by Tasha Black
Give me a second, let me get out of the car, Adrian pleaded.
Hurry, it roared back at him.
A moment later he was dashing into the woods after her, clothing shredding as he fell to the ground. His front feet were paws before they touched the soil.
Lucy was a surprisingly fast runner, but the panther found her easy to track. Adrian sort of hoped that he would be able to convince the creature to let him shift again when they got close.
Of course he’d need to find some reason to explain his nudity, but it seemed preferable to the alternative.
Before he had time to think about it further, he burst into a clearing and there she was, standing among the ferns.
It was humid and she was winded from the run. She had removed her tailored jacket to reveal the white shift dress she wore underneath, her dark curls spilling over the bodice.
Suddenly, he was wrenched back to the dream he’d had on the airplane: Lucy dressed in white, out in the ferns. It was all just like this. Everything was the same.
For once, man and beast were of one mind as they approached her on reverent paws.
Lucy turned and the world moved in slow motion.
Adrian hadn’t shifted back. In his wonder, he had forgotten. He waited to see her face contort in fear and to hear her scream of terror.
Her sweet mouth dropped open slightly, but she didn’t make a sound.
He held himself still, unable to think of what to do next. He was huge, as big as a horse, much bigger than the male panther he’d seen at the Philadelphia Zoo.
Anyone would be right to be afraid.
Yet she approached, quietly, carefully.
Her face was cautious, but not fearful.
“It was you, wasn’t it?” Her voice was soft and hopeful. “You saved me last night.”
He held his breath, trying to tell her yes with his eyes.
She extended her hand to him slowly.
Joyfully, he thrust his big head down against her palm.
Her laughter rang through the clearing.
“Adrian,” she breathed wrapping her hands around his furry cheeks, gazing wonderingly into his eyes.
And then she seemed to be shrinking.
He realized that she wasn’t doing anything - he was shifting. The panther had let him go at last.
22
Lucy
Lucy watched as a sinewy, jet-black cat slid upwards into the man she loved.
The process was as seamless as it was impossible. One moment she was cradling the face of the beast from a fairytale and the next she was holding the face of the prince.
“Lucy,” he said. His voice sounded different from usual, huskier.
His brown eyes were almost hypnotic.
I’m so happy. I’m so afraid.
She was hearing his thoughts, she was sure of it. Or maybe hearing them wasn’t the right way to describe it. Maybe she was feeling them, through his skin.
“I’m scared too,” she whispered. “And I’m so glad you’re happy.”
Surprise brightened his expression.
“You know what I’m thinking.”
“Sometimes,” she smiled. “But only since last night.”
She felt the color darken her cheeks with embarrassment.
“Is that, uh, normal for you?”
She shook her head. “It’s never happened to me before.”
He smiled.
Good.
She smiled at his possessiveness and it was his turn to look embarrassed.
“Should I even bother talking out loud?” He was only teasing, but she felt bad.
“I wonder,” she said to herself, removing her hands from his face.
An expression fleeted across his features but she heard nothing.
She put her hands on his face again.
Mm, nice, he sighed inwardly.
Wow.
“It’s only when I touch you,” she mused.
Then his hands were covering hers, holding them to his face.
I don’t want to hide anything from you. I love you, I always have. I don’t know why this is happening, but I’m glad. I will never let you go again.
“I love you too,” she said. The words felt so good to say, she had held them in for so long.
His happiness poured into her - wordless and beautiful, filling her with its light. She felt as if she were an overflowing vessel.
And then he was kissing her, sweetly tenderly.
She kissed him back, wishing she could let him see her heart as she was allowed to see his.
His kiss turned hungry, insistent. His emotion gave way to raw need, washing through her until she wasn’t sure if it was his implacable desire she felt or her own.
She was unconcerned to find herself lifted up, placed down in front of a huge, moss-covered rock.
He bent to slide her dress over her head and she lifted her arms to help him.
God, so beautiful.
She was happy, so happy that he was so pleased with her generous but unexceptional figure when he had a bevy of glamorous “all American” women throwing themselves at him daily.
He removed the last of her clothing and she had no space left in her brain or body for rational thought.
Mine, she heard him think as he bent to lick one of her stiff nipples into his mouth. The roughness of his beard tickled her as he moved lower, rubbing his face into her belly in a way that reminded her of the panther.
She laughed happily, for once not embarrassed of her soft tummy.
Mine, he thought again, happily.
Then he was lifting her up, cradling her head as he laid her gently on the boulder.
She looked up at his kind face.
“I love you,” she whispered again.
“I love you, my angel,” he whispered roughly. The words were echoed in his thoughts, so that they sang like a chorus in her heart.
As many times as she had dreamed of saying these words to him, Lucy had never once imagined she would hear them back.
He kissed his way down her body, a stream of exultation washing over her with every inch he worshipped with his mouth and hands and thoughts.
Mine, he thought again, triumphantly, as he parted her thighs.
