“Come here,” she crooks her finger, summoning me closer to her. Like a sailor led to a siren, I go, moving across the room. I don’t even know why I’m going, why I’m doing this. All I know is that she wants me to be closer, so I’m going closer. I don’t seem to have a choice in the matter. I just...I need to be near her.

  When I reach her, my hands are on her waist, and then we’re kissing. She wraps her arms around my neck and takes her time savoring me. I love this about Cassidy. I love that even in the midst of chaos, she’s unhurried. She’s unrushed. She’s not trying to win any sort of race. She’s just taking her own sweet time, and it’s wonderful.

  It’s absolutely perfect.

  I slide my hands up her waist and to her breasts. As we kiss, I gently play with her tits. She likes it when I pay attention to her nipples, so I stroke them as we kiss. Soon she’s purring like the kitty cat she really is, and I smile.

  “You’re so fucking sexy when you make those sounds.”

  “What sounds?”

  “Those ones.” I imitate her soft purring, and she smiles and laughs.

  “Is that really what I sound like? I never realized.”

  “Oh, baby, don’t you be embarrassed or shy,” I warn her. “It’s fucking perfect.”

  “Really?”

  “Really.”

  “What else do you like, Matthew?”

  “Well, I like that you showed up naked to my office.”

  “Oh,” she says, almost as an afterthought. She glances down and seems to realize that she’s not wearing clothes. “I shifted before I came here.”

  “You tore your clothes?”

  “Yeah,” she says. “I left them somewhere...Oh, in my boss’ office.” She grimaces and I laugh because it sounds like something sweet Cassidy would do.

  “Did you get anxious to come save the world?”

  “Yeah,” she says. “But what I really want to do is save your world, Matthew. You’re important to me, you know, and your company’s mission is important to me.”

  This makes me so much happier than it should. I’ve never really had a woman who supported me before, at least, not in the way that Cassidy seems to support me. She cares about me as a person, but more than that, she cares about what I’m trying to do with Ridge Construction. I don’t know if I’m going to be able to change the world, but I’m going to try my best to change the world of the college students who are looking for affordable housing. I’m going to make sure that the apartments and houses my company builds are accessible by different kinds of shifters. I’m going to make sure that everything that happens is for a reason.

  And I’m going to make sure that I let Cassidy know exactly how much I appreciate her.

  Starting now.

  I kneel before her, and she looks down at me in surprise.

  “Matthew? What are you doing?”

  “Letting you know how much I appreciate you,” I murmur, and I swipe my tongue across her body. She groans, but spreads her legs instantly, inviting me to come closer, and I laugh. I’m totally happy to take full advantage of this sweet, ready body. Cassidy is so wet for me, and I’m ready to make her come harder than she ever has before. That’s what I want right now. More than anything else, I want to feel her coming, aching, pulsing. I want her to come right here, right now, and I want it to be so fucking incredible that everyone on the street knows what we’re doing in here.

  That’s what I want.

  “Matthew,” she groans, but she doesn’t say anything else. She just grips my hair, holding me in place, and she lets me touch her. I swipe my tongue across her, tasting every bit of her, and fuck, if she’s not the sweetest thing I’ve ever had in my life.

  There’s something so fucking fulfilling about playing with Cassidy in my office during what should be an ordinary workday. There’s nothing ordinary about what we’re doing. Then again, she isn’t an ordinary person. She’s so fucking driven and bold. I love how passionate she is about everything.

  I love the look on her face right now.

  She’s forgetting about everything else in the world and she’s just focusing on me and my tongue and everything I’m doing to her. She has no idea that we’re only getting started. Cassidy and I may have met in a strange way. We had one hot-as-fuck night together, but that doesn’t mean that this is over. Far from it. I get the feeling that Cassidy doesn’t take relationships on for the long-term, but I’m going to show her that I’m worth the trouble.

  Starting now.

  Starting with this moment.

  I tease her body slowly, tantalizing her with each stroke of my tongue. I grip her ass, pulling her closer to my body. I grip her tightly, teasing and playing with her. Her breath hitches as the tension within her body grows and grows and grows.

  “Matthew, I can’t hold on much longer,” she whispers. “I’m so fucking close.”

  I look up at her to see her watching me, and I grin as I swipe my tongue over her clit, flicking it softly. I don’t say a word as she gets closer, and closer, and closer, and then just when she’s so fucking close she feels like she’s going to explode, I suck on her clit tightly and that’s it.

  She melts into my arms like butter, crying out as she comes hard. The orgasm covers her with fire and ice and passion and Cassidy groans as she shakes, unable to control the ripples of the explosion she’s experiencing in this moment. I hold her, embracing her as she comes down from her high, and I just look at her like she’s the most perfect thing I’ve ever seen.

  Because she is.

  She’s fantastic.

  I kiss her, holding her. I touch her softly, stroking her body as she relaxes. Slowly, her mind seems to clear, and she comes back to reality. She looks up at me, and she reaches for my face. Cassidy doesn’t speak at first. No, at first, she just touches me. She strokes my stubble because I forgot to shave this morning. She touches my chest where my shirt is unbuttoned at the top. She reaches lower, touching my cock through my jeans. Then she touches my face again.

