Sheppard: Marshall’s Shadow – Jaguar Shapeshifter Romance (Marshall's Shadow Book 1)

by Kathi S. Barton

  “Had I wanted you dead, idiot, you’d be dead. I don’t miss.” He believed her. And so did his dad, because he took a step back and looked at him. “Don’t look to him for help, mister. If he knew half the things about you that I do, he would have been justified in killing you a long time ago.”

  “Like what?” His dad looked around, either for help that wasn’t going to be coming or calculating the distance between him and the road. “What did you do, Dad? Who did you hurt that I’m going to have to kill you for?”

  “I didn’t do anything. She’s...she’s full of shit.” Dad backed away more. He had nearly tripped over his feet twice trying to get off the porch and onto the drive. “I’ll just come back when you’re less busy entertaining. I can see that you’re very busy now. I’ll just...later.”

  They both watched him as he ran toward the road like the hounds of hell were after him. Just as Shep was going to step out onto the porch too, just to see which direction he’d gone, Grandda started laughing so hard that he thought for sure that he was going to hurt himself.

  “Oh crap, did you see that? He ran like he was going to have someone shooting at him. Holy crap, he sure was scared of you, Harrison, honey.” He was still laughing when she shut the door. “Shep, did you see that? I bet he’d have wet his pants if she’d pushed him a little more. Darn it, I surely wish that I had a camera about now. I would have— My phone. I had it with me right here. I could have.... Oh well. Next time I’ll get him on camera. He’s going to be coming back, you know.”

  Shep looked at both of them, his grandda and Harris. They knew something, and he wanted to know what it was. But before he could ask, Harris cut him off. She did that a lot, he thought.

  “Don’t be getting your underwear all twisted up. I took care of it. Why do you think he’s coming here now?” He asked what it was she’d done to him, and why. “He was harassing one of the women in town. By harassing, I mean he was trying to get her to suck him off in the form of payment for his meal. She was kinda shook up about it, and I saw her a few minutes later at the bank. By the way, you have to go there sometime today and sign some shit. But about your father, I didn’t touch him. Not yet, at any rate, but he won’t be bothering any women in the future. Not around here, anyway. They all think he has fleas.”

  “How did they come to that conclusion?” Harris said that she’d taken out an ad in the paper and announced it. “That’s slander—you know that, don’t you? He could sue you and more than likely win.”

  “No, it would have to be untrue if that were the case.” Grandda pointed out that he was a cat, a jaguar. That he couldn’t have those. “Well, he is an animal, and he has been sleeping in the wild. And he believes it enough to not say a word when I told him about it. He does, however, have lice. Badly, as a matter of fact. Maybe that’s what he has and he thinks it’s the other. Gonorrhea is a nasty thing, I’ve heard. Either way, I’d not let him borrow a comb or brush if I were you.”

  “What about the bank?” Her face heated up. “You brought it up. I’m just wondering what it is the bank wants of me.”

  “I was in there when my attorney called me to talk. The only other person in the world that knows anything about me and my inheritance is Ricky West, my attorney. You need to go there and sign some paperwork to put your name on things with mine. That way if I’m killed, it won’t go to the state or some other stupid shit.” Shep wasn’t sure if she was serious or not, but he told her that he didn’t want her to get killed, not at all. But said he’d go in today, then asked if she would go with him. “Sure. I have some stuff to get anyway. I think your grandda needed to run some errands too.”

  Shep asked his grandda what was going on when Harris went into the office to work. Grandda didn’t look like he wanted to answer, but when he did, Shep wasn’t sure that he was telling him the truth.

  “She’s worth a good deal more than we are. Even adding us all together. I’m guessing that she wants you to have it should she die, just like she said.” He asked who was going to kill her. “You were here when Lily was here. What sort of person do you think can have the president’s wife come around to hand off stuff? And what sort of people would like her not to be around anymore? Pretty powerful, I’d say. Wouldn’t you?”

  “Yes.”

