She emerged from the shower thirty minutes later, a rush of steam flooding from the bathroom behind her. She’d brushed her hair and scrubbed her face clean and I felt my knees turn to jelly. She had lost the dirty little orphan look, and her slightly damp hair, pink cheeks and kissable lips made me want to jump the bench and do unspeakable things to her. Instead, I offered her food.
“I made some grilled cheese sandwiches, if you’d like?”
Her hand flew to her stomach and she nodded gratefully. “That’d be great.”
I grabbed the big plate of food off the stove top and set it in front of her. I looked down into her face and tried not to stare; her eyes were the most captivating thing I’d ever seen. They were a pale blue-grey, unlike any color I’d ever seen. She caught me staring and brushed absently at her cheek, as if self-conscious that she’d missed a spot. I mentally shook myself and went to the fridge, grabbing a soda and a beer.
I offered her both, but she took the soda.
“I hear sugar is good for shock.” I sat down next to her and grabbed a grilled cheese for myself. “So, Celeste,” I rolled her name over my tongue like I was tasting it. “Would you like to explain exactly what the hell is going on?” I was proud that my voice was even, my tone nothing but pleasant. I didn’t want to scare her.
“We are eating melted cheese on toast, Reese,” she quipped back sarcastically, playing dumb and innocent. Well, that wasn’t going to fly with me. I wanted answers and I’d been more than patient.
“Okay, let’s start with why you were running out of an alley naked.” She let out a deep sigh, a look of relief on her face. Well, I wasn’t about to let her off so easily, “and while you’re explaining things, you can tell me why one minute it was a puma running at me and the next it was you.” I just wanted validation that I wasn’t losing my mind. She looked down at the grilled cheese in her hand, as if weighing up whether a crazy person could make such a good sandwich.
“A snow leopard,” Celeste said as she stuffed more food into her mouth. She was eating like she hadn’t seen much food this week. I blinked a few times, as if that would help me hear more accurately.
“Excuse me?” I felt like one of those clowns who get hit in the face with a cream pie all of a sudden.
“I said it was a snow leopard, not a puma.”
The air whooshed out of my lungs. It was nice for someone to verify that I wasn’t completely nuts, though perhaps we were both certifiable.
A look of resignation came over Celeste’s face and she turned her body to face me. I remembered not to look directly into her eyes, because I couldn’t do that and still process what was coming out of her mouth. Focusing on a spot in the middle of her forehead, I tuned into what she was saying.
“Okay Buttercup. I’m going to tell it to you straight, but remember you’re the one who wanted to know.” She took a deep breath and squared her shoulders, looking like she was ready to run at a moment's notice.
“I’m a shifter. I turn into a snow leopard when I feel like it, or if there’s a full moon. The guys we were running from? They were bounty hunters who’d like to sell me to some rich old dude who’d, best case scenario, like to mount my head on the wall. Most likely scenario? Sex slave. You can’t even imagine the worst case scenario, believe me.” Celeste stuffed some more sandwich into her mouth and I watched as she chewed, her eyes daring me to call her crazy.
I had to avert my gaze to the wall just so I could process what she had said. If I hadn’t seen it myself, I probably would’ve written her off as crazy. But I’d seen her transform, and even though I didn’t necessarily trust my own eyes, it seemed a bit elaborate for some kind of prank. Also, those guys were no illusion either. When I’d hazarded a look back while we were running through the crowd, I’d never forget the cold look on their faces. It was detached, a soulless look of people who had killed too often. I looked at the tiny thing on my couch munching away on her sandwich.
“Are they looking for you in particular?” My voice seemed loud in the silence and Celeste startled a little.
“Uh… no, I don’t think so. They usually just trawl through busy locations with heat guns looking for variances in body temperatures. Preternaturals tend to run a little hotter than the average human. Vamps don’t have any heat signature, so that’s also a dead giveaway.” Celeste giggled at her own lame joke, then sobered. “They also have special bloodhounds that can smell the difference between the paranormal and just plain old normal. But I’ve never seen one; they usually use them for the higher priced bounty, like supernaturals.”
