by Dodge, Lola
“Will he?” I tore my arm away so quickly the claws ripped flesh. The flash of pain spurred my anger. “How kind of him.”
“Fuck.” Panther ushered me deeper into the room—an unused conference space—away from anyone that might wander past. He produced a handkerchief for the streaks of blood on my arm. “I didn’t mean to—”
“Why won’t you leave me alone?”
“I want to get to know you.” He dabbed at the gouges, and his claws were gone, replaced with rounded human fingernails.
“Don’t.” I pulled back from his gentle touch. “And don’t bother.”
His eyes hardened. “I’ve seen the real you. When are you going to cut this frigid bullshit?”
“This is the real me.” I’d heard my coworkers whisper it enough: cold, hard bitch. It was the price I’d paid to escape, and the price I kept paying to keep myself in polite society. “And I’m tired of the manipulation bullshit.”
“You need us more than we need you.”
“Excuse me?” I froze in my headlong rush for the exit.
“Welcome to the shit show.” Panther lifted a re-clawed hand to his face. “I’m about thirty seconds from shifting, but I don’t have to hide it. You stay with us, you can be accepted for what you are. And honestly? Where else could you fit?”
“I have a life. I don’t need this.” For years I’d worked to learn modern culture, to fit in and hide the parts that wouldn’t gel. Now I was supposed to throw it away to live with overgrown fraternity boys in capes?
“How many friends you have in that amazing life of yours?” Panther followed me as I made another run for the door. “None, I’d guess, and as soon as you walk out, you’re spitting on Angel.”
His words stopped me again. “Her I don’t disrespect.”
“Who do you think is going to have to deal with it if you run?”
It was an old-fashioned guilt trip, and a good one. I liked Angel. She had an agenda like all of the Ten, but she’d been up-front about it and was doing her best to make me feel comfortable. Plus the size twelve shoes. Those alone were worth a few favors from me.
I sighed, releasing some of my tension. “I’ll go to the party, but I’m done with reporters.”
As soon as I spoke, my fingertips tingled. My powers were back, but Tank may as well have crawled inside my brain the way he was following my impulses. He and I needed to have a discussion.
“Better hurry. They’re already gonna wonder what we’ve been doing this long all by ourselves.”
Fueling those rumors was the last thing I wanted. The way Panther’s skin glistened in the dim light, I might have done something to make them reality if I didn’t get some space from him.
I forced myself to take the steps toward the hum of chatter and the clink of crystal. A drink sounded wonderful.
In the ballroom, the social was gearing up. The Ten had splintered, with each hero chatting up a ring of reporters. Annihilator was noticeably alone, but Angel had an impressive circle of male admirers. The anchorwomen had more options, but Steel’s group was largest and loudest, with most of his ladies in fits of giggles from some joke he’d told.
Everyone noticed our arrival, but they seemed to be enjoying their conversations because no one jumped to Panther and me. Maybe they wanted to wait and test my mood. That was wise.
I was still far from satisfied with the situation, but at least the cameras were gone. No more photo-ops or flash blindness tonight. I’d see my opponents coming toward me.
But more fortification wouldn’t hurt. Banquet staff made rounds with appetizer and drink trays. I reached as one neared with flutes of champagne.
An unseasonable frost clung to the stems and I froze mid-reach. The waiter stopped as if his feet had iced over, and maybe they had.
Tall. Blond and blue-eyed. With the hint of a chill.
He was one of my people.
It had been years, and he’d aged from an awkward teen into a fine-looking warrior, but I dredged the name from my memory. “Kevan.”
“My lady Valdís.” The reverent words fell from Kevan’s lips as a low growl built at my side.
“Who’s the penguin?” Panther pushed closer.
Kevan set the tray on the floor, ignoring Panther, his job, the growing crowd, and anything but me. He got down on hands and knees, pressing his forehead to the parquet floor in the deepest of bows.
“Please. I’m not—” Not his lady, and certainly not the woman I had been. I’d abandoned my people and my duties. I neither deserved nor wanted any honors, and I would’ve been a lot less confused if he’d tried to kill me instead of bowing.
