Be Still My Cheetah Heart (Bridenapping Jaguars Book 1) Page 15

  “I don’t know.” She gnawed on her lip.

  “Well, you never know until you try.”

  Maria shrugged and called out hello to a teenage boy, just entering a small hut on the edge of the compound. He was lugging a large bag that he had somehow managed to balance on a tiny scooter all the way up from town.

  She introduced Hester to Ben whose current job was to collect the mail from town and sort it.

  “The post office doesn’t like to come out here, so we came to an arrangement to just collect it ourselves, and everyone collects their own post from here,” she explained.

  “I’m sorry, Maria,” said Ben, “I haven’t had time to sort through it yet.”

  “Not a problem, I am early today. How is your mother?”

  Maria inquired after Ben’s whole family while Hester wandered through the cabin. There were pigeon holes for the different families and households, and some had mail stuck in there already, probably from previous days that just hadn’t been collected.

  “Hey, Ben!” Valentina bounced into the cabin, stopping short on seeing Hester and Maria – particularly Hester.

  Her cheetah let out a growl, but Hester tried to appear blank.

  Ben didn’t notice her hesitation. Nope, he blushed and started stammering at the svelte jaguar shifter.

  “Hi Valentina,” he replied shyly. “I haven’t sorted today's mail yet.”

  Valentina wouldn’t make eye contact with Hester. Boy that must have been some slap she landed on her. Pussy grumbled her cheetah. She wasn’t even bruised – her perfect face had returned to its normal perfectness already!

  Maria smiled at her, but that seemed to embarrass Valentina more.

  “It’s fine, Ben, I’ll just take whatever came yesterday.”

  Ben scrambled to get it, almost tripping over his feet in the process, eager to please her. Hester watched him pull out a few letters from their slot and quickly hand them over. They looked like junk mail – the usual, letters encouraging people to take out magazine subscriptions, come and shop at our going out of business sale and so on and so forth. Though, one actually looked like a real letter – there was a big company logo on it and everything, but it hardly seemed worth the trip. No wonder most of the holes still had mail in them waiting to be collected. The leap members probably didn’t get bills in the same way ordinary people would. The compound bills for electricity and other utilities would be paid as a whole from the proceeds of the leap businesses.

  “Thanks,” mumbled Valentina, “I’ll see you tomorrow.” She practically ran out of the cabin.

  “Yes, see you tomorrow,” called Ben after her.

  Maria gave him a sweet, understanding smiled and he turned bright red before returning to his mail.

  Hester shrugged. As long as the woman stayed away from Antonio, she didn’t care how agitated she was.

  Twenty-Four

  “So where are we going?” demanded Hester for the fourth time.

  “Surprise,” said Antonio, glancing away from the road to enjoy her petulant expression.

  Hester sniffed and flicked her hair over her shoulder. “I hate surprises, remember that time I got kidnapped – hated it.”

  Antonio laughed. “This is a pleasant surprise – I promise.”

  Hester grumbled and groaned, and he ignored her. She was going to like this, even if she tried to pretend she wouldn’t.

  “Ooh, pull over here!” she cried, pointing and grabbing his arm until he did. Antonio frowned at the roadside stand selling fruit, vegetables and baked goods.

  “If you’re hungry…”

  “It’s not that, just wait here and I’ll be right back.”

  Hester virtually skipped out the car, and his hands tightened on the wheel as she started having a lively conversation with a large male. He had to be a shifter, but he wasn’t one Antonio recognized. How could she already know a shifter in town that he didn’t? She’d barely been his kidnap victim for a week! His jaguar snarled. He was about to go out there and howl the word mine when Hester came rushing back and jumped in the car.

  She flashed him a smug smile and waved her hand at the road. “C’mon, kitten let’s get going to your surprise.”

  Antonio gave her a suspicious look, but he started driving. “What was that all about?”

  “Oh, nothing,” she said airily.

