Kitten Around (Shifting Hearts Dating Agency Book 3)

by Erzabet Bishop

  She’d caught a few patches of sleep while she figured out a haphazard plan. Tyler had been up talking with members of his pride but had finally conked out in one of the chairs, and Sheree had fallen asleep next to their mother upstairs for a couple of hours. She’d heard from Jake and he had been doing fine, despite the changes in his nature, but she’d bet he was going to get his ass handed to him on a platter the second he stepped through the front door.

  But being in a strange house was taking its toll on her and just for a moment, Paige wanted to get some air. A lot had happened over the last few hours.

  Her phone buzzed again and she moved down the porch so she wasn’t as visible from the doorway. Paige slid her finger across the screen and found a text waiting for her from Javier.

  Lose something?

  What the hell was he talking about? She typed in a ? sign and sent it. Seconds later a picture of a young girl appeared on her phone. A sick feeling twisted in her guts.

  “Pepper.” Paige whispered, the realization of what he’d done slamming into her like a brick. He really had taken her, the bastard.

  She started back to the front door on shaking legs, fear uncoiling, oily and slick in her stomach. Tyler. She had to get her mate.

  Come alone.

  Oh Goddess. How could she listen to his demands? But if she didn’t, there was no way that she’d ever get the child back alive.

  She typed a response and held her breath.

  Where?

  Sandpiper Hills.

  The old abandoned hospital was a across town. If she was going to make it, she’d have to shift. This was her fault. If she would have cornered him about the storm and had it out with him then, this wouldn’t be happening. He wanted a familiar and if he couldn’t find one willingly, it looked like he was going to try and bind her to him by force.

  She had to stop him. There was not time to delay.

  Paige stripped and set her clothes and phone down on the porch. If she couldn’t bring them with her, then at least they could find out where she was going.

  The change ripped through her body as she gave the reigns over to her beast. Black fur sprouted from her pores and her bones and muscles contracted, morphing into a sleek black jaguar.

  She thundered down the front steps and into the wet morning, a snarl on her lips. It was a trap to get what he wanted, but she was going to make him regret it.

  ***

  Tyler woke, feeling something was off. A stiff neck told him he’d been out for a while but it wasn’t until he heard the commotion outside that he realized how long he’d been out. Just a half an hour, by his guestimation. Long enough for the guys to get here.

  He leapt from the chair and hauled ass to the front door in time to see three of his pride members pounding up the walk. Starting to step over the threshold, he noticed the pile of clothes and phone and he felt the blood drain out of his face.

  “Oh God.” Paige. She’d gone after Pepper. Tyler scooped up the phone and opened it, revealing texts between Javier and his mate.

  Fuck.

  “What is it, Tyler?” Steve bounded up the stairs, with Lance and Carl behind him.

  “Sandpiper. We have to go. He’s got Pepper and my mate.” He didn’t wait for the others, terror for his mate spurring him forward. The bastard wasn’t going to take her from him. Not when he’d been searching for her for three years.

  There was no time for questions. Those he could answer later. Now, he had to find both of them and bring them home.

  Fuck propriety. He took a cue from Paige and stripped on the porch, already shifting as his feet hit the sidewalk. The others followed, moving swiftly through the flooded landscape until they came to the abandoned hospital.

  It was the scene of a horror movie. No doubt that was why the bastard had chosen it. But what he probably hadn’t counted on was Tyler’s youthful propensity for getting into trouble with his pride mates. Growing up, they’d spent more time here than at home, learning every nook, cranny and crawl space.

  Broken glass glittered beneath the water and he carefully stepped around it, taking care not to slice open the pads of his feet.

  A soft chuff from Carl alerted him that something was off and he darted to the right, ducking into one of the many entrances of the building.

  He shifted back, immediately wishing he’d brought clothing with him. The bare floor was cold and wet, a foot of flood water already taking claim on the old landmark.

