To Catch a Snake: Book Three - Supernatural Bounty Hunter Romance Novellas (6 page)

He nodded. “Yes, me too.”

She raised her eyebrows. Okay, that wasn’t her imagination; he wanted her to know he was available.
Her little animal swooned.

Marcus cleared his throat. “So, a red panda shifter, huh? I don’t think I’ve ever met one before.”

Ling grinned. “Yeah, we’re kind of rare in Playa Lunar. Although both my parents are red pandas, they were lucky to find each other… not that I think it’s necessary to mate with your own species. I certainly don’t care about that kind of thing.”

He gave her a warm smile, and she almost melted. “I agree; my brother mated with a rabbit and they seem happy.”

“That is one brave rabbit,” she muttered and Marcus burst into laughter.

“I’m sorry,” she stammered as her cheeks burned red.

“Don’t be,” he said soothingly.

His eyes caught hers, and she was locked into their intense gaze. It was hypnotic. He was about to say something and… Mia burst through the door.

Ling thought she saw a look of fury wash over his face, but it was soon smothered by cool indifference.

Mia grimaced. “I’m sorry to interrupt, but Detective Leeman’s on the phone, and he says it’s important.”

Marcus breathed in and out a couple of times. “No problem, we’re finished. Mia, Ling will be starting work for us today, can you show her what to do?”

The rabbit shifter brightened. “Absolutely, come with me.”

She disappeared into the outer office, and reluctantly, Ling followed. She thought about asking him out on a date. She’d never made the first move with a guy before, but seriously, how hard could it be? Her panda was all for it.

Yes, yes, she would do it now. She turned back to speak to him and found he was already on the phone.

He smiled at her but turned away from her to concentrate on his call. Her beast whimpered in defeat and Ling soothed her. There was no rush; after all,
she was going to see him every day at work…

Chapter Seven

Marcus replaced the handset and rolled his shoulders. He was amazed he had managed to get through a conversation with the Detective, although, truth be told, he had barely listened to a word the lion shifter said. His thoughts and his beast were focused on one thing, and one thing alone.
Ling
.

The moment he saw her, no, the moment he scented her, his whole body had come alive in heated need, and his snake had been hissing at him to take her. He just hoped he had managed to appear normal in front of her.

He chuckled, thinking of her covered in that green slime. It hadn’t detracted one iota from her beauty. He’d never had such an instant and overwhelming reaction to a woman. To a red panda no less, he’d never considered anything small and fluffy as anything other than prey.
Although, he’d never admit that in front of his niece, Mia, or his brother for that matter.
But there was no denying the attraction he felt to her. From her heart-shaped face and inky-black hair, right down to her delectable curves, she was perfect. Her dark red, pouting lips just begged to be kissed…

Marcus flexed his jaw and concentrated on breathing. Years of self-discipline had taught him control, but he feared that even he had his limits. He groaned and pushed his arousal into a more manageable position, or at least less obvious. Fuck, he was rock hard, and he had been since he caught her scent. It had been a little distorted by her perfume and that god-awful mess she was covered in, but there was no mistaking her delicate, jasmine scent.

He figured she was Carly’s age. He was a bit older than her, but it wasn’t that much difference. He wondered if she’d say yes if he asked her out on a date. His gut said yes, she had certainly seemed interested in him, and he was sure he had caught a whiff of her arousal. His snake had almost been unbearable at that.
He wanted to leap over the desk and throw the little panda to the ground and…

He clasped his hands together as his muscles trembled. His beast was trying to force the shift, but Marcus was resistant. He had to stay in control. After Kelly died he swore he would never lose control again, and he swore he would never let himself be so affected by a female. Yet, less than thirty minutes after meeting a luscious red panda shifter and he was already in pieces.

Would Ling even want to get involved with him, after the way her last boss treated her… Just the thought made him want to hunt the man down and wrap his hands round the asshole’s throat…

Marcus groaned and rubbed his hands over his face. This was why he didn’t like to get involved with women. Attraction leads to lust; lust lead to love; love leads to jealousy and jealousy leads to him losing control and trying to hurt people…

It wasn’t good for him or his beast, although the snake was adamant that it was worth the risk.
Marcus just wasn’t quite so sure.

He looked at his office door. She was out there right now. She was probably sat at the desk, her shapely legs crossed over one another, her breasts straining at the awful She-Ra shirt, just waiting for someone to come along and…

Ugh, god, he had it bad.

*

Ling flicked her eyes to Marcus’ closed door. He hadn’t come out once since she left him earlier.
What the heck was he doing in there?

Mia had given her some work and she had, much to Mia’s delight, sailed through it. It probably wasn’t her best work. How could it be? All of her thoughts were directed at the delicious hunk hiding in his office. She would guess he was about 40-years-old. That was fine with her. Myron was 47.