She closed her eyes and tried not to scream with the pleasure as he slowly and lovingly began to lick her open sex.
23
Adrian
Adrian was beside himself with lust. Lucy lay before him, her sweet flesh spread out like a banquet.
The soft moans that came from her were intoxicating. He wanted to drown himself in her, bury himself in all that soft sweetness.
All around them the sounds of the woods were like a symphony - the cries of the cicadas serenaded them, the light breeze whispered a melody through the Spanish moss hanging from the tree branches.
His own blood pulsed rhythmically in his ears as he savored the taste of his mate on his tongue.
He knew he should worry that she could hear his thoughts, but somehow he didn’t care. He liked that she could know the truth of his adoration and his longing. He didn’t want to hold anything back from her, not anymore.
When he had her trembling helplessly under his mouth, he crawled back up to her, licking her juices from his lips.
Is this what you want?
She wrapped her arms around his neck, pulled him so close their foreheads touched.
“Please,” she whispered.
Without breaking eye contact, he slid a hand between them, easing himself against her.
God, she was so wet, so tight.
Her eyes went hazy with lust and he pressed into her, gritting his teeth against the acute pleasure, praying for the strength not to come immediately.
She whined as if his thoughts had stoked her own lust, and he had to hold still a moment before he could continue.
At last he was fully seated inside her.
Lucy, Lucy, my Lucy…
She smiled up at him, and the sunshine of her smile made his he
art throb.
She wiggled her hips impatiently.
He smiled and gave her what she wanted.
Her eyes rolled back at the first thrust. He was trying hard to be gentle. He didn’t want to crush her against the rock.
But she arched herself up to him, sinking her nails into his arms.
He groaned and slammed into her again.
Impossibly, she began to tighten around him.
Oh, god, please…
He slipped a hand between them again, found her throbbing little bud and toyed with it gently.
She whimpered out and tilted her hips upward to give him better access.
He thrust again, rubbing light flickering circles with his thumb.
Lucy cried his name and he felt her convulsing deliriously around him.
Unable to hold back, he thrust into her tight warmth one last time, seeing stars as he came hard, exploding inside her.
The panther nudged him and he found himself leaning down to bite the tender flesh where her neck met her shoulder.
She moaned with pleasure and he was relieved that she felt no pain from the bite that marked her as his for life.
He buried his face in her neck, the waves of pleasure still echoing in his body, even as he wished more than anything that he could read her mind too.
“Yours,” she sighed in a satisfied way.
24
Lucy
Lucy was happy, truly happy.
She hummed as she dressed.
Adrian was in the bathroom, finishing up his shower.
They had just decided to order a pizza, neither of them wanting to leave the sweet little cabin. As far as Lucy was concerned, they might just as well never leave it again.
It was impossible to believe that when they’d arrived here the small space had been thick with tension. She had popped over to the spare cabin she’d moved into that morning to grab her suitcase, and now the shared space felt cozy and comfortable.
A sound came from the bathroom and she realized Adrian was humming too.
She smiled.
Although her body was still aching from their earlier exertions, the idea that he was in there, warm water pounding against his muscular naked form made her insides do little flip flops.
Maybe she would just sneak back in there and…
There was a knock on the door.
It must be the pizza delivery, though they had said on the phone that it would be forty-five minutes.
“Just a minute,” she called out, zipping up her jeans and pulling a t-shirt over her head.
She opened the door and was taken more than a little aback by the man standing on the other side.
“H-hello,” she said.
Mr. Giles Hall smiled warmly at her from the front porch. He looked exactly like he did on the homepage of the Horizon Card Company - benevolent smile, penetrating blue-eyed gaze. He was still very handsome, though Lucy knew he must be in his late sixties.
“You must be Miss Wren,” he said. “I’m Giles Hall.”
“I-I know,” she stammered. “It’s a pleasure to meet you, Mr. Hall. Would you like to come in?”
“In my recollection, those cottages are barely big enough for a bed,” he chuckled. “How about we talk out here?”
She nodded and stepped outside.
The sun was setting now, bright highlights flashing off the waxy leaves of the palmetto trees.
The porch was shaded and pleasant.
Mr. Hall ran a hand through his silver hair.
“Well,” he said at length. “I watched the footage of the auditions.”
She looked up, whatever was going to happen to her and to Adrian she didn’t care, so long as the actors weren’t rejected just on the basis of William Howard bringing them.
“They’re all wonderful,” he said, shaking his head in apparent amazement. “I also happened to see a conversation that happened just after one of the auditions. Your PA let the tape roll a little long.”
Oh. Oh wow.
Lucy bit her lip. She had no idea where this was going to go. But she wasn’t in Glacier City anymore. It was impossible to know whether Hall might share his grandson’s views.
He certainly wouldn’t be a fan of Adrian’s harsh response.
“Needless to say,” Hall went on, “I was not pleased. My grandson has been getting too big for his britches. What he said to you about that young lady was unacceptable, and if Harkness had punched him in the nose, I’d have sent him a bouquet of flowers.”
