Desperately Seeking Shapeshifter (10 page)

“Don’t tell me you’re the local sheriff of Little Paradise?” I teased.

He shook his head, and when I laughed, he added gravely, “The sheriff is a tiger.”

My laugh died. “Exactly how many supes work for the town?”

He shrugged. “A lot.”

Well, that explained why things were so neatly
swept under the rugs, when they could have been front-page headlines anywhere else. “So you don’t work for the city, then?”

He looked distinctly uncomfortable that I kept asking. “I volunteer. When I have time.”

“You enjoy volunteering?”

Ramsey shrugged his big shoulders. “Don’t get much time. Too busy cleaning up other people’s messes.”

My mood dimmed a little. “Like right now? I’m just another mess to clean up?”

His hot gaze focused on me, sucking the breath out of my lungs. If I hadn’t known better, I’d have sworn that Ramsey was very, very interested in me. “No.”

“No?”

“No,” he repeated, then gave me a slow, devastating smile.

My knees went weak.

The waiter swung past and our water glasses were refilled, while a plate of artfully cut bread was left on the table for us to eat. I reached for a piece of bread at the same time he did. My hand brushed his and I jerked away.

That same wildly sexy smile curved his mouth, and he picked up the piece of bread and offered it to me. “Shifters feed their mates.”

I was
not
going to blush. This flirting thing . . . boy, it was potent. I took the bread out of his hand. “So, any idea of how many of these dates we have to go on before people buy that we’re an item?”

“Five,” he said and pulled a piece of paper out of his pocket, reviewing it. “Next week is the Alliance barn dance. After that, we have to see a movie together, another dinner, and mini-golf.”

“Are you kidding me?” I reached for the paper to see if he was pulling my leg.

He tucked it back into his pocket. “No.”

“The friggin’ barn dance? And mini-golf? Is my sister insane?” I yanked out my phone and began to text her. “Hang on, I have to tell her she’s insane.”

Ramsey’s giant hand came down on the phone and curled over the screen, effectively stopping my texting. “The barn dance will have a lot of supes.”

True. “And mini-golf?”

“The course is owned by the Michigos.”

Damn. The Michigos were the largest family of were-otters in the South. My sister’s dates were actually sounding sensible. I groaned, realizing she had us right where she wanted us. “We’re going to be spending a lot of time together, aren’t we?”

My phone buzzed in my lap. I didn’t have to look at it to know what my sister was texting.
Smile.
I plastered a big, happy smile on my face.

“We are. Shifters are territorial. People will expect it,” he pointed out.

“So when is Connor supposed to show me how to shift properly?”

“He’s not,” Ramsey growled, his dark eyes glittering.

He wasn’t? I thought that was the point of the chaperone. Who was going to help me shift to wolf-form
if it wasn’t going to be Connor? The phone buzzed again. The smile on my face stretched tighter, and I forced myself to laugh like I was having a good time, then reached for my water glass, gulping down the liquid. When I could speak again, I said, “How am I supposed to learn how to control my shifting?”

Ramsey continued to glare at me. “Uncontrolled shifting is brought on by emotion. I do not want him forcing bad memories on you.”

“So you want to be the one to do it?”

“There will be no bad memories with me.”

I swallowed hard. Was that a command? Or just arrogance? The only way I’d have no bad memories with him would be to have good emotions involved. “Um, okay.”

Ramsey then forced a smile to his face and reached over, tucking a lock of hair behind my ear. I kept still, doing my best not to pull away, my mind on fire with our conversation. If I was going to have to learn how to shift, did that mean I was going to need to get turned on? Good gravy.

“Excuse me,” interrupted the waiter. He stared pointedly at Ramsey. “Might I have a moment in private with you?”

Ramsey touched my hand on the table and got up, following the waiter a few feet away. I strained to hear their conversation, but they were speaking in low voices, and the crowded restaurant hummed with scattered conversations that muffled everything.

My phone buzzed again. I clicked on the text.

U GUYS R SSOOOOOOOOOOO CUTE 2GETHR.

You’re supposed to be helping,
I texted back. Funny how my sister’s texting got worse the faster she typed.

