by Jessica Loft
“Are you fucking kidding me? I’m Elizabeth fucking Connor! I don’t misread people, I don’t throw myself at men,” she yelled, her eyes burned as the tears threatened to begin. “Let go of me!”
He loosened his grip on her and she yanked her hands free. She was embarrassed, mortified. She couldn’t believe what she had just done. She whirled around, about to dash out of the studio.
He grabbed her and turned her into his chest. He lifted her face towards his and kissed her, his lips pressing against hers urgently. His tongue traced between her lips, parting them, searching for hers. She grabbed his hair and kissed him harder. Her whole body was screaming for him.
She reached for the hem of his shirt and forcefully pulled it up over his head. He had been waiting for so long to touch her like this. He slid his hands down her body and over her butt, his hands gripped her toned thighs and lifted her off her feet to lower her onto the mat. As she lay on the mat breathless, his hands continued their exploration of her body. Gliding over her thin hips, tight belly, finally reaching her perky breasts. Elizabeth writhing underneath his touch.
He pulled her bra over her head and took her breast in his hand rubbing his thumb over her hardened nipple. Elizabeth moaned. Kissing her neck his mouth made its way down her chest pausing at her breast to give it a playful bite. He continued kissing a trail down her belly until he made it to her pants. Ready for him, she clumsily pulled at her own waistband.
He couldn’t wait much longer, he was wild with desire, his body was screaming to be inside her. He grabbed her pants and pulled them down for her. Don’t lose control. Shane begged himself. He kissed his way down between her thighs. She grabbed a handful of his hair as he thrust his tongue into her. He slid his finger into her, moving rhythmically. She arched her back to meet his touch.
He couldn’t hold back anymore, he yanked his own shorts down with a sharp tug and she pulled him into her warm wetness. Elizabeth cried out as he began thrust. His hand gripped her hips as he pushed into her, deeper, faster. She shoved his shoulder, pushing him off and down onto the mat. Lowering herself onto his staff, she rode him hungrily. They were both lost in the motion until they couldn’t bear it any longer.
He grabbed her hips with both of her hands and thrust into her, hard. She let out a little cry, and they both shuddered as electric shocks of passion ran through their bodies. Elizabeth crumpled on top of him breathless, sweating, and satisfied. She laid there motionless on his chest, her head swimming and her body relaxed, almost drifting into sleep. As her eyes closed dreamily, her eyes popped open when she remembered they were naked on her gym floor.
“Shane, we should probably get cleaned up,” she said, reaching for her pants.
She was suddenly feeling very exposed in the middle of her workout studio. The maintenance staff or even Tom could just stroll in.
She clumsily pulled her pants back on and turned to Shane. He also looked distressed. She looked up at his face as he pulled his shirt over his head; something was strange about his eyes. It wasn’t actually distress on his face; it was different altogether and his eyes were golden yellow. She shook her head slightly and rubbed her eyes, she needed more sleep. Looking at him closer, she could see plain as day, his eyes were golden with a diamond pupil through the center. She began to back away and he turned and hid his face from her.
“Elizabeth, wait, don’t be afraid. I would never hurt you, I was going to tell you,” he said solemnly.
“I have to go.” He ducked, grabbed his shirt from the floor, and ran for the door, slamming it behind him.
Elizabeth sank to the floor; she couldn’t believe what she had just seen. Shane’s eyes were not his own, his eyes were feline. She felt like she was in a science fiction movie, how could this be? What the hell is going on?
***
It had been a few days since that afternoon in the studio and Elizabeth had not seen nor heard from Shane since he left her there. Although she had felt confused and even a bit frightened at the time, her feelings for Shane were still the same. She wanted to find out what was going on with him and talk to him about everything. Since she had no idea when she would be able to talk to Shane, she decided not to just sit and wait. Elizabeth did what she knew best, she threw herself into her work; it was a welcome distraction from everything else going on.
“How was the self-defense training the other day?” Tom asked. He sounded genuinely curious, not his usual sarcasm whenever he talked about something that had to do with Shane. He looked over to Shane’s desk.
“Where is Shane?” he asked.
“It was fine,” She replied in a tone that suggested that she was busy on something else. She paused for a moment and looked up at Tom.
“Sorry, I just want to focus on this merger prep.”
“Look, Elizabeth, I know you don’t want to talk about it, but if he isn’t coming back maybe we need to look into a replacement?” Tom said, never one to dance around a delicate subject.
“You know, I’m not sure he was a great fit anyway, a bit of a conspiracy theorist.”
Elizabeth sighed.
“Tom, I didn’t ask for your opinion on the matter. I know the two of you didn’t see eye to eye, but I have my reasons for hiring Shane. He’ll be back; he is working on something. Now, let’s get back to work.” Elizabeth thought about her own words. She truly wanted to believe he would be back but honestly she wasn’t sure he would be.