With so many curious ears, I couldn’t ask Kevan to explain himself. Not to mention Panther, growling at my side.
And the press couldn’t know about the tribe. They’d be rabid to hunt them down, and my tribesmen wouldn’t hesitate to skewer a reporter or twenty. But how could Kevan be so far from home? And why? I was the misfit for leaving. No one else saw the value in civilization. “Stand, Kevan.”
“My lady.” He rose onto his knees, revealing the tears frozen to his bottom lashes like icicles. “We feared you were taken to the wastes beyond.”
“I’m fine. Please rise.” Of course he didn’t listen. Kevan grabbed my fingertips and pressed his lips to one of the ice diamonds.
Panther’s growl exploded. His primal roar lifted the hairs on the back of my neck. My instincts told me to run, but as soon as I turned I was captivated.
Black skin flashed to supple fur, and a massive jungle cat lunged for Kevan’s throat.
Chapter Six
Panther
The change was out of my control. But fuck this ice-bastard. Ivory was mine and I would claw those pretty lips off homeboy’s face.
As soon as I was on four paws, I sprang. Glasses shattered, spraying champagne. His eyes widened for a delicious moment, but then his hunter snapped into control, and superhuman fast, he rolled away, rising from his crouch with a wicked ice spear pointed at my jugular.
Bring. It. On.
As I prowled forward, Ivory gave a juicy Nordic curse. Supermodel legs blocked me from my prey.
I snarled, but Ivory crouched down showing empty hands. “Not here.”
Her gaze cooled my bloodlust. With my height and her position, we were eye-level, and maybe I hadn’t spent enough time staring, but damn. She’d never looked at me like this before.
Those gorgeous baby-blues had little flecks of silver, and Ivory saw into my soul. Reaching slowly, she stroked the fur behind my ear. “I didn’t think you’d be so—”
“Beautiful.” The ice boy completed her sentence. A growl tore up my throat, because, fuck him. I wanted to hear that shit from Ivory.
“Beautiful,” she echoed. I’d thought she was the cold one, but I was melting. Maybe since I was always baiting her, I’d only ever gotten her guarded side. The huntress took in half a ton of muscle, claws and fangs, and finally relaxed.
Even women who knew who and what I was freaked when they saw the full show. But Ivory? She probably liked the cat more than the man. She smoothed the fur at my neck and I couldn’t help but purr.
And you’re giving sound bytes now? Tank cracked the moment. I’d gone a little oblivious of the rest of the room, and so much for no cameras. Thanks to an Apple store’s worth of iPhones, this would be viral in time for the ten o’clock news.
That thought felt the same as watching ice boy’s lips on my Ivory’s skin. This wasn’t for sharing. I focused, calming to shift back to two legs, but Tank clamped down. Leave it. Your girl’s having an epiphany.
Whoa. Details. Ivory stroked my fur, oblivious to the rest of the room. She smelled a little like wood smoke and the crisp, cold air right before it snows. I was ready to jump under the covers and weather the storm with her.
“The beast is yours?” Ice boy was on his feet and scanning the crowd, but he hadn’t dropped his spear. Ivory showed him her back, and that wasn’t going to fly. I nudged past her, putt
ing my claws between her and the weapon.
She tsked but kept stroking my head, so I wasn’t complaining. “For now.”
His spear evaporated in a puff of mist. “I would protect you, my lady, but I must go.”
“We need to talk.”
I had a few questions. How did an iceman get hired as a banquet waiter? And what was with the “my lady”? That was my lady he was talking about, but I couldn’t do much without a voice box, so hopefully he got me from the growling.
“Hush.” Ivory patted me.
“Of course.” The guy bowed and backed toward the crowd that was too happy to part for him. “Please find us. We’ll wait for you.”
He turned and sprinted. I wanted to chase until I could rip out his throat for real, but Ivory laid her fingertips on my shoulder. “Let him go.”