  He waited until Grandda went down the hall before he looked at the office door. There was more to this than he was seeing. Perhaps he needed to think on it for a while, or just wait to see what the bank had to say. Whatever it was, he had a feeling that he was in for a bigger shock than his father had been.

  Chapter 6

  There were only two people that could have ordered her death. One of them she thought was dead, the other she had assumed was a friend of the president. Either way, she’d not ever looked into their lives until today. The phone calls were something that she had yet to figure out as well.

  Why call at the same time, every day? Who was at the other end only answering the phone, then both parties hanging up? Was it saying something? A clue of some sort? She wanted to figure it out so badly that she hurt with it.

  Then she had an idea. Call the number that was putting the calls out and pretend to be something like a survey taker, and then hold them on the line until it was well past the time for the call to be made. Harris wondered how that would help. And if the other person were to say something, would she know the voice? It was worth a shot, and one that she was going to have to put off until tomorrow. She’d missed her opportunity for the day, as it was after the time. She wasn’t sure yet if this was the best plan, anyway. Harris was just tossing out ideas.

  “Are you ready, love?” She looked at Shep when he called out to her. “What’s the matter? Have you found something you can use?”

  “No. Not...why do you care what happens to me? There has to be a reason, right? I mean, if I were to be killed or something, wouldn’t you be a free and clear of having a mate?” Shep came into the room with her and closed the door behind him. “If you’re going to yell at me or something, I want to remind you that I have a gun.”

  “I’m not going to yell at you. Also, I’m well aware that you’re armed all the time. It’s what keeps me from pulling your body flush with mine and having my way with you.” She let out a long breath when he was standing in front of the desk she’d taken over. “Harrison, you’ve been driving me insane since you arrived and I figured out what you are to me. I want nothing more than to take you beneath me, or even against the wall, and pound you until both of us are too exhausted to move again.”

  “There are things about me that you aren’t aware of. Or perhaps you are. I don’t know. But they’re not good things.” He nodded as if he knew everything. “Do you know? Or are you saying that to get laid?”

  “I know very little about you other than what you have shared with me. I could have, I suppose, looked you up, but that seemed like snooping around, and that bothered me as well. Come here, Harrison, I would love to kiss you.” She stood up twice before sitting back down. “Are you afraid of me?”

  “No, I’m not. Not afraid of you, but of how you’re going to make me feel. I’m afraid of loving you too, if you want the truth. I’m afraid that you’re going to leave me as well.” He told her that he wouldn’t. Not ever. “You say that, but you might get sick to death of me. And if you point out that you’re a shifter and that they love for life, remember, I’ve had dealings with your father. He is far from loveable.”

  “Come here, love.” She wanted to tell him no, wanted to say that she liked it just where she was. But her feet were moving around the desk before she could convince herself this was a terrible idea. More than that, it was the worst of all ideas, going to him. “I will never harm you. With words or my hands. I won’t leave you, because without you, I don’t think that I could live another moment. I do love you. I’ve tried hard not to tell you since I figured it out today. I know that I have to take my time, woo you some. You’re very skittish for someone as tough as you are.”

 
; “I’ve been hurt. Not by men. I don’t allow them to get close enough to— Are you going to kiss me or not?”

  Shep seemed to have been waiting for that signal. For her to ask him to touch her. Because when he kissed her, devoured her completely, she knew that for the rest of her life, no one would ever be able to mark her like this kiss was doing to her.

  He didn’t touch her anywhere else but her face. It wasn’t enough for her. Her body seemed to be demanding more of him than Harris thought that she could take. When Shep lifted his head, he had to hold her steady because she felt as if she were ready to fall down. Looking up at him, she thought for sure there would be a smirk. At the very least, a look that told her that he’d known it would be her begging for this.

  Instead, he looked thoughtful, like he was trying to decide if he had enjoyed the kiss or not. Backing away from him, she didn’t struggle when he pulled her back, his arms around her tightly, and kissed her again, and this time there was no doubt that both of them were enjoying the kiss. It was everything that she’d ever imagined it would be to have a man that loved her kiss her.

