MasukBecca finished the last of her burger, chewing slowly as her mind raced. Shifter Neanderthals need not apply. Those were her words to Lyssa just hours earlier. Ironic how Jaylon swore he was none of the above using the same word—Neanderthal.Shifter males were rock-hard by nature, and not just when it came to their man parts. She shook her head. Single-minded. Pigheaded, even. Especially when it came to females. Her lips pursed, wondering what Jaylon would say when he found she was the Prowl Leader of her Leap.If it was anyone else, she’d expect the fur to fly, but despite Jaylon’s chauvinistic moment, her gut told her he wasn’t a typical shifter male—not in that way, and not that she would tell him. Nor would she admit her inner cat was the only reason he got a chance at redemption.Feline purr power or not, the jury was still out on the Alpha male wolf—especially since it was hard keeping her focus with him close enough to kiss. She didn’t need the odds stacked any more in his favo
Becca froze with her beer halfway to her lips. She put the glass down and then wiped her mouth on a napkin.“Cubs, you misogynistic mutt! Leopards have cubs.”Her gaze flicked to her watch. “Only two hours in and you show your true colors. Wow. I should be grateful you got to it so quickly. At least now, I’ve only wasted part of my afternoon instead of the whole day.”She pushed her chair back, the shudder spilling her beer across the wrought iron table, splashing his feet and legs.“Jesus! Becca!”“Thank you for lunch and the illuminating conversation, Jaylon. Looks like you won’t need to reschedule your meeting after all.”She unhooked her purse from the side of her seat and stormed out.“Becca! Wait!”Jaylon’s chair fell backward as he rushed after her, grabbing her by the arm as she rounded the path toward the exit.A low growl left her throat as she tried to jerk her arm free.“I’ll probably end up in jail, but you’ll crawl back to your pack with your tail between your legs and m
The taxi pulled in front of the restaurant, and Jaylon paid the driver as Becca got out on the opposite side.“Beautiful,” she said as the two walked in and were seated on the deck. The sun gleamed on the water and on her dark hair, both awash with bright highlights.Becca sighed and then took in a breath, wrinkling her nose. “Oh man, I did not expect that in such a still setting.” She raised a knuckle to the end of her nose.“You might want to watch your scent. This is Central Park, but you’re still going to get a nose full of the city, no matter what. I’m out on the island, and we still get city fumes from time to time, even with the ocean breeze as a filter,” Jaylon said, nodding.The waitress walked over with her pen and pad. “What can I get you?”Becca gave the menu a cursory glance. “I’ll have the Boathouse burger, medium rare, with hand-cut potato fries and a Blue Moon beer with an extra slice of orange.”The server scribbled on her pad and then looked at Jaylon.“I’ll have the
Becca’s breath hitched at the gorgeous curve to his full lips, and she licked her own, imagining the taste of him. He definitely had a mouth worth kissing.She shook her head, dismissing the thought. What’s wrong with you? He’s a total stranger! Glancing at him again, she squashed the mental warnings from the human side of her brain and focused on her cat instead.If Jaylon Ross posed any kind of a threat, his scent would give it away. Right now, the only thing she sensed was his utterly sex-on-a-stick maleness.If she had to shackle herself for the sake of her Leap, then damn it to hell, she was entitled to one day of uninhibited pleasure, and she had every intention of seeing where this led.“Where to, then?” he asked, holding his elbow out for her to take.“Chivalry twice in two minutes. Who says gentlemen are a dying breed?”She slipped her hand around his arm, and her inner cat went crazy, clawing at her to drop to all fours and give him her ass and anything else he wanted.Here
Gerri Wilder slid her eyes to her landline, picking up the receiver before the phone even rang. “Paranormal Dating Agency, how may I help you?”“May I speak with Gerri Wilder, please?”Phone to her ear, a knowing grin spread across the older woman’s face. “Jaylon Ross. I’ve been expecting your call.” Her smile widened at his pregnant pause on the other side of the receiver.“How—”“It’s best you don’t ask too many questions, dear,” Gerri replied, cutting him off. “Suffice it to say I knew your mother, God rest her soul. And how is your father, by the way?”“As well as can be expected, considering.” He hesitated, clearing his throat, obviously trying to salvage his composure.“Indeed. So, tell me, what can I do for you?”“I assume you got my email. I had to google the address as your business card only has a phone number listed,” Jaylon answered.She chuckled. “That card is older than you, boy. There was no such thing as email back then.”“Uhm, of course,” was his awkward reply. “Did y
“Houston, we have a problem.”Jaylon Ross turned toward the door, but the humor on his lips faded the moment he met his father’s eyes. “What happened?”“The council cancelled the run tonight.” Wyatt Ross met his son’s disbelief and shrugged.“Why? This was planned months ago, since the Wolf Moon, when we knew the lunar cycle would be perfectly aligned with the tides.”“I know,” Wyatt replied with a sigh.“Then what’s the problem?” Jaylon closed his files and leaned on the end of his desk.His father exhaled, lifting one hand. “Not enough interest among the young ones.”Jaylon stood, incredulous. “There are at least twenty half-bloods old enough to coax their first shift.”“That’s the reason in a nutshell, son. Half-bloods. They aren’t full shifters, and you know as well as I that coaxing a shift is hard on them. The moon doesn’t have the same pull on them as it does on full shifters. It’s work. It’s hard to pull their animal forth, and when have you ever known a teenager who wants to
“I need some liquor. This tea shit ain’t gonna cut it.”“Nita!” Tally burst into laughter.“What? It’s true!” She remembered her first view of Ky. Half-naked and passed out on his kitchen floor. “As for noticing, no. He’s changed. A lot. He’s all big and buff and...”“And what?” Tally asked, leanin
Especially in a relationship. I hate it when men say one thing and then I find out they have five other women they’re dating and a handful of baby mommas.” She raised her brows. “Do you have any baby mamas you need to tell me about?”He almost fell out his chair laughing. “No.” He chortled. “No bab
He glanced down at his erection and shook his head. The semi-aroused state he’d been in since opening his eyes and finding Nita in his kitchen had not gone away. If his intentions weren’t to keep her as his mate, he might have felt like a pervert.She looked up and smiled. That smile of hers reache
She blinked back the tears filling her eyes. She knew firsthand how hard school had been for a kid that was picked on. She’d lived it. Emotions overwhelmed her. Hope. Sadness. Pain. All of them swirled around in her chest filling her heart to near bursting. She heard the raw honesty in his words. S







