Tall, Dark and Panther

by Milly Taiden

  TALL, DARK & PANTHER

  PARANORMAL DATING AGENCY

  NEW YORK TIMES and USA TODAY BESTSELLING AUTHOR

  MILLY TAIDEN

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  This book is a work of fiction. The names, characters, places, and incidents are fictitious or have been used fictitiously, and are not to be construed as real in any way. Any resemblance to persons, living or dead, actual events, locales, or organizations is entirely coincidental.

  Published By

  Latin Goddess Press

  New York, NY 10456

  http://millytaiden.com

  Tall, Dark & Panther

  Copyright © 2015 by Milly Taiden

  Edited by Dee Carell

  Cover by Willsin Rowe

  All Rights Are Reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

  Property of Milly Taiden April 2015

  ACCLAIM FOR MILLY TAIDEN

  FOR Curves ‘Em Right

  “Gerri is excellent at knowing how to get her clients exactly what they want even if they are fighting it and have been fighting it for years. There is passion, the creepy dude, the catty women, and two hot shifters for our heroine to fall for...”

  —Theresa Esterline, I Heart Books

  “Are you looking for a quick read that will have your blood boiling then grab this one up quickly! Trust me these two men definitely know how to once you meet them. This novel is part of a series but each is each own enticing own story with hot sexy shifters and scenes that will have your e reader smoking! Kane (alpha) and Blake (omega) are a package deal and are looking for their one to make a perfect triad.”

  —Sue-Ellen Robertson, Girly Girl Reviews

  “Milly Taiden is the Smut Queen for a reason! She never fails to bring you a deliciously hot book with yummy men that you just want to sink your teeth into. Sometimes like in this book we get lucky and get to fantasize about two hot and dominant men! I absolutely loved this book. Geri is her witty and devious self as always. A confident curvy woman who is tired of dealing with men's bs over her weight and two stubborn, pigheaded, dirty talking shifters who make you want the forbidden! If you love a steamy menage then this is definitely the book for you. I definitely recommend reading!”

  —Samantha Woods, LSK Sweetheart Reviews

  “I loved this book! It was a fun, sexy read that I didn’t want to put down until I finished the last page. It was well written and flowed perfectly. The characters were so real that I fell in love with each of them!”

  —Fran Owen, Twin Sisters’ Rockin’ Reviews

  —For My Girls

  Dee and Robyn. I couldn’t ask for a better set of supporting friends. You’re amazing.

  Love you!

  ONE

  Noah Wright watched his daily temptation through the blinds in his dark office. Like clockwork, his neighbor shoved her apartment door open, flung her keys on her leather sofa, and began to strip. Oh, she had no idea he was watching. In fact, she probably didn’t realize her blinds were see-through. Had the lights in her apartment been off, he wouldn’t have seen a thing. But they weren’t. They were on. Tempting him. Taunting him.

  He gripped the pen in his hand, watching her remove her clothes with a natural efficiency and speed that managed to appear sexy. Then she was in her underwear and running for her bathroom. Amaya Zara. He’d met her when she’d moved in some months back. He’d ignored the instant hunger her scent awaked in his panther. Down boy. The beast didn’t care for his attempt at self-control. The animal wanted her. He’d been fighting the instinct to take the curvy goddess, strip her bare, and lick his way down her luscious body.

  Unfortunately, that wasn’t going to happen. Maya had a boyfriend—some dickhead he’d seen eyeing every female passing them by. Still, Noah didn’t poach. He respected relationships, even if she was his mate. He’d have to wait until the time was right. Chivalry did not mean he had to stop watching Maya’s see-through blinds. The U shape of the building allowed him to see into her apartment directly across from him.

  The sound of music coming from her place caught his attention. Humans might not be able to hear it, but he had sensitive hearing so he could hear the music clearly. She was notorious for loud music and singing along out of tune, not that he minded. He was endeared by her lack of inhibition.