Lucy was too thunderstruck to respond.
Hall, not seeming to mind her being tongue-tied, promptly laughed at his own statement.
“At any rate,” he said, “it seems that I owe you an apology, young lady.”
“Oh, that’s alright—” she began.
“Of course it’s not alright,” he said. “I’m deeply ashamed that my own flesh and blood would treat a woman the way Jeremy treated you. I hope you will accept my apology.”
“What’s going on, Lucy?” Adrian’s voice came from inside the cottage.
Before she could reply, he was standing in the doorway, dripping wet, a towel slung around his hips.
And nothing else.
Lucy swallowed hard.
“Adrian,” she said. “This is Mr. Hall. Mr. Hall, this is Adrian Harkness.”
Adrian’s eyebrows went up in surprise.
“Nice to meet you, son,” Hall proclaimed. “You’re quite the specimen. Are you a runner?”
“Yes, sir,” Adrian replied.
“I’ve been known to run myself from time to time,” Hall replied. “I’m here to apologize to you and your colleague, Miss Wren.”
“That’s not necess—” Adrian began.
“Nonsense,” Hall said. “Apologies are very necessary. But in my experience they’re not usually enough to get the job done on their own. I’m here to demonstrate my respect another way as well. I’d like you two to make the casting choices yourselves. You’ve worked with these kids before, and I’m sure you know the best fit.”
“Oh no,” Adrian said immediately, “it’s very generous of you, but we couldn’t do that Mr. Hall. Our client always makes the final decision.”
“I am,” Hall said with a friendly smile. “I’m deciding to leave it to the professionals.”
Adrian’s handsome face broke into a big grin.
He met Lucy’s eyes in question.
She smiled back and nodded. Yes, she would like to cast this thing herself. She had a vision for it. He knew that.
“Thank you, sir,” Adrian said in a heartfelt way. “We appreciate the opportunity.”
“Don’t mention it.” Hall said, offering Adrian his hand.
Before they could shake, there was a squeal of tires and then a cloud of sand billowing toward them from the entry to the parking lot.
25
Jeremy
Jeremy hopped out of the car feeling like a cowboy in a movie with the haze of kicked-up sand hanging in the air like a mist.
His grandfather had left him a rather terse message, in which he made it clear that he wasn’t pleased with what Jeremy said to Lucy. The old man had also added that Jeremy didn’t have the common sense the good Lord promised a house plant, and that he was coming out himself to tend to the matter.
Jeremy had hopped in his car and sped over as soon as he’d heard that part, making one quick but important call along the way.
He knew he needed to smooth things over with his grandfather, but that would come later. Jeremy couldn’t wait another minute to reveal Harkness’s secret. It would be pretty freaking impossible for his grandfather not to appreciate his good instincts after that.
“What the hell are you doing here?” The old man’s voice was super irritated.
“Be careful, Giles,” Jeremy said instead of responding to the question. “Harkness has a dangerous secret.”
A frightened look crossed Adrian’s stupidly handsome face.
Right on cue, he heard the si
ren on the main road.
The town police car pulled into the lot and parked right next to his convertible.
“Right up here, officers,” Jeremy called out.
Mona Connell and Ted Peterson hopped out of the car and headed to the porch.
“You said you had information about the big cat sighting?” Mona looked eager. She already had her pad of paper out to take notes.
“Yeah,” Jeremy said, cool as a cucumber. “This man right here, Adrian Harkness, could probably explain the whole thing.”
Lucy looked like she wanted to bolt. He grabbed her arm before she had a chance.
“This girl is his accomplice.”
A stunned looked crossed Lucy’s face and then she smiled.
No. She actually laughed.
Adrian was looking at her, tilting his head slightly as if he were confused. He wasn’t the only one.
Lucy’s behavior didn’t matter though. None of it did. Except the part where he nailed them both to the wall.
“Go on,” Jeremy cried triumphantly. “Look in their cabin. You’ll find it in there.”
Adrian’s eyes went wide, and a smile touched his lips as well.
What the hell? They should both be shitting bricks.
“Jeremy,” Mona said patiently. “You know we’d need a warrant for that.”
“You have probable cause, don’t you?” Jeremy was sure he’d heard that phrase in a movie once. “That man is keeping an illegal exotic pet. I know it!”
Mona shook her head.
“No, it’s fine,” Harkness said, looking positively cheerful. “Please come in.”
“Are you sure, Mr. Harkness?” Mona’s voice was very respectful. “You’re under no obligation to allow it.”
“It’s absolutely fine,” Adrian said in his annoyingly patient way. “I wouldn’t want anyone to feel they’d left a stone unturned.”
That was all Jeremy needed to hear.
“Go on, go in. What are you waiting for?” He wasn’t going in there to get mauled, but his taxes were paying Connell and Peterson. They’d better get the hell inside.
