Diaries of an Urban Panther (37 page)

BOOK: Diaries of an Urban Panther
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“No witty comeback?” he tried to fight a smile.

I just shook my head slowly from side to side, my brain still spinning wonderfully. I was too tired. It just took too much energy to be pithy and sarcastic and frankly, I needed the energy for more important things now.

Chaz full smile faded sadly. I felt his shift of demeanor in my chest. My heart sunk with the confusion in his eyes.

“I don’t know how do to this,” he said.

The words were so familiar, like the pain of ripping stitches. My eyes began to water and my skin bristled as some part of me prepared for another fight.

He must have read it in my eyes. “God, no. Violet. I’m never leaving again,” he said quickly. “I love you. I’ve seen you take this curse and make it into something miraculous. It scares the crap out of me because I’m an idiot when it comes to relationships.”

The relief in my chest freed a small tear to slip from my eye. He
was
an idiot. Admitting it is the always the first step. I softened because he did have a hard time getting out the next few words.

“And I don’t know exactly how
it’s
passed on.” He was facing his fears as he took my hand in his.

“You don’t know if you could be infected,” I clarified for him, using the words I knew he didn’t like, even though there was no other vernacular for it. “If we were just lucky the first time.”

He nodded slowly, watching me carefully.

I knew the answer; it rushed over me like a wonderfully refreshing stream. A certainty I had never had before. A strength I’d never felt before. The world was right again.

“It’s okay,” I smiled softly up at him, caressing that movie-star jaw of his. Still wanting to touch everything just to make sure that it was real. “I understand.”

“You do?”

“Can’t have two furries around the house?” I joked, as I tweaked his chin.

He laughed one strong laugh and kissed me. It was still wonderful and I was very glad my toes were tucked beneath my lavender robe, because they were curling more than Christmas ribbon.

He pulled me close as he lay back on the couch, the crease finally gone from between his brows. I relaxed against his bare chest where I could hear the steady rhythm of his heart. I smiled. A real man lying on my couch. And I knew this time he was going to stay.

“Just because we can’t do
that
doesn’t mean that we can’t sleep next to each other and have coffee together and go out to the movies together . . .”

“And take showers together,” he suggested.

I nodded approvingly and let my imagination wander for just a few seconds.

“And it may not be forever. We just need more information.”

And now it was my turn to laugh as I pulled a blanket over the two of us as I snuggled in for a deep warm nap.

“What?”

“Only I could have a love life that requires research.”

 

Stay Tuned for

Further Adventures in the Life of

Violet Jordan

Coming December 2011

From Amanda Arista

 

and

Avon Impulse

 

 

About the Author

 

Amanda was born in Illinois, raised in Corpus Christi, lives in Dallas but her heart lies in London. She has a husband who fights crime, one dog who thinks he’s a real boy, and another who might be a fruit bat in disguise. She spends her weekends writing at coffee shops, practicing for the day that caffeine intake becomes an Olympic sport, and plotting character demises with fellow writers Wolvarez, Killer Cupcake, and Keith (names have been changed to protect the not-so-innocent).

Copyright

 

This book is a work of fiction. The characters, incidents, and dialogue are drawn from the author’s imagination and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to actual events or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

 

DIARIES OF AN URBAN PANTHER
. Copyright © 2011 by Amanda Arista. All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, down-loaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins e-books.

 

EPub Edition July 2011 ISBN: 9780062113160

 

Print Edition ISBN: 9780062114747

 

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About the Publisher

 

Australia

HarperCollins Publishers (Australia) Pty. Ltd.

25 Ryde Road (P.O. Box 321)

Pymble, NSW 2073, Australia

www.harpercollins.com.au/ebooks

Canada

HarperCollins Canada

2 Bloor Street East - 20th Floor

Toronto, ON, M4W, 1A8, Canada

http://www.harpercollins.ca

New Zealand

HarperCollins Publishers (New Zealand) Limited

P.O. Box 1

Auckland, New Zealand

http://www.harpercollins.co.nz

United Kingdom

HarperCollins Publishers Ltd.

77-85 Fulham Palace Road

London, W6 8JB, UK

http://www.harpercollins.co.uk

United States

HarperCollins Publishers Inc.

10 East 53rd Street

New York, NY 10022

http://www.harpercollins.com

BOOK: Diaries of an Urban Panther
13.97Mb size Format: txt, pdf, ePub
ads

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