The Panther's Rival

by Emilia Hartley

  “All in a day’s work, sir,” she replied, repeating his earlier words with a smile, but she had to turn away at the last moment. That smile was just too much. She decided to busy herself with cleaning to keep from making eye contact. “So, do you have any shirts here? You’re probably going to need one.”

  “Oh, yeah. Upstairs. I keep a few stashes of spare clothes in case I…” He trailed off for a beat, and she glanced at him inquisitively. “In case I need to get away, you know?” He laughed at his umpteenth blubber, and it made Jo smile. She liked a guy that could laugh at himself from time to time. “Sorry. That’s, two shirts I’ve ruined and left here.”

  Jo shrugged, deciding to go for the plunge. “Oh, I don’t mind… besides, it’s not like I’d wanted you to leave last night, or anything…” she finished, her sentence trailing off as she finished up the last of the cleaning.

  She watched satisfactorily as a shudder ran through him, and he tilted his head to the ceiling. “I know, I know, but I had to,” he replied, his voice soft and slightly husky. “I can’t do this, Jo.”

  “Why not?” she snapped back softly, trying not to convey the full hurt that his words had caused. “Look, Nick, I get it. I mean, I understand why you might have… reservations.”

  “You do?” Nick asked, looking thoroughly perplexed and mildly alarmed.

  She laughed at his expression. “Yes. I know I’m…” she looked away, a bit of shyness in her gaze. “I know I’m only here for four more days, max. And I mean, I’ve never really been a fan of the quick and easy, either, but honestly, Nick, what harm could it do?” she asked.

  She gently ran a hand over his good shoulder, sliding it down his chest as she watched his face intently. She took pride in seeing the raw need he had for her in his eyes and feeling the way his body shuddered against her touch. “I know we just met, and this probably all sounds totally crazy, but it’s obvious that there’s something between us, Nick. There’s no denying that.” She slowly brushed her fingertips down his torso, lower and lower. “So what’s the harm in seeing where a bit of fun takes us,” she murmured seductively, barely speaking above a whisper.

  She saw him, so close to the edge that he could topple end over end at any moment into passionate oblivion with her at any moment, and then with a deep breath, she watched as he took a big mental step backward. He closed his eyes and pressed her hand firmly against his chest before finally pulling it away and placing it back in her lap. “That’s not it,” he said, softly.

  Defiantly, Jo curled her hands back around him, watching him react in ways he couldn’t control. “Then why?” she pleaded.

  “I just can’t”

  Her fingers curled around his back, and she contemplated if kissing his full lips would seal the deal. “That’s not a reason, Nick.” Her voice was husky with desire, her lips an inch from his. She could feel his breath coming quicker and quicker, panting against her lips as he fought the wants and needs inside of him

  He groaned deeply, the sound resonating through his entire body. “I can’t… be myself with you, Jo,” he tried to explain, neither daring to pull away. “It’s dangerous.”

  A thrill sizzled down her body, making her shiver, and something must have shown in her eyes, because she watched with exhilaration as Nick’s grew dark with arousal. She leaned in even closer, their lips just barely brushing. “Maybe I like dangerous,” she whispered into his mouth. She let their lips meet, pressing her herself up against him.”

  A growl rippled from Nick’s throat, she felt every vibration as he shuddered and finally lost control. He grabbed her and spun her around, pushing her down against the dining table. Jo could hardly breathe as he pulled her shirt up, his hands exploring the soft warmth of her skin. He nibbled roughly down her jawline, each time bringing a small whimper to her lips. He worked his way lower and lower, biting down on the tender skin along her shoulder. His hands roamed lower still, as if he were starving for her body. And boy did she want to give it to him. Excitement coursed up her body as he tugged hungrily on her waistband.

  “Nick,” Jo breathed, yanking his head back up by the hair so that she could kiss him again. “Promise me you won’t stop again this time.” She hated to ask, but she had to know, had to be assured that he wouldn’t run away from her again. Last night has been terrible in a way she never wanted to repeat.

  “I…” Nick faltered in his efforts to remove her pants. His bear roared angrily, and everything screamed within him to stop thinking and keep going, but he knew it wasn’t right. “I-I want you, Jo.”