  Sure enough, a moment later, she popped into the living room clad in a pair of booty shorts and a tank top. She loved wearing tank tops. He loved watching her wear them. She moved out of sight and into the kitchen. Then she returned with a bottle of water. At first she took a sip, but once she closed it, he realized she had other plans for the water bottle.

  She lifted it to her lips like a mic and started singing along and wiggling her hips to the sound of the music. He grinned. She was so damn cute. Her long, dark hair flew from side to side with every shake of her head. He bit his bottom lip, watching her breasts strain against the tank top as she danced. He wanted the offensive material off her body. Ideally, torn by his claws. He’d yet to see her fully naked. Dreams didn’t count. He’d had enough of those. Kissing her. Fucking her. Doing things to her that were probably illegal in some states.

  She stopped dancing suddenly and rushed toward her bedroom. He glanced down at his hard-on with disgust. Another fucking night of jerking off to the image of his curvy goddess. Fucking awesome.

  She darted back to the living room and opened her door, holding a wallet in one hand and rummaging for bills. A pizza guy standing on the other side handed her a box, took the money, and left. She slammed the door shut, placed the box on the table, and grinned. His cell phone rang. A quick scan of the caller ID showed it was his godmother, Gerri Wilder.

  He ignored the phone and glanced back at Maya. She had taken off the robe she’d put on to open the door and was dancing again, all the while eating a slice of pizza. It looked like she was singing to the pizza.

  His cell phone rang again. He growled and picked it up.

  “Hello, Gerri.” He tried not to sound like a jerk. She was the only person who gave a fuck about him.

  “Noah. I know you hate anyone bothering you, but it’s time for our monthly dinner. Or did you forget?”

  He glanced at his calendar and let his head drop. “I forgot.”

  “I knew you had, which is why I took the liberty of making a reservation at my favorite restaurant.” He could hear the smile in her voice.

  “I appreciate that. We can always go another night,” he said, glancing up to Maya’s window. She was nowhere in sight.

  “Nonsense! I’m dying to see you.”

  Of course she was. She was dying to get him to sign up for her dating service. The last thing he wanted now that he knew Maya was his mate was for Gerri to go trying to match him to anybody.

  “I’m looking forward to seeing you, too.” It wasn’t a lie. He loved her like a mother. She’d helped him when he’d been a young kid getting into trouble. She’d made it her mission to ensure he got an education and a job. He’d created his own business.

  He stood and stared longingly at the window. Maya was out of his view. He didn’t want to leave. He preferred to stay home and work while glancing at her window from time to time. If he didn’t have sex soon, he’d end up in an even worse mood. There would be no sex for him unless it was with her. And until she got rid of the dickhead boyfriend, he didn’t know how that was going to happen.

  * * *

  Noah picked up his whiskey and sucked the drink down in a single gulp.

  “You know,”
Gerri said. “I can tell there’s something bothering you. You are never this uptight.”

  She was right. He was horny as hell, and the woman he wanted wasn’t around. Worse, she didn’t even know he existed. Great. Just great.

  “I have a lot of work.”

  She raised her brows and lifted her wine glass to her lips. After a momentary pause to drink some of her dessert port, she sighed. “I know you, Noah. You’re like a son to me. No…,” she raised a hand. “I don’t need to be reminded that we’re different species. I know this. But I love you just the same.” She pursed her lips. “Now stop being stupid and talk to me.”

  Yeah. That’s the Gerri he knew and loved: straight to the point. “Nothing.”

  She motioned for the check. “You should know better than to use a woman’s word with me.”

  He frowned, glancing down at the piece of cake he’d taken only a single bite of. Usually, his appetite was something to be afraid of, but now that all he had was Maya on his mind, he didn’t want food. He wanted her. He wanted sex. “A woman’s word?”

  “’Nothing’ is always in women’s vocabulary. Stop telling me that you aren’t annoyed.”

  “I’m not annoyed,” he muttered, shoving the plate of cake away.

