by Sammie Joyce
I felt a frisson of alarm and I wondered if Vanessa’s lover might be something like mine.
He’s not your lover, not anymore, I reminded myself.
“Sounds dangerous,” I said. “You should be careful. My mother knew men like that too.”
Vanessa scowled slightly but when she spoke, her voice was surprisingly gentle.
“Odessa really did a number on you, Addy. Don’t let her corruption ruin your happiness.”
I blinked at the oddly profound words and looked at my friend, wondering if that was what I’d been doing all along, allowing Odessa to stunt my happiness. I swallowed the thought. My mother wasn’t even in the ground and I was already blaming her for a failed relationship that had nothing to do with her.
“So what’s this double agent’s name?” I asked, forcing myself to be glad for my best friend. “And if you say ‘James’, I’m going to be worried.”
Van laughed and shook her head.
“Nothing so pedestrian,” Vanessa chuckled. “His name is Cronin.”
The smile on my face froze as I was brought back to Hendrick’s Park.
“He’s clearly not Cronin.”
“Why are you looking at me like that?” Vanessa demanded. “I like the name!”
“I don’t need to tell you that we can’t be exposed.”
That’s what Inigo had said and I had promised not to say a word to anyone… not even my best friend?
I forced down a shudder of apprehension. It wasn’t my place to tell Vanessa the truth about her new boyfriend. She was going to have to find out about Cronin the same way I found out about Inigo… well, maybe not exactly the same way.
Still, if I’d needed any further confirmation that I needed to stay away from Inigo, that had been it.
And one day, I was sure that the unbearable pain of losing him would subside—or at least that was my hope.
20
Addisyn
Two Months Later
I didn’t hear the door to my office open until Josh was right beside my desk and I almost jumped out of my skin.
“You have a client,” he informed me in his usual, matter-of-fact way. I stared at him blankly.
“No, I don’t,” I replied, frowning as I opened my desktop calendar. My afternoon was completely free and I had been looking forward to heading home before the snowstorm they were calling for hit the city.
“Walk-in. He’ll only see you.”
My eyes narrowed.
“If it’s Mr. Harper again—”
“It’s not Mr. Harper,” the senior bank manager assured me. “But he’s a bigshot around here so you should be nicer to him than you have been to everyone else.”
I couldn’t even take offense at the jab. It was true—for the last two months, I had been nothing but miserable, despite my best efforts to grin and bear the incredible pain I’d been in.
“I really don’t—” I started to say but Josh was already gone, leaving me to glower after him. A moment later, after I’d returned to my spreadsheets, there was a knock at the door.
“Come in,” I grumbled, not bothering to look up. “Have a seat. I’ll be a minute because I wasn’t really expecting anyone.”
He didn’t answer but through my peripheral vision, I saw the tall frame of a man nearing my desk. My heart stopped. Without looking up, I knew who it was. I could smell him, the same way I had a million times over the past months, wishing that I was in his arms again.
“Inigo.”
He smiled at me but it didn’t quite meet his eyes as he studied my face like he was expecting me to kick him out.
“I didn’t mean to blindside you,” he told me gently. “I can go if you’re busy but…”
I stared at him expectantly.
“Addy, I haven’t been able to stop thinking about you, not for a second. I-I just wanted to see you again, to see how you’re doing and let you know that I haven’t forgotten about you.”
The words filled my heart with so much yearning, I was afraid I might cry. He was saying exactly how I felt. I waited for my feisty, angry side to surface, for me to bellow accusations at him, but nothing like that occurred. I was lost in his emerald irises, the joy at having him near me threatening to choke me as I rose from my desk.
“It took you two months to figure that out?” I asked lightly. He shrugged.
“It’s not like you came looking for me either.”
I cocked my head to the side, my shoulders relaxing as I took in his face.
“I probably would have answered a text,” I offered. He laughed and I ambled around the side of the desk to join him, face to face. I wasn’t the same, confused woman he’d left behind the day after my mother’s death. I’d had a lot of time to think about all I’d learned about Inigo and the other shifters. I’d also had a lot of time to think about what he’d done for me, stepping into my stressed but mundane life and giving me everything I’d ever hoped to achieve in such a short time.
Cronin and Vanessa had continued to see one another. I had no idea if Cronin had come clean to her but I did know that he was taking her out more publicly now and I had to wonder if Vanessa wasn’t hiding the fact that he was a shifter from me.
“I heard that your friend and my friend are dating,” Inigo said and I nodded.
“It’s going well too,” I conceded. “But I’m not sure if she knows everything she needs to know.”
“You don’t either,” Inigo replied softly, drawing nearer to me. “And I realized how unfair it was to leave you without telling you the entire story.”
My brows raised in surprise.
“You came here to tell me everything?” I asked skeptically.
“Oh no,” he laughed. “I came here to ask you on a date.”
I blinked.
“What?”
“A date. We never really had a proper date, if you’ll recall. Ours was rudely interrupted.”
