The Jaguar's Beach Bride: BBW Jaguar Shifter Paranormal Romance (Shifters of Coral Beach Book 1) (7 page)

He looked up and saw her bite her lip. A flush had suffused her chest and her cheeks, and he wanted to lick every inch of that pink flesh. “I want you to make love to me,” she said.

“With what? How do you want me to make love to you?”

Mina groaned. “God, you suck.” He moved off of her, but she pulled his arm and brought him right back. “I want you to do it with your cock, okay? I want
you
. Got it?”

Grinning, he pulled himself up until they were face to face. “Got it loud and clear.”

And then he kissed her.

She was just as ravenous for him as he was for her, and the kiss became so heated that Brennan had to think of ice and cold showers so he wouldn’t lose it before even entering her.

But as he was about to spread her legs and screw her until she screamed, he realized that missionary probably would be awkward, given their height difference. He’d never slept with a woman so much shorter than himself, but Mina was a petite little thing who barely came up to his shoulder.

Brennan rolled over and pulled her on top, until her wet center brushed his cock, and he grunted. This was better, and now he had better access to touch her breasts and belly and clit. Mina gazed down at him, slightly dazed, her mouth red and kiss-bruised. She rubbed herself against him, and Brennan felt his eyes roll back in his head.

That was when she gasped. “Oh, condoms!”

She scrambled off of him before he could respond and tell her he had some in his wallet; he fell against the pillows with a soft laugh, the image of her nude body hurrying away into the hallway imprinted on his memory.

He heard her scrambling around in the bathroom, a soft curse, and he laughed again. Clearly, it had been a while for her, and he loved that he was the one to end her dry spell. Although how she’d avoided men when she was so pretty and sweet and sexy, he didn’t understand. How could any guy not look at her and want her?

“Found some!” Mina said triumphantly as she tossed a strip of condoms onto the bed.

She climbed back on top of him, and Brennan counted: ten condoms in all.

“I’m flattered that you think I can make love to you ten times in four hours, darling.”

She slapped his chest and then scored her nails down it, grinning at his groan. “And I think you’re all talk and no play.”

Growling, Brennan tore off one of the condoms and opened the metallic package, sheathing himself in the latex. “And I think you shouldn’t dare a man who’s desperate.”

Mina gasped when Brennan parted her and rubbed her clit. She was already

soaking wet. He slicked a finger through her folds before saying, “Take me inside you, Mina.”

She nodded and, reaching back, slowly began inching herself down onto his cock. She was so tight and hot and wet that he had to grab hold of the sheets to stop himself from impaling her on him.

“You’re so big,” Mina breathed. “Oh God, I’m not sure if I can take you…” Then she gained another inch, and Brennan had never known sweet torture like this existed.

“Keep going, yes, that’s a good girl.” He gripped her hips now, until finally she moaned long and low and he was sheathed entirely inside of her.

They stayed like that for a moment, drinking each other in. He pulled her down for a kiss, and then he thrust inside her, and she sighed against his mouth. He grabbed her ass and thrust in and out of her tightness in a steady rhythm.

“Brennan, Brennan, Brennan,” Mina chanted.

The sound of their lovemaking filled the room: wetness and gasps of air and moans and bodies slapping together. He grabbed hold of her hips until he was afraid he’d bruise her, but she didn’t protest. Instead, she swiveled her hips against him, and Brennan knew he was close.

“Come for me,” he said as he rubbed her clit with one hand. He felt her tighten around his cock, and her eyes rolled back inside her head.

“I’m coming, oh my God—” And then her entire body shook against him, her sheath tightening around his cock.

Brennan let go with a shout. His balls contracted and then he was coming, coming so hard he saw stars against his eyelids, and he filled her with everything he had inside of him.

Mina collapsed on top of him, his cock still inside of her, and he kissed her, brushing her damp hair away from her face. He’d never come so hard in his life, and he was still half-hard inside of her. What was this woman doing to him? He bit her lip, and he felt her smile against him.

Curling up on top of him like a lazy cat, his cock leaving her warmth, Mina breathed and he breathed with her. Brennan didn’t know what he was feeling right at this moment—but he did know it was something he’d never felt before in his life.