  Shep touched her back, her ass and arms. Her face and neck felt the touch of his fingers. Harris moaned against his mouth when he lifted her higher so that her body lined up with his, and they were breast to chest, groin to pussy.

  This time when he lifted his head, she saw the power and the raw emotion there. It was the sexiest and the most beautiful thing she’d ever seen. Touching her fingers to his cheek, she could feel the stubble of his beard as he leaned into her hand, as well as the strong line of his chin and, most importantly, the pounding of his pulse at his throat.

  “If my grandda wasn’t waiting in the car for us, I’d say bedamned with going to town and take you right here on the floor. Or the wall. Anywhere that I thought sturdy enough to withstand my pounding you.” Harris felt her legs tremble when he set her down on the floor. She wouldn’t let him hold her; it was as if his touch were just too much. “Steady now. If you fall, I’m not going to be responsible for not jumping you.”

  “I’m all right. No, that’s not true. I don’t think I’ll ever be all right again.” Shep laughed a little. “I feel like I’ve been kissed by an electrical wire. I can honestly say that I’ve never felt like that after a kiss.”

  “Me either.” She looked at him to see if he was joking. “I’m serious. I’ve kissed women before, but that—that was unlike anything I’ve experienced, ever. I don’t think that I will with any other person again.”

  Jealousy rolled over her, like she were being drenched in it. Instead of opening her mouth and saying something really possessive and stupid, she said she was going to the car. But Shep stopped her before she got much further than a couple of steps.

  “I won’t.” She tried to jerk away from him. “Harrison, I won’t ever touch another woman for as long as I live. I didn’t mean for it to come out that way.” She wanted to deny that she’d felt anything from his hurtful words, but it would have been a lie and she didn’t want to lie to him. “I’m so sorry I said that. I am.”

  “I’ve never been jealous before.” He nodded, not laughing at her or even smiling. “It was like I wanted to murder every woman in the world in those seconds. I didn’t want to say something stupid either. So I was going to go.”

  “Don’t turn from me when I hurt you. I might not have thought of how my words sounded to you had I not seen the look on your face. You’re the first woman that I’ve ever loved for my own. I know that I can be a crude bastard. I spent a great deal of time around men and women who didn’t take into account others’ feelings. Nor what a misplaced word could do to someone. I am truly sorry.” Nodding, she leaned into his chest. It was large and warm. Also as hard as a stone. “I love you, Harrison. But if we don’t move soon and take Grandda to town, I’m afraid that he’ll drive himself.”

  They were walking to the car when she reached for his hand. It was much larger than hers, by a great deal, but he held it like it was made of porcelain, and she loved that feeling. In fact, she thought that she could get used to holding hands with him.

  The ride in was made with Grandda doing most of the talking, about the things that he had to take care of and picking up his mail. It was a surprise to her to realize that no mail came out to the farm. Something about it being the only one on the road for several hundred miles. Whatever the reason, she thought that he enjoyed going to the post office. It was somewhat of a social time for him.

  Leaving him at the office, she and Shep went to the bank. Shep’s cell was ringing even before they got to see the bank manager, and he stepped outside to talk while she went to the man’s desk. His name eluded her, so she was glad for his name being displayed on his desk. Mr. Ronald Ballinger.

  “I’ve done all that you asked, Ms. Parker. I had no idea there were so many assets that hadn’t been taken care of for you.” She told him that she’d been too busy to keep up with it. “I’ve also spoken to your attorney. Mr. West. He’s of the opinion that you’ll be keeping your home. I told him that we’d not discussed it.”

  “I don’t know what to do with it.” He nodded, but said little more about it as Shep joined them finally. “Mr. Ballinger was asking me about my house. I told him that I don’t know what to do about it.”

