Panther Defender_BBW Paranormal Shapeshifter Romance Read online

  Common sense said no, but common sense was obviously not staring at over six-feet of predator intent on making her his prey. That was the only way to describe his determined gait, and she couldn’t wait to get caught.

  Well, not in the figurative sense. She still wasn’t sure about anything physical, but she definitely wanted to go out with him, and that was saying something.

  She pulled her keys out of the ignition, grabbed her bag, and opened the car door. Xander was there in an instant, and he offered her a hand, but she declined. She’d never been able to pull that move off gracefully, and she didn’t want to make a fool out of herself. Not before the date even started.

  Luckily, he didn’t seem offended.

  “I’m glad you’re here, kitten,” he smiled. “Thanks for not cancelling.”

  He’d called her kitten again, but he’d also insinuated that he’d expected her to cancel, and the easy going way he teased her made her laugh.

  “Well, it was touch and go there for a while,” she laughed, “but I’m glad I’m here, too.”

  Oh, god, she was flirting now? Really? Where the hell had that come from? Since when did she flirt? Hell, since when did she even talk to the opposite sex, except in the diner?

  Xander smiled at her, and she decided she didn’t care.

  She liked this Ivy, this flirty, seemingly confident girl, and she wanted to have fun tonight.

  “Because it’s your first time here, I’d like to take you in through the front door, if you’re okay with that. I’d like you to see what everyone else sees when they enter the shop for the first time.”

  “I’d love that,” she replied. “Thanks for thinking of it.”

  “You’re welcome,” he smiled. “Let’s go this way.”

  He led her around the building without leaving her side, and when they reached the front door, he held it open for her.

  She crossed the threshold, and blatantly looked around. Xander was obviously proud of the shop, and her opinion was clearly important to him. She didn’t take that compliment lightly. She wanted to give him an honest reaction, but she needn’t have worried.

  The place was amazing.

  Even though she wasn’t inked, she’d been in a couple of tattoo shops in the past, and hadn’t been impressed. Those places had either been dark and overbearing, with lots of artwork lining the walls, or they’d been way too open to offer any sort of real privacy. She hadn’t felt comfortable in either venue, and though it was never the sole deciding factor, it was one of the reasons she’d remained a tattoo virgin.

  Panther Ink was like nothing she’d ever seen before. The large lobby area was decorated in dark wood with brown fabrics, and the walls were painted a very light beige that bordered on what she would consider vanilla.

  There was artwork on the walls displaying the artist’s talents, but the frames were modern and presented in groups with plenty of wall space between each arrangement. A small bookcase held notebooks that she assumed were more designs, but again, the presentation was modern, clean, and classy.

  “This place is amazing.”

  Ivy walked around the lobby, and briefly looked at each artist’s display. A hallway branched off from the main room, and when she glanced down it, she saw five doors. Two doors on each side of the corridor, and an exit door at the end of the walkway.

  One side had a closed door with a gold name plate next to it, followed by a bathroom, and the doors on the other side also had gold name plates next to them, but they were open.

  She figured the open doors belonged to his brothers, and a twinge of nervousness raced down her spine. She tried to ignore it, and continued to survey the room, until she had walked the whole perimeter.

  “I mean it, Xander. I really like this,” she said. “This main space is very calming and inviting, and I love the private rooms. I know for me, the private room would go a long way toward easing some of my nerves.”

  “Your dad mentioned you wanted a tattoo, but made it seem like you don’t have any ink yet. Is that why you never took the plunge? Because you didn’t feel comfortable in the shop?”

  Even though he didn’t ask directly, she didn’t miss his question.

  “I don’t have any ink yet,” she confirmed. “I went with a few friends in college, and the atmosphere in the shops we visited was uncomfortable to me, but there were other factors, too. My dad, my boyfriend at the time, my current ex…fear. I’ve always wanted one—I still do—but there always seemed a reason not to follow through.”

