by R. E. Butler
Jupiter growled under his breath.
“I’ll escort the human,” Justus said. “I need to get Lexy’s list for the desserts this week anyway.” Aside from opening a sweets shop within the zoo, Lexy had helped supply recipes for the dessert stall.
“Better not keep calling her the human,” Xavier said.
“Right,” Jupiter said. “Her name is Trina. She’s Lexy’s cousin.”
“And she has to interview for a job in her shop?” Justus asked.
Jupiter shrugged. “According to my mate, the job is as good as Trina’s, but Lexy’s enjoying making her jump through hoops. You gotta love family.”
Justus nodded in agreement. “I’ll escort her to the shop.”
“Thanks,” Jupiter said.
“Don’t forget my RC,” Xavier said.
“I won’t.”
Justus left the security office and walked toward the front gates. The gates were massive wrought iron, standing twenty feet high where they met in the center. Within the bars on both sides were images of the animals in the zoo. When the zoo opened, the doors would be propped open to allow the public inside. On either side of the large gate was a huge rock wall that spanned the park, ten feet high and topped with security alarms, lights, and cameras. The lions patrolled the wall each night, ensuring that no one tried to get into the park while the shifters were underground.
The closer Justus drew to the gate, the more agitated his bear became. At first, he’d just felt an odd hum under his skin, as if his bear were suddenly awakening and wanting to go for a run in shifted form. But with each step, the bear grew stronger in his mind, pushing him to move faster. He couldn’t imagine what his bear wanted...until he inhaled and caught the scent of something amazing. His whole body tightened and his bear slammed against his skull, anxious to reach the source of the scent.
Mercer, one of the lions, was standing inside the closed gates, speaking to a female who stood outside. She was wearing a skirt that just grazed the tops of her knees and a fitted top that highlighted her curves. With a flick of her wrist, she tossed her long, brown hair over her shoulder and smiled, revealing straight, white teeth. Instantly, jealousy flared inside him. Just what the hell was Mercer saying to the female to make her smile like that?
And why the hell was Justus so freaking jealous?
“What are you doing here?” Mercer asked, turning slightly to face him.
Justus opened his mouth and a soft growl came out. His fingertips tingled and his vision blurred slightly, as he inhaled again and scented the alluring smell. He knew in that moment that the scent belonged to the female, and the reason he was so intrigued was because she was his soulmate.
Mercer snapped his fingers in front of Justus’s face. His voice was low when he spoke. “What the hell, man?”
Justus grimaced, pushing the bear away as much as he could, mentally wrestling with the beast who wanted to cover himself in the female’s sweet scent. “Mine,” he murmured, his teeth clenched.
Mercer’s brows rose. “Shit, really?” He looked over his shoulder at the female and then grabbed Justus by the collar and pushed him away from the gate and out of her hearing range. “Your eyes have changed color and you look like you’re about two seconds from shifting. I need you to get a handle on yourself or I’m going to have to call Jupiter.”
Shaking his head to clear his raging thoughts, he inhaled deeply and relaxed his muscles. “I’m supposed to take her to the shop.”
“Do you think you can handle yourself? I can get someone else up here to escort her so you can cool down.”
“No!” Justus couldn’t stop the roar that followed, his voice too loud, his bear too close to the surface.
Mercer said nothing for a long moment and then he relaxed his hold on Justus’s shirt. “No to handling yourself or no to someone else escorting her?”
“Escort. I’ll do it. I’m…fine.”
Mercer’s brow rose. “I’m not exactly feeling super confident.”
“I swear.”
“Hello? I don’t think I should be late to my interview, even if Lexy is just making me interview because she wants to lord the fact she’ll be my boss over me,” Trina said.
Justus loved the sound of her voice. He knew he’d love it even more when she said his name in the throes of passion. Ordering his bear to calm the fuck down, he cracked his neck and walked to the gates with as much confidence as he could muster. He waited for Mercer to use the code to unlock the gates, and as he waited for them to swing open, he said, “My name is Justus Dorne. I’m here to escort you to the shop.”