  “Oh, so what are you, then?”

  “Frustrated,” he admitted. “There’s a difference.”

  “Why? What’s wrong? Tell me and let me help you,” she demanded. It was so like Gerri. She didn’t offer help. She demanded to be allowed to fix whatever was wrong for him. She was so overprotective.

  “You can’t fix everything, Gerri.” He snatched the check from the table before she tried to pay again. She always did, like he was still a kid that was broke and living in the streets. It wasn’t like that anymore. Now he owned his damn apartment building. Hell, he owned a lot of property. He lived in this particular one, instead of a house, because that building represented his success, his ability to get out of the gutter and be the man Gerri believed him to be. The one nobody else thought he could be. It had been the first piece of real estate he’d bought, and living there meant more to him than any mansion.

  She raised a brow. A light of determination shone in her eyes. “I can try. And seeing my favorite godchild this frustrated is upsetting me.”

  He barked a laugh. “You don’t look upset.” Her delicate brows lowered into a frown. “More like you want to get me to do something I don’t want to, but certainly not upset.”

  Her eyes flashed with the power of her wolf. “You might be a big, bad panther, but I can and will whoop your ass if I need to.”

  He didn’t dare answer back. This was Gerri, the only woman he’d ever allowed himself to care for. No way in hell was he going to piss her off. After the waitress handed him back his card, he jumped to his feet and helped Gerri stand. “Come on, beautiful. You don’t really want to be angry with me.”

  She blinked and laughed. “Ah, the charm. You’re using a powerful weapon. Those eyes and that smile could get any other woman to forget being angry with you. Not me. I’m immune.”

  He sighed. “At least I tried.”

  They walked across the street to his building. He was walking in with Gerri when Maya came rushing out. He glanced at her. She smiled and said hello before continuing on her way out. She was dressed to go out, which surprised him. The scent of her shampoo and light spritz of perfume drifted around him even after she’d gone. From the pizza and singing, he’s thought she was in for the night. But it was a Friday night, and she was probably meeting the dickhead.

  “Noah. She’s really pretty,” Gerri said, snapping him out of his trance.

  He met Gerri’s too-knowing gaze and tried to shrug whatever she’d noticed off. “Yeah. She’s got a boyfriend.”

  Gerri’s shoulders drooped. “You can’t live like this. So isolated and alone. Let me set you up. One time. That’s all I ask.”

  “No.”

  “I won’t take no for an answer. I only want you to go on one date. If you’re not even remotely attracted to whoever I match you with, you won’t ever have to do this again.”

  He followed her into the elevator and turned to face her. He read the sincerity in her eyes. “One date?”

  She nodded. “Just one. It will make me feel better that I have tried to help you somehow. And if you don’t want anything else after that, I’ll shut my mouth and let you be.”

  Gerri had never shut her mouth and let anyone be. If she felt the need to involve herself in something, she did. That’s who she was: a total alpha matchmaker.

  One date would be a pain in the ass, but it would stop him from having to avoid his godmother. He loved Gerri, and the last thing he wanted was for her to think he didn’t want to be around her. “Fine. One date.”

  She smiled, her eyes twinkling with delight. “Perfect,” she said as the elevator doors opened on his floor. “Come on. I’ll let you make me some coffee for once.”

  He shook his head and followed her inside his door. He’d taken the entire right side of his floor in the U-shaped building and turned it into a massive apartment.

  He veered off to the kitchen to make coffee while Gerri continued to the living room. He glanced at her as he filled the coffee maker with water. She took a seat in her usual chair and pulled out a notebook from her bag. She glanced at him with a grin. “Now, let’s talk about what you want in a woman.”

  It was going to be a really long night.

  TWO

  That was it! Maya Zara gritted her teeth and kicked the side of her brand new Toyota Prius. She growled when all she did was hurt her own foot. She glared at the car as if it had become her worst enemy. She should not listen to her co-workers any longer. She should have just ignored the idea of going on a date with some friend of a friend and instead followed her instinct. Did she? No.