  “Maybe you’ll find a reason soon,” he smiled down at her.

  The comment could have been taken a number of ways, and Ivy was pretty sure that had been his intent, but she didn’t mind. Also, the look on his face made her pretty sure he wanted to kiss her, and she surprisingly didn’t mind that thought either.

  “Maybe,” she whispered breathlessly.

  “Can we come out now?” Someone yelled from the back. “We’ve been waiting forever.”

  They both laughed, and Xander filled her in before replying to the voice.

  “That’s my brother, Nox,” he said, quietly. “I made them wait in their studios until you had a chance to look around, but he’s dying to meet you.”

  She didn’t miss the fact that he only mentioned one of his brothers was dying to meet her, but she didn’t dwell on the fact. Probably because she didn’t have time to.

  “Yes, you can come out,” Xander yelled.

  A second later, two men emerged from the hall.

  The resemblance to Xander was unmistakable, but it wasn’t only in their facial features, although no one could deny the three were brothers, but it was also in their stature, and the way they moved gracefully toward her.

  The leader was about an inch taller than Xander—and more muscular, too—with matching green eyes, but the second man was shorter, and his eyes were so dark they looked black. Where the front man was smiling and friendly, the second man looked royally pissed off, and she was pretty sure he wasn’t dying to meet her.

  She wasn’t offended.

  In fact, she kind of appreciated his honesty, even if he did look like an asshole. She hadn’t been excited to meet them either, and maybe, like her, his youngest brother had only agreed because Xander had asked. He respected his brother, and his loyalty impressed her.

  “Hi, I’m Nox,” the leader said. He held out his hand, and she took it. “It’s great to meet you, Ivy.”

  His grip was firm, and the handshake was short and concise. In fact, she’d barely slid her hand into his, and he was already letting her go. Not that she cared. Even though they were brothers, she didn’t like touching Nox in front of Xander.

  The realization was strange, but she didn’t have time to dwell on it.

  “I’m Grayson,” the second man said. He made no move to offer her his hand, and she followed his example.

  “It’s nice to meet you, Grayson,” she said.

  He nodded once, and immediately left the room. Nox and Xander watched him disappear down the hall, but neither man tried to stop him.

  “Sorry about that,” Xander said, looking back at her. “Grayson is kind of a loner.”

  “I totally understand, and there’s no reason to apologize,” Ivy said, looking between the two remaining men. “Meeting new people can be hard, and I appreciate him meeting me at all.”

  Xander kept his expression neutral, but she wasn’t worried. He didn’t seem to be angry with her comment. In fact, he seemed proud, even if he wasn’t smiling. Nox, on the other hand, allowed a huge grin to cross his face.

  “Ivy, you’re pretty awesome,” Nox said. “You guys have fun tonight.”

  ***

  Ivy looked at the empty theater seat next to her, and smiled.

  She was definitely having fun, and she was pretty sure Xander was, too. If he wasn’t, he was a damn good actor. Hell, he could be, but she honestly didn’t think he was the type of man to fake it if he wasn’t having a good time, and the realization booste
d her confidence a little bit more.

  That had been happening all night, and she had to admit she loved it.

  She liked being with Xander, but more importantly, she liked who she was when she was around him. For whatever reason, he brought out the version of herself that she’d slowly hidden when dating her ex, and then tried to bury when the loser had dumped her.

  The best part was, Xander didn’t seem to mind. In fact, he seemed to like her exactly as she was, and his acceptance made her like him a little bit more.

  If that was even possible.

  Even though their date was only half over, she’d be lying if she said she didn’t like him. Honestly, she was pretty sure she more than liked him, but she wasn’t ready to explore those feelings yet.

  Or do anything physical.

  Okay, that wasn’t exactly true. They hadn’t even held hands yet, but she wanted to do way more than hold his hand. She thought Xander wanted to do more, too, but he’d been a perfect gentleman all night, and only touched her on purpose three times.

