by Marie Cole
Table of Contents
Copyright Warning
CHAPTER ONE
CHAPTER TWO
CHAPTER THREE
CHAPTER FOUR
CHAPTER FIVE
CHAPTER SIX
CHAPTER SEVEN
CHAPTER EIGHT
CHAPTER NINE
CHAPTER TEN
EPILOGUE
About the Author
More Romance from Etopia Press
Little Panther
Lake Valley Shifters Book One
Marie Cole
Copyright Warning
EBooks are not transferable. They cannot be sold, shared, or given away. The unauthorized reproduction or distribution of this copyrighted work is a crime punishable by law. No part of this book may be scanned, uploaded to or downloaded from file sharing sites, or distributed in any other way via the Internet or any other means, electronic or print, without the publisher’s permission. Criminal copyright infringement, including infringement without monetary gain, is investigated by the FBI and is punishable by up to 5 years in federal prison and a fine of $250,000 (http://www.fbi.gov/ipr/).
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
Etopia Press
1643 Warwick Ave., #124
Warwick, RI 02889
http://www.etopiapress.com
Little Panther
Copyright © 2016 by Marie Cole
ISBN: 978-1-944138-39-4
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.
First Etopia Press electronic publication: February 2016
CHAPTER ONE
Cathan Nemen was officially having the worst day of his relatively short life.
He said “relatively” because at thirty-three, he wasn’t exactly young, but he wasn’t in the mood for semantics right now. Ya know, what with the bad day and all.
He made a list in his head. He tended to do that. Helped him think.
Problem One: The person he was hired to protect had literally slammed the door in his face.
In. His. Face.
Even now, sitting in his truck again, he still felt the wood against his damn nose. His hands clenched around his steering wheel and he growled low in his throat.
He couldn’t remember the last time someone had shown him this kind of disrespect. Not that he blamed her, mind you. He was a giant at nearly six feet and five inches and had just showed up at her house uninvited. Why should she believe he had good intentions? He’d give her credit. She was smart. Still, it rubbed his fur the wrong way.
Problem Two: He had no choice but to sit in his truck outside her house, looking like a stalker.
This was so not going to look good for his whole “I’m actually here to protect you, please don’t send me away” story.
It was a nice neighborhood too. Some of the houses had white picket fences and everything. Nice trimmed yards with lawn ornaments and Christmas lights already strung. They’d eventually notice the giant black truck parked on the road across from the single woman’s home.
He would’ve, at least.
Problem Three: He couldn’t just leave. She hadn’t paid him. Her brother had. Cathan and her brother went back about ten years, and the man was a lot like an older brother to him. Hell, Cathan probably owed her brother more than vice versa, but that man was all about paying back debts. And Greg had decided he owed Cathan a job. A nice-paying job guarding his sweet baby sister. Cathan wasn’t sure why she would need a shifter for protection, but hey, who was he to argue?
Besides, Cathan needed food and that shit cost money. He was a growing boy after all.
Problem Four (and this was the doozy): She was his mate. His. Mate. As in the one person in the world completely perfect for him in every damn way. She was made for him. He was made for her. They were meant to spend the rest of their lives together.
He groaned, banging his head on the hard curve of his truck’s steering wheel. Just what he needed. His mate was in that house. Right now. Alone. And he was out here.
There was no way in hell he was leaving now.
She had the distinct misfortune of being the mate of a very protective panther shifter.
He’d just have to make sure she knew it fast. Because he wasn’t going anywhere.
*
“I can’t believe you hired a damn bodyguard! I’m perfectly capable of taking care of myself.”
Josie Little was going to murder her brother. She was officially going to be an only child. She was close to stomping her damn foot on the ground and everything. Temper-tantrum-party-of-one.
“Sis, look—”
“Don’t you ‘Sis’ me, Greg. I’m not a twelve year old. I am twenty-nine damn years old.”
“Thirty,” he muttered. Like she wasn’t already mad at him.
“In a month, you little asshole, but the point is that I don’t need a bodyguard.”
Her brother sighed. “Josie, look, I did it for a reason. Please just…let him in for an hour? Can you give me that?”
“Will you tell me the reason?”
He growled in frustration. “It’s better if you don’t know.”
She gave a noise that sounded like a wrong answer buzzer on a game show. “Nope. You can’t just tell me to let a strange man, who by the way is built like a tank, into my home and not give me a good reason.”
“Look…” He sighed loudly and she was sure he was about ready to pull his hair out. Sucked for him, she needed answers. “My time away might not have been…fully legal.”
She snorted. “You might want to tell that to someone who didn’t know. So continue.”
“I’m a mercenary.”
“I know.”
The line was silent for so long she almost checked to make sure he hadn’t hung up. “The hell do you mean you know?”
“Please.” She ticked off her fingers as she spoke. “You disappear for months at a time. You’re loaded enough that you could hire me a bodyguard. You have way more guns and weapons than most action movie heroes. You’re either a drug lord or a mercenary. I went with the second just because you gave me huge speeches as a kid about how terrible drugs were.”