Her panda growled.
Ugh, stupid Myron.
Although, if he hadn’t treated her like something you scrape off your shoe, she never would have come to work here.
So it wasn’t all bad.

Jackson and Logan had returned and left again with Carly in tow, much to Jackson’s annoyance. But otherwise things were quiet, and she was left to obsess over Marcus. She seemed to think he had been married, but she couldn’t quite recall. Carly had gushed over her job at the bail bond agency, but Ling couldn’t remember everything she said. She would have to find a way to probe her best friend, unobtrusively of course.

Her phone buzzed.
Oh, maybe it was Marcus!
Wait, what? How could it be? He didn’t have her number, and besides, he was sat less than twenty feet away from her.
Why would he be texting?

She groaned at her own stupidity, and then groaned even louder when she saw it was a text from her mother reminding her about her blind date that night.
Awww, crap
. Maybe she could just tell her mother she had the flu. Nah, her mother would come round to her house with pills and potions, and she might even bring the blind date with her for good measure. Her mother had this crazy idea that, at the start of a relationship, it was a good thing for people to see each other at their worst. She said it let you know what you were in for down the line. Ling disagreed. She liked men to see her at her best so that they had no expectation of things getting any better.
Hmmm, maybe her mother had a point.

Ling started as she saw that Mia was beaming at her. “Quitting time. Listen, thanks for taking the job.”

Ling shrugged. “You don’t have to say that.”

Mia’s eyes looked desperate. “Trust me when I say this, you are a godsend.”

Logan, Carly and Jackson returned with triumphant smiles.

“Caught them all,” proclaimed Logan happily. “We’re going out for a drink to celebrate, you girls coming?”

“Definitely,” agreed Mia, flushing with pleasure at the bear. “How about you, Ling?”

Her eyes were drawn to Marcus’ door. Maybe he would come too. Then she deflated remembering what she had to do that night. “I can’t, I have a date.”

“What?” cried Carly. “Why haven’t I heard about this before now?”

Ling squirmed. “It’s not a real date; my mother set it up for me.”

Carly started giggling before it descended into bellows of laughter. She’d met some of the men Fang had tried to set her daughter up with over the years;
they had not been pretty
… “Good luck with that.”

“I guess I should get going.”

“Yes, we don’t want to make you late for your date.”

Ling froze at the soft yet firm voice behind her.
Damnit, now Marcus knew she was going on a date.
She opened her mouth to explain, but Marcus didn’t stop. He marched out of the office.

“You coming for a drink, Marcus?” offered Logan.

“No,” said Marcus shortly before slamming the front door.

“Good night to you too,” called Carly after him before muttering, “moody snake.”

“I guess I should get going,” mumbled Ling, reluctantly. The combined factors of going on a blind date set up by her mother and Marcus knowing she was going on a date, made her look like she was being led to the gallows.
She was not a happy panda.

*

Marcus reread Norman, the camel shifter’s file. Or rather he pretended to read it;
he already knew it inside out.
In reality, he was trying to ignore his raging beast and stop thinking about Ling.

His snake hissed. She had lied to him! She said she was single, and now she was going on a date. He ought to hunt her down, and throw her over his shoulder, and march her right back to his bedroom and…

Marcus closed his eyes and breathed. She didn’t lie to him. She was single. She was just going on a date, and, thankfully, she didn’t sound overly pleased about it.

Who knows, maybe the date would be so bad that she would come running into his arms…
yeah, he could get on board with that.

Marcus read the paragraph about Norman’s arrest over and over. He had to stop thinking of her. He wasn’t in the market for a relationship, and he doubted she would be happy with something casual. No, he doubted he would be happy with something casual. The idea of her dating another man at the same time as him was intolerable.
No one was allowed to touch her but him!

He threw the file to back seat of his BMW and scrubbed a hand over his face. He was just going around in circles over her. He really needed to do something to take his mind off her, and he had the perfect plan.

His snake momentarily forgot about the panda and rumbled excitedly as he spotted Norman slinking down the alley of a sushi restaurant. Marcus’ lips twitched as he suppressed a smile. A nice little chase - that would make him feel better.
And hey, if the camel resisted, punching him would be a pleasant bonus.

Marcus slid out of his car and slipped his jacket on. He stealthily walked down the alley. He saw the camel duck through a door, and Marcus followed.

Luckily, Detective Leeman had mentioned that Norman had received a number of parking tickets, and had been picked up for loitering outside this restaurant. Marcus figured the camel dealt pot to people who worked there.

The Detective had actually called to warn Marcus that Meyerson, the python shifter had broken the conditions of his parole, and his parole officer couldn’t find him. Meyerson had apparently left his mother’s house, and she hadn’t seen him in a couple of days. Marcus hadn’t really given it much thought. His thoughts were filled with Ling, with a tiny part given to catching the camel shifter.
The python didn’t rate very highly on his worry list.