“I don’t know how I’m going into work today. My bones have melted.” Mina sighed and looked up at him. “Are you sure you have to go into work today?”

Brennan thought about it. Then he remembered the meeting he was having with the CEO and CFO and he groaned. “Yeah, I do.” He stroked her ass as he added, “But I’d much rather stay in bed with you all day, making love.”

She beamed. “Same. But I have to work too, I guess. I can’t let the shop just stay closed, since I’m its only real employee.”

They lay together for a while longer, the sun moving across the sky and throwing sunbeams on top of them. Brennan inhaled the scent of sweat and sex, and his inner jaguar purred with an intense kind of pleasure at the smell. There was nothing quite so erotic as the scent of sex in the morning hours, and especially sex like they’d just had.

Eventually, Mina slowly sat up, stretching. “I need to take a shower. If you’re hungry, feel free to get anything you’d like out of the kitchen. There’s coffee, too.”

He rubbed her back, and Brennan realized that he was absolutely starving. “I’ll make us something. Do you like bacon and eggs?”

Mina laughed as she got out of bed, grabbing her various pieces of clothing that had been strewn about the room. “Who doesn’t like bacon and eggs? Feel free to make whatever you’d like.”

He laid his head back against the pillows for a few more seconds, listening as Mina turned on the shower, before he threw back the covers and groaned.

His inner jaguar rumbled about getting food.

“Yeah, yeah, I’ll go make something,” he muttered. “Demanding jaguar that you are.”

As he made his way downstairs and the haze of sex faded somewhat, Brennan remembered that Mina had no idea that he was a jaguar shifter. And that he had no idea how—or if—he could tell her.

Here’s breakfast. Oh and also, I can shift into a giant jungle cat. You’re okay with that, right?
Brennan rolled his eyes at the thought.

He shuffled around in the refrigerator a little more angrily than he’d intended, annoyed with himself. Was he really naïve enough to think that Mina would accept that part of him without issues? That she wouldn’t either think he was absolutely insane or be terrified of him? Mina was a decent woman, but even he couldn’t imagine how she’d react to such news.

This is why you stay single
, a voice whispered in his mind.
Because humans would never understand. They can’t. You’re not like them and never will be.

Brennan slapped the eggs onto the counter, and then grimaced when he opened the container. Thankfully only one had broken. Tossing the broken shell and yolk into the trash, he set about making breakfast. Maybe he could tell Mina, though? A part of him desperately wanted to. Better to be honest now than continue whatever this was without this huge elephant in the room.

He’d made up his mind to broach the subject when Mina came downstairs, haphazardly dressed and her face pale.

“They broke into the shop,” she gasped. “Somebody broke in and it’s been ransacked. I have to go there right now.”

Tears fell down her face, and she was desperately looking for her keys, although she was still barefoot and her shirt was inside-out.

Brennan paused. Watched her. And then he tossed the bowl of eggs into the sink and took Mina’s hands into his, reaching for the keys on the table to hand to her. “Whatever’s happened, I’ll go with you. Let me get dressed and we’ll drive over there.”

Mina finally stopped frantically looking around, and, gazing up at him, took a deep breath. “Okay.”

He leaned down to kiss her forehead before he went to go get dressed.

Whoever had done this would pay for making Mina cry, Brennan vowed to himself.

Chapter Nine

Mina found herself immeasurably glad that Brennan drove her to the shop, because she probably would’ve crashed the car before she arrived. Beyond agitated and imagining the worst, all she could do was hear the words the police officer had said over the phone:
Ransacked, burglary, looks like a lot of stuff taken, are you the owner?

She couldn’t believe it. Who would do this to her little store on the pier? And what the hell was she going to do now? She was already bleeding money, she had loan sharks after her, and now her shop had been burglarized? She had insurance, but Mina had no idea how much it would cover. She probably would have to close down and declare bankruptcy.

Another sob forced its way from her throat, and she covered her mouth. She couldn’t break down in front of Brennan. Not to mention, how many times had she cried in front of him in the last twenty-four hours? If she weren’t so upset she’d laugh about it.

“Hey, it’ll be fine,” Brennan said in a soothing tone, glancing over at her as he drove. “We’ll figure this out.”