U don’t need help right now,
came the instant reply.
Doing good!!

My face flushed with heat. That was good, right? That we looked so in love? I glanced around but couldn’t see Connor’s table from this angle.
Poor C looks miserable with his date,
I texted my sister.
I feel bad.

Too bad,
my sister texted back.
Him as ur chaperone is wrong. If this is what it takes 2 get him out of ur hair, so be it.

“Excuse me,” someone said and tapped me on my shoulder. My nostrils immediately filled with the scent of were-jaguar and the faint, lingering scent of Connor. I looked up at her in surprise, and Connor’s date gave me an urgent look. “Can I ask you something?”

“Oh, um, I’m really busy right now,” I said, glancing over at Ramsey. The waiter was gesticulating, trying to get Ramsey’s attention, but he kept glancing over at me.

Jayde gave me a tight smile. “We really need to chat. It won’t take long.”

“Not right now,” I said. “Please.”

She ignored my protests, moving a step closer to my table. “You work for the agency, right?”

Clearly she wasn’t going to go away. I put on the professional smile that I used for customers. “Yes, I do. Why?”

She swept up Ramsey’s water glass and tossed its contents in my face.

I gave a startled yelp as the ice water poured over me. My hair fell into my eyes in icy, sopping hanks, ice cubes fell down the front of my dress, and the entire thing stuck to me like a wet napkin. My nipples hardened under the dress.

If that hadn’t been enough, Jayde leaned over and tipped my water glass onto my lap. “And that one’s for setting me up with a man who’s in love with someone else.”

I sputtered, wiping water from my face. “What? I—”

“He’s been mooning over her the entire fucking date,” she snarled, the sound feral. “I realize your little human crew thinks it’s funny to set up a cat with a dog, but I can look past that if he’s hot enough. What I can’t look past is that he’s already fucking
taken
.”

“Taken?” I said, disbelieving. I stood up clumsily, dumping the ice cubes that had fallen into my lap. I shook out my dress and stepped backward, trying to put distance between Jayde and myself. “What are you talking about?”

“Oh, Savannah Russell is
so
amazing,” she mocked, waving her hands in the air. “Savannah likes cars, too. Savannah went to A&M, too. Savannah, Savannah, Savannah.” Her eyes narrowed. “If he’s so in
love with her, why’s he out with me? You think I’m hard up for a date?”

“Why, no. I—”

“You think I can’t get a date?” Her hand tapped her chest, making her jewelry jangle. “You think because I’m the apex predator in the area that men won’t want me? You think I’m willing to accept just any man you
humans
toss at me—”

The words died in her throat as her gaze focused behind me.

A hand touched my back and I jerked, calming when I realized it was Ramsey. He swiftly stepped in front of me, and Jayde retreated. His massive form blocked my view, and I could hear my phone vibrating on the table, no doubt my sister texting away. Connor remained seated at his table, not looking in our direction. If anything, he looked more dejected than before. For a wolf bodyguard, he sure wasn’t interested in protecting me from his date.

“There a problem?” Ramsey growled low in his throat.

“No,” Jayde lied, her tone a mixture of unease and surprise. Her voice became sugary sweet. “I was just offering to help Sara with her dress.”

A low, angry rumble started in Ramsey’s throat.

Jayde flinched.

Ramsey tugged me forward, his arm wrapping around me like a hug. His large body nearly swallowed my own. It was a possessive gesture, meant to brand me as his own. “Why is my mate wearing my drink?”

Jayde’s jaw dropped and she made a startled, squeaky noise. Her eyes widened like marbles, and she stared at me in shock, then back to Ramsey. “A . . . a mate?”

“My mate,” I agreed in a proprietary manner and snuggled against Ramsey’s chest, ignoring the fact that I was all wet. “And he doesn’t like it when other people pour drinks on me.”

“No,” Ramsey said, his voice so low and angry that it sounded like a growl. “I don’t.”

Jayde paled. “I see. I-I apologize. I did not realize . . .”

“See that you do not assault my date again,” Ramsey growled menacingly.

The were-jaguar nodded and stammered apologies, backing away. It was gratifying to see how completely and utterly terrified she was. Perhaps this pretending-to-date thing wouldn’t be so bad after all.