I didn’t know whether to laugh or cry at the reminder but as I stared at his face, I asked myself if I wanted to delve into this adventure with him.
The answer, of course, was a resounding “yes”. Why wouldn’t I? For two long, lonely months, he had consumed me, even without being in my life. I hadn’t been overcome with the responsibility of my mother, a woman with whom I’d made peace, even though I was still occasionally wracked with guilt and anger over our tumultuous relationship.
I had no excuse now, nothing holding me back from wrapping my arms around this man and drawing him in for the kiss I’d been yearning to steal so badly.
“You don’t look sure,” Inigo said, bringing me back to the office. “You look—”
I didn’t give him a chance to finish his thoughts, my mouth pressing to his as I curved my body into him, relishing the lines of his hard body. I never thought I’d feel him so close to me again but here he was, ready to tell me the truth about everything and start fresh.
And I was ready to hear it.
When we parted, I stared up into his eyes, my sentiments clear on my face.
“Should I make dinner plans, then?” he teased lightly and I shook my head.
“No,” I said. I watched his face fall and I immediately added, “No, I have a better idea.”
He looked at me with interest and I led him by the hand out of the office, pausing to grab my purse.
“I think I like your idea better already,” Inigo purred and I smiled. We would go back to my house where I would again succumb to him, but afterward, there would be a long and pointed conversation about everything I needed to know. I would need to come clean with him about things too, but going forward, there couldn’t be any more secrets between us, not if this was going to work. And I wanted it to work, more than anything I’d ever wanted in my life.
Josh looked at me in disbelief as I wandered out of the inner office with the client on my arm, his mouth gaping slightly.
“W-where are you going, Addisyn?” he choked, trying to make sense of what he was seeing.
I win
ked at Inigo slyly.
“I thought you wanted me to close the client,” I said innocently. Without waiting for Josh to respond, we left the bank, Inigo chuckling at my sass.
“You’re going to get yourself in trouble at work,” he said as we took the elevator to the underground.
“Not if I come back with a new client,” I joked back. He slipped his arm around my waist, drawing me close to him so our lips again brushed, and I savored the familiar shiver that I’d missed so much.
“You have me,” he assured me, his voice gruff with emotion. “All of me.”
“Good,” I breathed. “I definitely want all of you.”
And I meant it. Whatever that might mean.
* * *
Preview - Hero Leopard
Book Two - Full Moon Protectors
Sammie Joyce
Prologue
Landon
I could clearly read the boredom radiating off the wolves’ faces, even in the animal form. It’s hard to believe that a beast can so openly display such disdain and yet Cronin looked ready to fall asleep where he stood, his lids dropping heavier and heavier before suddenly falling open as if he’d remembered where he was and what he was supposed to be doing.
To my left, the panthers were frolicking about, trying not to bring too much attention to themselves but knowing Anton and Tybalt as well as I did, I knew they were doing it half for show. They were nothing if not exhibitionists—at least until the attention was bestowed upon them by the Council.
The only Protector beside myself, who seemed to be paying any mind to what was going on with the Council meeting was Tony and I knew that had more to do with the fact that he was trying to be on his best behavior rather than genuine interest. After what had happened a few weeks ago, we were both doing our best not to rouse Nia’s wrath although it was much easier for me than Anthony who had a natural boyishness about him and seemed to rub the councilwoman wrong the entire time.
What’s wrong with these guys? Don’t they care about the future, about our security? They should be paying more attention to what’s going on, especially after the stunts that Inigo and Cronin pulled. If I were them, I’d be on full alert.
But I wasn’t them and that was part of the problem. In many ways, I had nothing in common with the other Protectors. True, I’d been chosen because I was the fastest and strongest of our leap—or at least that was what the results of the competition had determined. It was hard to imagine, based on my physique. I wasn’t imposing like Cronin or solidly built like the wolves. Still, I held my own and the longer someone got to know me, the more they realized how much they had underestimated me at first impression. I liked to think of that as my secret weapon—being unassuming had its perks. Anthony and I were chosen to be the best of the leopards although I sometimes wondered if the honor was as high as the Council presented it to be with these others among us.
I knew I was an anomaly, not falling into the “save the world” mentality of my counterparts. My way was more akin to the elders and their tried and true methods of running things. It didn’t always jive with the others which was why I tended to keep mostly to myself. Luckily for me, Tony was social enough for both of us and saved me from having to speak too much out of turn.
And why am I worried about what they’re doing when I’m supposed to be paying attention? Maybe they’re rubbing off on me more than I think.
I refocused my amber-green eyes toward the meeting and tuned back in, eager to hear whatever the brightest minds of our time were discussing. We’d already been at the meeting an hour and there didn’t seem to be anything pressing enough to require the Protectors’ presences but who knew? There was still time enough for Nia to go crazy if the wind blew wrong.
I thought about how she had attacked us the last time we’d been invited to a Council meeting but from where I was standing, Jack seemed to have matters under control and she was in a good enough mood—for Nia.