***
Later that evening, Elizabeth was stepping out of the shower, she had a glass of merlot waiting for her that Sandra had laid out on the vanity. She wrapped herself in a soft towel and walked over to the vanity. She took a sip of the wine and looked at her reflection in the mirror. Her wound was healing but she looked tired. She thought about the discussion she had had with Tom that afternoon and she began to wonder if perhaps he was right. Maybe Shane wasn’t coming back, maybe it was time to think about finding another bodyguard. She picked up her glass of wine and made her way into her bedroom. She was just finished getting on some comfy sweats and a loose t-shirt when Sandra knocked.
“Yes, come in,” Elizabeth said, as she reached for her hairbrush on the dresser. Sandra ducked her head in the door.
“Ma’am, Mr. Meadows is here to see you,” she said. Elizabeth turned to face Sandra.
“Really? Did he say what about?”
“No ma’am. Shall I ask him to wait in the living room?” Sandra asked.
“Yes, thanks. Tell him I’ll be right out,” Elizabeth said and finished brushing the tangles out of her damp hair.
Tom didn’t usually come over in the evening. She tried to think if there was anything they could have forgotten to go over for tomorrow’s early morning meeting. She shrugged in the mirror, put her brush down, and picked back up her glass of wine. She made her way into the living room,
“Tom, this is unexpected. Can I get you something to drink?” she asked, lifting her glass toward him as an invitation to join her. He shook his head.
“Ah, no. No thanks. Look, I just wanted to talk to you about…” Sandra interrupted him.
“Ms. Connor, you have a phone call.”
“Sorry, Tom, just a second,” Elizabeth said and took the phone, turning and taking a few steps out of the living room. She put the phone to her ear. “Hello, this is Elizabeth speaking.”
“Beth. It’s Shane. Don’t say anything. If Tom is there, say you're not interested in buying anything,” Shane’s voice sounded like he was in a hurry—hushed and urgent. Elizabeth hesitated.
“Um, I’m not interesting in buying anything at this time,” she said, flatly.
He let out a long breath.
“Shit. Okay. The woman, Karen Hatfeld, she is Tom’s girlfriend, Beth. They have a baby together. I saw him with her last night when I went to scope out her apartment. Don’t let him know you know, just stay calm and get him out of there. I’m on my way.”
Elizabeth swallowed hard; fear was coursing through her body. She kept her voice
steady.
“Okay, look, I’m really not interested in buying anything at this time. Goodbye,” and she hung up the phone. She could hardly believe what Shane had just told her but there was no mistaking his tone, he was afraid for her. She turned around and made her way back to the living room. She didn’t want Tom to be suspicious. She forced a smile and stepped back into the room.
“Sorry about that. Please have a seat,” she gestured toward the couch and sat down.
Tom seemed nervous. He stepped toward the couch and then reconsidered. He shoved his hands into his pockets and paced back and forth in front of the fireplace. He stopped, not looking at her as he began to speak.
“Elizabeth, you know, I have worked for you for a long time,” he began. She nodded in agreement. He turned to face her.
“Do you think it’s easy for me?” he asked.
“Working beside you every day, working as hard as you do, making sure everything is just right for you?”
“I’m sure it can’t…” she started.
“Shut up! Just shut up!” Tom screamed at her. Elizabeth was scared, she hoped that Sandra was nearby and would call the police if anything got out of hand.
“You know, you had everything handed to you. You haven’t worked as hard as I have; you haven’t sacrificed the things I have. I’m just so tired of watching you enjoy all the benefits of my hard work,” Tom said, shaking his head in disgust.
“So I make some arrangements to get you out of the picture and that asshole Shane shows up out of nowhere and saves you! Then you hire him and have him sitting across from me all day looking into it,” he pulled a gun out of his pocket and pointed it at her. He shook it at her, scolding her as he spoke. “I know it will only be a matter of time before he finds out, he just won’t stop digging. Now I have to deal with both of you…”
Elizabeth’s heart pounded in her chest and ears, her palms were sweaty. Now what do I do? Her mind raced with ideas of how to escape when the front door opened. A feeling of relief washed over her. Shane had made it in time.
That feeling quickly faded when she looked at the door and Karen walked through, clutching a handgun. Elizabeth shifted uncomfortably in her seat, she trembled, and tears welled in her eyes. Shane had been right. Tom had betrayed her all along. She felt tightness in her chest thinking of how she had been so close to him all this time. Karen crossed the room pointing her gun at Elizabeth. She reached Tom and put her free arm around his waist.
“This is it, baby, we’ll finally be rid of this spoiled bitch. Making you work eighty hours a week while she sits here in her fucking castle of a penthouse,” Karen spat, a deep hatred in her voice.
“Please, Tom,” Elizabeth begged, she looked into his eyes, pleading. “I’ll give you anything you want!”
“You shut the fuck up!” Karen screamed as she waved her gun at Elizabeth. “He doesn’t need your charity, he’ll take what he wants from you!”
Elizabeth closed her eyes, the tears streamed down her face. She felt faint, how could this be happening, her personal assistant and his girlfriend were going to murder her in her own living room.
Suddenly, the door swung open. Shane burst in, gun drawn. Elizabeth threw herself to the floor as Tom and Karen looked toward the door. She crawled desperately to try and get out of the line of fire. But Karen caught the movement with the corner of her eye and swung around pointing her gun at Elizabeth.