“I am so sorry,” the waiter said, stepping in and handing me napkins. “I didn’t realize what was going on. We’ll get you a new table—”

“No,” said Ramsey in the same dangerous tone. “We’re leaving.” He shrugged off his jacket and draped it over my shoulders. The garment nearly swallowed me whole, the hem of the jacket hanging to my knees. “She’s soaked. Date’s ruined.”

“I understand,” said the waiter. “I’ll pack your dinners in a take-home box.”

“Do that.” Ramsey turned to Jayde. “You’re paying.”

“Of course,” she blurted, then hurried back to her table.

Impressive. With a few scowls, Ramsey had managed to completely intimidate a crazy were-jaguar, get our meals for free, and get us out of this date. I shoved the too-long sleeves up my arms, shivering. Too bad he hadn’t been able to do it before I’d had a gallon of ice water poured on me. My nipples felt like thumbtacks, and my teeth were beginning to chatter.

“We’ll wait outside,” he snarled to the waiter. I barely had time to stick my cell phone in my purse before Ramsey grabbed my hand and hauled me out of the restaurant.

I bit back my retort at being dragged around like an old handbag. The people lined up outside stared at us in surprise, with my wet hair plastered to my face and Ramsey’s coat swallowing me. Combine that with a date well over six feet tall and looking exceedingly pissed? No wonder they were looking at us like we were certifiable.

Ramsey dragged me to his large sport-utility truck and then grabbed me at the waist, lifting me to the hood so I was almost eye level with him. To my surprise, he leaned in.

“How’d I do?” he whispered, inches from my face. His chest—scorchingly hot—pressed against my knees.

Whew, was it hot out here, or was it just me? The almost-playful look on Ramsey’s face was doing funny things to my insides. I brushed a wet lock of hair off of my face and gave him a half smile. “Well,
the good news is that Jayde will probably never pour a drink on another woman again.”

“Good.”

“Dragging me around like a caveman was a little much, though,” I added dryly.

“All for show. They need to remember us.”

Oh, I was pretty sure they’d remember. I glanced over at the doorway, where the waiting patrons still stared at us. Our waiter was pushing his way through them. “Here comes our meal.”

“Good.” Ramsey pulled me forward on the truck, and when I looked at him in surprise, he captured my mouth with his.

Surprise flared through me. His mouth, normally so hard and unsmiling, was warm against my own, his lips soft. Taking advantage of my surprise, he tugged at my lower lip, and then his tongue swept into my mouth. After that, I was lost. He kissed like a man obsessed, intent on devouring me. Over and over, his tongue stroked into my mouth, my own rising to meet it. His hand slid up my wet thigh and pulled me closer, and I wrapped my arms around his neck, encouraging the kiss.

If this was pretending, I could only imagine what really kissing Ramsey would be like.

His hand on my thigh was warm, and when his tongue swept deep into my mouth again, a soft moan rose from my throat, and I wiggled against his chest. My knees were trapped against him, so I parted my legs, allowing him to lean in even closer to me, his hand twisting into my wet hair. My legs wrapped
around him in response, heels hooking together behind his broad back.

Someone coughed nearby.

Ramsey gave my mouth one last slow, sensual lick and then pulled away, turning to glare at the waiter as I panted, still clinging to Ramsey’s chest. “What?” he growled.

“Sorry. Your food,” the waiter stammered, setting the carryout bag down on the sidewalk and hurrying away.

Ramsey’s gaze moved to the bag, then focused back on my face. His eyes were glazed with our kiss, his gaze flicking to my wet mouth repeatedly. His hand tightened on my hip. “Where are your panties?” he said hoarsely.

Oops. I’d forgotten about that. “Surprise,” I said, giving my thighs a playful squeeze to distract him. Ramsey was adorable when he was flustered, and I was feeling frisky, especially after that amazing kiss. Who cared if it was pretend?

Ramsey pulled away from me as if scorched. I untangled my legs just in time for him to jerk away, and I straightened my skirts as he scooped the bag of food off the sidewalk.

Ouch. I guess I was the only one feeling that vibe.