  “He’s here.” Steve, once again human, waded through the water. “I heard something down that way.”

  “You know the building echoes like a bitch.”

  “Where do you think he’d go?” Tyler considered his options. His cat paced beneath his skin, eager to shred the threat to his mate and niece.

  “The morgue is out of the question. Maybe the second floor?” Carl said, joining the conversation.

  The pool. The bastard had her in the pool room.

  “Let’s hit the stairs.” Tyler said, already moving in the direction of the stairwell. Three steps up and he heard a scream that had him doubling his pace, his pride mates right behind him.

  ***

  “Come here, or I’ll cut her.”

  “No.” Paige moved around Javier, careful not to get too close. Wild magic surged through her veins and she had to fight to keep it contained. The glint of steel told her the bastard had his ceremonial blade at the ready.

  What did he have planned? Some sort of binding ceremony? Her mind went through years of training at her mother’s insistence. Spells and sigils. Wards and weavings. The magic was her father’s side but it was her mother that forged her daughter like a weapon. A accomplished witch and shifter who could do the family proud.

  It was a shame, really. Paige had enjoyed some of her magic classes but it had been years since she’d been forced to use her skills, preferring instead to play at Ventures to ease the built up tension in her system.

  “Did you like the storm? I had them make it just for you.” A malignant smile twisted her ex fiancé’s lips and she fought the urge not to wipe it off his face with the claws threatening to break loose.

  “I’m glad you came to me naked. This way we can break the hold your mate has on you. One quick fuck should do, no?”

  “You’re disgusting.” Paige growled. “Let her go. This is between you and me.”

  “No. You refused to play nicely. I offered you everything and you left to come here? To this backwater town? Really, Paige. I expected more from your mother’s daughter.”

  “And I expected more from any man I was engaged to.”

  “Hmmm. I think I’ll take out your eye first. You won’t need that for what I have in mind for you. No. Not at all.”

  A whimper from Pepper brought Javier’s attention back to the girl. “Shall we tell Paige what fun we’ve been having?” Dragging the frightened girl close to the pool, he made like he was going to shove her in.

  “Stop it!” Paige darted forward in an attempt to wrest her from his grip, but only succeeded in slipping on the wet tile and tumbling head first into the brackish water.

  She was choking and she couldn’t see. The water was thick and murky and Paige couldn’t tell up from down. The sound of screams met her ears and she pushed to the surface to find Pepper facing off with Javier.

  “You hurt her.” The child ground out. A chunk of concrete soared through the air, narrowly missing Javier’s head. It crashed behind him and Pepper smiled, taking a step forward.

  “I’m here.” Paige climbed from the pool, the concrete scraping her knees. She made her way toward the girl and eased Pepper behind her.

  “So are we.” Tyler appeared, closely followed by three other men.

  “Uncle Tyler!” Paige heard the girl’s exclamation but before she could turn to look, Javier reached out, grabbing Paige by the hair.

  She reached through the mate bond toward Tyler, hoping against hope that what she’d always heard was true.

  I wish we had mor
e time.

  Then she took hold of Javier’s hands and let the fire that was within her start to burn.

  Epilogue

  “W here are you going, missy?” Sylvia picked up a folder and chunked it into the filing cabinet, all the while giving her partner a sly smile. She went to the victory board and put up two pictures, one of which looked awfully familiar.

  Paige picked up her purse, but put it down on the desk, her mouth slightly agape. “You know Sheree Blackburn.”

  “Of course. She was my client. I introduced her to Jake at that great restaurant you like so much. You know, the one with the heart monitors for ketchup bottles or whatever. True mates. True love.”

  Paige blinked, not knowing quite what to say.

  “Oh my Goddess.” She was still reeling from the events of the past few weeks. Tyler had come for her. And he’d heard her calling down the mate bond. When she’d gone after Javier, it was Tyler that brought her back. With a little help from a precocious half witch named Pepper and a couple of hunky cat shifters.