  Was she trying to get away from him? Had she made plans to escape with that large shifter? The man was huge, had to be a bear at least… His jaguar was working his way up to a furious shift when something clicked into place.

  “Was that…”

  Hester nodded, rolling her eyes at his slowness. “Yep, your mother’s future boyfriend.”

  His protectiveness went into overdrive. “Oh, hell, no!”

  He was about to swing the car around when Hester grabbed the wheel to stop him, only swerving a little and earning them a few honks from other drivers.

  “I have to…”

  “Do nothing,” she finished. “Your mother’s a lovely woman who is also very lonely. He likes her, and she likes him, so there’s no reason they shouldn’t get together.”

  “I don’t like it,” grouched Antonio, though he didn’t make a move to try and turn round again.

  But this was his mother. He couldn’t allow her to get hurt. Besides, his father hadn’t died that long ago. What were two decades in the scheme of things?!

  Hester reached out and traced a finger over his ear. “You don’t have to like it,” she cooed in a gentle tone, “but you will put up with it.”

  His jaguar almost purred, easily placated by her. “So bossy,” he sighed.

  “You have no idea.”

  “If he hurts her…”

  “Then you’re free to beat him to a pulp.”

  Antonio nodded. As long as she understood that, he guessed he wouldn’t try to interfere.

  “So where are we going?” she demanded again, her momentary gentleness quickly gone.

  “Still a surprise.”

  “Grrrr!”

  *

  It was worth all her complaining to see this.

  The cheetah hurtled along the beach, kicking up sand, outstripping all the other cat shifters and generally having the time of her life. Antonio had tried to keep up with her but gave up when it became apparent she was much too fast for him.

  He knew it had been difficult for her, not being able to let her cheetah run free – not to mention everything that had been happening in the leap, so he thought a day out might help relax her. Truthfully, he needed it too. He had always been happy in the leap, but now, after what happened, he couldn’t deny that suspicion was setting in. His home didn’t feel as safe as it used to, and he was both angry and frustrated by that. He was trying to get Hester to stay with him and yet he couldn’t even protect her. He pushed those thoughts aside and tried just to enjoy their time together.

  The jaguar dropped into the sand and allowed the shift to take over. Both jaguar and man appreciated watching her running up and down, chasing nothing and frolicking in the waves. She really was a beautiful creature, both in and out of her shifted form.

  The beach belonged to the lion pride. It was private for shifters to shift and do as they pleased. Even now he saw a few of the pride cubs running, chasing each other’s tails while their parents yelled at them in exasperation.

  He watched her as she ran, slowing only to approach the water and sniff. A wave lapped at her, and she jumped back, leaping through the air like an acrobatic cat. Antonio chuckled, and the cheetah looked up at the sound. She cocked her head to one side and trotted towards him.

  “Hey, girl,” he murmured.

  Antonio reached out to pet her, and she huffed, but he did it anyway, and she let him. He smoothed his fingers through her silky fur. Slowly, her body returned to her human form, and he pushed her hair behind her ear.

  Pink cheeked and happily tired from her exercise, Hester flopped back onto the beach blanket with a look of content.


  “So, good surprise?” he asked.

  “Yes,” she admitted only a tad grudgingly. “It is nice here. There are plenty of lovely beaches back in Los Lobos but none that are shifter only.”

  “The lion pride lets us run here whenever we want.”

  Usually, they didn’t need to. Younger males came here to sunbathe occasionally and when they were trying to impress some of the younger lion shifters – given that the leap had no lionesses, he would say that never worked. But usually, they had plenty of their own land to run on – but Antonio didn’t think it was safe at that moment. Which is why he brought her all the way out here, hopefully away from danger. Still, his jaguar was on alert, and he kept a watchful eye around him for potential danger. That is when he wasn’t keeping a watchful eye on her. His eyes wandered down her body, and she reached out, slapping his cheek lightly.

  “Eyes up top, buddy.”

  “C’mon, Hessie, I’ve seen you naked before.” He had, and every night in his dreams – it was not something he was able to forget or get out of his mind.

