The Billionaire Jaguar's Curvy Journalist: BBW Panther Shifter Paranormal Romance (13 page)

Soon, she was working on her article, just as if she was at home. She heard the tea kettle whistle, but didn’t pay it much attention until Paul came in with two big blue pottery mugs full of tea.

“You must like blue,” she said.

“Cats don’t see colors like humans can,” he said. “I can see blues and greens better when I’m a cat, so I like to have them where I live. I keep more variety in the office, because there are a lot more people coming through than just shifters. You mind if I sit next to you?”

“Of course not.”

“I don’t want to be distracting,” he said, settling down next to her. “But I’d like to be here.”

“You’re fine,” she said. “I’m almost done, anyway.”

“Good.”

The tea was good. Warm and just sweet enough. Paul picked up his phone and started tapping at the screen.

She took a final read of the article and carefully checked her email from the
Boston Common
before sending it off. There. Done.

She’d finished work, and when she turned to her left, she could see Paul, playing something on his phone. It felt like the kind of night any couple might be having. So what if one of them was a jaguar and someone had tried to kidnap Abby earlier in the day, right? Normal. Everything was totally normal.

Her hands were shaking.

“Abby,” Paul said. “Abby, are you—”

He caught her in his arms just as she felt the tears in her eyes. “I’m all right,” she said. “I’m all right, I—it’s just—”

She didn’t know what to say.

“You’re safe now,” he said. “I’m here. It’s all going to be all right.”

She kissed him. It felt just as good, just as right, as it had the first time. He pulled her closer, and she felt his warm, strong chest. You’ll keep me safe, she thought. I know you will.

He was so strong. Even being in his arms told her that.

But that was nothing compared to what he did next.

He scooped her up in his arms as easily as if he was lifting a bag of groceries. He kissed her cheek then carried her, bridal- style, to his bedroom. She laughed again. It felt good. It felt good just being close to him.

He flicked the light on with his left hand, still holding her tight, then carefully placed her on the bed. There was a thick blue-green blanket on the bed, the color of the sea, almost. It was very soft.

“You—you finished your article, right?”

“I finished it!” She smiled and pulled him in for another kiss. He was an amazing kisser, and he tasted like honeyed tea. She wanted to stay here, like this, forever. Lost in his touch. In his taste.

He pulled her t-shirt over her head and started on her jeans—it was a relief to be free of the denim, to feel the warmth of his body.

He was still wearing all his clothes, though. Let’s fix that. She reached out for him, tugging at his shirt—a nice collared polo. Light blue. Very money.

But Paul looked even better when he pulled his shirt over his head. She let go of the shirt and traced his muscles, lightly, with her fingertips. He shivered. “You’re amazing,” he said.

No one ever talked to her like this. “Yeah?” she asked, smiling up at him.

“Yeah,” he said, and dipped down for another kiss. It felt so good to have his skin against hers, his strong hands on her back, pulling her closer.

She clung to him after they broke the kiss, wanting him closer, closer.

“I guess this is all right,” he said, a little sheepishly.

“More than all right.” She stretched out her legs and wrapped them around him. “This is exactly what I needed.”

“Well.” His smile stretched out like the Cheshire Cat. “Then I better give you exactly what you need.” He moved, as quick as a cat could, and before Abby knew what was happening he had her legs balanced on his shoulders, and was mouthing at—

Mouthing at her panties.

Oh. My.
God.

She couldn’t remember anyone who wanted to…
consume
her like this. Like he was trying to tease and devour her, all at once.
Oh.
She was going to melt.

And he seemed to be loving every minute of it.

His teeth grasped the fabric of her panties, and his tongue darted into her folds, teasing, tasting. Oh, that was good. Every motion of his tongue sent tiny shivers through her body. She could feel the heat rising in her, too quick, too soon. “Don’t—” she said— “if you do too much, I’ll—”

She could hear him, feel him, laugh. “Are you sure? I don’t mind doing it more than once.”

Oh, it felt good. So good. But she wanted him inside her. “Please,” she said. “Please—”

He pulled her panties off. His hands were so strong, so sure. “All right,” he said. “Do you want to—do you want to turn over?”