  “Then don’t stop,” she whimpered, leaning back against the table and pressing the soft mounds of her covered breasts up to his face.

  “I have to,” Nick gasped, and he looked to be in physical pain. “This isn’t right, Jo. I’m so sorry.”

  Jo pulled him down against her, ignoring his denial. Every ounce of her was calling for him, growing louder every second, and she knew he couldn’t help but answer. His lips and hands moved almost instinctually, exploring whatever bare skin was available to him. Kissing his way up her stomach, he grabbed the hem of her shirt in a vice and to lift it above her head.

  “Nick,” Jo breathed, sliding her arms around his neck. “Don’t stop this time.”

  Nick bit back a roar as pain blasted through his recently bandaged shoulder. Before Jo could even thing to apologize, Nick tore the thick fabric of the university sweatshirt to ruins, nails scratching her body as the material of the shirt gave way.

  “Ouch!” Jo exclaimed, jumping up with a start from a sudden pain just below her neck. She pushed him back a moment with a small frown. “What happened?”

  Nick looked off for a moment, curled over her body and breathing roughly, but at the sign of her pain, he finally stepped back. She lifted her chin, touching what felt like two long raised lines on her collarbone.

  A haunted look flooded Nick’s eyes, flushing every last trace of arousal that had been there only a moment before. “Jo, I’m so sorry,” he breathed, staring at the marks in horror. “I didn’t mean to.”

  Jo shrugged. “No, no, it’s okay. It’s just a little scratch, don’t worry. You just do things a bit more rough than… I’m used to, but I like it,” she reassured, trying to pull him close again. “I like that you want me so much that you lose control.” She tugged him toward her with seductive eyes. “Come back. Don’t you want to carry on? Maybe finish what we started this time?”

  Nick’s mouth worked as he floundered for a response, but none came. She knew that his lust for her was still in him somewhere, but by the look in his eyes she could tell that he was done searching for it for the time being. “I shouldn’t have done that,” he whispered.

  “Oh, come on, it’s just a couple of scratches!” she exclaimed in frustration as she jumped down from where she’d been perched on the dining table. “It’s nice to feel wanted, I definitely take it as a compliment, Nick, so don’t worry about it.” She gave him direct, heavy eye contact. “I mean it.” Her eyes slid towards the stairwell, suggesting playfully that they move things to the bedroom.

  Nick wasn’t paying her any attention. He couldn’t take his eyes off of the inflamed marks he’d accidentally put on her chest. He shuddered, and Jo noticed that it was definitely not in arousal.

  It was in fear.

  “Nick, come—”

  He was already shaking his head. “No, I—”

  A tinkling melody sounded soundly from the upstairs bedroom.

  “Why don’t you go ahead and get that,” Nick suggested sadly, “I’ll go grab another shirt.

  Jo looked down at the torn remains of her own shirt. “Same.” She smiled at him tightly, her eyes filling with disappointment. Two times he’s pulled away from her and he won’t tell her why. What the hell could he possibly have to hide?

  Upstairs, her phone stopped ringing, and then started up with the same mechanical tune, yet again. With one last worrisome glance at Nick, she took the steps two at a time. She stepped into
the room, taking an irritation-filled dive-bomb into the bed. As expected the number was unknown. “Hello?”

  “Jo?”

  Her heart sank. Brian. He must be borrowing a phone or something, she thought miserably. Her freedom didn’t last very long at all. “What do you want?”

  Of course, that response granted her a long expansive phone rant about how she was ungrateful and rude and how unprofessional she’s been, all made worse by his fake British accent. “Yes, Brian,” she murmured noncommittally, not entirely sure what she’d just agreed to. She’d started tuning out his rant a while ago; it was obvious that he was making up for all the hours he’s had him blocked. She could already feel her face falling back into familiar lines, the old stress of her job setting in like usual.

  “Okay, Brian,” Jo submitted, weakly. “I think you’ve said enough by now, don’t you think?” She just wanted to go and enjoy the rest of her free time.

