by A. Valentine
Luckily for her, people were nice enough to stop and hear her out. Majority of everybody she stopped knew her, and didn’t have a problem with providing her information. Too bad none of the information was good. Catie grew tired of walking then and decided to take refuge in an overly decorated Tim Hortons. After making and receiving her order, she sat down and busied herself on her phone. Catie saw that Michael called her a few times, but she honestly didn’t feel like talking to him right now. She didn’t want to start dialing his number and accidently reject Timothy’s call. She knew it was unlikely, but she wasn’t going to take any chances.
“Sorry that I couldn’t meet with you after my meeting, I had to come meet with a client in San Francisco unexpectedly.” Catie looked up at the man that walked passed her quickly with his back turned towards her way. She heard a lot of people talking to each other, but the mystery man’s voice was so deep and smooth that she couldn’t help but to look up at him. Catie immediately fell in love with his sandy brown hair and broad shoulders. She couldn’t see his face, but she was sure that he was a knockout.
The man ran his hand through his hair as he responded to the person’s question on the other end of the phone.
“No…. I’m not seeing anyone,” the man said slowly. Oh, someone’s trying to ask him out? Catie asked herself. Considering the man’s back stiffened a little, it was apparent that he wasn’t fond of the woman… or man. He was definitely not interested in this person. “Oh… I’m not trying to be a jerk or anything like that, but I’ve made a rule to not date anyone that I work with… I wouldn’t mind hanging out with you as a co-worker and friend, though.” Ouch… this man is brutally honest. I would have died if I asked out a man and got turned down like that. “I see… well, enjoy the rest of your evening.” He said and hung up with a sigh.
Catie knew that she should mind her own business, but she had to see what this man looked like. Catie picked up her empty cup and pulled down her shirt that had risen a bit up her back. She slowly walked passed the man, threw her garbage away, and casually turned back around. Catie froze in her spot as her eyes landed on the man’s face. He was drop dead gorgeous! She didn’t mean to stand there and stare, but she wasn’t expecting that image that was displayed in front of her. The man apparently felt Catie’s eyes burning a hole in his face and his golden eyes met with hers.
Chapter Three
Catie knew that she looked like an absolute idiot staring at that man so intensely, but it wasn’t like he averted his eyes away from her. No, those golden eyes stared so deeply into Catie’s eyes that she was almost positive that he could see straight into her soul.
“Well, hello beautiful,” the man said finally breaking the awkward silence. Catie didn’t respond back to him though. She wasn’t trying to be rude or anything like that, she honestly just did not hear him. “Is everything alright?” the man asked then when Catie didn’t respond. She blinked rapidly and immediately her cheeks burned up.
“Oh! Yes, everything is fine. Sorry… I was deep in thought.” Catie knew that her lie wasn’t believable especially when she was staring wide eyed and mouth into this man’s face. The man grinned and waved his hand towards the empty seat in front of him.
“Care to join me? I had a long day and a nice woman like yourself might bring a smile back to my face.” Normally Catie would have brushed off a stranger’s advances to get her to join them, but she couldn’t with this man. He looked too intriguing and plus her feet had a mind of their own. Catie was sitting down in the seat directly in front of him by the time her brain registered what she was doing. “This is a pretty nice neighborhood. Do you live around here, Miss?” The man emphasized ‘miss’ and Catie knew right away that the incredibly attractive man was asking for her name.
“My name is Catherine, but please call me Catie. Also, no I do not live around here,” Catie responded quickly. This whole scenario she was in was so unlike Catie. She should be walking around asking more questions about shifters, not in Tim Hortons sitting down with an attractive man that she just gawked out.
“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Catie. I’m Lucas but please call me Luke.” Luke said with a dazzling smile sweeping over his face. Lord have mercy…. what am I getting myself into? Catie thought. The BBW news reporter never had a problem when it came to catching a man’s eye, but she never came across someone as fine as Luke. The stubble on his face made him look a bit mysterious and those golden eyes narrowed as he looked at her…it was something about the look in his eyes that made the word ‘predator’ come to Catie’s mind.
