Panther Defender: (BBW Paranormal Shapeshifter Romance) (Panther Ink Book 1) Read online

  “Not a building, this building,” he corrected. “But I didn’t buy it. My father wasn’t a good man, but he was smart when it came to acquiring real estate. I own the tattoo shop, this building, that one, and those two over there.”

  He pointed out the buildings he owned, and she looked at each one in awe.

  “I rent the others out, but this one has been vacant for a long time. I didn’t say anything before because I knew you wouldn’t tell me your dreams if I’d admitted to owning it on our first date, and I wanted to know that part of you…wanted to hear your goals and ideas.”

  “But why give it to me at all? When we’re mated, it won’t really matter who owns the actual building, will it? Why not just let me use the space?”

  “Because,” he shrugged. “I didn’t want there to be any strings attached. This is your dream, not mine, and…I wanted it to be all yours, not something with my name on it.”

  A huge smile spread over her face, but she still had questions.

  “Are you sure your brothers are okay with this?”

  “They don’t care,” he said, “but even if they did, it wouldn’t matter. I’m the alpha, and you’re my mate. If I want to give you a building, or twenty, then I give you a building. Period.”

  “Do you have the key?”

  He handed her a single key, and she moved toward the door to open it.

  “There’s an alarm on the wall to the right, and the password is 1-2-3-4.”

  “That’s a horrible password,” she laughed, unlocking the door.

  Xander followed her inside, and watched her disable the alarm.

  The look on her face as she looked around the place nearly dropped him to his knees, and once again he was reminded about how much she owned him. He’d wanted to make her happy, and he’d definitely succeeded.

  “I’m looking in the back,” she squealed.

  She did an excited skip-run across the room, and pushed her way through the door behind the counter without waiting for his response. He just laughed, flipped the lock on the door, and trailed after her.

  ***

  Ivy finished her tour of the back at the same time that Xander walked through the swinging door. Her cheeks already hurt from smiling, but her smile grew even bigger when she saw him.

  Over the past week, her love for him had only grown, and even though he hadn’t said the words, she knew he loved her, too. The building, her building, was just icing on the cake. The fact that he wanted her to have something of her own, without his interference, only cemented her commitment to him.

  And she was tired of waiting for him to claim her.

  “Come with me,” she said, holding out her hand.

  Xander took it without question, and followed her into the nearly hidden office in the back corner of the kitchen. The office wasn’t huge, but it was larger than she’d expected, and a large, solid wood desk was the only piece of furniture in the room. It was pushed up against the wall on the short side, jutting the long end out into the center of the space.

  The desk was huge, dark and completely out of its element in the trendy, cool, feel of the rest of the building, but it was perfect for what she had in mind.

  Ivy walked into the office, looped her purse around the doorknob, and dropped Xander’s hand.

  “I think we need to Christen this place,” she said, sitting on the top of the desk, “and I think you need to mark me. Now.”

  “No, kitten,” he said, stepping toward her. “Not here. I’m all for fucking you in every room of this place, but a mating is…more. It’s special.”

  She grabbed the hem of her t-shirt, and ripped the fabric over her head. Xander’s intake of breath told her he liked the pretty purple lace bra she wore, and she smiled, knowing he would like the matching panties, too.

  “Definitely here,” she said, gripping the edge of the table, and arching her back as she leaned toward him. A low growl escaped from his throat, and she didn’t hide her smile. She knew how much he loved her generous breasts. “This place is special, you’re special, and I’m ready, Xander. I love you.”

  He visibly stilled before his deep green eyes met hers.

  “You do?”

  “Yes, very much,” she laughed.

  “I love you, too,” he said. “Very much.”

  “Good. Then mark me, kitty cat, and make me yours forever.”

  Xander stepped into the V of her legs, and planted his lips on hers. The kiss was hard, possessive, and demanding, and it was exactly what she wanted. The heated power of his onslaught forced her back against the desk, and she wrapped her arms around his neck to keep from crashing hard into the wood.

  She needn’t have worried.

  She knew Xander would never let her fall, and he embraced her back with one hand, and cradled her head with the other. His fingers tangled in her long hair, and she gasped in pleasure when he fisted the locks and tugged lightly on the tangled mass.

  Xander had admitted early on how much he loved her long, curly hair, and he often played with it, even when they weren’t being intimate. His attention to her locks was something she loved, and even the slightest touch always garnered a reaction from her pussy.

  This time was no different.

  Liquid heat soaked her panties as he pulled one more time, and she wrapped her legs around his waist to pull him closer. The feel of his thick, hard cock pressed against her wet slit was a perfect fit, even through so many layers, and she couldn’t stop herself from grinding against him.

  Xander growled, and tore his mouth away from hers. He kissed and nipped a pain and pleasure filled trail down her neck until he reached the junction between her neck and shoulder. There, he scraped the sensitive flesh with his canines, and she couldn’t wait to feel the same caress from the teeth of his animal.

  A jolt of heat unlike anything she’d felt before raced down her spine, and her pussy wept and throbbed uncontrollably. She cried out as he left the place of so much pleasure, and pulled her bra straps off her shoulders. With her arms trapped by the straps, he pulled the lace cups under her breasts, and the fabric pushed her generous, fleshy mounds toward him in an impressive display.

  Her large, candy shaped nipples were hard and pointed toward the ceiling, desperate for his touch, and luckily, he didn’t make her wait.

  He lightly bit down on one nipple, and Ivy screamed. The feel of his teeth on the sensitive pebble was almost more than she could bear, and when he swirled his tongue around the sensitive flesh, she nearly came.

  One more lick and she would be gone, but he didn’t lick her.

  Instead, he moved to her other breast, and gave it the same attention. On the verge of coming again, he left the second breast for the first, and continued to alternate between the two mounds.

