All three jaguars turned at the voice. “You’re not one of the leopards,” the one closest to Lily said.
“No, he’s not, but I am,” Remy said as he followed Declan in. He flipped the closed sign and locked the door. “What’s dis look like to you, Declan, cuz it looks to me like dese boys are lookin’ for trouble.” He had a wicked grin on his face.
“They found it.” Declan’s voice was more a growl than anything as his wolf pushed for control. “Get. The. Fuck. Away. From. My. Mate.” He bit out each word.
The jaguars shared a look before they shifted right there in the shop and went on the offense. As he shifted, Declan kept his eyes on Lily. He couldn’t help but notice how quickly she jumped into action, running to the door where the light switch was so she could kill the lights and drop the blinds to block out the shop from passersby. One of the jaguars came at him, and Declan lowered the front of his body closer to the ground as the cat reached him. The position allowed him to get under the cat, and he used his hind legs to lift the jaguar and throw him into a table, which shattered beneath the jaguar’s weight.
With one jaguar down, Declan faced off with another. He growled low in his throat as he and the cat circled each other. In his periphery he could see Remy holding his own with the jaguar he’d taken on so Declan focused on his opponent. Claws slashed out and Declan hissed. He would be feeling that for a while. He ignored the pain in his side and charged the cat. The sound of breaking dishes assaulted his ears, but he didn’t have time to see if it was Remy who’d crashed into the coffee cups or the jaguar. He caught the slight tension in the jaguar’s haunches and knew the cat was about to pounce. He was ready for it. When the jaguar came at him, he used the cat’s own momentum to throw him into the side of the counter where a chunk of wood broke off to land on the floor. As soon as he was sure the jaguar wasn’t getting back up right away, he looked to Remy. The leopard was bleeding from his shoulder but he was otherwise unscathed. By the time the fight was over, several tables, along with their chairs, were broken, there was a chunk of wood missing from the front of the counter, and at least half of the porcelain coffee cups were shattered. Of course, once they all returned to human form, none of them had a thing to wear because shifting had ruined their clothes.
“I’ll call Gage. He’ll bring a cleanup crew and bring us some clothes,” Remy said as he snagged a tablecloth and wrapped it around his waist before he found his phone to make the call.
Declan didn’t bother with hiding anything. He ripped a tablecloth into strips, and once the jaguars shifted back to human form, he bound the trio so they could be taken somewhere and questioned before they were dealt with.
“Emile is going to fire me. And then kill me. He can’t afford the repair cost to replace everything that got broken.” Lily looked like she was in a bit of a panic as she gazed at the damage that the fight had caused. “At least the cappuccino machine wasn’t damaged.”
Declan went to her and took her face in his hands. Her eyes were wide, her pupils were dilated, and her breathing had become erratic. “Just breathe, doll. It’s over, and don’t worry about the damages. Whatever the Pard can’t replace, I’ll pay for. He won’t lose any business by having to be closed a day or two; I’ll see to it.”
Lily blinked at him before her gaze took in the fact that he was completely naked. The fact she hadn’t noticed it right away spoke to how shaken up she was. “You need to cover up before anyone gets here.”
Declan smirked at her. ‘“Took you long enough to notice. Alright, doll, I’ll wear a fashionable tablecloth skirt just to make you feel better.”
Lily smiled, just a little. “I didn’t know if you were even in town or if you were off doing something for the Pard or if you’d get here before…before anything happened.” Her voice was just barely above a whisper. “All I could think, when they walked in though, was that I needed you here.”
Declan pulled her into his arms. “It’s okay. They won’t ever try to touch you again, doll.” He wanted to rip them to shreds for putting that fear in her eyes. He held her and for once there was nothing sexual about it. This was just about comfort.