  Hester smiled and leaned back, folding her hands beneath her head, closing her eyes and soaking up the sunshine. “But those times you were too preoccupied to ravish me senseless.”

  His eyes skimmed over her curves, lingering on her full breasts, circling her belly button and trying to avoid the soft curls on her mound altogether. Focusing too hard would lead to urges that would be difficult to ignore. The shifters were allowed to be nude on the beach; they were not allowed to hump.

  “True, I tell you what, I’ll just ogle you and hold back on the ravishing. Besides, I don’t mind you taking your fill of my body.”

  “Yes, the past two nights have made that clear,” she said dryly.

  He had slept by her door again – hey, someone seriously tried to hurt her, and since she didn’t seem inclined to either join him in his bed or invite him into hers, he was stuck outside her door. He slept there as his jaguar, though every time she came out of her room for either a glass of water or to use the bathroom he made sure to shift and give her an eyeful. Strange, last night, she seemed to leave her room an awful lot, and when she did, she didn’t bother pulling on her robe. Nope, she paraded in front of him in the tiniest of shorts and crop top. Almost like she was doing it on purpose…

  “Would you like me to rub sunscreen on you?” he offered, very generously and certainly not worthy of the sharp look she sent him. “You can rub it on me – anywhere you like.”

  Hester’s eyes sparkled naughtily. “I think there’s one area of you that doesn’t require any rubbing at this moment in time.”

  Antonio let out an exaggerated sigh. “Well, I guess we could go and get some lunch instead.”

  “Mmm, sounds like a plan – and then another run, right?”

  Her face lit up with excitement, and he chuckled.

  “Sure, another run.”

  Twenty-Five

  Hester munched her way through a crab salad and a banana milkshake while Antonio settled for lobster sliders and fresh-squeezed lemonade. The small restaurant was run by the lion pride – so fish prevailed on the menu. Most of the diners were lions, though there were a few other shifters peppered in – those who like Antonio were permitted to use the beach, but also a few humans, probably hoping to get to know the shifters a little better.

  “Hey, Antonio,” drawled a familiar voice.

  Antonio tried not to growl as the sun-kissed male approached. His naturally blonde hair was bleached even more by hours in the sun, while his skin shone like gold. He was wearing nothing but board shorts and flip flops, and judging by the hungry looks he was getting from lions, shifters and humans alike, even that was too many clothes.

  Would it kill him to put on a shirt? wondered his irritated jaguar.

  Antonio forced a smile as he stood and exchanged a one-arm hug with Brodie.

  The lion shifter was a couple of inches taller, and a couple of inches broader than Antonio, and given the sighs he elicited in females everywhere he went, Antonio had to assume they found him a couple of inches more attractive.

  They exchanged pleasantries while Antonio subtly tried to hide Hester from view.

  “New member of the leap?” asked Brodie pleasantly, peering over his shoulder, and not at all put out by Antonio’s gruff responses. The male was far too laid back for his own good about some things.

  “I’m Hester,” declared his mutinous little cheetah, beaming at the huge male.

  Antonio narrowed his eyes, though his jaguar couldn’t scent any desire on either one of them. Though it was wafting in loud and clear from other females in the vicinity.

  “Brodie,” replied the lion shifter with a wide smile.

  Hester’s delicate little nose gave him a sniff. “Lion, huh?”

  Brodie smiled and sniffed in return, an eyebrow arching ever so slightly. He looked her up and down, and Antonio thanked everything that is holy that he insisted on her putting her clothes back on. Clothing was optional in the restaurant as well – probably why it was popular with humans. Shifters didn’t tend to have a problem with nudity. He didn’t usually – he could see any of his leap naked and not care, but he didn’t want anyone to see Hester naked.

  “Cheetah? Don’t see many around here.”

  Hester preened a little, and Antonio edged a little closer to her, placing a proprietorial hand on her shoulder as his jaguar bared his fangs.

  Both Hester and Brodie smirked at his gesture.