She smiled up at him, a good foot under his six-foot-five frame. “I’m Trina Potter. Is everything okay? Not to pry, but you looked like you were a light breeze away from having a mental breakdown.”
He extended his hand and she looked at it for a moment, and then slid hers into his. Electricity flowed up his arm at the touch, and his bear rubbed against his skin, wanting to get closer to her. “I’m fine, Trina. It’s nice to meet you. It’s not too far a walk to the shop. I promise to do my best to get you there on time, and I’ll happily take the fall for you being late.”
She smiled, and everything inside him went toasty warm. “Aw. That’s sweet, but Lexy loves me, and if she gives me a hard time I’ll just subtly threaten her with embarrassing pictures of her childhood. No problem.”
He knew he should drop her hand as she fell into step next to him, but he didn’t want to. That she didn’t pull away from his grasp gave him hope that even though she was human, she was feeling a connection to him. The gates closed behind them, and Trina looked backward and then said, “The park opens at eleven, right?”
“During the week, yes. On the weekends we open at ten.”
“What do you do here?”
His mind spun as he considered what to tell her. “I help out with the food stalls. I’m in charge of fried food, like french fries.”
“And funnel cakes? I love those.”
“We’ve got them.”
“I had a red velvet funnel cake at the Ocean City boardwalk last summer and it was epically delicious.”
Immediately he wanted to make red velvet funnel cakes for her. And any other flavor she wanted.
“Sounds tasty,” he said.
“Wait, where are we?” she asked, stopping.
He paused and looked around, realizing he’d walked them to the picnic area instead of to the sweets shop. The dozen picnic tables were kept in the shade by the towering trees overhead. The concrete was stamped with animal prints, with walkways that led away from the picnic area to other parts of the park. At lunchtime, the tables would be full and the noise from the guests would be overpowering.
He opened his mouth to say something, but words failed him. He’d brought her to a quiet place without even really being aware of it. One moment they’d been talking about funnel cakes, and the next he found himself alone with her.
Entirely alone.
She moved close suddenly, her hand squeezing his as she stared up at him. Her eyes were the loveliest shade of green, like pine needles. He cupped her face with his free hand and she leaned into his touch.
“You’re so beautiful,” he said, his voice hoarse with emotion.
She grasped his wrist, wrapping her hand around his as she lifted onto her toes to close the distance between them. He wasted no time in meeting her lips. The first kiss, so important in his mind, blew him away with the feelings it evoked within him. He wanted everything for her right then – her happiness, her safety, her voice in his ears as he made her fall apart. He swiped his tongue along the seam of her lips and she opened her mouth, allowing him to slide his tongue against hers and take a long, drugging taste. Trina tasted as good as she smelled. Better, even. Sweet and tempting, like raw honey.
He released his hold on her hand and slipped his arm around her waist, drawing her close. He knew she could feel his erection pressed to her belly, but he didn’t care. He couldn’t seem to control that p
art of his body anyway, and she affected him like no other.
She slipped her hand through his hair, gripping the strands with a throaty purr. His beast liked that a lot, and he could hardly suppress the rumble in his chest. Knowing he needed to get her…somewhere…he slowly pulled away from her lips. She slowly opened her eyes and let out a soft sigh.
“Why did you stop?” she whispered.
“I don’t know.”
Her brow arched delicately and she giggled. “You’re dangerous, Justus. Every sexy inch of you.”
He wrapped a lock of her pretty hair around two fingers and rubbed the soft strands with his thumb. “I’m only dangerous to anyone who would hurt you, and that’s the truth.”
“That’s sweet. So, did you bring me here so we could make out? Because I don’t think Lexy will accept me saying that I was late for the interview because we were trying to suck each other’s faces off.”
He chuckled. “I already told you I’d take the fall.”