  No, four!

  Yes, she’d been counting, and no, she didn’t feel like a complete idiot. She couldn’t, not where Xander was concerned. He made her feel all kinds of things, but none of them were negative. It was odd, but she decided not to overthink it.

  The small of her back—the place he’d touched her four times when guiding her through open doors, and through the restaurant—tingled, and she looked up to see him walking down the aisle.

  They’d chosen a row near the back with only two seats, and he’d left her guarding their spot, and their snacks, while he used the restroom. She laughed when she saw that he’d also visited the snack bar again.

  Earlier, they’d gotten two drinks, a large popcorn to split, and two packages of candy. Even though she’d picked the chocolate covered caramels, and he’d picked the gummy worms, she’d teased him that his candy looked really good, and that she wanted to try one worm of every color when he opened the bag.

  He now carried another bag of gummy snacks in his hands.

  “Are my worms still alive?” he asked, a huge grin splitting his face.

  “For now,” she replied stoically. “I’m still deciding what color I want to try first.” She hadn’t opened the bag yet, but he was right to worry about the safety of his candy. Especially now that he didn’t seem to care if she ate them all or not.

  “I knew it,” he said. “I also knew you probably wouldn’t share your chocolate, so I got more of those, too.”

  She now saw that he actually held two packages of candy in his hands. The plastic from the worms had been hiding the chocolate box. His teasing was fun, friendly, and held no negativity. It wasn’t about her weight, not that she thought it would be—he seemed to like her curves—it was about two people on a date having a good time, and she loved it.

  “Give me those,” she laughed, reaching for the chocolate.

  “Nope,” he smiled, pulling them away. “These are mine.”

  She reached for the candy, and fell forward, bracing her hand on his thigh to catch herself. At the same time, Xander gently wrapped his free hand around her bicep, and his candy filled hand was racing toward her waist. He let his hand drop when her momentum stopped, but he didn’t let go of her bicep, and she didn’t move away from him.

  Their lips were inches apart, but as much as she wanted to, Ivy didn’t have the guts to close the distance between them. Luckily, Xander didn’t have that problem.

  He leaned forward, and gently placed his lips against hers.

  The kiss was chaste and innocent, nothing more than a peck, really, and yet she felt like she was on fire. Suddenly, she was very aware of his hard thigh beneath her hand, and of how warm his hand felt on her arm.

  He’d reached out to catch her fall, and yet his firm grip was amazingly gentle. And strong. There was no denying he was a powerful man, and though there was nothing sexual about the way he held her, she wanted to crawl in his lap and feel his hands all over her body.

  Being with Xander made her feel safe and protected, but also feminine, beautiful, and alive. She didn’t worry about her surroundings when he was near, and she didn’t worry about what she looked like to others either. She just was.

  “Well, well, well, what do we have here?”

  Ivy would know that voice anywhere, and she involuntary tightened her hand on Xander’s thigh as she moved to sit back down in her seat. Her ex was standing in the aisle watching them, and the fake smile on his face was the same one he’d worn the day he’d dumped her.

  She’d been dreading this day for six long months, but now that it had arrived, she really just wanted to punch him in the face. He shouldn’t be talking to her, and the fact that he was proved how truly horrible and manipulative he really was.

  When she realized she was digging her nails into his thigh, she loosened her grip, but before she could pull her hand away, Xander covered it with his own and folded his fingers around her palm.

  “Excuse me?”

  Xander looked at the intruder, and practically growled the question.

  “Nothing,” her ex replied. “Just saying “hello” to an old friend.”

  “We are not friends.”

  Ivy had no idea where she found the strength to actually say the words, but when her ex looked almost as shocked as she felt, she realized she didn’t care. The man had dumped her—in an incredibly horrible and insensitive way—and she owed him absolutely nothing.

  Xander gave her palm a reassuring squeeze, and she felt like she could conquer the world. With him by her side, maybe she could. Funny how that thought didn’t scare her like it had the night before.