  Her damn pizza was better company than Hank. Much like her ex, Bud, Hank had been a total idiot. Thinking of her ex, she shook her head in frustration. Bud. Who the hell named their kid Bud? Probably someone who really liked beer. She slammed the glass door leading into her apartment building’s lobby and searched her handbag for her keys. She was so frustrated that she almost snapped at the doorman who’d been rushing to get the door for her, but she caught herself in time to smile. The search for the keys was going to drive her insane. Why was it that no matter how much shit she got rid of, she could never find her damn keys? They were always at the bottom of her bag in some corner that she bypassed a few times.

  She should have stayed home and eaten her pizza like she had planned. Instead, she’d listened to Erica and gone off to meet Hank for coffee. Why? Because she was sick and tired of avoiding her ex like the plague and not going anywhere. She hated that he knew where she liked to hang out and made a point of showing up just to annoy her. He didn’t understand that they were broken up, that she didn’t want him anymore. So he followed her around to the point it started to creep her the fuck out.

  Stopping by the elevator banks, she sat her handbag on a table. She put her cell phone down and continued searching until she finally found her keys. The elevator pinged at that moment, and she rushed inside.

  The ride to her floor felt like an eternity. She slipped out of her heels before the doors opened and hurried to her door. She loved the building she lived in. It was modern and quiet. Her side of the floor had two other apartments, but she never heard from her neighbors. They traveled a lot. She couldn’t be happier that her grandparents had left her their old apartment in their will. Her mother and one of her sisters lived out in a farm. So when she’d inherited the condo, Maya had been ecstatic to have her own place in the city. Her job as a receptionist didn’t give her the kind of money needed to live in such an expensive building. The building had recently changed owners and some rich guy had bought out all the apartments that weren’t owned by residents. Thankfully, she didn’t need to worry about rent.

  She had just walked into the apartment when her intercom started ringing. It was the
lobby.

  “Hello?”

  “Good evening, Ms. Zara. We found your cell phone on a table near the elevator. Would you like us to bring it up?”

  Shit. She forgot it on the table when she’d been looking for her keys. “No. Don’t even worry. I’ll come get it.”

  Shoeless and ticked off, she darted to the elevator once again. The sound of the ping made her haul ass so she wouldn’t miss it.

  “Hold the elevator!” she screamed, running down the hall. She saw someone move inside, and the door that had been ready to close slid open. She managed to make it in before the doors closed on her again. “Thank you.”

  The person who held the door for her smiled wide. “You’re welcome. I’m Gerri Wilder.”

  She grinned. The older woman had an infectious smile. “Hi, Gerri. I’m Amaya Zara, but everyone calls me Maya.”

  “Oh, what a beautiful name! Where does it come from?”

  “I think the origin is Arabic,” she laughed. “Which is strange since my parents are Latinos. But it means night rain, and I think that’s seen as good luck so I’ll take it.”

  “Night rain. I like that.” Gerri glanced at her bare feet and laughed. “Busy night?”

  She leaned back on the elevator and sighed. “You have no idea. Don’t ever let your co-workers set you up with anyone. Trust me here, you always end up with a loser who has mommy issues.”

  “Really?”

  She nodded. “Yes. Every. Single. Time. You wouldn’t believe what just happened to me tonight.”

  “Try me,” Gerri said, folding her arms in front of her, which was weird because she wore an expensive-looking dress.

  “Okay, you asked for it. Let’s see. My co-worker, Erica, tells me she has a friend I need to meet who’s in town for just one night. Hank. Sounds easy enough.” She headed out of the elevator next to Gerri. Why was she telling her about her horrible date? Who knows? Maybe because she needed to share it with someone to believe it really happened. “We agreed to meet at this coffee shop, because I’m kind of paranoid about dating since my last boyfriend. He doesn’t seem to get the picture that we’re done.”