Strange Lake Falls Panther (Strange Lake Falls Series Book 4)

by KD Jones

  “Are you okay?”

  He stalked closer to her. She could see him struggling with his cat. He was so new to his shifter status. She had been born a werewolf, and sometimes she wondered what it was like for others who had been changed and what they had to go through. To suddenly have their lives flipped upside down and have to learn a new way of living must be scary. She could tell he was having a hard time with it still.

  “I haven’t been okay in a long while.”

  “Is there something I can do to help?”

  He stood less than a foot away, close in her personal space. His hand reached up and cupped her cheek. Then he moved the hand to the back of her head and gripped her gently but firmly. He pulled her to him. “Yes. I am dying to know . . .”

  “Know what?” she whispered.

  “What you taste like.” Then his lips took hers in a strong, thorough kiss.

  Oh . . . yes. She couldn’t think of any response except to wrap her arms around his neck. Nothing mattered except this man and his delicious kiss.

  Chapter 9

  Connor growled with need as his hands found their way to her ass. For someone so petite, she was voluptuous in all the right places. He loved her tight firm ass. He lifted her up and she wrapped her legs around his waist, which made the short leather skirt roll up like a window shade, giving him even more access to her almost bare backside. He felt primitive towards her, like dragging her off and making her his.

  “Connor,” Roxanne moaned.

  His cat purred. That had never before happened. He ground his cock into her, wishing their clothes would just be gone. He could rip them off. In seconds he could have them both naked. Then he could plunge into her sweet depths the way he had been fantasizing about for all these years.

  He nibbled her chin, moving down to her neck. He smiled when he heard her wolf growl in need. She wanted him, she and her wolf wanted him. It amazed and excited him. At the same time, he was humbled. This amazing beautiful woman wanted him.

  “God, Roxanne, you are so lovely.” He reached under her stretchy top to cup one lace-covered breast. He wanted to see her and taste her.

  “Connor, I need you.” Roxanne was grinding herself down on him. She had very strong legs.

  “I need you too, Roxanne.”

  He walked her over into the shadows of the trees surrounding the club. He pressed her back against a tree, giving him the leverage he need.

  He lifted her shirt further and pulled down her bra cup so that her sweet pink nipple popped free. “Yes.” His mouth was on her, taking her inside his hot warm cavern. He suckled her like a starving man. She was so sweet. The only thing better would be if she were filled with breast milk. He purred again.

  Roxanne arched her back to give him more access. He reached down between their bodies, moving her underwear aside. She was so wet. He wanted to fall to his knees and lick her juices. He would do that, he would do so much more.

  He slid one finger inside her tight channel. Oh damn, she was really tight. He could hurt her if he didn’t slow down a bit. He added another finger as he pumped in and out of her. He could tell she was close to reaching her orgasm. She dug her claws into his back and he reclaimed her lips as he twisted his fingers and curled them inside of her. His thumb tweaked her clit and that was all it took.

  “Connor, yes!” Roxanne squeezed her legs around his waist as she came hard.

  Connor began to fumble with his pants but a sound behind them, from further into the dark woods, made him stop. He lifted his head in the air and sniffed. A sick, bitter smell drifted toward them, one that he recognized immediately. Mors.

  He lowered Roxanne to the ground and stepped away. He turned his back on her and began pacing, searching the darkness. The scent was very faint. Was he imagining it? He needed to track it down.

  “Connor?” Roxanne’s confused and shaky voice called out from behind him.

  He turned sideways and cringed. Roxanne was pulling the skirt back down and restoring her perfect breasts to order under her shirt. He looked around, grateful no one had come out and found them. No one but Mors. This was a mistake. He never should have touched her. The thought of Mors watching them, looking at Roxanne as she was being pleasured, filled him with anger and a fear he had never experienced before. With emotions so strong, he knew he wouldn’t be able to control his shift much longer. His head jerked to the right as he caught a glimpse of movement. She needed to leave right now.