I couldn’t help raising my eyebrows in disbelief. “Vampires? Are you serious?”
A pleased look came over her face at my incredulity. Obviously it was a response she was more familiar with, because she stood up and within seconds her body began to twist and change, swaying side to side before spurting upwards. If I had a moment to suspend my disbelief, I’d probably say that the magic reminded me of a butterfly emerging from a cocoon, but right then, I was too shocked by the fact there was a fully grown snow leopard on my living room floor. It sat down on its hind legs, like a well-trained dog, it's knowing eyes staring at me with intelligence. Scratch that, its eyes were laughing at me. It opened its mouth wide in a yawn, its sharp teeth glinting in the glow of the down lights. It licked its paw and rubbed it across its face, like your regular domestic house cat and then cocked its head to one side as if trying to judge my response. She smiled, a full toothy feline grin, and with a rush of air, the big cat shrunk back down into a small, naked Celeste.
She stood there, with the same predatory grin that was on the face of a snow leopard only moments before, completely comfortable with her nudity. My eyes wandered over every inch of her body of their own accord, trying to take it all in at once, hungrily devouring the curve of her breasts, the silhouette of her hips and gentle roundness of her stomach. As my gaze went lower, she quickly turned, giving me a great view of her ass as she slipped my sweats back on. Celeste looked over her shoulder and grinned at my rapt attention.
“Like what you see, Buttercup?”
I felt my cheeks flame and I immediately lowered my eyes. I liked to think I was raised well enough to feel abashed about my shameless perving.
I cleared my throat, looking at my hands. “That was amazing. I can’t believe it, I mean... it’s just that you were a cat in my living room and now you’re you.” Yeah, real articulate there, big guy. Get your shit together.
“Snow Leopard,” she yawned, “and with two morphs so close together, it makes me really sleepy…sorry…” Her eyes drifted closed as she slumped down onto the couch next to me. She snuggled into my side before her breathing evened out. Within moments, she was sound asleep.
I couldn’t help but run a finger over her smooth cheek, wanting to kiss its silkiness, but I drew my hand back. I wasn’t going to creep on a sleeping girl. She didn’t look any older than twenty. I reached over and placed my arm under her legs, appreciating all the damn planking Lincoln made me do as I maneuvered us both off the couch. I carried her down to my bedroom. Celeste snuggled against my body, her breath warm on my chest. If my jeans felt a bit tight before, they were like a torture chamber now.
I placed Celeste gently on the bed and pulled the covers up around her. God, I just wanted to climb in beside her and wrap myself around her. I consciously pushed myself away from the bed and out the door. A night on the hard couch was what I needed; it wasn’t like I was going to be able to sleep anyway.
Chapter Three
Celeste
I woke up in a panic, my gaze slashing wildly around the unfamiliar room. Slowly the night's events seeped into my sleep addled brain and I remembered I was in Reese’s apartment. I slipped silently out of bed and slowly grappled my way through the darkness to the living room. The light from the kitchen streamed in through the open door and I could see the outline of Reese’s face clearly as he slept curled on the couch. I smiled as a wave of longing passed over me. What would
it be like to be normal? To come home every night to a man like Reese, instead of constantly running from enemies I couldn’t see until they were right on top of me?
Reese’s bottom lip jutted out and I desperately wanted to taste it. As if I was drawn by an irresistible force, I felt myself leaning down and taking his bottom lip between mine. I sucked gently and he moaned in his sleep. I expanded my kiss, brushing his top lip with my bottom lip then gently nipping at it.
His eyes slowly blinked open and he looked up at my face like I was a damn dream come true. My heart thudded painfully against my ribs. He held his arms open, silently asking for more. I couldn’t resist.
