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As he got off the plane, he sent a text to his half-brother, Reid.
Landed. On my way to her place.
Given his line of work, and the fact that his clan often had clashes with other shifter clans around territory rights, he was certain to relay his movements to Reid at all times. Reid was his second-in-command, and currently running the ship while Marc was gone. It was another reason he had no intention of taking an extended trip. Things had a tendency of going sideways quickly in the land of sin and overindulgence.
Find the girl. Get home safe. Reid’s replies were always short and sweet.
Finding the girl was necessary. Once a werejaguar found his mate, he knew it was for life, and there was no question of whether it was the right person or not. It simply was, and it was accepted. Marc was eager to get Kelly back to Las Vegas and introduce her to his clan. Plus, they had a lot of catching up to do in addition to getting to know each other.
He looked at the address again as he got into the taxi. He gave it to the driver and thought once again about what he was going to say to Kelly when he saw her. He knew that when they originally met, the whole encounter had been meant to be a one-night stand. A glorious, hot-as-fuck, one-night stand. Instead, he had unexpectedly found his mate.
It wasn’t unheard of for a werejaguar’s mate to be human. Given his role as the alpha of the clan, it was an issue that would spark some discussion amongst the clan members, mainly about his future heir. The succession in the DaVaca clan was determined by bloodlines. Other clans often chose the strongest. But the DaVaca clan was one of the oldest that had called the arid desert of Nevada home. Marc wanted to reassure his clansmen that everything was going to be fine.
The hard part was that courting a human was completely different than courting another shifter. There was a certain amount of finesse that was delicately required. There was nothing easy about what he was setting out to do, but he hoped based on the glorious one night they had spent together, that Kelly would at least listen to him with an open mind. He was aware of what it was going to look like when he showed up on her doorstep with no warning.
Marc felt himself grow even more anxious the closer he got to the address. When they pulled up out front, he was surprised to see that it was a small, charming rowhouse in a neighborhood that looked clean but a little bit on the downtrodden side. He felt his inner feline growl in the back of his consciousness. It didn’t like the fact that his mate with living in a place like this. His mate was meant to be the equivalent of a queen in his clan. She deserved better.
Kelly deserved better.
There was one other thing that he had to tell her that could cause her to kick him immediately to the curb. The reason sounded outlandish that even the most unprejudiced human wouldn’t accept it with face value. And there was no way she could know that she was pregnant with his cub. But he knew, and it was the final piece of the puzzle convincing him that this was his intended mate.
A mere human female who carried the future heir of DaVaca clan.
Marc started up the sidewalk thinking again how he was going to start the conversation. He started to knock on the front door when he heard the faint sounds of humming coming from somewhere around back. He followed the noise.
The hum was pleasant and soothed his nerves. That was how he knew that the sounds had to be coming from Kelly. As he rounded the corner of the house, he stopped in his tracks. He wouldn’t have picked her to be a gardener. But nonetheless there she was in what appeared to be a small vegetable garden behind her home.
The sun shone down and lit up the paleness of her long, blonde hair. Her curves, even from the backside, caused an immediate stiffening of his trousers. His fingers itched to touch her, but he knew this was a “proceed with caution” kind of situation. Her hum stopped mid-note.
He saw her head turn, and her profile was even more lovely than he imagined. She was up on her feet with lightning speed, and he saw her put a hand over her chest. Her eyes widened when she recognized him. He put up a hand, and he wasn’t sure whether it was to say it was okay or hello. For a moment, he was speechless, blinded by the full glory of her beauty.
“What are you doing here?” Kelly asked in a small, breathless voice.
He had to wonder if she felt the same animal magnetism that he felt at that moment. He was doing everything he could to keep his jaguar under control. The big bad cat inside him wanted to claim her.
Now, now, now…
“I had to see you again, Kelly,” he said. He ducked his head just a little as he stepped toward her. The good news was she didn’t back away. “You left without even saying goodbye.”
He saw her mouth twist in an ironic grimace.
“They’re called one-night stands for a reason, Marc. I didn’t have any expectations that you were going to buy me breakfast or anything.”
Normally, he would have appreciated this sentiment, except this was a completely different set of circumstances. This was a one-night stand that was supposed to last forever.
It was fate.
“There are some things that I need to talk to you about. Things you need to know.”
She pulled a cell phone out of her pocket of her sundress. “You aren’t familiar with this technology?”
Marc chuckled slightly. Okay, his mate was no wimp and had a sense of humor. He appreciated a woman with spunk.
“There are some things that are better told in person,” he said.
“This is really creepy, Marc. I think you should go.”
“Sorry, I can’t do that. We need to talk,” he insisted.