  *****

  Roxanne watched as Connor paced back and forth. He looked like his cat was clamoring to come out. He wouldn’t look at her. “What’s wrong?

  “You need to go back inside,” he said, not looking at her.

  “What? But we have things to discuss. Especially about what just happened.” She was so confused. She had just had the most amazing orgasm of her life and he was acting like it was nothing. Worse, he was dismissing her. The breeze blew and she caught a strange scent. “Do you smell that?”

  “You need to go inside, now.” He practically shoved her toward the back door to the club

  “You are being an ass, Connor. Talk to me. Did I do something wrong?”

  “I don’t have time for this. Go back inside . . . back to your date.”

  She felt like he had punched her in the gut. He cared so little for what they had shared that he was throwing her in the arms of another man? Fine, if that’s what he wanted.

  “Screw you, Connor. You had your chance and you blew it.”

  She finished adjusting her clothes and stomped her way back to the back entrance of the nightclub. The door was normally kept locked on the outside but it hadn’t closed all the way so she was able to get back in. Just to spite him, she made sure the door closed and locked behind her. If he was going to be a fucking jerk, he could walk all the way around the building to get back in.

  Tears escaped and ran down her cheeks. She couldn’t go back to Lucas looking like this. She went to the bathroom and freshened herself. She looked at herself in the mirror. She could tell, even without the scent of arousal still on her skin, that she had just had some type of sexual encounter. What was Lucas going to think of her? That she was some kind of slut. She slumped down on the cushioned seat as her tears turned into huge sobs, wracking her body.

  She wasn’t sure how long she was in there crying before a knock on the door surprised her into sitting up.

  “Hello? Roxanne? Are you in there?” Lucas asked as he cracked open the door. She saw his head peer inside and their eyes locked. He stepped inside and lifted his nose, gathering information from her scent instinctively. Without hesitation he came to her, lifted her in his arms, and settled on the cushion with her in his lap.

  “Lucas . . .”

  “Shh . . . you can tell me about it later. Right now you need to cry and I need to hold you.”

  He was so wonderful. Perfect in every way. Except for one: he wasn’t Connor. The tears started up again and she cried. Lucas crooned to her as he comforted her. He used his Alpha powers to calm her. She pulled back to look at him when she was finally able to stop crying.

  “I owe you an explanation and an apology.”

  “Not here. Let me take you home and you can tell me what ever you want.”

  She shook her head. “I don’t want to go back to the pack house tonight.”

  “Then come to my hotel room.” When she bit her bottom lip, he reached up to cup her cheek. “Just to talk. You can stay as long as you want. I’ll sleep on the sofa.”

  She needed someone to talk to. Someone who wasn’t friends or family with Connor. “Okay.”

  Lucas placed her gently on her feet and kept an arm around her back. He opened the door and surprised a woman on her way inside. He gave the woman a polite smile as he spoke in a serious manner to Roxanne.

  “I must say, they have extraordinary facilities here.”

  Roxanne bit her lip not to laugh. What a scene they must have made. She owed Lucas for so much. “Thank you.”

&nbs
p; “There is nothing to thank me for. I am sure you would have come to my aid if I was in tears in the bathroom.”

  She smiled feeling a little better. “Absolutely. Urinal or no urinal, I will definitely be there for you.”

  Chapter 10

  Connor in his panther form and circled the area, but only found hints of Mors’ scent. It was spread all over the place, almost like there was more than one of him. He came back around towards the parking lot and caught sight of Roxanne walking out with the Alpha, his arm around her. He growled.

  He wanted to rip the man’s arm off for having touched his mate. Mate? Where the hell did that thought come from? Roxanne couldn’t be his mate. She was a werewolf and he was a werepanther. Were they even compatible? In human form they were. It didn’t seem to matter to his cat; his cat wanted Roxanne. Our Mate. The male touches our mate.

