by Dalia Wright
The other panthers hissed and growled low, but they finally dispersed. Arturo stuck around for a few more minutes just to make sure they were completely safe. He wanted to escort Laura out after they’d disappeared.
“Are you okay?” he asked as they walked through the trees.
“I’m fine, I think.” She still felt a bit shaky.
At least now she could confirm that it wasn’t all in her head. Now she had bona-fide proof that the race of panther shifters existed. But they were bloodthirsty and vicious. How would she ever get revenge for her family? It was time to talk to Arturo about what had happened.
“My grandfather was killed by panther shifters. In fact, he was killed by one of his own kind. We never knew for sure who it was, but it was someone close to him.”
“Your grandfather traveled in a pack? What was that like?”
“Incredibly difficult. From what I’ve heard, panther shifters are prone to agitation and prefer to be loners. It makes sense; they’re completely unlike lions in that sense. He thought he knew the people he worked with. We were all wrong.”
“I’m so sorry to hear that,” Arturo said. He’d heard about a situation that occurred not too long ago, where an elderly leader had been killed. He had no idea it was so close to his jungle, and had no clue said leader had a granddaughter. It wasn’t that panther shifters didn’t reproduce, but they were quite selective about their mates. This led him to his next question.
“Can you shift?” he asked her.
“No. At least I don’t think so. To be honest, I’ve never tried.”
“Mmm,” Arturo mussed. “Well, we can figure that out at a later time. We should really get you back to the hotel now. I imagine you’re exhausted.”
“I’m fine,” she said, smiling. “What about you? It must be exhausting to flex your muscles like that.”
He chuckled. “You’re a feisty one, I’ll give you that. I’m surprised you were scared.”
“Me? Scared? Don’t be ridiculous. I was just surprised is all.”
“Don’t flash your canines at me,” he joked, being her smile wide. He pinched her waist. They walked into the hotel, cool air enveloping them.
“I guess this is where we say goodbye,” Arturo said.
“Walk me to my room?”
She’d posed it as a question, but it was more like a request. He nodded and followed her up to her room. She walked in front of him, her hips swaying back and forth. He felt his hands turn into claws, which he dug into his pockets, praying they wouldn’t rip fabric. She unlocked the door slowly, turning an enormous golden hotel key. As she turned the knob, she looked back at Arturo. Immediately, he closed the space between them, running his hands all over her body. They tumbled into the room, where they would remain until morning.
Chapter 5
When Arturo kissed Laura, she was taken completely by surprise. His lips were smooth and tasted sweet. She felt her body melting beneath his touch as he hoisted her into his arms and carried her to the bed. Throwing her body on the duvet, he mounted her, his strong legs straddling her wide thighs. She felt her heart beat faster with every motion he made, a liquid desire encasing her body in amber. They tore each other’s clothes off and left them in a heap on the floor. Arturo bit Laura’s neck, causing her to cry out in pleasure.
“Shh,” he coaxed. “The neighbors will think you’re being murdered in here.”
“Let them think what they want,” she said, pulling him closer.
They moved together in the semi-darkness, a slip of moonlight visible betwixt the curtains. Arturo never took his eyes off Laura, which startled and intrigued her. She wondered if he treated all his girls like this. Was she just another lay to him, someone he would screw and forget about? She tried not to become anxious thinking about the morning, but she couldn’t help it. He was her black knight, her one purpose for staying in Rio de Janeiro. He single-handedly proved her research correct while saving her in the jungle from a pack of panthers.
As he moved inside her, Laura’s mind drifted back to the jungle. She remembered feeling safe and protected when Arturo placed his arm around her shoulder. The other panthers looked ready to pounce on her. Some of them were even drooling enormous puddles onto the jungle floor. What would have happened if he’d left her there? She shuddered at the thought.
“Are you okay?” he asked.
“I’m fine, I just felt a draft.”
Slightly embarrassed, she felt her neck turning bright red. Arturo chuckled and proceeded to plant warm kisses upon her collarbone. She arched her back, her body tingling all over with pleasure. They remained like that for quite some time, tangled up in the bed sheets. Just when Laura thought she was going to fall asleep, Arturo would wake back up again and make love to her. Her cries of passion echoed through the night, waking even the deepest sleepers. No one in the hotel knew it was she and Arturo making love, but all who heard were envious of their passion. In the morning, after they’d finally dozed off, Arturo woke and took a shower. ~
Laura opened her eyes slowly, surveying her surroundings. Had he left? Abandoned her the next morning because he was too afraid to commit? Alas, she heard the sound of water running, and smelled a mixture of shampoo and empty steam. She sat up in bed, tugging the blanket around her naked body. Glancing at the clock, she saw it was eleven in the morning. Arturo had probably missed his shift already. Or maybe he was avoiding going to work. She wondered what the other panthers would do to him the morning after a confrontation like that.
Would they go back on their rules, move on to killing civilians? Or would everything stay the same?
Arturo exited the bathroom in a hazy cloud, a stark-white towel wrapped around his lower body. His muscles glistened with water and his eyes were bright brown.
“I thought you’d left,” she admitted.