He walked down the corridor and came out into the kitchen of the restaurant. A couple of the cooks looked at him, wonderingly, but soon got back to work after a glacial smile from Marcus. He looked around the kitchen but couldn’t see the camel. His scent was mixed with fish, and the sweaty scents of the kitchen staff,
but also something delicious and warming…

His snake practically sighed in happiness and arousal; he’d know that jasmine scent anywhere.
Ling
.

Marcus peered through the door into the restaurant. His heart almost stopped. There she was. Her sleek black hair was slightly curled and her wide, dark eyes were artfully smoky, and currently gazing into the eyes of another man…

He quivered with the effort of holding his snake back. He should leave; he should find that annoying, lanky camel and leave. He shouldn’t be standing there watching her. He shouldn’t watch as her fingers teased the straw in her drink, and as she lifted the drink to her pretty mouth, and as her date put his fucking hand on her leg.
Right, that was enough.

All thoughts of the camel shifter were forgotten as Marcus strode out the door toward Ling and a soon-to-be dead man.

*

A few minutes ago

Ling played with the straw in her drink. She’d ordered a soda. The last thing she wanted was to get drunk and do something she’d regret with the tedious bank manager sat before her. Not that she actually thought her panda would let her; the sullen little beast was not happy and refused to talk to her at that moment.

She inwardly sighed and tried to concentrate on what Howard was saying. Something about stocks and shares. At least he had moved off the topic of his mother. He’d spent a good twenty minutes singing her praises.
Ugh, momma’s boy.

He was a mongoose shifter, and he wasn’t bad looking. He just wasn’t blonde and buff, and didn’t have high cheekbones that looked like they could cut glass, unlike a certain snake she was trying to stop thinking about. Ling almost gasped as she was hit by a realization. Spike from Buffy the Vampire Slayer - that was who Marcus reminded her of.
Damn, she had a crush on that vampire…

Ling shook her head and refocused on Howard. He was a little thick around the waist, but then he could say the same about her. His hair was a little thin, and what he had looked unnaturally dark, as if it were a dye job; and his face was a little lined. He said he was 30, but she seriously doubted that.

She didn’t like men who lied about their age, or those who colored their hair. Although, she wouldn’t have a problem with women who did that.
Yeah, double standards, and she didn’t care.

The restaurant was actually pretty good. It was a sushi restaurant called Yummy Fish. It had a little rotating conveyor belt that brought the different dishes round to you, and you could pick out the ones you wanted. It was kind of fun and kooky; Ling loved it and had been surprised Howard suggested it.

As it turned out, he had a coupon for a twenty percent discount. Even so, he had still balked at the prices and compared them to a dozen other restaurants. She got the feeling he was the kind of guy who squeezed every penny until it almost bled. Ling ignored him and concentrated on wolfing her tuna roll.

She wondered what Marcus was doing at this moment. She fidgeted as her panda mewled unhappily. He hadn’t looked happy when she left the office earlier. She was kind of in two minds as to whether that was a good thing.

Howard was droning on about the price of gas. Ling took a sip of her drink and almost inhaled the straw in surprise as Howard put his hand on her thigh. She started choking, and he removed his hand to pat her roughly on the back. She waved her arm at him to stop.

When she calmed, it was to find the hand had returned back to her leg. Her beast yowled in annoyance.

She tried to bat him away, but he stubbornly refused to move.

“Look, Howard, I’m sure you’re a nice guy…” she lied, “but I’m not really interested. I don’t want to be mean, but I only came here to appease my mother.”

Howard didn’t look in the least offended. “As did I; mother kept complaining about me being under her feet at the house, so when she suggested it, I agreed to meet with you.”

Ugh, god, he still lives with his mother.
Ling prayed it wasn’t a Norman Bates setup.

He licked his thin lips. “Of course, I’m not interested in a long-term relationship with you, you’re kind of big for my taste, but that’s no reason why we can’t have a little fun.”

Ooh, she could think of plenty of reasons
. He lunged at her for a kiss, and she slapped him with her purse. “Control yourself, Howard!”

He sat back on his seat, glaring at her and rubbing his head. “I would think you’d be grateful that I’m taking pity on you. I heard that you were a mistress to a married man, and then he fired your ass when you stopped putting out.”

She blinked at him; she didn’t know whether she was more surprised at the language he was using or the fact that her mother had apparently told him all this.

Her panda was all for shifting and taking a chunk out of him… well, more like a bite… okay, so probably a small nip, but it would sting for hours afterwards!

Instead, Ling remained serene. There was no use in getting angry; it would only make the situation worse. At times like these, there was only one solution.
Lie
. “Actually, I already have a boyfriend.”

Howard snorted derisively. “Really?”