And because Lexy had found her soulmate in the gorilla shifter, Win, he knew that she’d understand why Justus and Trina hadn’t been able to keep their hands off each other, even if Trina didn’t fully understand the situation. Which made him realize that he needed to talk to his alpha Marcus about her.
It was the very last thing that he wanted to do, but he took a small step away from Trina to put some space between them and then he took her hand again. “Let’s go get you that job.”
She nodded with a smile, and he took her directly to the sweets shop. Lexy’s Sweet Treasures was set to open to the public on Friday, with a preview on Thursday evening in the form of a party, in which she’d invited her family to come and see the shop. The gorillas had been instrumental in getting the shop cleaned up and ready to open.
“Lexy said the shop wasn’t open for a long time. What happened?”
“The couple who ran it decided to retire. There wasn’t anyone who wanted to take on the responsibility of it, so it was shut down.”
“I’m sure it was a money maker for the zoo. Why didn’t the owners hire someone to take it over?”
“I don’t know, sweet thing.”
He stopped when she tried to stifle a giggle. Her eyes were dancing with mirth.
“What?” he asked.
“You called me sweet thing.”
“Oh.” His cheeks flamed.
“Wow, that’s gorgeous,” she said. “You’re blushing and you look even hotter.” She paused as her own cheeks heated. “Holy crap, I can’t stop saying embarrassing things around you.”
He drew her close, sliding his fingers into her hair and cupping the back of her head. “It’s embarrassing to tell me I’m hot?”
“Saying it out loud, when we met like ten minutes ago? Yep.”
“I like your honesty. I’m finding myself wanting to be very honest, too, but I don’t want to scare you away.”
She ran her tongue along the bottom of her top teeth. “You won’t scare me.”
“You’re beautiful, Trina. I’m…drawn to you.”
“I think you know I’m drawn to you. It’s not like I’ve ever kissed a complete stranger like that before. Even though you don’t really feel like a stranger. It’s the oddest thing; I feel like I’ve known you forever.”
“Because we’re soulmates.”
She hummed. “If I don’t believe in soulmates?”
He let a sly smile cross his lips. “Then I’ll just have to convince you.”
The door to the sweets shop opened suddenly and Lexy said, “For goodness sake, Trin, I thought you fell into one of the paddocks.”
“I’m busy,” Trina said. “Go away.”
“Seriously?”
Justus looked at Lexy who was standing in the doorway of the shop wearing a bright yellow apron smudged with flour. Her gaze pinged between Trina and Justus, and then her mouth fell open.
“It’s my fault,” Justus said.
“Somehow I doubt that,” Lexy said. “My cousin is trouble with a capital T.”
“Don’t listen to her, Justus. I’m adorable and not at all high maintenance.”
He snorted. “For sure you’re adorable. We’ll see about the high maintenance part.”
“I think you need to find your…boss?” Lexy said, speaking slowly as if she were measuring her words.
“Yeah,” he said.
“Come back in an hour.”
He looked at Trina. “Okay. Good luck with your interview.”
“I don’t need luck. I’m just that awesome.”
“Holy crap,” Lexy said, rolling her eyes.
Justus kissed Trina on the cheek and forced himself to release her and step away. It was, by far, one of the most difficult things he’d ever had to do. His bear wanted to be glued to her side.
“An hour?” Trina asked.
“I’ll be here,” he promised. Then, before his bear could change his mind, Justus walked away quickly, wanting to find Marcus and then get back to his mate. His life had just changed completely in the span of a few minutes. Now, Trina was the center of his world. He just had to figure out how to share the truth of his nature with her and convince her to give up her life outside of the park and spend the next eighty years with him.
Easy peasy.
Chapter 4
Trina had never – ever – made out with a guy just minutes after meeting him, but there was something about Justus that she couldn’t put her finger on. He was sexy as hell, but she also felt like she’d known him her entire life. Like she’d been waiting to meet him when she hadn’t even known he’d existed until they met at the gates. She’d always believed that there was one person for everyone out there, but to think about that person as being a soulmate hadn’t crossed her mind. Until he mentioned the word. Now, it seemed like all she could think about. Was Justus her soulmate? Did that explain why she wanted to follow him and kiss him some more? And do other, naked things with him?
