Leopard's Key

by Marci Baun

  * * *

  Chapter Two

  Hailey bent over her current work in progress. Her workbench held all the jewels and tools needed to create the necklace of her client’s dreams. She thought about the key and chain she’d made for Dmitri and Kel’s mother. The image had come first. An ugly silver key. The only decoration, the intricate design she created on the bow, or the end a person held to turn it. The key itself was heavy and ugly, like an old skeleton style key. Never in all her years of creating had she made something so ugly. Yet the instant it was finished, she knew it was for Kel’s mother. And for his brother.

  The bell on the front door tinkled.

  “I’ll be right out,” she called. She inserted one more tiny emerald into place, ensuring the prongs fastened about the gemstone, before laying down her tools and removing her optivisor. She blinked, getting used to normal vision. The instant her hand touched the curtain covering the doorway from the back of the shop, she knew who waited on the other side.

  Dmitri.

  Vibrant, wild energy filled her shop, advertising his presence.

  She expelled the air from her lungs, squared her shoulders, and stepped through the curtain.

  He stood, examining the necklaces on the neck form displays along the wall. He didn’t turn to look at her, though she knew he was aware of her arrival. His body shifted, ever so slightly, toward her. She took the opportunity to look him over. Last night, his dark masculinity had shaken her. Today, in the daylight, he couldn’t possibly look so imposing.

  He did.

  Again he wore all black. Today’s button up shirt was creased in all the right places, and he’d neatly folded the sleeves to his forearms, exposing bronzed skin. He was sleek, reminding her of a leopard or jaguar she’d seen at the zoo.

  “These are nothing like the key you sent.”

  She let out an exasperated breath. “No, they aren’t. I told you, every piece is an original.”

  “These,” he motioned, “all have some kind of jewels or beads in them. The key is just silver.”

  “A metal I promise to not use when I make her replacement piece.” Yet the only image in her mind when she thought of Dmitri’s mother was that damned silver key. She was supposed to have it. Or at least, she was supposed to know about it.

  “Your craftsmanship is exquisite,” he conceded.

  He moved on to the next display. Hair clasps and gloves. She made the hair gloves after seeing some in a local leather shop. They just screamed individuality, which was her specialty. Just like her other pieces, each had tiny, little jewels embroidered into the material. All but one. She’d made it years ago for a tall dark stranger, whose face she never saw. Before yesterday, that is.

  She’d dusted it almost every day, waiting for its owner to arrive. Kel had once stared at it for several minutes before moving on, but then she’d never felt it was for him.

  And now, she knew for whom she’d created it.

  Dmitri.

  “I tell you what,” she said. “In return for having made such a terrible piece for your mother, choose something from the store, and it’s yours, to do with what you will.”

  He faced her and surprise flashed in his green eyes. “Anything?”

  She nodded, hiding her secret smile. “Anything.”

  “Your offer is dangerous. Most of these pieces are quite expensive.”

  She shrugged. “No matter.”

  “And if I was to choose two?” She watched his eyes rove over the different hair clasps and hair gloves.

  “If you choose two, I’ll give you a fifty percent discount on the second one.” He wouldn’t. She’d only made the one piece for him.

  His gaze roved over the jewelry and hair clasps, lighting and freezing on the dark hair glove. She tried to hide her smile when his fingers caressed the small design. It was black, obviously Dmitri’s favorite color. An even darker embroidered leopard decorated the leather, its face pulled into a vicious snarl.

  His fingers brushed over the embroidery. She didn’t often resort to needlework when she created, but this one called for it. There were no fancy jewels, and only someone close up could see the flash of white fangs and dark green eyes.

  His hand moved to another of the hair gloves. This one made for a woman. Her breath caught. The only piece she ever made where she did not know who the buyer would be. Her heart pounded. Her gift had never let her down; unless you counted the silver key she’d sent to Kel’s mother. Always, the art told her about the future owner. Sometimes the item was bought as a gift, yet still she knew in her heart who would wear the piece. Except this one. This one, as she’d cut the tiny blue topaz to create the cat’s eyes, as if the creature was more than mere beast, she’d seen only herself. In a wedding gown.