“Yes, really!” she snapped. Was it so hard to believe that she could get a boyfriend? “Actually, he’s meeting me here.”

Ling cringed. Why did she freaking well say that?
Now, how was she supposed just to make a boyfriend appear out of thin air?

“Yeah, sure he is,” Howard sneered and was about to swoop in for another attempt at a kiss when he stopped, and paled.

Ling suddenly felt a pleasurable shiver travel throughout her body, and she inhaled a tangy citrus scent. Before she could react, she felt a warm hand on her shoulder.

“Ling, there you are,” purred a smooth voice in her ear.

Ling turned her head in surprise and was met with a soft, yet firm kiss. Her panda squealed in delight as his tongue gently delved into her mouth, teasing and tasting her. She brought her hands up to his muscled chest and clutched at his shirt. She sighed as she felt his hands on her body; one on her neck and the other had found its way to her thigh.
His touch was electric.

After far too little time, in her opinion, he pulled back and she panted a little. “Marcus!” she gasped.

His lips curved upward wickedly, and his eyes flashed. “I’m sorry; I had to work late.”

“Hey, what’s going on here?” spluttered Howard.

Marcus kept his vision trained on Ling, who was simmering under his heated gaze. “As Ling told you, she has a boyfriend – me.”

Howard made noises as if to object.

Marcus turned to the disgruntled mongoose and gave him a toothy smile, and a deep rumble escaped his throat. “You’re in my seat.”

Howard gulped. He quickly made his excuses, and amazingly thanked Ling for a lovely time, before hotfooting it out the restaurant.
No way did he want to get into a fight with a boa constrictor.

Ling almost mewled as Marcus removed his hands from her body. She almost told him he could leave them there if he wanted, but thought better of it. She watched with pink cheeks as he carefully took off his jacket and draped it over the back of Howard’s vacated chair.

He cocked his head at her. “You don’t mind, do you? I’m a little hungry.”

Her panda snapped at her to pull it together. “No, no, of course not, please help yourself,” she gushed. “And thank you, for what you did, he was a real… well, he wasn’t exactly a gentleman.”

Marcus chuckled. That was an understatement, not that he’d ever been all that gentlemanly in the past. “It’s not a problem; I hope I wasn’t being too presumptuous.”

Ling shook her head fervently. “No, not at all, it was… I mean you were… it was… fine.”

Marcus raised an eyebrow. “I’ve had better compliments, but I’ll take it.”

A look of horror swept over her face. “No! That’s not what I meant. The kiss was incredible!” she blurted before blushing furiously. She decided it was prudent to change the subject. “So, what brings you to Yummy Fish?” Ooh, was he following her? Jeez, why did that turn her on?

Marcus explained about the camel as they ate, or while he ate. She was far too nervous to eat. Knowing her luck, she’d spill soy sauce down her sweater.
That would be so embarrassing.

He stole glances in her direction as they were talking. She was wearing a black, tight skirt with a dark green sweater; each item showed off her generous curves to perfection. His beast rumbled appreciatively; she looked beautiful, although he imagined she would look more so if she weren’t wearing them.

Ling giggled as he told her about the bounty hunters’ abortive attempts at finding the camel. “I’m really impressed by what you do. I know Carly’s told me about it, but I’ve never really considered how hard it must be, or how dangerous.” The last part was said a little sadly;
she certainly didn’t like the idea of either Carly or Marcus being in any danger.

Marcus shrugged as he put away a truly heroic amount of food. “It’s not really that dangerous, mostly it’s just picking up shoplifters and people with excessive parking tickets. Anyone can do it.”

“I doubt that, I don’t think it would be the kind of thing I could do.”

His eyes hooded. “I’m sure you have plenty of other talents.”

“Oh!”
He was flirting with her! That was definitely a flirt!
Her arousal blossomed at a tremendous speed.

“Hey, could you grab me some of that salmon?”

“Sure,” she told him dazedly.

She reached out to get the dish of salmon and groaned as the sleeve of her sweater caught in the edge of the conveyor belt. She tugged on her sleeve, but it wouldn’t give.

The rotating belt stopped and made an unhealthy whirring noise as it tried to move. She flushed red and pulled at her sweater with more force, ignoring the shouts of the manager and the waiters.

Everyone in the restaurant started looking at her as the belt started jittering.

“Ling, are you…” began Marcus.

“I’m fine, almost got it,” she said through gritted teeth.

The belt started squealing as it tried to keep going. With an almighty heave, Ling squeaked as her sweater tore, and she fell backwards into Marcus’ arms.

She watched with alarm as the now-ripped sweater made its way around the conveyor belt. She realized she was now stood in the middle of the restaurant, leaning against her boss, having just made a complete ass of herself and wearing an old, worn bra.

Well, at least she dodged the bullet of getting soy sauce down her.