“Are you okay, babe?” Lexy asked from the shop doorway.
Trina forced herself to stop looking in the direction that Justus had left and turned her attention to her cousin.
“Yeah. Yep. I’m fab. You?”
With a chuckle, Lexy stepped away from the doorway and held open the door for Trina. “Come on in, nut job. Let me give you the nickel tour and then we can talk about your new man.”
“He’s not my man.” Not yet.
“Okay, so you weren’t looking all moony-eyed at Justus? And you don’t look flushed and guilty as if you were groping each other before you got here?”
“We were not groping.”
Lexy snorted. “Why not? He was looking at you like you’re the best thing since sliced bread.”
Trina’s heart skipped a beat. As nonchalantly as she could, she asked, “Was he?”
“Good gravy, you’re about as subtle as a baseball bat upside the head. Yes, he’s into you, and I’m guessing the feeling is mutual. When he comes back in an hour, you can spend time with him, but until then, give me your undivided attention.”
“That’ll be hard since you’re so boring,” Trina quipped.
“It’s a good thing we’re related.”
Lexy grinned. “Tell me about Lexy’s Sweet Treasures.”
“Oh man, do you like the name? Win suggested it and everyone liked it so much, but I think it sounds like a sex toy shop.”
“Someone has sex on the brain. I didn’t think it sounded dirty until you said that. Now, that’s all I can think about.”
“Damn it.”
Trina turned in a slow circle and looked around the main shop. The hardwood floors were gleaming, and the sunlight sparkled through the windows. Yellow-and-white gingham tablecloths covered long tables that were arranged strategically in the room. Along the walls, shelves waited to be filled. The counter was made entirely of glass and was a candy display, where gleaming glass shelves were sectioned to hold different treats.
“Picture the tables filled with glass containers with different
items in them, like suckers, taffy, and individually packaged baked goods. The shelves along the walls will hold the park’s themed items such as stuffed animals and grouped items packaged as gifts. The counter, of course, will be the main candy sale area, and all the taffy that I make will be in the bins along with other types of candy. I’m experimenting with some chocolate molds I found in storage here, and I’ve already worked out some pecan and almond turtles.”
“It looks amazing. When you texted me pictures of the place originally I didn’t think you’d be able to pull off anything this good in just a month, but you did.”
“I had a lot of help. Not only Win and his friends, but also the other food workers.”
Lexy led the way past the cash register and a set of old-fashioned swinging wooden doors, to the commercial kitchen. In one corner in front of a glass window that overlooked the interior of the shop, a machine was pulling a glossy yellow taffy. A long, metal counter held trays of silicone molds that were filled with chocolates.
Lexy pulled the corner of one tray down and slipped out a chocolate, handing it to Trina “I figured out how to make raspberry jellies. They’re dad’s favorite.”
Trina popped the chocolate covered candy into her mouth and bit down. The sweet and slightly tangy raspberry jelly inside was delicious, mixing perfectly with the dark chocolate exterior.
“Wow. Your dad will love them.”
“Thanks.”
She and Lexy sat at a desk against one wall. A laptop was open with a recipe for peanut brittle on the screen. A stack of papers was in one corner, and in a small frame next to the laptop was a picture of Lexy and Win.
“You seem happy,” Trina said.
“Oh, I am. Win is amazing. And being able to stay here at the park and run the shop is a dream come true. Taking this job means working weekends when we’ll be busiest. The hours would be eleven to seven on weekdays and ten to six on weekends, with Tuesday and Wednesday off.”
“You’ve got someone else working here, too, right?”
Lexy nodded. “Her name is Jenni. You’ll like her. She used to work for the security department, but she was looking for a change and now she’s helping me out. I’d like to teach you how to make a few things so you can handle them each week.”