  Ivy threaded her fingers through his short hair, and tried to anchor him to one breast, but Xander just laughed and continued his delicious torture.

  “Xander, please,” she begged.

  In response, he left a wet trail down her belly, kissing her soft skin until he reached the waist of her shorts. He pulled back to unfasten the button with seemingly steady hands, but the plastic flew across the room, revealing he was almost as far gone as she was.

  “Don’t rip them,” she said, breathlessly, pushing his hands away. “I have to wear these home.”

  Even though every nerve ending tingled, hovering on the border of release, she managed to unzip her shorts, and push the fabric down over her ass. Xander took over, and growled again when he saw the matching purple lace on her low-cut boy-short panties.

  He pulled her shorts off, and placed a kiss on her mound through the lacy fabric.

  “I like these,” he said, palming her ass with both hands, and nuzzling her panty covered mound. “Turn over, kitten.”

  He offered her a hand to help her up, and when she grabbed it, he yanked her against him. Her soft body crashed into his hard one, and she reveled in the feel of all of his muscles and taut lines against her.

&n
bsp; “You have on too many clothes,” she said, pushing his shirt up his chest.

  He grabbed the fabric to pull it over his head, and her hands immediately went to the button on his jeans. Before he could say a word, she had his fly open, and all of her were closed around his boxer covered cock.

  “Not this time,” he growled, landing his palm on her lace covered ass. “I need to be inside you, kitten. Now.”

  Ivy turned around, and bent over the wood. She liked the way the smooth surface felt against her hard nipples, and she arched her back as she stuck out her ass for Xander.

  She heard the weight of his jeans fall to the floor, and she knew he’d pushed down his boxers, too. A second later, he reached between her legs and cupped her mound, and then dragged his fingers across her cunt.

  “So wet.”

  His voice was rough and gravely, and she knew both sets of his canines had fully extended. Xander had been very clear about what would happen during their mating, and what would happen after. Soon, after he sank into her core, she would feel her newfound canines start to press against her gums. Then they would mark each other to complete the mating bond.

  He fisted the lacy fabric on her hips, and roughly pulled the fabric down her legs. When she tried to step out of the barrier, he lightly bit her ass.

  “Leave them.”

  The love mark didn’t break the skin, but god, she wanted him to. She was desperate to complete the bond, and wear his mark.

  Xander licked where his teeth had been, and then placed several kisses up her soft globe until he reached her lower back. He placed a hard, closed lipped kiss there, and then pulled back. A second later, she felt the tip of his cock slowly sliding into her wet hole.

  They were already a tight, perfect fit, but with her panties around her ankles, his dick filled her in a way she hadn’t felt before. He seemed to fill every inch of her channel, and her pussy clenched around him as he filled her in one agonizing leisurely stroke.

  How he could move so slow was beyond her, but when he started to pull out at the same unhurried pace, she wanted to scream for a different reason.

  “Xander!”

  “Yes, kitten?”

  The chuckle in his voice pissed her off, and she pushed back hard against him. Her pussy swallowed his dick in one swift move, and his answering growl made her smile.

  She slid forward again, until just the tip of his dick remained in her hole, and then she pushed back again and accepted all of him. Xander’s fingers dug into her hips, but he didn’t try to stop her as she rode him faster and faster.

  She steadied her body on her forearms, and the new position allowed her nipples to brush against the table each time she moved forward and back. The friction added to her already primed body, and she could feel her release fast approaching.

  “Enough!”

  Xander growled the words, and she knew he was close, too.

  He smoothed a hand down her spine, and pushed down on her upper back. When she obeyed his silent command, and stretched her arms out in front of her, he slid his hand into her hair, and started to move.

  He thrust into her pussy, and then fucked her hard and fast. He claimed her without marking her body, and she loved every minute of it. Her canines pushed out of her upper and lower gums, just like Xander had said they would, and when she called his name, he covered her body with his own, and struck hard.

  She screamed as both sets of his canines sank into the skin covering her shoulder blade, and then his forearm was in front of her. She followed his example, and bit him hard.

  He roared his release, never letting go of her skin, and the possessive, satisfied, animalistic sound pushed her off the ledge again. She screamed, still latched onto him, and she felt his soul brush against hers.

  A burst of light exploded above them, and then several gold sparkles rained in the room, disappearing before they touched any surface.

  The mating was complete.

  Xander let go of her skin, and licked the wound, and Ivy did the same. She could feel the soft purring of his cat vibrating through her body, and she never felt more loved.

  Or more complete.

  “You’re mine now, kitten,” he growled possessively.

  “And your mine,” she agreed.

  They stayed joined together until their breathing returned to normal, and then they dressed slowly, and started shutting off the lights so they could go back to Xander’s place.

  The next day, she would start shifter training, so she could meet and start to embrace her animal side, but tonight she just wanted to lay in the arms of her panther, and relish in their new bond.

  Xander smiled at her as she walked past him after setting the alarm to her new building, and after she locked the door, she pulled him down for a quick, chaste kiss.

  “I love you,” she said, after letting him go.

  “And I you, kitten. Forever.”

  His soul brushed against hers, solidifying his words, and she smiled.

  Not cancelling their first date had been the best decision of her life.

  The End

  From the Author

  Thank you for purchasing this book. Your support allows me to continue doing a job I love every day. If you liked this story, please consider leaving a review so more people can find and enjoy my books, and don’t forget to sign up for my Newsletter to stay up to date on all of my book news!

  Hugs,

  Ruby Shae

  About the Author

  I’m a USA Today Bestselling Author of sizzling, sexy, shifter romance.

  Until I find my own tall, muscle bound, alpha shifter…I’ll keep writing about them.

  Visit my website to learn more about my books (and me!)

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