[ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]
.“Oh my god,” she said on a gasp.“Oh my god.Those assholes.” Her eyes narrowed on him.“Freaking Haymore works fast.”Haymore? Roch stared at her in confusion.Who the hell was Haymore? His gut rippled with tension.Was this her male?“Listen up, dickhead,” she ground out, trying to keep her voice low as she stared him down.“No matter what you’ve been sent here to do or to offer me, I will never end this pregnancy.”Roch’s guts screamed with heat and sickness.Those violet eyes had turned fierce and protective.Pregnancy? She was pregnant? What the hell? Bile claimed his throat and he wished for his cat to take over so he didn’t puke all over the untouched beignet.“I’m leaving now,” the woman said tightly.“Follow me and I’m going straight to the police.” She leaned toward him then and whispered, “Leave me alone and you’ll never hear from me again.No one will ever know this child is half Pantera.”Roch’s body started to vibrate as the woman grabbed her purse and stood up.He reached for her, took her wrist, his eyes piercing into hers.“You are carrying a Pantera young?” he hissed, careful to keep his voice low.No doubt they were already attracting attention.It wasn’t possible.She couldn’t be… With the curse… He froze.The curse had lifted only weeks ago.But, Christ, if it was true, who had planted their seed inside of her?Feral anger rippled through him.Which Pantera male had lain with this woman? Touched her? Ran their hands through those soft, blond curls while they—She yanked her arm away, cutting off questions he had no right to be asking.“Fine.Play stupid.” She seemed tough, hard, pissed off, but the fear was bright in her eyes.“Just don’t bother me ever again.”Bother her? That’s not what he wanted.“You’re putting yourself in danger,” he managed to grind out.“By being here.By being out—” He was about to say out of the bayou, but she stopped him with a hard stare.“I don’t care.” She glanced around at the nearby tables, then turned back to him and whispered, “I will do anything to protect my child.”“Even if that child is part animal?” he asked, amazed.“Fuck you,” she ground out.Stunned, every muscle in his body tense and ready to spring, his guts clenching with every breath he expelled, Roch watched as the woman left the table and hurried out of the shop.* * *A bag of Chinese take-out in one hand and a book on what to expect during pregnancy in the other, Lydia thanked her doorman and headed for the elevator.After the morning she’d had she just wanted to hide out in her condo this afternoon.Take a bath, and binge-watch Orange Is the New Black while stuffing her face with cream cheese wantons.Once inside, she hit the button for the third floor and leaned back against the metal wall.She was trying to assure herself that the people at The Haymore Center would leave her alone now that she’d threatened going to the police, outing their mistake, but she couldn’t help feeling afraid.Not for herself, oddly, but for the little life growing inside her.If this baby was truly half Pantera, how was she going to protect him or her? Especially if there were people out there who looked at her child and saw an animal?The elevator door opened and she stepped out, headed down the hall.Was it possible to keep it a secret? Or would her half human child end up being able to shift into a cat one day in the middle of Show and Tell?Okay, tomorrow, she mused, nearly dropping her book as she tried to free a hand to get her keys.She’d think about this tomorrow.“Let me help you?” came a male voice a few feet away.Lydia’s head lifted and her heart nearly dropped onto the carpet under her feet.She froze, her keys instantly forgotten.Clutching the food and the book to her chest, she took in the man standing just outside her door.It was him.Of course it was him.The guy from the beignet place.Her insides pinched.From fear, and lord, from something else entirely.Something she refused to name.Something she should not be feeling at all.Her gaze tracked over him.He was terrifyingly good-looking.Tall, lean, big hands, thick wrists, dark blond hair and icy blue eyes that warned of a highly intelligent mind.Just like earlier, he wore a black suit, white shirt, and dark purple tie, and as he walked toward her it was like witnessing the very essence of confidence, sexuality and ultra masculinity.“This is disturbing,” she said, trying like hell to remain cool and calm, and act like she could kick his ass if she had to.“You outside my door.” Dammit.Her voice was shaking.Or maybe that was her insides.It was just…the way he was looking at her.Not like he wanted to do her harm, but like he wanted to know what her skin tasted like.She blushed and walked past him to her door.“I’m sorry,” he said.“I’m not trying to scare you.”She could feel him behind her.His warmth.“Too late.” She transferred the book and food bag to her left arm, then went searching—not for her keys this time, but her cellphone.If this gorgeous bastard from Haymore tried anything, she was calling the police.“I just need to know,” he said, coming around her and leaning all six feet, suit-clad, hard jawed gorgeousness against the doorframe.“Are you certain you’re carrying a Pantera child?”The need to drop everything and cover her belly with her hands, protect her tiny child, was intensely strong.But Lydia kept her composure.“That’s an odd question for the man who’s representing the very company whose samples I used.”“I’m not representing this Haymore you speak of.”She turned to look at him just as her hand closed around her cell.His eyes darkened to a stormy sky blue.“And I’m not a man.”Heat and panic erupted within her.Her breathing shallow and uneven, she brought cellphone out of her purse and quickly dialed 911.“You need to get the hell out of here.Maybe get yourself to a psych ward.The cops are coming.”But the cellphone never made it to her ear.The man slipped it from her so fast she hardly felt it leave her hand.He stabbed the off button, then turned to look at her.“You need to come with me, Ms.Page.”Her heart was beating so fast, she worried she might pass out.“And you need to run before I scream my head off.”“I am not going to hurt you,” he insisted tightly.In fact, he looked put out, insulted by her suggestion [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]