  Hailey held her breath, waiting.

  * * * *

  Dmitri studied the hair gloves. His first idea was to get something for his mother. But the black leopard hair glove caught his attention. He could use one. When he was climbing high in the trees as a man, it would be nice to have something to keep his hair in check. And the second one. It was white. Side by side. The two designs so similar, and yet so different. White against black. Feminine and masculine. The one, so dark and mysterious, reminded him of himself, the way he’d felt, standing above Hailey’s apartment. The second made him think of Hailey herself. She wasn’t a shifter. And yet there was something different about the tiny cat stitched into the white leather that made him think of the small jeweler. He moved back to the black leopard and removed it from the display.

  His fingers caressed the distressed leather, testing the heavy snaps. A sense of rightness moved in his chest. It would be perfect. He removed the second piece from the display and heard Hailey gasp. When he turned, her blue eyes looked extra large in her pale face. He flashed her a smile, and she nodded.

  “Both,” he said and handed her the leather hair clasps.

  “What made you choose these?” she asked, though her voice sounded strained.

  Dmitri cocked his head and shrugged. The cats. “They called to me.”

  She paled another shade before moving to the register. She wrote out his receipt on a small pad. For the first one, the leopard, she scribbled the name and wrote Free. He assumed she gave each of her items a name so she could keep her records straight. On the second line, with a trembling hand, she wrote The Wedding. For the price, she wrote Paid in Full. She tore off the receipt, placed both items and the page in a small bag.

  When she handed him the package, her hand trembled. Her eyes met his. “No charge,” she muttered.

  “I thought you said you would charge me fifty percent on one?” Something about the way she looked at him made him nervous. Earlier he’d scented her arousal. It had punched him in the gut like a fist, stripping him of his breath. He’d had to stare at her jewelry in an effort to get a grip on his own answering arousal. He inhaled again, just to be sure. She smelled of fear and confusion. He frowned as he took the bag.

  “I changed my mind. Both of those are free.” She wiped her hands on her skirt. She turned to organizing her counter. “So what brings you here? I know you didn’t drop by just to look at hair gloves.”

  “You can’t make much of a living giving away your merchandise.”

  Her hands froze. Just long enough for him to notice her hesitation, before she was back to organizing business cards beside her register. “It’s nothing. I factor gifts into the budget.”

  Her fingers straightened and stacked the cards over and over.

  “What’s going on, Hailey?” He grabbed her hand to still it. The instant their skin touched, the lust he thought he had under control surged again. His cat purred, begging him to rub against her, marking her with his scent. His eyes focused on hers, and she froze again. This time, he leaned forward, inhaling. He scented her feminine arousal and bit back the rumbling purr in his throat.

  “Nothing, just doing a little housekeeping.” She grabbed a cloth from beneath the counter and poli
shed the glass display cases surrounding them.

  He needed to touch her. To taste her. To tame her. It wasn’t just desire running through his body, but sharp, stabbing need. His blood ran hot, hungry to feel her body. It would be so soft. Feminine. He moved closer, stilling her hand. The hair on his forearms tingled to life. Like the whiskers on his leopard’s face, the hair on his body was equally sensitive, and the heat and texture of her flesh penetrated all the way to his bones.

  “No need to run, little pussycat. I don’t bite.” He couldn’t stop himself. He followed, stepping between her and the display cases. Whatever had taken hold of him stripped away the last vestige of control he had on his own desires, and he leaned down to taste her. “Much.”

  She didn’t back away. Instead, she tipped her chin upward to meet his mouth. The instant their lips touched, sparks of heat ignited, surging through his blood. The press of her lips against his teased him, and he lightly nipped her lower lip, smiling when she opened. He touched his tongue to hers and groaned at the sensual sweetness of her taste. He wanted to drag her against him, to force her against the wall, though he kept his kiss soft. The hunger to rub against her, to mark her with his scent, tugged at his soul again. The two natures battled, the man winning out, tamping down on the beast, and he lost himself in the feel of her.