She appreciated his attempts at calming her down, but he couldn’t know if they’d be able to figure this out. And at that thought, tears fell and she swiped at them, trying to somehow stem the tide. “It’s not that simple.”

“Of course it is. We just call your insurance, and we file a claim, and we work with the police to find out who did this. Although,” and he said this with a growl, “I have a feeling I know exactly who it was.”

“This is all my fault. I’m such an idiot.”

“How is a man attacking you and then destroying your business
your
fault?”

“It just is! I was stupid enough to take out a loan with Roger and his crew because the business was bleeding money, okay? I wasn’t even breaking even anymore. I was so far in debt that I had no choice but to take out a loan and look where it’s gotten me.” Mina pulled tissues out of her purse and blew her nose, hardly caring how unsexy it was.

Brennan was going to break up with her anyway because she was an idiot. He knew how much she’d taken out as a loan, but he didn’t know how much she was in the red, either.

He remained silent for a moment, not looking at her, but staring ahead into the distance. Finally, he asked, “How badly are you in debt?”

Mina groaned. “Does it matter? Bad.”

“How bad? I know you took out a loan for $100,000. Was that full amount?”

“No, worse. $250,000. The loan didn’t even cover half of the debt amount.” Mina wiped her nose with her sleeve. “I thought that would at least tide me over, though. But now I’ll probably have to close the shop and declare bankruptcy. Fantastic, right?”

As they drove into the parking lot of the pier, Brennan parked the car and then reached over for her hands. “Look, I had a feeling you were in deeper trouble than you’d let on. This Roger guy coming after you told me all I needed to know. But it doesn’t matter to me how much you’re in debt or if your business will have to be closed or even if you’re a hit man working for the CIA.”

Mina laughed. “That last one would at least be interesting.”

“All the same, we’ll figure this out. I promise you that.”

She wondered if she could cry all over again at hearing Brennan’s words. What had she done to deserve a man like this in her life? And after only knowing him—as an adult—for a day! She saw the faded permanent marker on her arm, with his phone number, and more tears emerged.

“You don’t even know me,” she mumbled, looking away.

Brennan stroked a strand of hair that had fallen from her ponytail. “We’ve always known each other, even if we spent so many years apart. People don’t change that much. You’re still just as stubborn and sweet as you were as a kid. The only thing that’s changed is that now you’re a beautiful, sexy woman.”

Brennan kissed her, and Mina closed her eyes and melted into it.

“I’m so glad that I came back,” he said against her mouth.

“I’m glad you came back, too.”

“Come on, let’s go see the damage.”

Mina groaned, but she got out of the car all the same. Dread filled her limbs, and her heart was pounding so quickly that she barely knew where she was walking. She hung onto Brennan’s hand like a lifeboat, and she was probably squeezing his fingers too hard. But he didn’t tell her to stop. Instead, he squeezed her hand right back.

Mina saw the police car lights and yellow tape before she saw her shop. But when she did, she gasped. The windows were broken and the front door hung at a strange angle.

“Oh God,” she said just as a police officer stepped toward her.

“Are you the owner?”

“Yes, Mina Kinney. Can I go inside?”

“Officer Gentry. And you are?” The police officer turned toward Brennan, eyebrow raised.

Brennan reached out a hand. “Brennan Dawson. I’m with Mina.”

Office Gentry nodded, taking Brennan’s hand, before leading them inside. “Watch out for the glass. Whoever did this did a number to it.”

Mina didn’t hear what the police officer was even saying. All she could see was the merchandise strewn across the store: shirts thrown around, jewelry broken and scattered, bottles of sunscreen and tanning oil dripping everywhere. Most noticeable was the old cash register, broken beyond repair, everything taken from inside. Mina never kept much in the way of cash in it—she had a small safe in the back for that. Suddenly remembering the safe, she rushed to the back, already knowing it couldn’t be good.

“Oh God.” The safe lay open on the floor; they’d taken everything, every bit of money she’d earned this week. Mina crumpled to the floor. “How did they get inside it?” she asked, almost numb at this point. “I never leave it unlocked. It’s all gone, all of it.”

Mina rifled through a few documents left behind, trying to smooth out the pieces of paper in some attempt to right the wrong done to the store.