  “Enough?” Brian screeched, taking a deep breath—a telltale sign of another lecture coming on. “It has hardly been enough, as you say, or you wouldn’t continue to be so dizzyingly incompetent! Am I getting through to you at all, Jo? Hmm? Hello? Am I?”

  Surprisingly, tears sprang to Jo’s eyes. She opened her mouth to speak, but she didn’t trust her voice to not crack. She’d never shown weakness to Brian, and she wasn’t about to start now. She allowed herself a couple moments of silent composure before trying again.

  As she opened her mouth to speak, Nick snagged the phone right from her hand. His eyes were dark with anger as he placed the screen to his ear. “Don’t call back until you can treat your employee with at least an ounce of respect,” he barked angrily into the phone, promptly ending the call without another word. He tossed the phone back on the bed, stomping back downstairs and muttering something about coffee.

  Chapter Eleven

  Jo stared dumbfounded toward the stairway, still a bit confused about what had just happened. As she found yet another shirt to wear, the recent memories of the event flashed before her eyes; the way he snatched the phone from her, the dark anger in his eyes, the venom he spewed down the line. It was a shock, to be sure… but Jo was surprised to find that she wasn’t the least bit upset. How could she be angry at someone who had the guts to say to Brian what she’s been too scared to say for a full year? Heaven knows he deserved it.

  Slowly, Jo crept downstairs to see Nick slamming things about the kitchen, clearly getting out some pent up frustration. “I’m sorry,” she managed to say. “I know a lot of this anger is probably because I tried to persuade you to—”

  “No!” Nick interrupted, surprised. “No. I mean, yeah, maybe I’m a bit… frustrated, about things, but I stopped that between us. Not you. That’s all in the past, so let’s not worry about it. Point is, I was already kind of angry, and your crappy boss just seemed like a good outlet at the time to get out some pent-up irritation, so I took the chance.” He bit his lip before choosing to continue. “The way that man speaks to you, and how defeated he makes you look… it’s not right, Jo. I don’t know why you put up with it.”

  “He’s my boss,” she said, as if it explained everything.

  “So?” Nick retorted. “That doesn’t give him the right to treat you that way.”

  Jo felt the beginnings of embarrassment that always showed up when she found herself begging forgiveness for her boss’s personality “So you heard all that, huh?”

  “Well, he was shouting pretty loudly,” Nick replied, his voice softer. She sank down in the sofa, and he sat down next to her. “You don’t need to put up with that, you know.”

  Jo felt the heat trickle up her neck and hid her hands in her face. “I’ve never really been good about standing up for myself. I was always the type to keep my head low and keep moving at a steady pace. Not the easiest life, but guaranteed to be… something useful. So that’s just how I chose to operate.” She sighed, finally lifting her head. “I guess that’s things have never changed for me at Liberty Art.”

  “You mean like… the constant travelling?” Nick asked with cocked eyebrow.

  Jo tried to smile, but it was watered down. “I wouldn’t mind the travel is it wasn’t always by car.”

  “And the motels?” he prompted.

  “It’d be nice if I could at least stay in something that cleaned its carpets once a year,” Jo admitted.

  “What about those incessant phone calls to complain about how terrible you are?” Nick asked?

  Jo paused. “I’m not sure.”

  “Well, you don’t like them, right?”

  “Hell no, I don’t,” Jo replied.

  Nick nodded. “So why don’t you just tell him all of this?”

  “I have. I’ve tried asking for flights and hotels and a little bit of positive reinforcement,” she moped. “He basically told me to stop complaining or I’d get fired.”

  “No, not ask. I know you’ve ‘asked’ for these things. Now you need to demand them!” The glint in his eyes was angry, but it also felt powerful and protective. Jo wasn’t sure what to think of this Nick, the man what was irrationally fearsome in the face of her workplace harassment, but she didn’t want this side of him to go away. It made her feel less alone. “Demand your right to decency as the best damn Liaison they employ. Don’t take no for an answer.”

  “And what if no is the only answer they’ll give?” Jo asked.

  “Easy. Then you quit,” he answered.