The guy was definitely a loose end, and I was at the top of Tank’s shit list again, but with Ivory at my side, it was a decent night. I’d work the panther shape as long as I needed to get her to appreciate the man.
Ivory
I’d expected Tank or even one of the other heroes to step in and control the situation, but Kevan melted away on his own, leaving Panther and me surrounded by the press. Kevan clearly didn’t share my desire to keep the race hidden, but then again, maybe he didn’t know what a camera phone was. It could’ve been worse than a tray of shattered champagne flutes…
And that was why Tank hadn’t stopped it, wasn’t it? It was a show with no one hurt and no damage compared to what the Ten could do. He wouldn’t have to make any apologies.
I, on the other hand, would have plenty to explain. Panther butted my hip with his head. His shifted form was the only thing keeping the press from bombarding me with questions.
There was need to fear him. He was perfectly calm, with a constant purr as I scratched behind his ear.
He was beautiful.
That velvety black fur slid over powerful muscles and his lantern yellow eyes were shocking against the darkness. They held the same mixture of humor and hunter’s glare as his human form, but shifted Panther didn’t set my instincts screaming. All of his strength was out and without the pretense, I couldn’t read him as an enemy.
I should have been worrying about Kevan, but Panther calmed me. He pushed my buttons as a human, but as a cat? Without the sexual heat in play, I was drawn to the simple truth of him. The power and grace—everything he was—spoke to me.
I just didn’t know how to respond.
Angel parted the crowd, hustling over as fast as she could on her heels. “Everything okay?”
“It’s fine.” Kevan was gone, but he’d be easy enough to track now that I knew to look. “I have to—”
“No, you don’t.” Angel’s gaze firmed. “Not that I can stop you, but if you go after your friend, half this room is going to empty out to follow you.”
“I’m not going to stay and play into this circus.”
Panther brushed past me, giving Angel a nudge with his head. He snarled.
“Don’t growl at me.” She flicked his ear, but when she turned to me she’d softened again. “You have to be exhausted. Let them get a few shots of you and the big cat, and then you can both go home. We’ll sort everything else out tomorrow.”
I was still far from calling the Ten’s tower home, but I’d take it. If Kevan had made it to New York, he didn’t need me babysitting. It would be better to forget him. I was the one who’d severed ties, and as long as he wasn’t going to try to kill me, I didn’t have to worry about the tribe. “I’ll go back.”
Angel escorted us outdoors, where another wave of cameramen were ready. I dropped into a crouch, pressing my face into Panther’s warm fur rather than be blinded. He purred, and for once I found calm without reaching for my ice. By the time the Hummer maneuvered its way to us, they had to have a thousand shots to choose from.
Everyone was happy. Except me, but given the circumstances, I’d settle with where I was.
Panther leaped into the car. I climbed in behind him and Angel waved us away. It wasn’t until I sank in to the leather that I realized how tired I really was. So much had changed in so little time. I was still jet-lagged, and between confronting my past and a press army, my edges were ragged.
Panther nudged his head into my lap.
“You’re not going to change back?”
He eased his head back and forth, which I took as a no. It wouldn’t make for much conversation, but I wasn’t in the mood for chatter. I petted Panther, letting his bass purring fill the silence. “I like you this way. Though it’s silly to call you Panther when you are one.”
He pushed air through his nose in a whuff for obviously. It wasn’t my fault I didn’t know his true name. He’d never offered it, and if the others knew, they didn’t favor it. Maybe the real surprise was I wanted to know. But there’d been plenty of surprises since I met Panther.
“I thought I’d want to hunt you.” Predators tended to bring out the matching instincts in me, but this was furthest thing from that. I wanted to hunt with him at my side, but not now. Sometime in the future, when we both felt like it, I liked the idea of stalking some other prey together.
It was a quiet ride back to the tower. From the parking garage we hit the elevator and the two of us could just squeeze inside. I punched sixteen and moved to hit Panther’s button, but I didn’t know his floor. “This would be a good time to shift.”