I twined my fingers through his and pulled him up into a sitting position and then onto his feet. Without saying a word, I led him to his bedroom and to his big, king size bed. I peeled his soft boxer shorts down over a delectable ass, leaving him standing gloriously naked in front of me. His big, lean body was perfect, his wide shoulders tapering down into a trim waist, his pale body luminescent in the darkness. I undressed myself, leaving Reese to take stock of my body as each inch of my flesh was exposed, until I was standing there as naked as he was.
I wordlessly closed the distance between us. I was so very alone, so I’d allow myself this moment to play make believe, to revel in one night of humanity, before I continued with the solitary existence that was my life.
Reese’s hands roamed up and down my curves as his mouth gently explored my own. He turned my back towards the bed, laying me down before covering my body with his. He nuzzled my neck, tracing the rise of my collar bone with his tongue before it drifted over to take an achingly tight nipple into his mouth. I arched toward the sensation and my hands knotted themselves in his hair. He shifted to the other nipple and bit it teasingly, his hand ran up the inside of my leg until fingers skimmed over the wet heat of my core.
I gasped as he flicked my clit, my body bucking upwards to seek out the pressure that I so desperately needed. Feeling my urgency, Reese rubbed in light circles, making my legs tremble with need, the pressure building until I was moaning his name. I panted as the currents of pleasure coursed through my body. I wanted more, and I wanted it right fucking now. Reese raised himself over me, kissing me hard on the mouth, his tongue seeking entrance as his body did the same.
My nails dug into the hard muscles of his back, moaning as the thick head of his cock thrust inside me, filling all the empty places in my soul for just a moment. His soft groans matched my own as he pulled back and thrust in again, harder this time, wilder. I held on, rolling my body, trapping him between my thighs as he rolled his hips, sending ripples of pleasure through me like an electric shock. He leaned forward and took my lip between his teeth, biting it as he thrust harder, until my moans became shouts of pleasure. My orgasm washed over me until I was sure I wouldn’t be able to breathe again if he wasn’t inside me. Reese toppled with me, his groans mixing with my own, as my orgasm milked his cock.
He collapsed on top of me, sweat making our bodies slick, and his arms shook lightly where he held some of his weight off of my chest. His hot breath burned against my neck as he pressed his face in the crook of my shoulder. An animalistic desire for him to bite me there washed over me, scaring the fucking shit out of me. That’s where shifters bit their mates, and the fact my leopard wanted that to happen made my heart beat crazily in my chest with panic.
As if he could feel the sudden tension in my body, Reese raised himself up on his arms. I could feel his eyes burn into my face, but I refused to open my own in case he saw something in there that I couldn’t take back.
“Celeste, I-” he started, but I rolled onto my side and put a finger to his soft lips.
“Shh. This isn’t the time for words.”
Yeah, it was cowardly, but I couldn’t do this. I could make love to him, but words were dangerous. They were quicksand and I couldn’t get stuck inside this dream.
I snuggled closer to his body, my lips pressed into the curve of his throat so I could feel his pulse race. I sat for a moment, before the stickiness of his release chased me to the shower. When I came back, he was sound asleep. I curled in beside him, resting my head on his chest, and fell into a deep, dreamless sleep for the first time in years.
In the early hours before dawn, I woke again, spooned tightly into Reese’s back. I pressed a quick kiss against his spine and silently moved from the bed. I dressed in his borrowed clothes and silently left the apartment with only the dullest thud of the door to mark my departure.
Chapter Four
Celeste
Five Months Later.
I stood under the large arch windows of the building in a baseball cap and thrift store sneakers. I played on my phone like I was just another twenty-something waiting for an Uber. The doors opened, and two well-dressed women stepped straight into a town car without so much as looking in my direction. I took advantage of the doorman’s momentary distraction to duck in the doors. I sighed with relief when the desk was empty, and I didn’t stop until I was at the elevator. I hid slightly around the corner, waiting for someone to swipe their key and activate the lifts.
When a man swaggered up to the golden doors, swiping his card, I strolled around the corner like I was meant to be here, still staring at my phone, a slight frown on my face to deter anyone trying to engage me in conversation.