  Cassidy leans up and kisses me, and this single kiss holds so many different things: excitement, desire, gratitude, freedom. She kisses me like she’s never been kissed before and I really love that about Cassidy. I love the fact that no matter what she’s doing or what stress she might be feeling, she pours her heart and soul into these kisses.

  When she pulls back, it’s far too soon, and she looks at me regretfully.

  “I don’t want this moment to end,” she says.

  “Me neither. You were perfect.”

  “You did all the work.”

  “You look like an angel when you come.”

  She laughs. “Really? An angel?”

  “A naughty angel.”

  She laughs harder and stands. Then she reaches for me and pulls me up to my feet, too.

  “Okay, big boy. It’s time for the plan.”

  “What plan?”

  “The plan I made up to save your company.”

  “You made a plan to save Ridge Construction?”

  “Yep.”

  “But why?”

  Why would she do this for me?

  Why would she go all out?

  Cassidy isn’t involved in my company in any way. In fact, we barely know each other. We’re just starting to get to know one another, but she took the time and energy to help me craft a plan that could essentially save everything I’ve built from the ground up?

  “Because.”

  “Because you like me.”

  “No!”

  I raise an eyebrow.

  “The orgasm you just had would argue otherwise.”

  “I mean, I like you, but that’s not why I did this.”

  “Then why did you do it?”

  “Because you’re doing a good thing, Matthew, and those people need this. We all need this. The whole fucking county needs this.”

  “Then tell me what you want to do, Cassidy.”

  “First things first.” She reaches for my shirt and starts to unbutton it.

  “Round two already?”

  “No, silly. I need you naked so you can shift.”

  “We’re going to shift?” I like the sound of that. My lion is going to get to play with her tiger, and that’s going to be an adventure to remember for the rest of my life.

  “It’s faster that way.”

  “What is?”

  “Running. We’re going to run.”

  She finishes taking off all of my clothes and then she motions for me to follow her. I cringe as I walk through Ridge Construction fully nude, but then I realize that it doesn’t really matter. My employees have seen weirder, stranger things than me naked.

  Well, I hope they have, because they’re all definitely going to see me naked now. I hadn’t planned on this when I woke up today. I honestly hadn’t planned on any of this, but that’s the funny thing about life, isn’t it? Things never really do work out the way we think they’re going to.

  Alice stands up as Cassidy and I enter the lobby. She looks confused and surprised and she doesn’t seem to know where to stare, so she looks up at the ceiling.

  “Sir?”

  “Alice, I’m leaving for the day.”

  “But, sir. The...situation.”

  “I’m going to take care of it, Alice. Everything is going to be okay.”

  She looks down and stares at me now.

  “Really?”

  “Really.”

  I smile at Cassidy.

  “We’ve got it under control, Alice. You can let everyone know that we have a plan, and it’s a good one.”

  Chapter 14

  Cassidy

  He doesn’t actually know the details of my plan, but Alice doesn’t know that. Nobody knows that I’m the only person who has an idea of what we should do next, but who cares? What matters is that we’re doing it. We’re going to save the city and we’re going to save Matthew’s company and we’re going to save the world.

  That’s what this is, really.

  When it all comes down to it, every little choice can save or break the world. The decision to get out of our comfort zones and go talk to my aunt and uncle might seem trite to some, but the reality is that this is a difficult choice that has been a long time coming. My uncle needs to know that he can’t mess with people, and my aunt, well, I don’t think she even knows what shenanigans the mayor has been up to.

  As soon as we’re outside of the office building, I turn around and look at Matthew. This is the moment, I realize. This is it. This is when everything changes. What happens now can either break us or bring us closer together. I don’t know which it’s going to be. All I know is that we have a shot and we’re both totally ready and willing to take it. We have a chance to make an incredible difference.

  “Here goes nothing,” I say. I snap my fingers and then I shift. Even as I feel my body changing into my tiger form, I cringe inwardly.

  A snap?

  Really?

  Who does that?

  How overdramatic can one girl get?

  Matthew seems to think it’s hilarious because he laughs and copies my movement, snapping his fingers before he, too, shifts into his other form. Matthew is a lion, so he’s bigger than me, but his shifting doesn’t take any longer than mine. Within seconds, he’s no longer a man. He’s a beast, and a beautiful one at that.

  I’d love to take some time and just enjoy the way he looks. I’d love to spend some time just savoring the moment. I want to rub myself against him and just purr at him because his mane is so long and pretty, and every inch of his fur looks soft and wonderful. I know that we’re in a hurry. I get that. It’s obvious, but I also really want to indulge. We don’t have time for much, but we have time for just a quick touch.

  I take a step forward and gently nuzzle Matthew’s neck with my head. He growls, but it’s not a scary growl. No, it’s a happy growl. This is the type of growl that makes me even more certain he’s my mate, and that realization both fascinates and terrifies me at the same time. I want everything he could possibly have to offer me. I want it all. I want Matthew’s touch and his love and his time and his energy. I want to grow old with him, and that’s not something I’ve ever wanted before.