  “Where is it?” She told him it was only about a mile from there. “Really? I guess I had no idea that you had lived so close to us. Do you want to sell it or keep it? I’m easy about that. Grandda thinks that it’s a fairly large estate that you have.”

  “It is—large, I mean. The house is huge too.” She didn’t want to tell him that she’d come from a long line of monied people, but the banker had no such trouble. “Yes, I told you that I had an inheritance. I’ve not done anything with it since I was old enough to take the running of the companies over. The house was in my dad’s family for a very long time. I mean, it’s since been updated, several times. But not since they were killed.”

  Mr. Ballinger handed a file full of papers that Shep would need to sign. He just looked at her and asked if she was sure about this. She nodded once, and he started signing his name where the tabs were. When he was done, Harris wondered if he realized that he’d be a billionaire. Or even if he’d care.

  It took him ten minutes to sign all the papers. Not once did he ask what it was for, nor did he ask her if she was sure again. Harris did wonder if he did that often—signed his name to things that he never read. But as soon as he handed the papers back to Mr. Ballinger, he assured her, without her asking, that he’d never done that before. Harris felt better then.

  “All right. I’m to ask you several things before we continue. The house, which we have talked about. Mr. West was wondering what your plans were for it.” She looked at Shep when Ballinger continued on about it. “You could both go and have a look at it. After all this time, it might be something that you wish to keep. Or you could decide if you want to sell it off or not.”

  “You have no opinion on this?” Mr. Ballinger asked Shep what he meant. “I don’t know. I guess I thought you knew something about the house, and could tell us if it was a good time to sell or not. Or something like, it would be a shame to sell something so old.”

  He laughed. “When I spoke to Mr. West, he assured me that the best way to get you to do something was to tell you that you couldn’t. He said that most of the time it worked, but there have been times when Ms. Parker here has bitten his head off. I think he meant seriously. I wish to keep my head where it belongs.” Ballinger laughed again. “To be honest, I know nothing about the house, nor did I know much about the young lady here. I can say that I don’t know that much more, but I am sorry for what you went through, miss. I am terribly sorry for your loss as well.”

  “Thank you.” She didn’t want anyone to talk about her parents. Not a stranger anyway. “If everything you needed is taken care of, perhaps we can go out and see the house and make a decision then. We’ll be back sometime tomorrow, all right?”

  �
��Yes, all right. I do have more questions regarding the estate, but we can get to that when you’ve made a decision.” She nodded and hurried out of the bank. Shep held her when she stopped suddenly by the car. Breathing hard, she focused on his voice as he kept talking to her about the weather, until she finally felt like she could stand on her own.

  “You all right now?” She nodded. “I’m guessing that you’re not good with people giving you condolences, are you?”

  “No, not really. It makes me remember things all over again.” He asked her if she’d be all right going through the house. “I think, with you there, I will be able to. All the clothing that belonged to my parents and myself has been removed. All of my toys donated to some charity. The books are there, along with furniture that would be outdated. The house has been cleaned every season change, everything covered up, but I’ve not been in there since that night.”

  “Did you want to go now?” She told him that she thought that she did. “All right then. Let me get Grandda, then we’ll head over there. He might have some insight on the selling or keeping it market that few know. I’ve only come to realize that Grandda is pretty smart and full of knowledge.”

  That made her feel good, that he’d taken her advice and made the elderly Marshall feel good about himself. Getting into the car when he came back with his grandda, she thought about the house. She was both looking forward to seeing it and did not want to see it. Only time would tell.

  ~*~

  Shep didn’t know what he had expected in the house. Certainly nothing like this. It was a house straight out of a romance novel, he was sure of that. The grounds alone made him not envy the person who had to take care of it. There were flowers and trees all over the gentle slope leading up to the big mansion.

  The drive curved around in front of the three-story home, which was made of dark brown brick. The shutters were painted a dark blue that went well with the urns on the front porch. The flowers there were of the same hue, and he wondered if they were grown on this property so that they might be assured of matching the house.