“You can use one of my big sleep shirts to sleep in,” Lily told her. They soon had the sofa bed pulled out and set up for Emelise to sleep on. When Lily went to bed a little later on, she couldn’t help thinking about Declan. The man had gotten under her skin, and she couldn’t get the feel of his hands on her body, or the feel of him inside her, out of her mind. She ached to be with him again, but was it her, or was it just the mate connection causing it?
Declan
Declan was sure his behavior would count as stalking but he couldn’t stay away from Lily. He stood outside her apartment until the lights went out and he was sure she was in bed. He imagined what it would feel like to fall asleep with her in his arms and stifled a growl of frustration. He sure as fuck hoped she worked her shit out soon because being away from her was slowly driving him insane. He’d sent a text to Caine letting him know he had some information for him about the jaguars and was waiting for Caine to respond. Caine’s response was:
Meet Remy at the docks tomorrow night at eight and he’ll bring you out to the compound. I’m in business meetings all day tomorrow or I’d meet with you sooner.
Will do. See you then.
With that out of the way, he made his way back to his hotel. He really needed to look into renting a place; it would probably be cheaper than staying in a hotel in the long run, especially since he wasn’t planning on leaving New Orleans. If his mate was calling The Big Easy home, so was he.
Lily
All day long, every time she went out, Lily was on edge. She was beginning to feel paranoid and realized she was driving herself crazy worrying about whether or not the jaguars they’d run into in Baton Rouge were stalking her. Realizing she needed to calm her frazzled nerves, she took several deep breaths and held them for a moment before letting the air flow out of her. She imagined the tension flowing from her along with it. If they showed up, she would deal with it. Feeling better, she went about the rest of her afternoon errands without constantly looking over her shoulder, got her grocery shopping done, and then headed into work.
Carla, one of the other women who worked at the shop, was behind the counter when Lily stepped inside. “Thank God you’re finally here. Emile had to leave. Marie was in a car accident. I think she’s okay but you know how Emile is: he was in a panic over it. I’m supposed to be picking my little boy up in fifteen minutes.”
“Oh wow, I hope she’s okay. I don’t blame Emile for rushing out.” She could just imagine how frantic Emile felt when he got the news. “So it’s just me tonight, what fun. Go on, Carla, I’m good. I can handle it. Have a good night.”
“Thanks. I’m really sorry. I’d stay if Andy wasn’t working tonight, because he could just pick Toby up from daycare.” Carla removed her apron and grabbed her purse so she could leave.
“Don’t worry about it. I got this.” Lily waved her off. It was bound to be a rough night, but at least it wasn’t the middle of tourist season. Otherwise, she might have had to resort to calling Shelli in on her day off.
The night flew by, and Lily was glad her regulars understood when she got a little behind on orders. She’d only had a couple of disgruntled customers, which she fixed by giving them their order for free and covered it out of her own pocket, and by the time it was nearing closing time, she was worn out. She rubbed her tired eyes, and was sending Emelise a text to see how the cleanup at the club was going, when the front door opened. “Welcome to Gathering Grounds,” Lily said from behind the counter as she glanced toward the door. When she saw who had just walked in she froze.Fuck fuck fuck. She recognized the three men who entered the shop—the jaguars she’d mouthed off to.
“Oh, now she’s changing her tune. A few days ago we were dickheads; now you’re being all nice and shit.”
“What are you doing here? I doubt you came all the way to New Orleans to get a cup of coffee, especially since you’re way outside of jaguar territory.” She lowered her hands so her phone couldn’t be seen by them and opened up a text to Declan. Hopefully he wasn’t off doing Goddess knew what for the Pard because she didn’t have time to text Remy too.S.O.S. Jaguars in shop. All alone.
“Doesn’t look like there are any leopards around; maybe they’re not too worried about protecting their territory,” the one who’d spoken before said. He leaned against the counter and stared at her. “What do you say we lock the door, turn the closed sign around, and have us some fun.”
“I don’t think so. You need to leave. You’re not welcome here, and it has nothing to do with the fact you’re a jaguar. You’re an asshole; you’re clearly into intimidating women, which is pathetic and suggests to me you can’t get any action otherwise, so even if you were attractive, which you’re not, I still wouldn’t touch you with a ten-foot pole.”
Anger flashed in his eyes; and he started to move around the counter when the door opened and several people walked in. He settled back on the stool and stared at her.
Lily tried to ignore him as she took care of the customers who’d just walked in. She was glad they’d shown up because she’d let her mouth get the better of her.Please let Declan get here before they leave me alone with these assholes.
Declan
Declan and Remy were on the boat, on their way to the compound, when his phone vibrated. One glance at the text and he nearly lost it. “Fuck! Turn this thing around; we’ve got to get to Lily’s work, right fucking now. Those fuckers I told you about, the ones I heard talking about some ‘bitch’ at the mall, they’re at the coffee shop with Lily.”
“Hold on,” Remy said and whipped the wheel around. The boat tipped almost sideways because he turned it so fast and then he opened up the motor.
Declan held onto the side of the boat and fought to keep his wolf under control. If any of them put a hand on Lily, they were dead. He would cut them up and feed them to the fucking gators. No one touched his mate and lived.
Lily
Lily was getting nervous. The small group was finishing up their drinks, and she knew that soon they would be leaving. Once they were gone, she would be alone with the jaguars, and by the looks on their faces, things were going to get…testy. Did they really think they could hurt her though and there wouldn’t be any repercussions for it? Maybe they did since she was technically a lone wolf there in Pard territory. Maybe she needed to disabuse them of that notion. “If you think you can get away with whatever you’re plotting, you should know the Pard thinks of me as one of them,” she said, low enough that the humans wouldn’t hear her.
“All the more reason then. They’re weak; it’s time to show them just how weak. They can’t even protect their own; what makes you think they’ll protect you?” He smirked at her.
Lily blinked. What in the hell was he talking about? Before she could give it any further thought, the group got up, placed their cups on the counter for her to wash them up, and headed for the door.
“Good, they’re gone. Make sure the door’s closed,” the one who was obviously the ring leader said. He moved around the counter and approached her. “You talk a big game when you think there’s someone around to save you, or you’re in public. What’s the matter, is all that bravado just talk?” He leered at her. “I’ve never had me a wolf; are you just as wild as a cat?” His hand snaked out to grab her arm so she couldn’t get away from him.
Declan
As soon as they reached the docks, Declan hopped in his car while Remy climbed into the passenger seat. He tore through the streets on his way to Gathering Grounds. He didn’t give a fuck about speed limits, stop signs, or red lights. As long as he didn’t cause a wreck, he would pay whatever tickets he got out of it. He needed to get to Lily. That was the only thought in his head. He pulled up just as a group of people were leaving the shop. He saw, through the window, one guy push the door closed while another stalked around the counter toward Lily. He fought down a growl and barged into the shop just as he was reaching for Lily’s arm. “You fucking touch her and I’ll rip your goddamn arm off.”