God. God, she did. She nodded and rolled over onto her stomach, then pulled her knees up and got on all fours.

“You’re so beautiful,” he said. “I can hardly believe you.”

His hand landed on her thigh and stroked it, his hand so gentle and light she could hardly stand it. “Please,” she said again. She was burning; her whole body was burning, from her tight, hard nipples to her throbbing cunt. “I need you.” She wanted him. All of him. Everything.

“All right,” he said, sounding a little breathless himself. “Abby—”

He slid into her, thick, hard, perfect.

“Oh,” she said, because she couldn’t say anything else. Everything in her was focused on Paul.

Paul moved inside her smoothly, but she could feel the strength that guided his every movement, every thrust. Every time he slid in all the way, she could feel the pressure against her clit, building and building from behind.

By the time he slipped his hand to her clit, she was already dripping wet, and every motion of his just drove her more and more wild. His fingers teased her clit lightly at first, then pressed tiny, almost delicate circles into her, and she wanted to scream.

“You’re so gorgeous,” Paul whispered. “So wet, so tight—”

Abby couldn’t speak. All she could do was want. Want more, want him deeper, harder.

She moaned, and he seemed to understand what she wanted, needed. He thrust faster, harder, still so sure of himself, so strong, so good—

Suddenly her whole body was shaking uncontrollably, a wave of sensation taking her from her head to her toes and back up again. She closed her eyes and let the rest of her senses feel the wave, her body letting go of everything in a rush of ecstacy. She did her best to keep her hips up, her body tight around Paul, but too much was happening at once for her to remain focused on anything but the pleasure inside her.

But that must have been enough for Paul. She could feel him coming inside her, his hips thrusting, his strong hands now gripping her hips. “Oh,” he cried out, and then, as he caught his breath, “I...oh, Abby.”

“Hey,” she said, as they moved together, Paul sliding down and Abby turning so they could be side by side. He pulled her tightly into his arms. “So...was it good for you?”

He laughed. “I’m the luckiest guy in the world,” he said, and kissed her dark hair.

18

He felt Abby’s breathing ease and slow, and after a little while she drifted off into sleep. That was good. She needed the rest.

He wouldn’t be able to rest for a while, but that was all right. If Brisbane Chemical was the kind of company to send one thug after Abby, they might well send another one.

Paul’s apartment was new enough that it might not even hit their radar. But the whole thing still made him nervous. Part of him wanted to shift and give the whole place a good smell, but he didn’t want to do that while Abby was asleep. She’d handled his transformations very well, but she’d been through enough, she didn’t need to adjust to going to bed with a human and waking up to a jaguar.

He thought of Mom’s necklace. She’d told him he needed to give it to his mate, when he found her.

He’d been certain he never would, but he hadn’t minded. It had reminded him of her, of what she’d done to take care of him. He wondered if Aaron even remembered her.

He’d been thinking a lot more about his baby brother lately. Maybe it was just because having Abby around made him think of family, brought all those memories back. He wasn’t going to let any children of his go through what he had. What Aaron probably had. Paul’s memories of his father were fuzzy, but they were mostly of fear, of a strict, hard man.

If only he knew the right way to reach out to him. Paul had changed his last name, but he was certain Father still knew who he was. And who knew what he would have told Aaron about him? About Mom and their family? “Hello, I’m your brother, don’t listen to anything our father says” was no way to begin a conversation. Or a relationship.

Abby mumbled something in her sleep, and he smiled. It was nice, being next to her. Comfortable. He’d just moved in, but having Abby in his bed made the whole place feel like home. He stroked her dark hair. It was so soft. Like silk.

He should buy her a silk nightgown. A dark color. Purple, maybe? She looked lovely in purple.

She looked lovely in any color. Maybe he should buy her a few silk nightgowns. A rainbow of colors. He could—

A knock at the door interrupted his reverie, and for a fleeting instant he missed his apartment back in the city, with its efficient built-in security system.

It might be fine.

It might be Chris, checking in on them, though he would probably send a text first. And wait for an answer.

Paul got up and pulled his pants on. Whoever it was, they were still there.