  “You part of the pride who owns this joint?” asked Hester.

  “Brodie’s the leo of the pride,” interrupted Antonio, not liking the two of them carrying on a conversation without him.

  In other words, Brodie was the prime or alpha. He may look like a laidback surfer, but the male could be pretty darn vicious when he wanted to be. He was only twenty-five when he fought his way to the leo position – youngest ever in his pride, and eight years later he was still there at the top.

  “Got a minute?” Brodie asked Antonio. Though he started walking away before Antonio could answer, so it obviously wasn’t a question. He just said it out of courtesy rather than just trying to haul his butt in the direction he wanted Antonio to go.

  “Stay here,” warned Antonio.

  Hester rolled her eyes. “Like I’d leave before I had a chance to peruse the dessert menu. I have my priorities you know.”

  Antonio smiled and impulsively leaned down to kiss her – another proprietary gesture, but some of the male lions in there could be single, and he bet they wouldn’t mind a cheetah shifter for a mate either. He half-expected her to try and pull away from him, but her mouth met his so fast there was a clash of teeth and lips that was almost bordering on violent. Though that was nothing compared to the way her hands clutched at his shoulders as she virtually kissed the life out of him. What had intended to be a quick kiss had turned into an almost erotic display. Hester only let him go when she heard the click of a camera from somewhere behind her.

  Antonio thought he glimpsed a brief flash of embarrassment on her face, but she hid it as she turned and snarled at the happy snapper.

  “That was nice,” he said.

  “Wanted to make sure they knew you weren’t available,” she cooed.

  “They?”

  Her dreamy ‘cat that got the cream’ expression darkened. “All the females in here ogling you,” she groused.

  “Thought they were looking at Brodie,” he admitted.

  “Aww,” she pouted, “so insecure. They were checking you both out. Wanted to make sure they knew it was a waste of time looking at you.”

  “Huh.” His jaguar gave a loud meow of satisfaction. But then, he already knew that Hester could be possessive, and he already knew he liked it. “Order me a sundae or something, and another lemonade.”

  “Mmm,” she purred as she licked her lips, “the lemonade tastes good. Maybe I’ll have one.”

  “I don’t know,” he murmured. His tongue darted out to swipe across her li
ps. “The banana milkshake tastes good too.”

  Slowly Hester released him and as he turned she slapped his ass, eliciting more than a couple of titters of laughter. If he hadn’t been so delighted, he might have actually blushed.

  *

  Brodie cocked his head at Hester. “New mate?”

  Antonio glowered.

  “Don’t you guys have this tradition of kidnapping females for your mates?”

  Antonio continued to glower. That was not something they liked to advertise for obvious reasons, though he wasn’t entirely surprised Brodie knew. The male knew a lot more than he would ever let on.

  Brodie shrugged. “Whether you do or not, looks like she’s not going anywhere.”

  Antonio softened marginally. The lion was starting to make sense.

  “Heard you’ve been having trouble with Vertigo again.”

  “You spoke to Roberto?”

  Brodie nodded. “Briefly. You know your prime, he’s pretty tight-lipped.”

  “They been around to the pride?”

  “Not since we told them where to sling their hook.”

  Antonio glanced out the window to the beautiful beach. “Thought they’d be clamoring to get all this.”

  Brodie shrugged. “The company just built a beachside resort in Playa Lunar. My sources tell me they want this next one to be all about the golf.”

  Antonio slanted him a look of surprise, and Brodie grinned. “Yeah, I have sources. Reckon that’s why they want your land – more open space than we’ve got.”

  “They haven’t made another offer for our land, but they don’t seem to be going anywhere.”

  “I’ll check with my sources and see if they heard of them buying up any other land around here.”

  Antonio nodded his thanks.

  “Eager to get back to your mate,” chuckled Brodie. “She’s got you whipped.”

  His jaguar gave a cross between a sigh and a growl. Yeah, he couldn’t deny he was horribly close to answering ‘how high’ if she said jump.