and Allie, had insisted that she needed a night on the town to put all thoughts of Adam to bed once and for all. And what better place to do that than Las Vegas? The Sin City where anything could happen? Maybe Lady Luck would send her a little blessing…
“You just need a curl-your-toes, fucking-hot hook-up your last night in Vegas,” Becca assured her.
“Right. I’m not pretty enough for that,” Kelly said. She was incredibly self-conscious about the fact that she had gained a few pounds the last couple years. She didn’t get to exercise as much as she wanted to, and even though her friends told her that she looked far better now than after her divorce-diet’s twenty-pound weight loss when she and Adam separated, she didn’t believe them.
Still, her friends talked her into going to what was supposed to be the trendiest casino on the Strip. They had started with drinks at the roulette table. A few more drinks had led them to the craps tables. It was there that she first saw him.
She was on a crazy hot streak throwing the dice.
Even though she had no idea what she was doing, it seemed as if every time her fingers touched the dice, everyone at the table won. She had been throwing for more than thirty minutes. People were buying her drinks and shots right and left. Kelly felt herself starting to let loose in a way that she hadn’t in what seemed like forever.
The man at the other end of the table—Mr. Tall, Tanned, and Incredibly Hot was putting down bets that made her eyes widen. And as her streak continued, the stack of chips in front of him got bigger and bigger, kind of like the guy’s biceps. She didn’t think he was there with any specific woman, despite the fact that several at the table kept vying for his attention. But his eyes seemed to be glued on Kelly.
Spotilicious: BBW Werejaguar Shapeshifter Paranormal Romance (Jaguartown Book 1) Page 1