Ju DiMello: Jaguar, Be Mine

“The humans are here.”

Xander looked up into the wary eyes of his cousin, who had recently joined his company as an intern. “Escort them into the conference room, Jay.”

“Are you sure letting them in is a good idea?”

That was the exact question Xander had asked himself during the entire time he’d vetted the subcontracting firm he’d shortlisted. His advertising company—no, it wasn’t just his, it was his and his cousin’s—needed the outside business if they were going to grow. At least the expansion would surely help in generating more jobs within their community, giving a creative outlet to the wildness his pack had forever struggled to tame.

He weighed his words carefully before answering. “There’re times we need to risk crossing the boundaries. This is one of those times.”

His mind raced backward, to the recent past when crossing physical boundaries across the Arizona deserts was enough to spark a territory war. He shoved gut-wrenching memories aside, forcing himself to unclench his fingers. He couldn’t afford to get tense when facing a single question. Not when he had a room full of jaguars who needed convincing before accepting the proposition of using their brains instead of brawn.

Jay hesitated before he pushed the all-too-big glasses up his nose again. “They wouldn’t sense who we are?”

The boy who’d tagged behind him was maturing too soon. At least his young mind wasn’t as prejudiced against the humans as some of the others of his kind. Xander took a deep breath and nodded. He must’ve appeared reassuring enough since Jay withdrew, leaving behind a scent of confused acceptance.

Xander picked up the hand-delivered invitation from his table, running his finger over the gold-embossed corners, wondering why the elders were calling for a meeting on the night of the summer festival.

A few seconds passed before Xander’s senses stopped prickling, signaling the humans moving away.

He dropped the invitation on the table, picked up his laptop and strode out of his office, making a mental note to let Jay know it wasn’t necessary to keep up appearances. One didn’t need spectacles to act studious or civilized. Letting their human sides rule over their animal instincts boiled down to want. And the firm guidance of one sensible female had helped his pack survive the worst.

The very thought of her made the hair on his nape stand on its end.

Another minute—maybe less—before he’d see her. Scent her. Want her.

He couldn’t wait.

The moment he stepped into the conference room, the instant he felt her gaze on him, he was hard, heavy and aching. Neither from pain nor from exhaustion of the back-to-back travel of the previous day. The lust surging through his veins had only one reason. Karintha. His pack’s first female Alpha. She was the forbidden fruit he could never hope to have and reminding himself of was an exercise in futility.

Karintha gave him a polite smile and turned away. He took the only empty seat in the room, nearest to the door. A sigh of relief slipped past his lips as he realized the chair was as far away from her as possible. He crossed his legs in hopes of hiding the obvious tent in his trousers. Her drugging scent threatened to shatter his control and the table separating them seemed too small, making him pray for the deal to wrap up already.

“I’m sure everyone here knows Mr. Steele,” she said, as if hearing his prayer. “Those who don’t can raise their hands.”

The negotiations started off with a laugh and Xander held tight for a tough ride. Afternoon turned into evening soon enough, the meeting ending on a positive note.

“Xander?”

His hands stilled on the knob when he heard her voice. “Yeah?”

“Can we discuss for a few?”

“Sure.” What else could he say? That he’d gotten the message loud and clear the only time he’d given in to his impulse and asked her out two nights ago. She’d turned him down. Worse, she’d let him down gently, taking care not to hurt him. Clearly showing him that any feelings had only been from his end.

He swiveled to face her and the door closed with a soft whoosh, leaving him and Karintha all alone in the room. He gave her a cursory glance before focusing on the tiny blinking light on the overhead projector.

“About that night—”

He set his laptop on the table, cutting her off. “No office romances, remember?”

She flinched at the harshness in his tone, but damn if he’d hear her apologize once again. He might be younger than her, damn it, but he wasn’t young enough to need placating. Despite his good intentions and his insane travel schedule to keep himself out of the office, a single encounter was all it took for his well-cultivated façade to shatter. Front-ending the business probably wasn’t the best way to avoid her forever, but it had worked for almost a year and no one could say he didn’t try.

“If you’ll excuse me, I have a proposal to complete,” he said, unable to keep his cool when his insides were anything but.

She tried to move past him, her lips pursed, hurt evident on her face. His entire body tensed the moment their bodies brushed. He jerked back, clutching the polished table tight enough to cause him pain. Anything to escape the innocuous touch enhancing the ripple of awareness into waves of desire crashing through him. Her eyes widened at his sudden movement, her lips parting to suck in air as she completed the single step that put her away from his reach. They stood for a moment longer than necessary, their gazes clashing, holding, the emotions between them too raw to name.

She broke away from the stare, leaving him as confused as always. She did care for him. That much he knew. What he didn’t understand was whether the care extended beyond the Alpha’s concern for her pack.

She tugged her lower lip between her teeth in a rare show of vulnerability before releasing it. “I hope we aren’t making a mistake.”

What mistake? He blinked to clear his head and then it clicked. She was talking about their expansion!

Xander quelled the denial that sprang to his lips and stood with his decision. Bringing the humans into the picture was Karintha’s idea—a wish for sanity, a wish for peace. He’d supported her in the plan not because he had to, but because he wanted to. In his opinion they were headed in the right direction. That she was getting cold feet didn’t mean he had to waver. Together they were a team. At least…professionally.

She held his stare, waiting.

When it was apparent she wasn’t going to accept his silence as an answer, he cleared his throat. “We’ll never know unless we try.”

Though the decision to proceed still lay squarely on her, he wasn’t giving up without a fight. Her throat worked as if she might ask him something else, but she pressed her lips, obviously controlling herself.

“Thank you,” she said after a long moment had passed and she stepped out of the room, leaving him to stare after a closed door.

“I’m nuts,” he muttered, picking up his laptop and rushing back into his work cave.

* * * * *

The faint beat of drums drifted through Xander’s office windows, reminding him of the scheduled appointment with the elders.

A plethora of conflicting emotions slashed at his gut as he switched off the monitor and grabbed his suitcase. And then he remembered. Tonight he’d be missing the one thing he’d been waiting for a whole year and where he was heading, the briefcase was going to be an unwanted accessory. Especially when he had to shift to enter the festival grounds where the elders had gathered to plot their next adventure.