  * * * *

  Hailey lifted her hands to his chest. To push him away? To touch him? It didn’t matter. Because the instant his mouth touched hers, she was a goner. He tasted of hot, masculine spice, with a hint of tangy wild. His tongue swept through her mouth, searching, learning. A soft whisper of sound caught in her throat. Heat swept through her body, and she leaned toward him. Hair gloves aside, premonitions aside, everything about this man drove her to him. Hard muscles flexed beneath her palms, and she slid her hands across his chest, unable to resist.

  He pulled back.

  “Now that,” he muttered, “was well worth waiting for.”

  * * *

  Chapter Three

  “So do you run this store alone?” Dmitri had spent the last several days in Hailey’s store, ignoring his responsibilities. Guilt tugged at his conscience. He couldn’t shake the feeling this was where he needed to be. She drew him in ways he didn’t understand. Her innocent wardrobe hid more of her than it showed, and he found that arousing. He loved to watch her total absorption while she worked on one of her projects, the way she bit her lip in concentration. But that didn’t save his brother.

  Last night, he’d rested upon her roof, remembering her unique honeysuckle scent. Remembering her taste, delicious and sweet, like milk. Good for him, yet so bad for his cat. His cat couldn’t tolerate the thick beverage. Yet the sweet, rich liquid called to the man in him, tempting him.

  She buzzed through the tiny store, dusting and polishing. She stopped and looked at him with an intensity that chased the breath from his lungs. He stared into catlike human eyes, different from any he’d seen. Her mouth moved, and his eyes locked on those soft, red lips. This morning he’d dipped in between them for a taste. A taste he was sure he could never get enough of. He tried to clear his throat.

  “Dmitri, did you hear me?”

  “Wha…? Oh, sorry, what did you say?” He tried to breathe through the sudden onslaught of arousal, every muscle in his body tightened, hardened. Ready to press against her feminine softness. Every breath sent her feminine perfume deeper into his body, entwining in his lungs, trapping him until the room spun.

  She was a part of him.

  Instincts awakened. His mouth watered, craving the taste of the satiny skin along her throat. A taste? He needed more. He needed to pierce that soft flesh. He needed to mark her with his bite.

  What the hell was happening?

  True Mate. The words floundered through his mind. But she was human! This wasn’t possible. She was human. The more he argued against it, the more his cat roared. True Mate. He’d heard of the phenomenon before. How the animal instincts sometimes chose one’s mate, leaving the human part at a total disadvantage. Damn cat.

  Fear clenched his gut. Raw, primitive arousal ripped away his sanity. How had he missed this? Heat burned through his blood, and he imagined laying her out on her workbench and stripping off her silly skirt she wore. This unexpected hunger overwhelmed him. Humbled him.

  “I have one employee. She normally runs the register, but she’s on vacation this month.”

  “You give your employees month long vacations?” he asked, forcing himself to pay attention.

  “Employee,” she corrected him. “And not usually. She called in sick, saying she’d be out a while.” Her hand stilled, the polishing cloth still in her hand.

  “Damn.” She disappeared behind the curtain, leaving the almost pristine white dust cloth behind. He heard the jangle of keys and she reappeared. “Let’s go.”

  “Where are we going?” He didn’t want to go anywhere. He wanted to process how this woman was his mate. He didn’t get the chance. She grabbed his hand, and he followed, all the while trying to ignore the heat of her skin against his. She was so small, and yet so strong. Her grip tightened, and she tugged. Once outside, she locked the door.

  “The last time I saw Drea was a minute after your brother left the store. She tore out of here, claiming to be ill. She looked pretty sick, so I didn’t doubt her, but now….”

  Dmitri’s heart stilled. He shoved the growing arousal to the back of his mind.

  “You know where this Drea is?”

  * * *

  Chapter Four

  Hailey banged on Drea’s apartment door. “Open up, Drea, it’s Hailey.” Silence was her only response.

  “She’s in there,” growled Dmitri.