She heard his quiet chuckle. “Well, it was important.” He sighed. “Josie, just…please. I’m honestly worried. Cathan’s a good guy. I trust him.”
That gave her pause. “You actually know him? He’s not just someone you looked up in like Bodyguard Digest or something?”
That got her a laugh. “Bodyguard Digest?”
“Look, I don’t know how you hire these guys. But you actually know him?” And his name was Cathan? She might have slammed the door in his face, but not before looking at him. He’d practically towered over her measly five-foot frame, but he didn’t feel unsafe or anything. Not to mention the fact that Cathan was gorgeous. Built like a giant with blond hair and light green eyes. He’d filled out the black jeans and T-shirt he’d been wearing just fine, thank you. She just didn’t want him in her house.
“Yes, I know him. Have for a long time. I wouldn’t send you someone I didn’t trust.”
She sighed. “You could’ve started with that, you know.” She shook her head to herself. “Fine. One hour. If I don’t like him, he’s gone and I’m gonna kick your ass.”
Greg laughed. “I know you will anyway, but all right. I can work with that.” He was silent for a moment before whispering, “Be safe, Sis.
You know I don’t want anything to happen to you.”
“I will. I promise.” She giggled. “You know me. I’ll be fine.”
“I know, I just…”
“I’ll give him an hour.” She opened her curtains slightly. “Besides, he hasn’t even left. He’s in his truck.” She could see him resting against the steering wheel inside the huge black vehicle. Looked like the thing even had leather seats, but it was hard to tell from her window.
“He’s still there?”
“Well, yeah. I thought you had told him to stay.”
“Nope. I haven’t heard from him. How long ago did you slam the door in his face?”
“Like…two hours ago… Or so.” She’d only called Greg because the man hadn’t left yet and she was a little worried.
“And he’s still…” She heard her brother click his tongue. “Damn it. OK, I should probably tell you something about him before you let him inside.”
“And that is?”
“He’s a shifter.”
Josie blinked. “Are you serious?”
“Hey now, no bias. I raised you better than that.”
“You didn’t raise me, first of all.” She ignored his muttered “may as well have.” Even if he was right, she liked teasing him. Greg might have been twelve years older than her, but he was so easy to rile it was hilarious. “Second of all, I don’t care about it, I’m just curious.”
“Yes, he’s a shifter. Not sure what kind, he’s very secretive about it. But he let me know that at least.”
“Anything else I should know before I let the giant into my very nice home?”
“Other than that, nothing I can think of. He’s helped me out of a few scrapes in the past, but nothing you need to worry about.”
“Yeah, yeah.” She blew out a breath. “All right. Time to go get him, I guess.”
Her brother chuckled. “Have fun. Don’t hurt him too much. Love you, Sis.”
She sighed. “Love you too.”
She hung up the call and squared her shoulders. Time to go meet a shifter.
CHAPTER TWO
A knock on the passenger side window pulled Cathan out of his daze. He’d been close to sleep, thinking of how much he wanted to pull his little mate close to his body. Whoever had disturbed him had something to answer for—
Wait, had he fallen asleep? Hell, Greg was gonna kill him. Cathan was usually better than this. Maybe seeing his mate had distracted him. He turned to the passenger window to see who it was only to freeze in shock.
It was her.
His tiny little curvy mate was glaring at him outside of his truck. He could see her arms crossed under her breasts, bringing the generous mounds to his attention. Her curly black hair was pulled back into some kind of loose bun with strands falling in front of her face. She had gorgeous brown eyes. He could stare at them forever.
Oh hell, he was going to die if she told him to leave. He’d shift into his damn cat and sleep on her porch if he needed to. He didn’t care how creepy that’d make him, he needed her. His cat, usually a solitary creature by nature, never wanted to leave her. She was his true mate, and he’d never actually believed he’d meet her.
Oh, she was trying to talk to him through the window. He should probably…
He reached across the large interior of the truck (he was a big guy after all) and opened the door to let her in.
“Get in. It’s freezing outside.” He knew he practically growled the words, but damn it, he had to get her inside before she froze to death. Why the hell was she only wearing a tank top and shorts in December?
She huffed but quickly slipped inside. Her foot tapped as she looked at him. He glanced down to see she wasn’t even wearing shoes. Her toes were painted a nice shade of red that was gorgeous against her tan skin. But no shoes. In December. She didn’t need a bodyguard, she needed a babysitter.
“Greg said he knows you.”
His head shot up as he met her gaze. Oh hell, now he needed to concentrate. He nodded. “Yeah. We…go way back.”
She glared at him, narrowing those beautiful eyes. “Want to elaborate on that?”
“Not particularly.” Her brother had been pretty big on the whole “don’t let my baby sister know what I do” thing.
“I know he’s a mercenary,” she said, sounding annoyed. “And I know you’re a shifter.”
He sucked in a breath. “Does it bother you?” Please let the answer be no.
“The mercenary thing? No, not really.” She shrugged delicate shoulders, and he wanted to groan as the thin tank top straps fell down her arm. She had cute freckles on her shoulders. She was going to kill him dead. “I’ve known a long time. Despite what my brother thinks, I’m not that dumb.”