  Her words to him before she went back inside, back to the Alpha, would haunt him forever. “You had your chance and you blew it.”

  She was right, he had blown it. He had thrown her at the other man and now she was leaving with him. At the time he only thought of getting her away from danger. He knew that the other male was an Alpha and would protect her while Connor searched for Mors.

  He watched as the man pulled out of the parking lot, turning left instead of the right. Right led to the pack house, but left would lead them to a nearby hotel where Connor assumed the alpha was staying. He may have really lost her for good. Fuck!

  *****

  Roxanne stared out the window of the hotel room. She had showered and Lucas had been nice enough to lend her one of his clean shirts. It reached her knees, so she felt pretty covered. As a shifter, nudity didn’t bother her, but she didn’t think it wise to parade naked in front of a man in his hotel room. Besides, all she could think about was Connor. He had acted so strange. Now that she had time to think back, he had sniffed the air and then pushed her away. Maybe he scented danger. Why wouldn’t he tell her that? And why would he tell her to go back to Lucas?

  “Feeling better?” Lucas asked, coming up behind her and placing his hands on her shoulders.

  “Yes, thank you.”

  “Are you feeling like talking about it?”

  “No, but you deserve to hear about it anyway.” She sat on a chair and looked at her hands. She just didn’t know how to begin this.

  “Let me help you out. Lucas you’re a great guy, but there’s someone else,” Lucas said for her, encouraging her to admit it.

  “There is, but he doesn’t want to be with me. Shit. The situation is so confusing and complicated. We may not be compatible anyway.”

  Lucas raised an eyebrow. “Why wouldn’t you be compatible?”

  “He’s not . . . a werewolf.”

  “Human?”

  “No.”

  “Vampire?”

  “No. And I would rather not say too much more in case you tell Ric about this.”

  Lucas sighed. “I would never betray your trust that way. So this guy who is other hasn’t claimed you but you want to claim him?”

  She nodded her head.

  “Why didn’t you tell me when I first arrived that you wanted someone else?”

  “I should have. But he had never before claimed an interest in me. He wasn’t even in the country until a few days ago. Then you arrived and I was determined to move past these feelings and do the right thing by our people.”

  He growled a little. It was the first sign that he gave that he was upset over the situation. “You make it sound so romantic,” he said, the first sign of sarcasm she’d heard from him.

  She stiffened her shoulders in defense. “You came here, without ever having met me before, planning to mate me for the same reason.”

  “You’re right. And we were both wrong to do so. A mating is for life and should be entered into only if the two involved share a deep, caring relationship with one another.”

  “I do find you attractive and I like you. You have been so sweet to me.” She reached out a hand and cupped his cheek.

  “That is not enough to base a mating on. I deserve more, and so do you. Roxanne, I must withdraw my interest in you.”

  “I understand.”

  “I deserve the truth.”

  “Yes, you do.” She sighed. “His name is Connor. He’s Mary’s son.”

  “Shit.”

  “Exactly.”

  “And he’s a panther?”

  “Yes. He was turned against his will a little over a year ago.”

  “Well, I’ve not heard of or seen a panther shifter in a long time. They didn’t like being around other shifters or humans. I had assumed they all died out.”

  “Not all, and now Connor is one.”

  “So, if you’re attracted to him, and I assume he’s attracted to you, why aren’t you two mated?”

  She blushed turning away. “I’m not sure he’s really into me.”

  Lucas snorted. “Two things tell me he is. One is that you are absolutely stunning. Not straight single male could resist your charms. Second, I can smell him on you still. That male is definitely interested.”

  “I’m so sorry about tonight. I went outside to get some fresh air and he was there. The next thing I know, he’s kissing me and I let him. I kissed him back. It got out of hand but then he suddenly pulled away. Then he told me to go back to my date.”

  “What an asshole. I will hunt him down and beat him until he can’t stand up.”