  A few days later, Paige had come to with a new family around her and some arranged study sessions with her new niece. Constructive magic. Shifter witch style. And after talking with the girl, she could hardly wait.

  “Careful, cat girl. Just proves to show you never know who you’re talking to.” Sylvia gave her a cheeky grin and sashayed back to the breakroom.

  “Don’t you dare touch that TV. We’ve already had to replace it three times.” It was a known fact that Sylvia was the Harry Dresden of all electronic devices, past, present, and future. And she, for one, didn’t want to buy yet another TV.

  The front door jingled and Tyler appeared. “Hey beautiful. How’s the hands today?”

  “Fine.”

  At least they were, mostly. She had to come in to make sure they hadn’t flooded, as so many of the local businesses had. It frustrated her that she couldn’t help with some of the cleanup but the pride insisted she rest after simultaneously wiping out the root cause of the storm and the witch responsible.

  It shouldn’t matter that the burnt ends of her hair had to be cut off but it did. Spontaneous combustion spells were notorious like that. But at least she still had her eyebrows.

  “I have the tickets.” Sylvia ran to her desk and rummaged in her purse. She pulled out two pieces of paper and handed them to Tyler. “You have dinner reservations and the show starts at nine.”

  “You printed something? Using the computer?”

  Wow.

  Now the question was, where was he taking her? And why the hell did Sylvia know about it?

  “Yes, smart ass. Now go. Have fun with your mate. I think this should be right up your alley.”

  Paige narrowed her eyes as she caught sight of two more pictures on the victory board. Hers and Tyler’s.

  What the hell?

  “I’ll be damned.”

  “No, you won’t, but you will be tied up and spanked within an inch of your life if you don’t hurry up and get in the truck.” Tyler winked and led her toward the door.

  “Where are we going?”

  Tyler held up the tickets and Paige caught her breath.

  Tonoko Shibari Exhibition

  She was a cat, after all. And she couldn’t wait to play with her mate and a really big ball of string. Looping her arm through Tyler’s, she followed him out into the bright Texas sunlight, glad the flood waters were finally receding.

  If you enjoyed this book, please take a moment and leave a review. Just a few lines means the world to an author.

  Turn the page for a taste from Her True Savior, Book One in the Furever Shifter Mates series, and Book Four in the Shifting Hearts Dating Agency World...

  A Taste of Her True Savior

  Will Sylvia 's twist to matchmaking have the expected results?

  Samantha Morgan isn't interested in finding a man for more than a good workout between the sheets.

  Sylvia Ludus, co-owner of the Shifting Hearts Dating Agency, has other plans. While stories about Sylvia's matches are larger than life, Sam thinks she's immune to the woman's gifts in matchmaking, so she agrees to a set up only to appease her mother.

  Sylvia tries something different, setting Sam up with Ian Michaelson, a wealthy black panther shifter, in order to have her meet a friend of Ian's who is as stubborn as she is when it comes to dating. Sylvia claims this other man will be her savior, in a metaphorical sense, the one to capture her heart, make her stop fearing love.

  Will Sam give into whatever has sparked between her and this mystery man, or is she destined to be Sylvia's first failure?

  Chapter One

  T he sound of her mother sifting flour elicited a shallow sigh. Her eyes glazed over, blurring the familiar image of the large mug that served as a flowerpot in the middle of the table where she sat.

  Her mother's wavering voice, loaded with agitation, cut through her tranquility, tightening her features, interrupting her body's desire for a cat-like stretch. Hell, even the cat that had been resting nearby took off for another room with a few sporadic leaps.

  "Samantha, you are so unpredictable and headstrong," the woman snipped, gripping the handle of the sifter harder, moving it faster despite the screeches of the metal sliding against metal. "A dangerous combination if you ask me."