“I more meant…”
She smirked. The minx. She knew exactly what he meant. “Oh you mean the shifter thing?” She shook her head. “Doesn’t bother me. I’d like to know what kind, though.”
Usually he would’ve dodged the question somehow. His favorite answer was that he was a hamster shifter. Because, come on, big guy like him turning into a hamster? That image was gold.
But with her… She was his mate, whether she knew it yet or not. He couldn’t lie to her.
“Panther.”
She looked at him and tilted her head. She sized him up with those damn gorgeous brown eyes before giving a nod. “Yeah, I can see it.”
That made him want to growl. The way she said it… “Have you met other shifters?”
She gave another delicate shrug. “Not really your business.”
He bit back a reply that everything about her was his business. She’d learn eventually. “I’m just curious.” He grinned and knew he was flashing fangs. “You know what they say about cats.”
“That curiosity killed them?”
“Hmm,” he hummed, moving closer to her. He couldn’t help it. He wanted to wrap his arms around her and pull her close. “But satisfaction brought them back.”
She giggled before a shiver hit her. She rubbed her arms, looking at her house. “OK, maybe you’re right. It’s freezing.” She sighed. “I promised Greg I’d give you an hour.” She looked back at him and pointed a perfectly painted red nail at him. “But if I get bad vibes, you’re gone, you got it?”
Like hell he was, but he nodded anyway. “Of course….” He tilted his head. “You know, Greg never actually told me your first name.” Granted it was because Greg didn’t want anyone unsavory knowing he had a little sister at all, but still.
She rolled her eyes. “Of course not. He’s never been great at the small details. It’s Josie.”
Josie. Josie. He rolled it around in his mind. Yeah. Yeah, he liked that. “And I’m—”
“Cathan.”
He nearly choked on air. “How did you know?”
She shrugged as she opened the door. “Greg mentioned it.” She looked back at him with a smirk. “Now, are you gonna stay in here banging your head or are you coming?”
Not yet but if he had his way…
*
Cathan was in her house.
In. Her. House.
Josie shook her head. She couldn’t believe it. Why she’d let him in she didn’t know, but she had promised Greg she’d give the giant man an hour.
“Nice place you got.”
That deep raspy voice was going to kill her. Dead of sexy voice. That’s what they’d put on her tombstone.
“I… Y-Yeah. Thanks.” She laughed quietly. “Took me a while to get it, but it’s mine.”
Cathan raised an eyebrow as he lounged against the wall, dark blonde bangs falling in front of impossibly golden eyes. She could’ve sworn they were green before. Not that she had stared at his eyes or anything. “Didn’t Greg help?”
She shook her head. “No. I wouldn’t let him. Even if he did offer about a thousand times.”
He smiled before shaking his head. “Hmm…”
He moved down the hallway, making his way to her living room. She followed after him, n
early having to run to keep up with his long legs.
By the time she made it to the room, he had plopped onto her lovely red sofa, sitting back with his arms spread over the back like he was in his own home. He crossed his legs with a big smile. “Bet he loved that.”
She snorted, crossing her arms. “Oh yeah. He tried to slip money into my account thinking I wouldn’t notice.”
He shook his head with a grin. “Not surprised. All he ever talked about was his cute baby sister.” He scratched his chin, drawing her attention to his slight stubble. “Now that I think about it, he never mentioned any other family.”
She tensed, her breathing stuttering for a second. Greg had never… No, she couldn’t do this. Not right now.
She coughed, trying to force her voice out. “Well,” she began, hating the shaky quality her voice now had. “We would have to have some other family for him to mention them.”
He blinked, tilting his head. “What do you mean?”
“I mean what I said. We don’t have any family. It’s just me and Greg.” She pasted on a smile that she hoped looked more real than it felt. “Now, would you like something to drink?”
CHAPTER THREE
Cathan watched Josie pad around the house with new eyes. Things were starting to click for him. He made another list in his head.
One: He realized he never had heard Greg mention any family. It was always his baby sister, nothing else. It had never struck him as odd before, but now he was starting to understand.
The amount of protection Greg wanted wasn’t normal. Wanting your sister safe? Fine. A normal bodyguard should’ve been enough. Wanting the little girl that you practically raised safe? That made more sense to send in a damn shifter.
Two: Her house was…homey. He’d been in plenty of nice homes, but hers felt like a home and smelled like damn cookies. The dark, wood floors were so clean they shined. Her red walls felt warm and inviting. Hell, even the outside with its light stone structure and white wooden porch felt nice. Not to mention that winter was getting closer (hell Thanksgiving had only been the week before) and she already had Christmas stuff out. Like decked-to-the-nines Christmas stuff. There was a giant tree that nearly touched the ceiling. He guessed it was at least a ten-footer. How had she even gotten the damn thing inside? But the tree was lit up with lights and ornaments. She had tiny decorations everywhere, and there were wreaths on every door in the damn place that he’d seen so far.