“It’s a pleasure to meet you too,” Catie said quietly as Luke brought his hand over the small table and took hers in his. His powerful hand brought Catie’s hand to his mouth and placed a gentle kiss on it, all the while those eyes remained fixated on her. Catie crossed her legs when she felt an ache growing in between her thighs. Calm down ... calm down, Catie thought over and over again to no avail. “Are you from around here?” Catie asked once her breath returned to her. Luke had it going on but there was something about him that also rubbed her the wrong way. That phone call for one. Did Luke always get phone calls like that and did he typically turn them down? What made Catie so special that he’d be willing to ask a complete stranger to join him?
“No… I’m here for business. I’m from Los Angeles, but I spend a lot of time in here, Santa Cruz, Hollywood, and Santa Barbara.” Luke responded and Catie’s heart did a little leap.
“Really? I’m here on business as well, but I live in Santa Cruz.” After the initial shock and confusion left Catie, she actually couldn’t believe how comfortable she became as she spoke to Luke.
“And does your boyfriend or husband let you come all the way to San Francisco by your lonesome?” Luke asked baiting her. There was something about Catie that stood out to Luke. The way that she was staring at him was the same way the women at work and in his pride stared at him. But it was different with Catie. When she looked Luke up and down, he acted in kind. Having great instincts was a benefit for Luke. He could smell it on Catie’s skin that she was the type of women that he needed in his life.
“I’m not married and I don’t have a boyfriend. I’m single.”
“I find it hard to believe that a beautiful woman like you is single.” Luke said staring her deeply in the eyes and Catie shook her head.
“No it’s true. I’m not dating anyone.” Luke grinned at that. He didn’t smell another man’s scent on Catie, but he still needed to make sure. It didn’t matter though either way. If he wanted something, he’d try his hardest until he’s acquired it.
“Men these days can be such fools,” Luke said mainly to himself, but he said it loud enough for Catie to hear him. “I’d like to speak with you a while longer if you don’t mind?” Luke asked. Catie wasn’t going to turn down Luke’s offer, even if she wanted to she couldn’t. Those eyes had her trapped and she felt in her heart if Catie would have refused and got up and left, somehow Luke would find her.
“I’d love to,” Catie said and Luke grinned.
****
“Do you need a ride home?” Luke asked as soon as they emerged from the Tim Hortons. They had spoken for hours and when Luke asked if Catie was hungry for a more ‘filling’ meal, she quickly said that she had a big lunch. The truth was she just didn’t feel comfortable eating around him. Catie wasn’t ashamed of her appearance, she was curvy but she was curvy in all the right places, it just would have felt weird to eat around Luke for some reason. Talk about feeling self-conscious at the wrong time, Catie thought and shook her head.
“No thank you… I actually drove here. My car is a few streets away though” Catie said as they stood on the sidewalk facing each other. Catie couldn’t help but to notice how massive Luke was compared to herself. Luke frowned at this.
“Catie… I can tell that you’re a strong woman and you’re probably used to doing things for yourself,” Luke ran his hand through his hair while maintaining perfect eye contact with Catie. �
�I can’t let a woman walk to her car by herself. Please let me take you to it.” Catie inhaled at the sincerity in Luke’s voice and she absolutely couldn’t refuse him. She also didn’t mind spending a little more time with Luke either.
“Okay, thank you so much.” Luke smiled and led her towards the parking lot.
“I’m driving the red and black Mitsubishi. You can’t miss it.” Luke said and sure enough when the two of them got to the parking lot, Catie saw the car that he described. She couldn’t help but notice that Luke drove the newest model.
“Nice ride,” Catie commented as Luke held open the door for her. She didn’t know if this whole ‘gentleman’ attitude was an act, but she hoped that he didn’t stop.