“Don’t you fucking move!” Shane demanded, as he pointed his gun directly at Karen. He kept it laser pointing in her direction as he inched closer to where Elizabeth was.
Karen cocked her gun and took aim. But Shane was too quick, he fired first and hit her in the arm, sending the gun flying. Tom saw his girlfriend crumple to the floor in pain and lost any reserve he had left. He exploded into a rage and began shooting wildly at Shane. Bullets flew around the room sending broken glass cascading through the air.
Shane dove toward Tom to stop the bullets. As he leapt through the air his bones shifted, thick black fur bristled up from his skin, and dagger sharp teeth protruded from his mouth. Seconds later a black jaguar crashed down violently on top of Tom. Tom covered his face with his arms and Shane’s sharp teeth clamped down with a crunch on his right hand. Tom screamed in pain as the jaguar stood on top of him, teeth bared, ready to deal a deadly bite.
Elizabeth was in the middle of the room on her belly. Desperately, she tried to crawl out of danger, she gritted her teeth as the shards of glass crunched under her hands and knees. As she made it to the edge of the sofa she began to round the corner into safety when her left leg suddenly gave out. It knocked her off balance and she fell onto her chest. She whipped around to find that Karen had a strong hold on her ankle, a look of pure hatred in her eyes as she dragged her way up Elizabeth’s leg.
Panic stricken she thrashed and kicked to free herself from her grasp, but Karen’s determination didn’t waver. Even with one arm bullet torn and bleeding, she was still pulling her closer and closer. Elizabeth looked around frantically, reached, and wrapping her hand around a jagged piece of glass. She swung around and slashed, slicing Karen across the cheek. Karen cried out and threw up her hands to protect herself. As soon as Elizabeth’s leg was released she drew her foot up and with all the strength she could muster sent it flying into Karen’s face with a crack. Blood spilling from her nose and mouth Karen slumped on the floor, unconscious.
Elizabeth stood up and looked over to Tom who cowered under Shane in his jaguar form. Shane slowly began to back away from Tom when he realized the situation was now reversed. His teeth still bared in warning, as slowly his whole body began to shudder and tremble, his black fur receded, and his bones shifted under his skin. It must have been the adrenaline and the shock, but strangely, Elizabeth was not surprised when Shane transformed.
He stood up from his crouched position on the floor, his naked body glistening with sweat, and blood streaming down his ribs under his arm. Damn it, I was struck by one of that bastard’s wild shots. He lifted his hand to cover the wound as he looked around the floor for one of the guns. Elizabeth rushed over to him and grabbed his arm, trying to see where he was bleeding.
“Oh my God, you’ve been shot! Are you okay? Let me see,” she pleaded as she tried to get a better look at his wound. Shane grabbed her arm and pulled her up to his face, his eyes had not changed back; they were still fiery golden jaguar eyes.
“Beth, I’m okay. It just grazed me. Look at me, look at me,” he moved his face in front of hers. She suddenly became overwhelmed with emotion, she was terrified and at the same time so relieved. Tears flowed from her eyes and she began to feel dizzy. Shane knelt down and picked up a gun off the floor. He pointed it back at Tom to ensure he stayed where he was.
“Beth, you need to call the police,” he said to Elizabeth.
“I already did,” Sandra answered from the hallway.
***
Elizabeth felt the sun shining on her face; she rolled over and tried to open her sleepy eyes. She would have thought the events from the previous night were some sort of horrible nightmare but as she woke she began to feel like she had the worst hangover of her life. Her head ached, her body was sore, and her face was still swollen from tears. She opened one eye and that’s when she began to remember. Shane was next to her. She slid over to him and wrapped herself around him, careful not to put any pressure on his sore ribs where the bullet had grazed him. Shane moaned as he felt her touch. He rolled towards Elizabeth and wrapped his arms around her.
“Shane, I wanted to…” she began
“Wait. Before you say anything” He interrupted. “I’m sorry I left the studio…without. Beth, you have to know I wanted to tell you, I wanted to explain, but how could I?” he said quietly.
She took a breath and took his face in her hands, tilting it down so she could look at it. She thought of him standing over Tom about to tear his neck out. Looking at his face now, it had faded back to the Shane she knew and, she realized, loved. She smiled to h
erself, even when he had his feline features, he still made her knees weak.
“I know. I also knew you would come back,” she said, running her hand through his hair. He looked deep into her eyes.
“Of course, I was coming back, it wasn’t a question.” He looked at her in disbelief, realizing that she thought he might not return. “I love you Beth. I wanted to show you on my own terms, it’s just that in moments of strong emotion, it can be overwhelming and I lose control. My feelings for you had been intensifying day after day and when we made love I couldn’t control it any longer. ” He paused. “I’ve never been exposed to someone outside of my family. How do you begin to explain to someone that you are a shifter?”
She nodded.
“I understand why you felt like you had to leave. I was hurt at the time, but now, I know why you did it. You know my feelings for you haven’t changed; you shared your secret with me. I’m not a shifter, but you’re the first man I’ve let into my life—the first man I’ve let see the real person I am,” she said. “I want you to stay with me.”