  Jo scoffed. “Look, I know it sounds like the easiest thing in the world to just up and quit, but not everyone is like you. Not everyone has their own business and can pick themselves up by their bootstraps to keep moving forward.” Jo sighed. “I was blessed with the talent of being very good at something that there’s not a terribly high demand for. If I quit, or worse, get fired from Liberty Art, I can pretty much kiss my Art Liaison career goodbye. There’s no one else back home or even close by that would consider hiring me.” Those frustrating tears returned as the reality of Jo’s life hit her all at once.

  “You could move. Move to a bigger city. You said San Francisco has this big fancy art place that I’m sure would be hard-pressed to have your talents,” Nick offered. “Sure, the move might suck, but… wouldn’t it be worth it to finally be happy again?”

  Jo shrugged. “Yes… No… Maybe? What if I do? What if I move, hoping for the best, and fail?”

  Nick wrapped a friendly arm around her shoulders, and for once Jo wasn’t bombarded with sexual zaps of sensation. “Well, yeah. That’s always a risk, but aren’t all good things worth playing the odds?” he asked, his low voice comforting her in her ear. “As far as I’m concerned, you should always go for what makes you happy, Jo. Take chances, even if they seem a little risky. In my experience, they usually work out.”

  One long tear slid down her cheek. “I don’t know if I’m strong enough for that, Nick,” she whispered. “I’ve always been too scared to quit because I don’t know what I’d do in a life without Liberty Art, so I just put up with Brian. And now…”

  “Yeah, I get that.” Nick looked apologetic. “I didn’t mean to make things worse between you and him. If you need me to apologize, I can.”

  “No, no, thank you for doing that, honestly,” she insisted, looking up at him. “It’s nice to see what standing-up for myself could possibly look like, if I ever build the courage to try that is. I… I’m glad you did.”

  He laughed uneasily. “I’m not sure. It sounded less like standing up for you, and more like me just losing it on your boss, I think.”

  Jo smiled, drying her tears. “Well then, thank you for losing it on by boss, Nick.”

  His chest rumbled with quiet laughter. “You’re more than welcome.”

  They sat in silence for a while, basking in each other’s warmth and enjoying the easier going atmosphere they seemed to have found in the moment. It was quiet and passionless, but computable and content. Not that the fiery passion wasn’t without its merits but, remembering how conflicted Nick looked
only a short while ago as he pulled away from her for the second time since they met… Jo could appreciate how what they had now in this moment was so much less complicated. She didn’t ever want to break the illusion.

  Snuggling up to him on the couch, she asked softly, “Will you stay with me tonight, Nick?” she allowed a short pause before continuing, “After what happened with the bears, I don’t really want to be alone.”

  She felt Nick tense for the slightest of moments before answering. “I guess I could stay,” he mumbled, running his free hand through his hair.

  “Nothing has to happen between us if you don’t want it to,” Jo said, sensing his unease. “I won’t try to persuade you like I did earlier. I don’t want you to feel like I have ulterior motives that we don’t agree on.”

  They allowed silence to fill the room once more. “It’s just so complicated, Jo.”

  Jo nodded, accepting the explanation, even if it didn’t make her happy. She rose up and sat away from him, looking him in the eye. “I understand, but I also want you to know that if you ever want to explain to me why it’s complicated, then I’m here to listen. Even if it’s years down the road and I’m living in some fancy art mansion in San Francisco,” she joked.

  Nick opened his mouth to speak when the sound of a car pulling up cut him off. Jo peeked out the empty holes where the peep windows once decorated. “Oh, hey. Tom’s here.”

  Nick could smell Tom’s anger through the door. “I’ll get it,” he said, quickly. He slipped past Jo and swung open the battered front door to reveal his very upset younger brother.

  “Can I talk to you for a minute,” Tom said by way of greeting.

  “Is everything okay?” Jo asked, immediately sensing the tension between them.

  Tom gave her a brief smile. “Everything’s fine,” he growled, eyes still on Nick. “I just need to consult my brother on something.”

  “I won’t be long,” Nick reassured, closing the door behind him. Nick motioned silently for them to move farther away from the cabin before his brother could explode.