  "I didn't ask," Sam replied, a coy smile growing on her face as she waited for her mother to look up from her measuring to glare. "But, I love you mom and value your opinion," she continued, tongue in cheek, eyes wide, her new, endless smile making her mother crack one, too, despite her best efforts to stay frustrated with her daughter.

  "Okay, add smart-mouthed and conniving to that list, but I think a man could change all that for you," her mother stated, undeterred, that frantic tone seeping back into her voice making Sam's shoulders rise to her ears. A minute of comic relief over, just like that.

  She sucked in a deep, cleansing breath, counting to four as the air swept into her lungs, then paused, trapping the breath, before releasing the pent up air to a count of six. Well, truth be told, she saw those weird lights in front of her eyes about the count of five during the exhale, but she'd counted to six anyway. A breathing technique she taught her yoga students, she failed to practice on her own when her mother began a tirade about the fact that her only daughter, and only child to compound the issue, had yet to marry.

  "You need someone to share your magic with," her mother continued, not noticing her daughter had yet to respond to the last statement she'd uttered.

  "Mom, I don't need anyone to share my magic with. I have you."

  What I need to share is a good fuck with a man, not my magic, Sam thought, peering into her water bottle as if it, at any minute, would reveal the mysteries of the world to her. A longing crept into her mind, a sudden ravenous wish for water to turn into wine, or better yet, something harder. While she practiced yoga, sometimes only a Long Island Iced Tea could do the trick.

  A witch by birth, Sam thought she had quite the full life with her magic and now yoga, plus her mother and friends. A yoga instructor who owned her own studio, she proved yoga was for everybody as her curves filled out her yoga pants and t-shirt. Her magic, kept private in the family, she practiced daily which granted her a peace like nothing else could, only adding to her yoga practice. She had friends to talk to, cousins and a mother to practice her spells with, and a yoga community who balanced out her life perfectly. Her studio had become just another place of solace for her. Men, on the other hand, they were trouble, needed only to scratch physical urges from time to time when the silicone versions of their anatomy wouldn't do.

  Always the go getter, which some called aggressive and her mother called unpredictable, Sam allowed her magic in the studio, secretly, for herself and others who chose to accept it, as a way to harmony, happiness, and health. Her magic helped to enhance the peacefulness of the place. She'd thrown all she had, money, time, and sweat, into the studio. A strong, single woman and entrepreneur, she didn't desire tying h
er life to another's. However, her mother's ire wasn't worth the fight. Sam considered it the act of a loving daughter to appease the woman as much as she could from time to time on the whole dating and marriage issue, by at least going on an occasional date. Though, truth be told, and she would not tell such a fundamental axiom to her mother, a family and kids didn't enter into her life plans. Her dating life amounted to dinner and maybe a movie, sometimes a good romp between the sheets.

  So, from time to time when her mother got like this, she listened, tried to keep her center of calm, and eventually relented into a date or two with whoever her mother wanted to set her up with. She could agree to a friend of a friend's son, or whomever, for a time. The possible partner her mother found always initiated these lectures, which continued at length until she relented and agreed to a date with the man her mother had currently fallen in love with as 'the perfect match for her unattached daughter.'

  So, today, as always, she waited the woman out, let her rant and complain. She'd tire eventually and go for broke, tell Sam she'd found the man of her dreams for her. In keeping with established protocol, she'd have to get dressed up, sit through the small talk, and then, finally, duty done, end the evening of torture and get on with her life. If the planets aligned in her favor, she'd at a minimum get a good meal out of it, at a maximum, find the guy attractive enough to work a little sexual frustration out of her system.

  As her mother continued, not yet to the 'who I'm hooking you up with' part, Sam mentally wandered through the items in her closet, wondering what she had there to wear for any situation. Not big into clothing like fancy dresses, you could find her in stretchy pants, along with a t-shirt or sweatshirt depending on the season. To her, dressing up mean wearing one of her two pairs of jeans and a sweater, maybe a little make-up.