I heard someone grunt in annoyance and I knew it was one of the wolves but I didn’t pay him any mind. Whatever we were doing there, we had been asked for a reason. Everything the Council did was methodical and planned. The Protectors should have known that by now.
“Let’s wrap this up, shall we?” Bula sighed, checking her watch as she did. The glow of the fire pit didn’t do much to hide the annoyance in her face. “I have an early morning.”
It was clear that the meeting had already gone on longer than she had anticipated but I frowned at her impatience. Sometimes I wondered about the Council members themselves too. Bula was acting more like one of the Protectors than the councilwoman for the bears.
I have an early morning too, I growled to myself. You don’t see me complaining, even though I’m going to be dealing with a mass of high school students.
“Good idea,” Lorna agreed, nodding toward the panther councilmen. “Amity, you had something you wanted to say to the Protectors, didn’t you?”
The introduction surprised me as much as it did everyone else. Amity nodded and rose. All eyes turned to her and even Cronin perked up when he saw her. It was a rare occasion for Amity to speak and we were all curious about what she had to say.
“We narrowly escaped a catastrophe not long ago,” she told us, her husky voice low but despite that, I could hear her clearly, even though I was still in my mortal form. “I don’t need to remind you about the semantics but our delicate balance with the humans was tested and we enacted a curfew for human interactions if you recall.”
“We remember,” Inigo muttered but everyone ignored him, their eyes still fixed on Amity. Out of the corner of my eye, I caught the general look of worry as the others wondered if she might enforce one again.
I secretly hoped she would. It was better for all of us that way. There was no need for the shifters and humans to fraternize after dark, unless of course there was a work-related matter but exceptions could be made. The other Protectors put much too much stalk into the value of the humans around us. Not that I hadn’t fallen into the group mentality with Tony in the lead at times but for the most part, I was a firm believer in separating our worlds. It was just smarter and it had worked for centuries.
You shouldn’t fix that that isn’t broken, I always reasoned. The other Protectors believed that with the times changing, we needed to be versatile. I, on the other hand, believed that if something worked, there was no need to alter views.
“Are you bringing the curfew back?” Cronin demanded, his voice etched in nervousness. My brow rose slightly. I wondered why he cared so much. After all, he was the reason it had started in the first place…kind of.
“No—at least not right now,” Amity replied. I could feel wind on my face with the collective sighs between them and I almost rolled my eyes. I ran a hand through my thick mop of dark hair and returned my eyes to Amity. Suddenly, I was annoyed and wanted to get out of there too. I disliked discussing the humans at these meetings. Things always tended to get intense when the subject was broached but it was a topic that was impossible to avoid.
“We want you to exercise the same caution and vigilance that you used during that time, however,” Amity went on. I didn’t have to look to know that all eyebrows were up now, everyone in their human forms, lest they need to speak.
“We’re always vigilant,” Dalton grumbled. Marcel, who stood at his side, elbowed him and he clamped his mouth closed.
“Well be extra vigilant then,” Amity insisted. “Or I will be forced to bring the curfew back.”
There was a confused murmur among the Protectors but it was me who asked the question on everyone’s mind.
“What’s going on? Did something happen?”
Amity’s eyes narrowed slightly as her gaze rested on me.
“Does something have to happen before you’ll be cautious, Landon?” she demanded and I found myself abashed by the question. I lowered my gaze and shook my head.
“Of course not,” I muttered. “I just thought that something had brought this about.
”
“Just keep your wits about you and stop asking such stupid questions, Collier,” Nia barked at me, her infamous temper flaring.
“Nia…” Jack said, half-exasperated, half-warning. “He just asked a question.”
It was one of the many reasons I respected and liked Jack so much—he knew exactly how to handle Nia, despite her instability. It was hard to imagine that a man who looked so frail could keep such a firecracker under control yet he did, time and again. And thank gods for that. Who knew what would have happened to us leopards without Jack?
“He and Tony ask too many questions,” she retorted but she settled back against him, her eyes still flashing at me.
“Any other questions?” Amity asked, her eyes trailing along the group but no one stirred. Even if they had queries now, they wouldn’t ask them in fear of being ridiculed by Nia.
“Fine. Let’s call it a night.”
* * *
Follow Sammie on Amazon to be notified when Hero Leopard - Book 2 in the Full Moon Protectors series is available on Amazon.
Tap here to follow Sammie Joyce on Amazon
https://amzn.to/33R8UFn
Want another free book?
Don’t forget to download your free copy of Sarah’s Coming Out and enjoy this story full of secrets and mystery. Finding out she’s a shifter is just the beginning of Sarah’s troubles!
* * *
Sarah's life hasn't been the same since her parents passed away. Losing them changed everything. Now she feels like she's losing her mind. When she falls in love with were-bear Shane, the truth soon comes out. Will the secrets her parents kept from her bring her closer to the man she loves or will she lose even more of the life she once knew?