  “How do you know?”

  “I can smell her.”

  Hailey frowned. Smelled her? Through the door? Before she could ask him what he meant, Dmitri pounded on the door.

  “I know he’s in there, female. Now open this damned door.”

  The door opened a few inches, and Drea’s face poked out. “Go away. I don’t feel well.”

  “And you lie.” Dmitri slammed a palm against the hard wood of the door and shoved passed the other woman.

  Hailey gasped. She liked the guy. Really she did, and if the hair glove was anything to go by, they’d be a perfect match. But this Neanderthal behavior was just too much.

  “Wait, Dmitri….” She stepped into the apartment, her hand already on his arm to pull him back, when they both froze. In the small living room was a cage, from floor to ceiling, covering the entire back wall. And inside stood a leopard. The cat dropped to a crouch, fangs flashing as it hissed.

  “Oh. My. God.” She gasped. “Drea, what are you doing with—” She turned just in time to see another big cat leap across the room and slam into Dmitri’s chest. He fell back against the coffee table, the cat rolling with him. The cheap wood splintered beneath their combined weight. He rolled over and rose to his knees.

  Fear clenched Hailey’s heart, and she grabbed a broken table leg. If nothing else, she could stab the creature before it ripped Dmitri apart. But Dmitri blurred right before her eyes, followed by a bright light exploding around him. She yanked an arm up to protect her eyes, dropping it only after the light faded. Dmitri was gone. In his place stood a third leopard, this one a midnight black. The animal snarled.

  The beast rotated his head. Their gazes met.

  Time slowed.

  Hailey could see every breath the great black cat took. Every twitch of a whisker. The animal stared at her for long seconds, his intense green eyes glittering. She could almost hear his thoughts. Believe.

  Hailey’s breath caught in her throat. He looked so wild. So intelligent.

  Dmitri?

  Oh, God. She searched the room. Only the two cats before her and one behind. Her breath rushed from her lungs. It was Dmitri.

  Reality collapsed around her, rebuilding in her mind, brick by brick. He was man. And he was a cat. She shook her head, uncertain, unbelieving. The
wooden table leg slipped from her hands and crashed to the floor. Her heart skipped a beat or three. It couldn’t be, but it was. There was no doubting those beautiful, piercing green eyes.

  Dmitri’s eyes.

  He was perfection. As a man, every muscle was perfectly toned. And he reeked of hot sensuality. As a cat, he was beautiful. Powerful. And completely unnerving. Despite their distance, every breath she took was nothing but him. Hot, masculine, and primal. The scent filtered through her blood, seizing her body within its carnal grasp.

  A hiss sizzled through the apartment, and the dark beast cut his eyes in the direction of the female, and then back at Hailey. As if planned, he leapt straight at her. Hailey tried to step back, but it was too late. Two great paws slammed into her, glistening fangs bared. She stumbled backward, crashing into the silver barred cage. A blur of yellow passed by her head, and Hailey pulled herself backward, flattening against the prison behind her.

  The yellow beast turned, stalking toward Hailey.

  She waited for fangs to pierce her throat, but the black beast stepped between her and the cat. Low growls echoed through the room. Powerful. Vicious. It couldn’t be, but if Dmitri was a leopard, why not Drea?

  The yellow beast hissed.

  The larger cat roared, the sound rumbling through the room like thunder, a crescendo of vibration, exploding into wild fury. He charged and the two animals collided in the center of the room, howling and snarling. Furniture collapsed and scattered beneath the onslaught.

  “Hailey!”

  She turned, shocked to see a naked Kel crouching in the cage behind her.

  “Kel! How did you get in there?” Wait, there had been the other cat. She scanned the cage. Only Kel was inside.

  Oh, God, he was both man and beast too.

  Dmitri’s brother jerked hard against the door, his breath hissing inward, and he jerked his hand away. “Damned silver,” he hissed. “Hailey, you’ve got to find the key. This will tear my hands up if I try to escape, and I won’t be able to fight. I don’t know what Drea did with it. Get me out of here before he kills her.”