“Thanks, I got it a few months ago as a birthday gift for myself.” Catie got comfortable in the leather seat as Luke spoke. It was quite the impressive car to only be thirty-two years old. Then again, Catie’s 2015 blue Ford Taurus wasn’t bad either, it was just a vehicle one saw more often than Luke’s.
It took them no time to get to Catie’s car and Catie was happy that she took Luke up on his offer to sit down with him and to drive her to her car. Luke was definitely what she’s been missing in her life the past year. She was sure that Luke would help her ease the stress of her lack of information on the shapeshifters. If Luke wasn’t going to ask for her number, Catie was definitely going to ask him for his.
“I’d like to see you again, Catie. It’s been a long time since I’ve had a meaningful conversation with a beautiful and intelligent woman like you.” Luke said wasting no time. He wasn’t going to let Catie go because it wasn’t in his nature.
“I’d like that, Luke. Maybe we can go out sometime.” Catie said with a blush rising to her cheeks. She felt embarrassed, but she wanted to tell Luke exactly what was on her mind. The two exchanged numbers and Luke promised to contact her later on that night to make sure that she made it home safely.
“I had a really good time today. I’m glad you decided to stick around and chat with me.” Luke said. “We’ll definitely get dinner soon. I’d like to know more about you.” Luke added when Catie opened the door. Right before exiting, Catie leaned over and placed a soft chaste kiss on Luke’s closed lips. Catie knew that she moved way too fast, but she was thinking about his lips all evening. Luke didn’t appear to have minded though, because he licked the cherry scented and flavored chap-stick that Catie was wearing off of his lips.
“I’m glad too. Be careful.” Catie said and closed the door. Catie didn’t want to show Luke how flustered she was just off of that small kiss. She quickly made it to her car and turned back briefly to see that Luke was still there. His windows were tinted so she wasn’t able to see him, but Catie knew those golden eyes were on her. Blushing, she jumped into her car and pushed the button that started her car up. She looked over her shoulder and saw that Luke was waiting patiently for her to leave, and she took off down the road.
Catie shook her head and turned on the ac. Not because she was hot, but because she needed the air to cool down her head.
“Talk about a good day to come to San Francisco.” Catie smiled.
Chapter Four
“Luke~” Donna said in a singsong voice as Luke walked into the bar that was owned by his pride. Luke was greeted by Donna’s breasts as she jumped into his arms and rubbed her face against his. “It’s been so long since I’ve seen you. Did you miss me?” Luke squeezed Donna slightly, before putting her feet on the ground. Luke ran his hand through her long black hair and looked into her eyes. Donna was attractive. She had big golden eyes and her lips were plump and kissable. She had a beauty mark beneath her bottom lip that made the woman look incredibly sexy. She had a body that most women would kill for and she had a thing for Luke. Unfortunate for her but fortunate to other men, Luke wasn’t into her.
“Of course I’ve missed you, Donna. You’re an important member of the pride.” Luke looked around briefly before his eyes met Donna’s again. “No customers?” Luke asked and Donna shook her head.
“The bar is closed for our meeting, baby.” Luke smirked at her as he noticed the lust filled look in her eye. Luke had been considering taking Donna to bed, but he was glad that he didn’t. He was sure that he’d enjoy Donna’s body thoroughly, but he knew he would have hurt the woman if he did succumb to her advances. If Luke would have met Catie after he had jumped Donna’s bones, whatever they might have had would have been over.
“Do they look like you or...?” Luke looked around to be sure that there wasn’t anyone else in the facility that shouldn’t be there. Donna placed her hand on Luke’s massive chest a shook her head.
“We’re meeting in our true forms.” Donna said and Luke didn’t waste any time taking off his suit jacket. His movements were quick as he stripped down to his boxers. Donna watched him with interested eyes and followed suit. They were both in their underwear and they changed into their true form. Luke transformed into a massive lion while Donna was a delicate lioness. They walked around in the human world to fit in with the humans, but their true form were lions and they were the only lion shapeshifters in the state.