“What—what is it?”

Damn it. Whoever it was, they’d woken up Abby. “Someone at the door,” he answered, grabbing his t-shirt and pulling it over his head. “You just sit tight.”

“We told the police I’d be here,” she said. “It might just be—”

The knock came again, a little louder.

“Get your clothes on, just in case,” he said. “But don’t come out.”

“All right,” she agreed.

He grabbed his phone as he walked toward the door. No messages. That could mean anything, but probably nothing good.

No peephole at this place, either. He let the human step back and the cat step forward and took a sniff.

No, that’s not possible—

Two scents, one recent, one just a memory, flooded together, and he slid the deadbolt back and opened the door.

The man standing in front of him was tall, dark-haired, and so familiar it felt like a punch in the gut.

“I was hoping,” Aaron said. “But I wasn’t sure it’d be you.”

Paul threw his arms around his brother, unable to speak. The panther at the park. It’d been him. Of course it’d been him. He felt like a fool.

“I’m so glad,” Aaron said. “I—I missed you so much.”

“Mom was sure—” he managed to stammer. “She was sure you were human. If—if she’d known—”

“Dad said she hated me,” Aaron said. “But I didn’t think it was true. I never thought it was true.”

“She loved you,” Paul said. “She loved you so much. I—” He stepped back. He hadn’t seen Aaron’s face outside a magazine since...well, it felt like forever. “I love you too. I can’t believe you’re here.”

“I always wanted—I thought, maybe I should just pick up the phone, call him, you know? But I was afraid. I was so afraid—”

“He was wrong,” Paul said. “Wrong about her, wrong about me. He—he found out about me, and then he found out about her, and she...she just ran. Ran from Dad, and thought he’d chase after us harder if we took you along.” Aaron had tears in his eyes. Hell, Paul did too. “And she was sure you were human, all human, like Dad. You looked so much like him, and she said it’s really rare to have one shifter in a mixed family, much less two.”

“There’s two,” Aaron said softly. “Oh, man, I’m so glad it’s you. There’s so much I want to—”

“Wait,” Abby said from the bedroom door. “Wait just a second—this is your brother?”

“I’m his brother,” Aaron said. “Um, sorry about how we met.”

“And this is Abby, my mate,” Paul said. “Someone came looking for you tonight at her place.”

“I’m sorry about that too,” Aaron said. “That’s actually why I’m here.”

19

Paul had called her his mate.

There were a thousand other thoughts in her mind—about Brisbane Chemical, about what Aaron’s brother had been doing to investigate them, about Paul and Aaron’s relationship, about their father—okay, maybe more than a thousand thoughts—but above all that, more important than any of that, was Paul introducing her as his mate.

His
mate.

He’d said something about it, and she’d half-believed it, but that had been when they were alone together. Abby knew from hard experience not to listen to what guys said in private until they owned up to it in public, too.

But here he was, owning up to it in front of his brother. His brother who shared the same secret.

“Um, I think there’s tea,” she said. “I can...get some around anyway.”

“Any we have left over is ice cold by now,” Paul said.

“I’ll start a new pot.” They needed some time to themselves, though the best she could do was go into the kitchen and heat up some water. She dumped the old water out and put new cold water in; she didn’t make tea that often, but the ritual was soothing right now. She even found a ceramic teapot in the cupboard—it had a beautiful blue-green glaze she’d have to thank Chris for later—and put some teabags in. She went with caffeinated. She had a suspicion that they’d be up for a while.

She’d wanted to leave them their privacy, but she couldn’t help listening a little as they talked.

“We don’t have a lot of time,” Aaron said.

“The faster the word gets out the sooner Abby’s safe, so that’s fine with me—”

She took the old cups and put them in the dishwasher; she couldn’t remember which of them had which. It didn’t really matter (after all, she was his mate, right?), but it gave her something to do while she was busy not listening.

“—doing it for years—”

“—she’s got great research skills, you should see what she—”

The second jaguar had been Aaron. And he was sorry he’d scared her! She shook her head. This whole thing was so strange. It was like she’d walked into a whole new world the second she opened the door to Paul’s office.