“Do you want me to leave?”
“No. I don’t mind if you stay.”
He smiled. “Good. I suggest you take a shower, lest you want to walk around all day smelling like sex.”
Again she felt herself blushing. Unable to create a proper comeback, she walked towards the bathroom and turned the shower on. The water was still hot. She turned the temperature up, not caring that it made her skin turn shades of red. She looked like she had a sunburn, but it didn’t matter. This was exactly what she needed. A good hot shower after a night with another man.
After they got dressed, Arturo invited her to lunch. They decided it was best to go to a restaurant away from the hotel, so they could talk freely about the panther shifter race. He said it was difficult to tell who else was a panther shifter, especially when they were in the body of a human. Anyone could be listening at any time, and he had a hunch that several people within the hotel were shifters. He’d noticed a handful of men and women exiting the hotel and disappearing into the jungle. There was no other reason other than the fact that they were shifters. But Arturo never confronted them. Perhaps they knew about him and had kept silent. He decided it was best to just ignore them. But he couldn’t ignore the nagging feeling in his gut. He was anxious for Laura, and her mission.
“What do you want to do once you find out who killed your grandfather?” he asked, sipping a glass of orange juice.
“I’m going to kill every last one of them,” she said fiercely.
“Do I need to remind you that I’m one of them?” he asked nervously.
She didn’t say anything for quite some time. Unsure of whether or not he was on her hit list, he remained silent as well. He had to figure out a way to persuade her not to kill them. It wasn’t fair. Just because someone had gone rogue didn’t mean the other panthers were bad people. Her grandfather must have trusted the wrong crowd, which made total sense to Arturo. They were supposed to be solitary hunters. If anything, it was her grandfather’s fault for being killed. These words he did not dare speak aloud. But he did dare glance at Laura, making sure she hadn’t disappeared in a cloud of smoke. Even though she was angry, she was still j
ust as beautiful. Her large almond eyes shone brilliantly, and she devoured her food like a hungry lioness.
“I don’t want to stand in the way of your revenge, Laura, for I understand the pain you feel after losing a relative. But I want to warn you that revenge is a dangerous road, and you’re not going to find anything good down there. It will only create a cycle of violence.”
“What do you know of revenge? You kill for sport whenever you please, and you sleep with whomever you want. You essentially have it made, you’re so privileged.”
“That’s not true,” he said. “If you want to know the truth, I sleep around with people because I’m lonely. We’re not supposed to hunt with each other, live with each other, let alone talk to each other in public.
“I’ve become so paranoid about whether or not anyone is a shifter that I’ve barely spoken to anybody. You’re the first woman that I’ve slept with that I actually—”
He stopped himself, for he knew if he continued he would confess his newfound feelings for her.
A loud cackling from across the restaurant interrupted them. Laura looked over to the sound of the noise, finding two tanned women with gold hoops making their way to the table. They were immersed in a conversation in another language. Laura thought she caught bits of French.
Arturo felt his heart sink in his chest. These were two women he’d slept with about a month ago —twins from Milan— and they were not the type who liked to share. The one who claimed she was born a few minutes older was called Dani. She had her thick black hair cropped short. Her sister, the “younger” one, left her black hair to grow long. Her name was Karin, and she had an intense obsession with smoking weed during sex. They stalked over to the table, which is exactly what Arturo hoped wouldn’t happen.
“T, what are you doing here?” Dani asked.
“Yeah, we like thought you were giving a tour today,” Karin added.
“Ladies, I actually called out today. One of the receptionists is taking my shift. Is there anything I can help you with?”
Across from him, Laura shifted uncomfortably. She wasn’t used to the attention of other females, especially not positive. Her last relationship hadn’t ended well, and it made her feel anxious to be cornered by these two. She was too nervous to look at Arturo, so she looked at her hands, her half-empty plate, the water glass filled with melted ice cubes.
“And who is this?” Dani asked.
“T, if you wanted another lay, you could have just called us,” Karin said.
“She’s a friend of mine,” Arturo said.
Laura tried to ignore the fact that he’d called her his friend. It was true, they’d only slept together once, and that was about as friend-like as you could get.
She saw flashbacks of her past relationship, all of her friends and cousins who had been betrayed by their boyfriends or girlfriends. Deciding she couldn’t take it anymore, she began to stand up. This was worse than being insulted directly; she was being insulted as if she wasn’t even there.
“I have to go,” she said, dabbing at her lips with a napkin. “I can’t talk about this anymore.”
“Laura, wait—” he called out but she wouldn’t listen. She rushed from the table, her white napkin falling to the ground like a crushed dove.
Chapter 6
Arturo watched Laura rush out of the restaurant. Though he wanted to chase after her, he didn’t. He just sat there, staring at the napkin in his lap. The twins were chattering on about one thing or the other but he tuned them out.
“I have to go back to my room,” he said. “Excuse me ladies.”
“Okay,” they say in unison, unfazed by the scene that had just played out. They were used to Arturo being strange. If they were hooking up with him during the night, he would often disappear without a trace. They wondered where he went but never asked.