“Alright, let’s get this meeting started.” Luke growled and he and Donna made a b-line downstairs.
****
To Catie’s fortune (and misfortune) Timothy gave her a call back last night, but Catie so happened to be thirty minutes away from her home. She knew she couldn’t let this possibility slip away, so against her better judgement, Catie turned around and made her way back to San Francisco. Lucky enough for her she was able to find a hotel room very close to the park that she and Timothy were supposed to meet up at the next morning.
“Good thing I have spare clothes in the trunk of my car,” Catie mumbled as she took a seat on her massive queen sized bed. As a reporter, she never knew when she needed to change her clothes in a hurry. It can be rough in the world, so she definitely didn’t want to be caught on camera with ruined clothes. Catie lied back on the bed and allowed her mind to wander to Luke. The man was fine and he was interested in her, she was a good looking woman, but men like that did not typically hit on her.
Turning on the TV, Catie flipped through the channels absentmindedly.
“I wonder what kind of woman he normally dates,” Catie said out loud. Was he into the skinny model types? Luke probably wasn’t into models if he was looking Catie’s way, but then again he might want to try out something new. Catie sighed dreamingly as she pictured him and his muscular frame. She couldn’t help but to imagine what he looked like without clothes. She had never seen so many muscles rippling underneath a man’s clothing before. Catie was lucky that the man didn’t shoo her away after gawking at him like a sex deprived monkey.
After Catie’s hormones finally died down, she lied there trying to get some sleep. She felt like she lied in bed for hours, but she couldn’t fall asleep. She was just too restless. There were too many things on Catie’s mind. Catie kept thinking about the meeting with Timothy, compiling up enough information on the shapeshifters, and the sexy Lucas Curtis.
“I can’t sleep…” Catie murmured and got out of bed. She grabbed her laptop to see if anyone posted anything worthwhile on social media and as soon as she went to type into the search engine, her cellphone rung. It was 11pm and Catie wondered who was calling her at this time, but she didn’t hesitate to answer the phone.
“This is Catie Ziles,” Catie said mechanically. She never knew when a story was calling for her.
“Well… I was starting to regret calling you so late, but you sound up and chipper.” The deep baritone voice said and Catie knew right then and there that the voice belonged to Luke.
“Well, you’re up pretty late as well Luke. As a reporter, I’m up at all times of the day and night.” Catie answered trying to sound calm and collected. She was tired of the flustered teenage girl role she played earlier that day with Luke, it was time to show the hunk of a man that she could be just as confident as he was. “I always try to sound ready
even if I’m not. If someone has an interesting story for me, I don’t want to have sleep or being unprepared hold me back.” Catie said with confidence. She took pride in her job and work ethic.
“Impressive,” Luke said and Catie could hear the smile in his voice. “Whenever I work from home, I tend to take a lot of naps.” Luke was a lion after all, an oversized and more powerful cat. “I’m more…. active at night.” Catie didn’t know why but her cheeks heated up when Luke said active.
“Oh boy... I don’t even want to know why you’re more active at night.” Catie said playfully, but her mind quickly went straight to the gutter. Did he play around with different women at night? Luke told her that he was a businessman, but most businesses closed at 5 or 6pm, so Catie was sure the man wasn’t up for business purposes.
“Oh wouldn’t you like to know?” Luke said in a teasing voice. He could tell that Catie was a reserved type of woman, at least when it came to men, but he baited her a little bit just to see how fast he could take it with Catie without her getting offended. The quicker the lion could make her his, the better for the both of them. “But in all seriousness, I get a lot of things done at night that I wouldn’t be able to get done during the day.” Luke said.
“Well it looks like we’re in the same boat.” Catie really enjoyed talking to Luke and she felt that it was easier to talk to him over the phone because she wasn’t constantly distracted by his gorgeousness.