Not that this guy looked like he was a big talker. He was frowning too, his cropped hair a sandy brown color. He watched me as I stepped in, and I hit the ninth floor. I’d jimmy the lock on the fire door to get to the top floor, because you needed the key to even press the button.
I stifled a relieved sigh and continued to fake-type out an email on my phone. When the doors opened on the ninth floor, the last of the floors with multiple apartments, I gave the guy in the elevator a tight smile and stepped out. I waited for the doors to close again before I walked easily to the fire escape door and went up.
I jimmied the first door easily. The security to the tenth floor wasn’t quite as stringent as the penthouse.
Luckily, there was a maintenance hall that ran down the side of the building, allowing access to the elevator shaft along with the utility controls. I’d lifted the access card from one of the maintenance workers at a bar. He was still nursing a killer hangover that he was pretending was the flu. The guy couldn’t hold his liquor or onto his worldly possessions. I scanned the maintenance card and stepped into the hallway. It wasn’t pretty, a direct contrast to the rooms on the other side of the walls. Finally, I got to the small door that was the fire door for the penthouse suite. I took a deep breath and scanned the maintenance card, praying it worked.
This subterfuge was… probably unnecessary. But there was a chance that Reese was angry at me and I needed him to hear me out for five minutes. I figured if I was sitting on his couch when he got home, he’d be forced to listen to me, even if it was just while security arrived to escort me out.
I’d watched him get in and out of his town car every day for the last week, and I’d forgotten how pretty he was. Forgot the force of his smile. I thought maybe I’d put him on a pedestal after that night, like I’d set him up as this unobtainable mirage of what my life could be like.
But it wasn’t a dream. He really was that freaking hot. I sighed and slipped the card into the slot, and when it turned green, I slowly opened it.
As I pushed it open, the room beyond looked exactly the same. Perfect interior decorating that was impersonal but beautiful. Uncomfortable couch with too many memories. When I stepped through the door, something was off, I just didn’t know what, but my snow leopard swooshed her tail in my mind.
When a hand wrapped around my throat and slammed me into the wall beside the door, I guess I had my answer. The big guy from the elevator stood there, glaring down at me. “Who the fuck are you?” he growled.
I tried to swallow, but his hand was firm around my throat. He wasn’t cutting off my oxygen, but his hold was firm. Could I break it? Probably. Was I going to o
ut myself to prove that he wasn’t as tough as he thought? Fuck no.
Did my Leopardess kinda like it? Yeah she did. But she was a kinky bitch.
He shook me a bit, and growled low in his throat. “I asked, who the fuck are you?”
Well, if we were playing it like that, I had some questions too. “Jessica Rabbit. Who the fuck are you?”
His lip curled. “I live here, bitch, so excuse me if I don’t think strangers sneaking into my apartment is cute. Let’s go, before I call the cops and tell them that I caught a dirty little thief.”
This time my fear was real. I couldn’t get thrown in prison. The bounty hunters had people on the police payroll just looking for supes like me.
“No wait, I need to talk to Reese,” I said, as he grabbed my arm and dragged me toward the elevator doors. He pressed a button and they opened immediately.
“Like hell you do. You think you’re the first girl who thought she could sneak into his apartment and wait for him naked? Like your pussy will bring him to his knees and he’ll put a rock on your finger? You gold diggers are all the goddamn same. Granted, you are a little chunkier than most, but Reese was always a sucker for the doe eyes and a pretty face, and you got both of those.”
I didn’t know what I should be more indignant about. That he was dragging me around like yesterday’s trash, or that he called me fat. What a douche.
Still, I let him stuff me in the elevator because I really, really couldn’t go to the lock-up. I’d try to get to Reese a different way, one without the gorilla around. He mashed the ground button, and as the doors shut, he let me go like I was diseased. It really pissed me off.
“Look, you ‘roided up asshat, I’m not up there to seduce Reese because I want his goddamn money. I just need to talk to him, that's all.”
Wicked Souls: A Limited Edition Reverse Harem Romance Collection Page 153