  “She said you’re not friends,” Xander growled. “I suggest you move along.”

  Apparently, her ex wasn’t as stupid as he looked, because he walked away without another word.

  Xander watched until the man took his seat, and Ivy watched over his shoulder. She didn’t care about who he was with, or anything else except where he was in the building, and that was only so she could hopefully avoid him on the way out. He was far enough away that if they ran into him again, it would be the man’s own doing, but she didn’t put it past him. Especially not after he’d already approached them once.

  On the plus side, it felt great to realize she really didn’t care whether she saw him again or not, or what happened to him.

  “Do you want to leave?” Xander asked, facing her again.

  “Not even a little bit.”

  The words flew out of her mouth on instinct, and she loved that they were true. She honestly didn’t care what happened to her ex, and now that she’d seen him in person, the weight she’d been carrying around, dreading their eventual reunion, had been lifted.

  Xander smiled and brought the hand he still held to his mouth. He placed a light kiss on her palm, and placed their joined hands back on his thigh.

  The lights went down, the previews started, and they watched the movie hand in hand…except when they were sharing gummy worms and chocolate covered caramels.

  Chapter Four

  Xander held her hand through the end credits, and laughed appropriately every time she whispered how badly she had to use the restroom, but he didn’t take his eyes off the man who had approached them before the movie started.

  Everything about the loser screamed trouble, and there wasn’t a doubt in his mind that the guy was the one who had caused his mate so much pain. Both the cat and the man wanted to hunt down the loser and exact vengeance, even though he had no idea about the details.

  The man had hurt Ivy, and that was enough for his animal. The fact that he’d had the nerve to approach her—and claim they were friends—while she was on a date with Xander, had royally pissed off his human side.

  The ending scene of the movie finally played, and Ivy jumped out of her seat. She let go of his hand, and he laughed as she practically ran out of the theater, leaving him behind to gather their trash.

  On a primal level, he d
idn’t like letting her go, but his human side was happy she wasn’t letting anything stop her. Especially because that gave him more time to track their pre-movie visitor. Either the man wasn’t as stupid as he originally appeared to be, or he’d somehow noticed that Ivy had taken off on her own, because he left the theater on the opposite side from where he’d come in.

  Xander knew from experience not to take anything for granted, and he made a beeline for the woman’s restroom. Luckily, the door to the facilities was right outside their theater, and Ivy came out as he was dropping their garbage in the waste bin.

  Her face lit up when she saw him, and when she automatically reached out to grab his hand again, he almost forgot about the other man.

  Almost.

  Xander scanned the lobby, and dropped Ivy’s hand to so he could hold open the door, and lead her outside with his palm on the small of her back. He liked touching his mate and taking care of her, but more importantly, she seemed to like it, too.

  He’d touched her without complaints a few times early in their evening, but his biggest surprise came right as the movie started. When he’d placed their joined hands on his thigh, he’d fully expected her to pull away, but she hadn’t. In fact, it wasn’t until they’d realized they had to separate to eat their snacks, that they’d laughed and mutually let each other go. They’d stayed close though, both hugging their shared armrest, and he’d grabbed her hand again once they’d both stopped eating.

  Once they were outside the theater, Xander scanned the area. He didn’t see the man again, but at the same time, he felt as though something wasn’t right. It wasn’t a threat, at least not directly, but his cat was anxious, and the animal paced beneath the surface.

  “Is everything okay?” Ivy asked.

  “Yeah,” he said, smiling down at her. He laced his fingers through hers, and kissed the back of her hand. “Sorry, I just… Never mind. Do you want to get a coffee on the walk back?”

  “I would love a coffee,” she beamed.

  Xander nodded, and they started walking. He had a feeling she was on to him and knew exactly what he’d been thinking and who he’d been looking for, but she didn’t say anything about it, and neither did he.