Remy’s phone went off a little while later, making them all jump. He glanced at the incoming call. “It’s Gage,” he told Lily and Declan before he answered it.”Where y’all at?” He listened for a moment before he responded. “On my way dere,” he said and hung up. “Dey’re at da back door. Don’t worry, cher, dis place will be all cleaned up before mornin’.” He worked his way to the door at the back of the shop to let his brother and the cleanup crew in.
“Looks like I missed all da fun.” Gage took in the three bound jaguars, the broken table, and the tablecloths Remy and Declan were wearing. “Nice skirts.” His chuckled comment made both Declan and Remy growl at him.
Lily laughed softly. “They do look quite fetching, don’t they?” Before either man could react, she snapped a picture of them with her phone. “Blackmail material.” She grinned at them both.
“I’m surprised you didn’t tink about dat before now.” Gage glanced over at Lily. “Dey didn’t hurt you, did dey?”
“No, thank Goddess. Declan and Remy got here before they could.”
“Makes sense. Dey’d probably be dead right now if dey had.” He held the bag of clothes out he’d brought for Remy and Declan to change into and motioned for the cleanup crew to get started.
The jaguars were hustled out back and into the waiting van before it pulled away.
Declan got dressed before he moved to Lily’s side. “Let’s get you home. Remy can lock up the coffee shop for you when they’re done cleaning up the mess we made.”
Lily reluctantly agreed, and after giving Remy the code for the alarm, so he could set it once they were done, she let Declan escort her out to his car.
“You don’t like to drive unless you have to, do you?” He knew she walked to work.
“Not really. Why drive when it’s a relatively short walk and the exercise is good for me?”
“Fair enough.” He helped her into the passenger seat before he went around and got in. Minutes later he was escorting her up to her apartment.
When they got to her door, Lily stood there for a moment before she turned to look at him. “Will you stay? I don’t want to be alone tonight. I’m not...I don’t… I just need to be held, okay? That’s all.”
“Whatever you need, doll; all you have to do is ask.” Declan took her keys from her and opened the door, then ushered her inside. Sure he would love to be there to question the jaguars, but Lily needed him and that took precedence over his need to get answers.
“Thank you.” She went straight to the kitchen and poured herself a drink. Her hand started to shake when the glass was half empty and she set it down. “Gods-damn it, why am I still so shaken? Nothing happened; I should be fine.”
Declan moved to her and wrapped his arms around her. “There’s no deadline on how long it takes to get over a close encounter like that, Lily. You’re allowed to still be shaken up, if that’s how you’re feeling. Come on, let’s get you into something you can sleep in and I’ll hold you. I promise to not let my hands wander. At least not tonight.” He might have a raging hard-on all night as a result of breathing in her scent, but he’d suffer through it to give her what she needed, which was comfort, not sex.
Lily shook her head at him but she didn’t argue. She went into her bedroom to change.
Declan removed his boots, socks, belt, and finally his shirt, while he waited for Lily to get ready for bed. Jeans weren’t the most comfortable for sleeping but he’d make do for her sake. When she opened the door, he couldn’t help but stare at her. Even dressed in simple lounge pants and a T-shirt, she was beautiful. He moved to her and reached out to caress her cheek. “You’re beautiful without even trying, doll.”
Lily blushed, just a little, at the compliment. “Thank you. Come to bed.” She stepped back so he could follow her into the room. Her bed took up most of the space. It was a king-size bed with a thick pillow top that made sleeping a luxurious thing.
Declan followed her, and once she crawled into bed, he slid in beside her. When she curled up next to him, he wrapped his arms around her and held her tight. He felt her shaking, just a little, and caressed her side. He pressed gentle kisses into her hair and growled softly—a low rumble meant to soothe her. “Good night, Declan.”
“Good night, Lily.” He felt her relax as sleep finally claimed her, but he remained awake for a while, just watching her. She was such a contradiction. She was strong, independent, stubborn, but she was also soft and needy when she let her guard down and let someone in. She was quickly stealing his heart without knowing it. Finally he let his eyes close and he drifted off to sleep with her.
