“My… favorite?” I repeated dumbly. He nodded, and I blew out a breath as I thought through our menu. “That’s a really hard decision, because it depends on my mood. Sometimes I want something hot and spicy, like a chai tea or ginger turmeric latte. And sometimes I want cold and sweet, like an iced capp. Ooh, or we have really good smoothies too! Or…” I trailed off as I realized he was smirking at me; apparently my rambling enthusiasm for beverages amused him. Who would’ve guessed. I chuckled. “I’ll just surprise you.”
“You already have,” he said, cocking his head in a way that reminded me of something I’d seen on a nature documentary, right before a predatory dropped out of a tree onto its prey. Which of course brought to mind thoughts of North eating me. I gulped, and his gaze trailed down to watch the bob of my throat.
It was official, my survival instinct was nowhere to be found. I had the most irrational urge to reach across the counter andpethim. And that was the tamest of the urges I was currently struggling with.
“I’ll, uh… just go do the…” Giving up on trying to form full sentences, I backed away from the counter. I had the strangest instinct not to turn my back on this man, but I had a job to do, so I forced myself to look away. My nerves prickled with awareness the entire time.
I came back a few minutes later and shoved a plastic drink cup at him. He reached out slowly, understandably wary. “What is it?” he asked.
“It’s a unicorn whip,” I said, grin turning mischievous.
“Of course it is,” he grumbled, turning the cup to look at it from the side. It had streaks of pink, purple, and blue flavored ice milk, a mound of whipped cream, and aspattering of star-shaped sprinkles on top. It wasn’t exactly my favorite drink, but I was in the mood to push his buttons. Was he going to reject my drink because it was too… everything?
I watched his reaction with held breath. He narrowed his eyes at me, eyebrow quirked, accepting the challenge, and brought the drink up to his mouth. He wrapped those cursed lips around the straw, cheeks hollowing with a looooong, hard suck… which only served to paint a filthy image in my mind.
Fuck me.I was mostly sure I didn’t say that out loud, but there was a buzzing in my ears drowning out all sound, so I couldn’t be entirely sure.
North leaned in close enough that I could almost taste the blackberry on his breath. “Delicious,” he purred, then he put a $50 bill on the counter and turned to walk out. The first glimpse of his tight ass nearly had me following him out the door, just so I could watch him walk all the way home.
Chapter 5
North
Thedarkmeantnothingto my beast. While our prey squinted to see into the shadows, our vision was clear. Whereas some jaguars had spotted fur to blend into a mottled jungle, our variant black fur was perfect to blend into this nighttime cityscape. There were so many places to hide, to bide our time, waiting until the right moment to pounce.
The man was in no hurry to get home. He had a bag slung over one shoulder, his hands tucked in his jacket pockets, and as the wind picked up, he hunched his shoulders against the evening chill. We lifted our head, nostrils flaring to inhale his delectable scent, carried to us on the breeze. Mmm, succulent, but we knew it would be so much better if it were laced with a hint of his fear.
Our paws padded near silently in the dew-damp grass as we prowled through the trees of the park, keeping the man insight as he walked down the sidewalk. When he turned at the corner, we would be forced to cross the street if we wanted to follow. It was late, and the traffic was light, so crouched in the underbrush, we waited for the right moment, then darted across, strong legs making the dash in two leaps. On the other side, we slunk into a dark alley, waiting to see if we’d been spotted. When all was silent, we prowled around the corner, keeping close to the ground to catch up to our prey.
We are invisible… We are the night…
The man’s scent was crisp and juicy, ripe with promises. We could hardly wait to sink our teeth into him, to taste him at last. A growl vibrated low in our throat. We deserved this. We’d been so good, so patient. There he was ahead, and we ran faster, ducking behind a large flowerpot when he twisted to look over his shoulder. Could he sense us here? Did he know how close we were?
He continued walking, but still we waited, entirely still but for the lazy flick of our tail. He paused to unlock the door of a gray-brick building, a four-story apartment block, and a quick inhale drew in the scent of shifters. The wolf… the one who dared touch the man. Our lip curled back to bare our fangs, and just as he got the door open, we burst into a run. Our muscles were warm and liquid as we closed the distance. Closer… closer… until we coiled to attack.
“Joel!”IshoutedasI woke, sitting straight up in bed, chest heaving as I struggled to catch my breath, heart hammering in my chest. My brain was still caught on the image of my mate, so vulnerable, his back to me.Easy prey…I shook away the errant thought and swallowed hard, blinking to clear away the disorientation. I wasn’t hunting, this was not the street, and Joel was not here. My bedroom was empty, full sunlight streaming through the window, making the dust motes sparkle. “Just a dream…” I panted, but it had felt so real.
Now that I was starting to come back to my senses, I looked again at the line of sunlight painted across my bedroom floor. It wasn’t where it was supposed to be. What time was it?
I reached for my cell, which should’ve been on the bedside table, but it wasn’t there. Frowning, I threw back the blanket and crawled out of bed. Cool air brushed across my ass, and I looked down, finding myself bare. I frowned, the dreamlike confusion lingering. Had I gone to bed naked? I usually slept in my boxers.
Fuck. Coffee. I needed coffee and a shower. Then I could worry about everything else.
Scrubbing a hand over my face, I stepped into the bathroom, but I froze when I caught sight of myself in the mirror. There was something in my hair. I reached up and plucked it out, then stared down at it pinched between my fingers. A leaf…
“Why would there be a leaf in my bed?” I wondered out loud. The dream I’d had floated to the surface of my mind. Joel, unaware that he was being hunted. So weak, fragile… easy prey… I couldn’t bring myself to contemplate the possibility that was so obvious it hurt.
Turning my focus inward, I had to dig deep to find my jaguar, curled up and fast asleep—almost as if he’d been up all night. Cold, creeping dread threatened to drown me, and I gripped the edge of the sink until my knuckles screamed.
What did you do?I snapped at my beast. His rumbling purr was his only response.Wake up!I shouted, but it was no use. I had a sneaking suspicion he was only pretending to sleep, but either way, he had no intention of answering me.
“Dammit!” I slapped the counter then spun back toward my bedroom and stomped to my dresser, grabbingclothes at random. The shower could wait. “You had better not have hurt one single hair on his head,” I grunted.
The reality of the situation was a bitter pill to swallow. It wasn’t a dream at all; I’d beensleepwalking! Or would it be sleep-shifting? I used to sleepwalk when I was a kid, scaring my mother half to death when she would find me in odd places, but I hadn’t done it in years… or at least, not that I’d been aware of. Now I had to wonder if my jaguar took controleverynight.
Shoving my feet into my boots, I didn’t even bother lacing them, just clattered down the stairs into the back of Karma Katz. I could hear one of the artists at work, the buzz of their tattoo machine a soothing balm to my frazzled nerves. It was familiar, steady when I felt entirely unmoored. Taking a steady breath, I headed straight down the hall, waving briefly at the artist, Denver, on the way by, and came to a stop in front of Mace, flipping through a magazine at the front desk.
He looked up, a wry smile spreading. “Well, well, if it isn’t Sleeping Beauty. Although, you’re not much of a beauty. All that sleep only seemed to make you look worse, not better.” He reached up and poked at my cheek. “What’s with the bags under your eyes? Long night?”