  He lets me rub against him and he takes a moment to touch me, too. Even this in and of itself is totally new to me. I’ve never exactly done this with my former lovers. I mean, what would I say?

  “Excuse me, would you like to shift and rub our bodies against each other in our animal forms?”

  That seems a little nuts, honestly.

  Much as I’m enjoying what’s happening, I have a feeling that saying something like this out loud to another shifter would be a fast way to get blacklisted from the dating scene in our little town.

  I’m totally ready spend forever in this moment, but eventually, it’s time to move, and Matthew pats my paw with his own. He looks at me, and I can’t help but feeling like I’m going to lose myself in those eyes.

  In my tiger form, everything feels stronger. I feel stronger physically, but my emotions feel stronger, too, and I wonder why I didn’t make a move on this guy sooner. I wonder why we didn’t connect until now. I wonder why, for so long, neither one of us really paid the other any attention.

  Why not?

  Were we both too caught up in our own worlds?

  It doesn’t matter now. What matters is that time is running out. The media has already gotten wind of this story and we’re in serious damage-control mode. If we don’t stop this story in its tracks, then it’s not going to matter if my uncle dies before he can remove the permits from Matthew’s company. It’s not going to matter what anyone says about the validity of Ridge Construction because the damage to Matthew’s reputation would have already been done.

  So, I turn, and I run.

  I run faster than I’ve ever run before because right now, everything depends on this. Everything depends on me. Everything depends on getting to my aunt and uncle’s house before it’s too late.

  I race faster than I’ve ever raced before, and I feel Matthew running alongside me. I don’t dare look to my side because if I do, I’m going to slow down, and that’s one thing I can’t afford to do right now. I have to keep going, no matter what. Everything is on the line right now. Everything that matters to our town could be lost if we don’t hurry up and just get there.

  I turn down a side road and then another. Together, we leap over a car and dodge people who are mulling about. We’re creating chaos in this moment, but it’s okay because soon we’re going to be there, and we can find a solution to what my uncle has done.

  We can make this all end.

  We don’t have a choice.

  Soon, we near the house where Alastair grew up. My aunt and uncle’s home is a little two-story farmhouse at the edge of town. It’s totally remodeled, both inside and out, and it looks like the kind of thing you’d see on a postcard. It’s lovely, really, and I’ve spent many afternoons here sipping tea with my aunt. Rarely do I come for dinner, however, because my uncle is a total prick. Everything that comes out of his mouth drips with venom.

  I’ve never really understood how a person could be so miserable, but there you go. Some people are just born mean, I guess.

  As soon as we reach the house, we shift back into our human forms and start to walk up to the front door. My aunt would recognize me as a tiger, I’m sure, but a lion in tiger country isn’t exactly going to be a welcome sight. My aunt is definitely the shoot first, ask questions later type of person.

  Before we reach the front door, she’s outside on the porch and looking at us curiously.

  “Cassidy,” she says. “To what do I owe the honor? And who’s your friend?” She eyes him suspiciously, but not negatively. She seems more curious than afraid of my companion, which is good. Matthew and I aren’t here to cause trouble. We’re here to stop it.

  “Hi Auntie,” I say. My aunt holds out a blanket to each of us. I happily accept a bright pink one and wrap it around myself. Then I had the green blanket to Matthew so he can cover himself. There’s nothing wrong with being nude, but I’m also certain that my aunt doesn’t want us loitering around her house without clothing on.

  “Thank you,” he says.

  “Uh-huh,” my aunt eyes him carefully, waiting to find out what we want. This obviously isn’t a social visit.

  “Aunt Jean, this is Matthew Ridge. He owns the big construction firm in town. You’ve heard of him, right?”

  “I may have heard a thing or two,” she says diplomatically. If my uncle has told her about his plans to destroy Matthew’s company, she doesn’t let it show, but I’m guessing that she doesn’t know about my uncle’s plans. Instead, she probably knows that it’s causing trouble for the mayor, but she might not know the specifics of why.

  “Matthew’s company wants to launch new housing options for shifters of all shapes and sizes.”

  “That’s nice,” Aunt Jean says. She’s obviously waiting for me to get to the point.

  “It would be,” I say. “But Uncle Jacob started a rumor that Matthew didn’t get his permits to build apartments for the college students this fall. Uncle Jacob said that Matthew’s construction projects have to stop because he didn’t go through the proper channels. That’s a lie, Aunt Jean.”

  My aunt’s eyes narrow instantly.

  “He did what, now?”

  So, she didn’t know.

  That’s good.

  It means my aunt isn’t complicit in whatever scheming my uncle has gotten himself into and she’s more likely to be on our side when this is all over. That makes me so much happier than it should. If anything, it’s a relief that we only have one person to fight: not two.

  “The apartments are important, miss,” Matthew steps forward. “As it is, Lyon County is known for being a place where tigers can roam free and live well, but what about other shifters? What about the birds and the owls? What about the snakes? The apartments I’m building will enable shifters of other species and backgrounds to be able to live and work in Lyon County without fearing for their safety. The apartments will let students have an affordable place to live. They’ll have amenities that other places don’t offer, like bird baths and easy access for smaller shifters who might not feel comfortable in large, wide spaces.”