Once he was alone in the hall, Arturo leaned against the wall. What was he doing? How was it possible that Laura had this kind of affect on him? He knew he shouldn’t go after her, but he wanted to. He took the staircase instead of the elevator, running up to her bedroom. The brightly colored hotel walls were dizzying. He reached her room, practically pounding on the door. She didn’t answer.
Rolling his eyes, he walked back down the hall to his room. He couldn’t believe what had just happened. But Laura didn’t need to leave like that. It wasn’t as if they were in a relationship together. When he got to his room, he was surprised to find Laura sitting across from it.
“What are you doing here?” he asked.
“I felt bad about what happened earlier,” she said, trailing off. She cleared her throat. “Besides, I need your help for my research. It wouldn’t be wise if I just abandoned you.”
“Sure, I guess,” he said, chewing this over. “Laura, I don’t want you to feel like you have to settle for our friendship. Or, whatever this is.”
He held his arm out, helping her to her feet. They were a few inches apart, yet she wouldn’t look at his eyes.
“This isn’t just about the business, is it?” he asked.
“What are you talking about?” she said, finally looking up at his face. “Of course it’s about the business.”
The last few words came out as a slight whisper.
“You like me, don’t you?” he asked.
“Don’t be absurd. We slept together once, it doesn’t mean anything.”
He leaned down, pausing his face a few inches form her lips. She looked up at him, moved a few millimeters. They stared into each other’s eyes, not speaking.
“Have dinner with me,” he said.
She looked from his eyes to his nose, and then to the soft pink of his lips. He looked at his collarbone, admiring how his bones jutted out.
“How about this,” he said. “We have dinner and we can try to figure out a plan about the shifters. But you have to promise me you’re not going to kill anybody.”
“I can’t promise that.”
The anticipation was too much. She moved upwards, as if to kiss him, but he didn’t move. Instead, he placed a finger to her lips.
“Uh-uh, not yet. Not until you admit you like me.”
“Hey that’s not—”
“What? Fair? All you have to do is say those three little words.”
“Not in your lifetime,” she said.
“That’s four words.”
Laura huffed and walked away.
“So I’ll pick you up at eight?” he called after her.
She put her middle finger in the air. She heard him call her charming before disappearing around the corner. What was that about? She thought to herself. Laura tried, but she could barely convince herself that it was all about the research, the revenge. And who was he to tell her that she had feelings? She was the ruler of her own heart, a domain that frankly she was barely familiar with herself.
Should she tell him the truth? That she was developing feelings for him? But he’d been such a tease earlier; he’d definitely hold this above her head. They were meant to be getting dinner later, so she had some time to kill. Perhaps she could find a way to get some more research on the panther shifters. Then, a thought dawned on her. Why didn’t she just call her family and ask them? Of course, they had no idea she was even down here. When they’d asked why she was leaving, she told them it was a long-term vacation. That had been a lie, of course.
Back in her room, she decided to call her cousin, Esmeralda. Laura knew she lived somewhere in Rio, but how far wasn’t clear. Digging through her purse, she found a faded address book. She dialed the ink-smeared number, jiggling her foot nervously as she waited.
“Hello?” said a voice.
“Esmeralda? Es Laura.”
“Laura, mariposa, how the hell are you?”
Laura laughed. She explained to her cousin that she wasn’t in the best of moods; detailing her situation with Arturo and all the women he slept with. She also touched upon the subject of their grandfather, and the role she was playing in her revenge scheme. Es
meralda was silent for a long time. Normally a patient listener, her silence extended far beyond Laura’s commentary.
“You okay?” Laura asked.
“There’s something I need to talk to you about,” Esmeralda said.
Laura waited patiently on the phone for her cousin to continue. When she did, she found herself unsure if she could keep listening. Esmeralda explained to Laura that her grandfather was one of the elders that carried the shifter gene. Since he gave birth to Laura’s mother, who gave birth to Laura, she too carried this gene.
Unsure of what to say, Laura lay back down on the bed. She traced circles in the duvet, trying to think of how to respond. Esmeralda continued to tell her that she’d never been able to shift before because she hadn’t been told about it. This made no sense to Laura.
“So you’re saying I’ll be able to shift now that I know about it? That doesn’t make any sense.”
She tried a couple of times, but it din’t work. Laura definitely didn’t feel any different. It had nothing to do with the fact that she was knowledgeable about the ability to shift. There had to be something else, something that she had to do with her own body in her own time. Esmeralda suggested that she go out into the jungle to try and get her mind in order. Laura thanked her and got off the phone. She was frustrated, slightly, that no one had told her up until this point.
Why hadn’t her family told her what had happened? They had so many secrets, that they practically spilled out of their closets. But this one was unbelievable. She was a panther shifter, a beast that had killed her grandfather. What was wrong with her family? How could they have kept something like this from her? Were there any secrets about her grandfather’s death that she didn’t know about?
When she couldn’t bear it anymore, she went in to take a second shower. There was still time left before Arturo was meant to pick her up.
*****
Arturo walked out of his room, a red rose in his hand. He wasn’t sure what the night had in store for him, so he wanted to be prepared. It was safer to approach Laura when she was all buttered up.