He maneuvered around, backing me away from the panel of buttons. When the door pinged open on my floor, he darted through. By the time I remembered where to find the light switches, he’d squeezed himself onto the couch.
“Just don’t scratch up the carpets.” Not that I’d be here long enough to care. Even if the press wasn’t satisfied and I could never go back to my routine at the airline, I was perfectly capable of starting fresh. Patagonia would be lovely this time of year.
In the bathroom I shucked off my gown and evaporated the ice diamonds. A shower would’ve been pleasant, but it was too much work. Instead I splashed my face with water and twisted my hair up. I needed sleep. I wrapped myself in a towel until I could find a nightgown in the pile of Angel clothes.
Panther lay in my bed.
Not the jungle cat, but the man. He was naked above the waist, the rest hidden under the comforter. Black against white. I’d had this vision before.
Now that I’d seen his animal beauty, I couldn’t un-see it when I looked at his human form. And I’d wanted him before that.
Those toned muscular lines and that rich dark skin. Would it feel as soft as his fur when I touched it?
My hand lifted on its own and I took a step forward.
I was only wearing a skimpy towel, and he was very much admiring the view. I froze. Now neither of us could turn back.
“I like the show, but you sure you don’t want to join me over here?” He patted the pillow beside him.
I thought about it.
Goddess, I thought about it. I wanted to wriggle in next to him and test how he stood up to my fantasies.
It would break me.
He would break me.
I fled into the bathroom and punched on the shower. I had nothing to wear but the expensive gown I’d left rumpled in a ball, and I wasn’t going out in my towel again.
For the first time in my life, I was truly a coward. I was trapped in the bathroom with nothing to do and no chance of facing Panther without giving in.
Shower it was.
“Ivory?” I was still waiting for the water to heat when his knock sounded. “I’m putting a robe on the doorknob. I’d leave, but we need to talk, so I’ll be bonding with the flat screen.”
His soft footfalls moved away, but I didn’t open the door until the living room television clicked on. The robe was where he said it would be, and I belted it hard around myself.
Why was I acting like this?
So he’d seen me a little vulnerable. So I’d responded. I should have been offended if he hadn’t liked what he w
as seeing. We were adults, and I was well past the point where I could deny the attraction. Glimpsing his other form had only heightened my appreciation of his savage beauty.
My cowardice was the only thing keeping us apart. But there was so much to lose.
I’d seen how much he wanted me in those burning eyes. As much as I wanted him.
I had to explain why I couldn’t take his invitation.
Panther sprawled on the sofa in sweatpants. Had he been naked in my bed or not? I couldn’t help but fill in the blanks.
“What happened with your friend?” He flipped through channels without turning my way, and that was fine. I didn’t need him reading the thoughts on my face.
“We’re not friends. I don’t plan to go after him.” Kevan’s decisions were his own and I didn’t want to lead the press, or the Ten, his way.
“Good.” Tension eased from his body. “Except I was wondering more what he was doing with the bowing and the cocktail-waiting and the whole being in New York.”
“Let’s not talk about him.” I was curious, but it wasn’t my affair. What I wanted now was to clear the air with Panther.
“No?” He sat up, giving me the full view of his stomach muscles as he shifted his attention my way. “What do you want to talk about?”
“About…” I swallowed. I was a grown woman, not some unblooded girl on her first hunt. “You’re attracted to me.”
His brows quirked. “You didn’t just realize that.”
“Are you?”
“Ivory.” Panther’s gaze raked me from head to toe in a screaming wordless yes that sparked heat in my cold blood. “From moment one, you were the wildest thing I’ve ever seen. All I do is imagine how you’d taste.”
Goose bumps again.
“I want…but I…can’t.” I gripped the robe’s knot. “If I ever let go…” It would be the end of me. I’d spin out of control, and if I didn’t take the high road while I could and drag myself home, the next time I saw the M-10, I’d be their target instead of their partner.
“I can handle it.” Panther rose from the sofa to loom over me like no other man could.
