His Purrfect Mate Read online

  She didn’t resist since her arms and legs wrapped around him faster than she could think. It helped, but not much. She stared wide-eyed at him and a soft growl came from deep within his throat. Shivers ran down her spine and a soft hiss escaped her parted lips. At the same time, she realized her fingernails bit into his shirt where her hands had slid under his jacket.

  “Easy with the claws, kitten. I’ve got you, and what you’re experiencing is normal. The scent of pack is very strong here. You may not realize you can smell it but you obviously can. You should see your eyes.” He stared into them. “Damn.”

  Alarm gripped her. “My eyes? What’s wrong?”

  He studied the depths of her eyes and softly growled again. “Your body may not be able to shift but your eyes do slightly. You’ve got cat eyes now, bright blue ones with a hell of a lot of exotic yellow, and they are the prettiest things I’ve ever seen.”

  She glanced over his shoulder, gauged her vision for any changes, but didn’t notice any. She looked back, staring into dark, intense werewolf eyes that seemed to have turned nearly black.

  “Your eyes,” she whispered.

  “Yeah.” He cleared his throat. “My voice is going to get deeper too.”

  She didn’t need to be told that as she shivered again at his rough, slightly altered tone. “Why?”

  “You’re terrified but it’s something else entirely for me.”

  “What?”

  He softly growled again. “I want to fuck you so bad it hurts.”

  Mute, she gaped at him, never expecting him to say that to her. He closed his eyes and turned his head enough to expose his throat to her. She found her voice again.

  “Are you offering foreplay? I remember what you said about sniffing your neck. I don’t think―”

  “If you brush your nose against my skin, I’ll tear your clothes off and take you where we stand. I’m trying to get a grip on my wolf, and not looking at you helps.”

  “Put me down.”

  A louder snarl vibrated his chest against hers. “Don’t fight me. You do and you’re fucked in every sense.”

  She held very still, breathing softly, and watched his tight expression closely. His jaw clenched, flexing muscles along his jawline, and then his generous lips parted as he took deep breaths, which rubbed his chest against her breasts. To her shock, they responded, the nipples hardening, and a sound came out of her that she’d never heard before.

  Anton’s head snapped in her direction as his eyes flew open to stare at her with an intense, smoldering look. “You purr.”

  “I don’t,” she denied, despite the soft noise she’d emitted resembling exactly that.

  “You―”

  The back door next to them suddenly exploded outward when a tall woman barged from the interior of the bar, cursing a blue streak, interrupting whatever Anton had been about to say.

  Shannon’s eyes widened in stunned dismay when she realized the red stains on the white shirt and tight jeans the woman sported had to be fresh blood. It also marred the woman’s hands.

  “What happened, Glenda?” Anton snarled the words.

  The woman spun, startled, and then bent, reaching for a hose attached to the side of the building. “Those stupid pups got in a fight while trying to play badasses for a few bitches. It’s the beginning of when everyone starts going into heat but shit has already started for the pairing up.” Her dark gaze shifted to Shannon and her eyebrows shot up. “Wow. Is that the bitch from up north? I thought she wouldn’t arrive until tonight.”

  “Um…” Anton hesitated.

  The muscled, at least six-foot-tall woman laughed. “What are they crossbreeding with up there? She’s tiny. She part Chihuahua or something? It’s insulting that a pack sent that for you to test out. They have to be desperate to hook up with a stronger breed. You’re going to break her before the fun starts.”

  “Fuck,” Anton grumbled. “Anyone dead inside?”

  Glenda washed down her arms and hands with the hose to remove the blood. “Nope. We broke it up before it got that far. Von is making them pay for the shit they busted though. They took out five tables and dented a wall pretty bad but nothing a little drywall and paint won’t fix.”

  Shannon gaped at the scary-looking woman. Thick muscles corded the woman’s arms as she turned off the hose and straightened. Tattoos adorned both curves of her broad shoulders and peeked out from where her low-cut top dipped between her breasts. Shannon had no doubt that this was her first sighting of a female werewolf, and if they all looked like this one, they must be pretty darn vicious.

  “Ban their asses. They know I don’t tolerate that shit inside my bar.”

  “I already told them, Anton.” Dark eyes lit on Shannon again and the woman moved closer. “Want me to get rid of that runt for you?” A cold smile formed on her lips. “Send a message that we’re insulted at what they consider their best?”

  Anton’s body tensed. “Back off now, Glenda.”

  The woman froze and then made a strange face, her nose scrunching, and then a snarl tore from her parted lips. Pure rage transformed her features. “Puma! The fresh blood from the fight masked her scent at first.”

  If looks could kill, Shannon had no doubt she’d have died in that instant. The woman lunged forward, ignoring Anton’s command.

  He cursed and released Shannon with one arm, his open palm hitting the advancing woman hard in the chest. The push sent her staggering back and she landed on her ass.

  “I said, back off,” Anton roared.

  A snarl came from the downed woman and she never took her hateful glare from Shannon. “Let me kill her! Please?”

  Anton gripped Shannon with both hands again, his arms feeling similar to steel bands around her waist, and growled low and deep from his chest. “She’s a guest here. You don’t touch her. No one does.”

  Glenda turned her rage on Anton. “A what?”

  “Guest. I’ve extended my protection to her.”

  The woman’s mouth moved but no sound came out at first. Anger turned to amazement, then to confusion. “Why? She’s a stinking cat. She probably came to play in our trash Dumpsters and you caught her. You have no stomach for hurting a female, even if it’s one of those, do you? I’d be happy to take her ass out.”

  “I said she’s under my protection—no one is going to harm her.”

  Glenda gingerly climbed to her feet, used both hands to brush off the backside of her jeans, and then gaped at Anton. “What the hell is up?”

  He took a deep breath, his massive chest pressing tightly against Shannon’s smaller one, pinned between his body and the wall. “Notice how faint her scent is? She’s mostly human. Some of the pups decided to hunt her in the woods but I intercepted.”

  “She’s the enemy. Of course they wanted to make her a chew toy.”

  “I don’t allow aggression without provocation.” Anton’s features darkened with anger.

  “She’s breathing and has puma blood. That’s enough provocation for me.” Glenda shot Shannon a dirty look before meeting Anton’s cool stare again. “I know you have a soft spot for women, so hand her over to me. I won’t kill her but I’ll at least dump her out of our territory.”

  “No.”

  Disbelief flashed on the female werewolf’s face. “What are you going to do with her? Call her pride and have them meet up with you to return her?”

  “No. She’s going to stay inside my apartment until I make certain she will be safe in our territory. I’m giving her permission to stay. She lives on the outer edge and I’m granting her permission to stay there after I deal with the current threats against her.”

  A deep, vicious growl tore from Glenda before she spun away, marching toward the door. “I’m calling your father.”

  “Shit,” Anton sighed, turning his head to stare at Shannon as the door slammed closed after the departing woman.

  “You should just let me go stay with my mom.”

  Shannon studied his beautiful eyes.