  It made her feel a little better that Lucas would be upset on her behalf. “I appreciate the sentiment, but I can’t force myself on him. He’s pushed me away. I have to accept it.”

  There was a moment of silence. She watched as Lucas stood and went to the minibar. He poured a glass of bourbon and came back, handing her the glass. “Drink all of that, then go to bed. I have to run down to the lobby but I’ll be back. I’m going to see if they have a cot they can give me to sleep on.”

  She took a sip. “I don’t want to put you out.”

  “You’re not. Go ahead on to bed. I have the key. I want to wait on the bed and bring it up myself so that no one will disturb you.”

  She wasn’t really paying attention anymore. She took a large gulp and wobbled over to the bed. She lay down and closed her eyes. That was a mistake. She saw Connor’s face as he made her come. He had been just as much into her as she had been into him. So why was he pushing her away? She sighed and tried to think of something else, anything else but Connor. She heard the door to the hotel room shut softly as Lucas left. Roxanne was going to need another glass or two to truly unwind.

  Chapter 11

  Connor was fighting his cat for control. His cat wanted to track down Roxanne and kill the man that took her from them.

  “Get mate now!” his cat demanded.

  “No, damn it! We’ll put her in danger if we go after her.”

  “We keep her safe. I want my mate!” his cat insisted.

  “I want her too.” Connor felt like his heart was breaking in two. He had been obsessed with Roxanne for the past few years, but now, finally recognizing what his cat had been trying to tell him, that she was his mate, he could see that he had fallen in love with her. Probably the first time he saw her, he started to fall. Now he was completely and utterly consumed with love for her.

  But he had pushed her away. He scented Mors and all he knew was that he had to protect her. No matter what. Even if she hated him for it. Her life was more important.

  The doorbell rang, interrupting his thoughts. He went to answer it. He paused, smelling wolf, and a part of him hoped that it was Roxanne. He opened the door to be greeted with a fist in his face. He was surprised and flew backwards, sliding across the floor. Who the hell was this?

  “Get up, you asshole!” the blurry stranger yelled as he stormed in.

  It wasn’t until Connor got back to his feet and really looked at the stranger that he recognized him. “Alpha. Why are you here?”

  “I have spent the last two hours trying to com
fort a crying Roxanne after what you did to her.”

  Connor’s eyes narrowed at the other man as he sniffed the air. “Did you touch her?”

  “Of course not. I am not in the habit of taking advantage of emotionally distressed females.”

  Connor breathed a sigh of relief. Then he remembered what the man said. “She was crying?”

  “Yes. So much that I decided, when I got a chance, I would come find you and beat the shit out of you.”

  “Where is she?”

  “Her whereabouts are not your concern right now. What kind of game are you trying to play with her?”

  “I’m not trying to play any games with her. I . . . care for her deeply.”

  “Yes, your care for her was evident when you dumped her in an alley and told her to go off with another man.”

  “I was trying to protect her!”

  “From what?”

  “From the psycho who turned me! I scented him close by and I was trying to get her away from there, to safety.”

  “Why didn’t you just tell her that?” The Alpha seemed to relax his stance a little.

  “She would have stayed by my side. She’s beautiful, brave, and stubborn.”

  “She needs you to tell her the truth. She thinks you turned her away because you didn’t want her.”

  “Fuck that, she’s all I’ve ever truly wanted.” Connor ran a hand through his hair.

  “Then you need to do something about the damage you have caused. Or you risk losing her forever.”

  “I . . . have to handle Mors and the danger he brings with him first.”

  “You can’t handle this on your own,” Lucas told him bluntly.

  “He won’t be,” Alpha Ric said from the doorway.

  Neither Connor nor Lucas had noticed Ric’s entrance. He was leaning against the wall.

  “How long have you been there?” Connor asked.

  “Long enough. Mary didn’t see you come back inside the club so I told her I would come and check on you. Jackie and Adrian will take her home. So this guy Mors is here in Strange Lake Falls?”