Page 2 of Chasing Savannah
She got off the spare and slid it to him.
“For two, you look like you’d be worth any possible aggravation.” He stared at her a moment until she lowered her gaze.
Certainly not because she wanted to, it was compulsion. Which meant only one thing… She slowly inhaled, and caught the scent of hot days, and the woodsy fragrance of a sun baked forest. He wasn’t human. She moved closer, the wild smell of fur and cat drifted to her. She’d recognize that scent anywhere.
He was a shifter.
She didn’t know how to process that just yet.
First, she needed a drink of water, a fan, something to cool the heat flushing her body. “So, you’re helping your best friend move?”
“Yes, he and his wife and kids.”
She smiled, her interest peaked. She turned and spied a handsome man lifting the truck gate, two young boys trailing behind him chattering. “Oh, they look the same age as my son.”
She was excited. Jamie would finally have kids in the neighborhood to play with. Most of their neighbors were retirees, or new families. There weren’t any kids over the age of two on their street. She would definitely make it a point to go over and introduce themselves to the new neighbors.
“You have a son?”
She didn’t detect any disappointment in his tone. “Yes, an eight-year-old, I’m headed to pick him up from school.”
“All done, then, in time to get you on your way.” He stood, brushing his hands along his thighs.
Of course her eyes followed every stroke. He cleared his throat and she hastily lifted her gaze. Gold flickered in his pupils, and his teeth gripped his bottom lip as he smiled and offered her his hand. She grabbed it and stood, stepping back as she realized how much taller than her he was. It was a delightful surprise. At five ten, there weren’t a lot of men taller than her. Well, none outside of the men her grandfather had been trying to set her up with.
She held out her hand and he engulfed it with his own. The touch of his roughened palm sent a jolt through her and she stepped closer. Sensations she hadn’t felt in years tingled across her skin and brought a sigh to her lips.
She cleared her throat, hoping to disguise the sudden longing. “Thank you so much for your help. It would’ve taken me forever.”
“You’re very welcome.” His eyes pulled her in.
She held onto his hand, not wanting him to go. Her phone beeped several times, breaking their trance. “That’s my alarm. I have to go get my son.”
“You need an alarm?” Amusement danced in his eyes.
“Flaky, remember.” She shook the phone at him. “Thank you again.” She jumped in the car and waved as she cranked it.
Patrice purred as she put her in gear and backed out of the driveway. Despite what her ex-husband thought of her, and it had been one of their issues, she was not flaky. She took her son’s safety very seriously. Though her car’s age and outer appearance suggested otherwise, she did not play about the maintenance on it. She was as picky with her mechanic as she was about her hairdresser. The two were the most important women in her life outside of her family.
###
Carlos sighed. His animal was restless, which didn’t come as a surprise. It had been growing more so for months now. Jersey had become more stifling with each day. He sat at his desk and watched the traffic go past his office window, wiggling the tie at his throat loose, and closing his eyes to soothe his panther. Yes, Jersey was becoming confining with the local alpha distrusting and starting to resent Carlos and his budding prowl being on his land.
It wasn’t his fault rogue panthers flocked to him. According to Derrick, his second in command, his animal called to those who needed a place to belong. He blew out a frustrated breath. His panther’s power was causing a problem with the local alphas from New York, all the way to Connecticut. He probably had another six months before either of the Alphas called him in to challenge them. They didn’t realize Carlos wasn’t any happier in their territory than they were to have him there.
But, he’d made a promise to his stepfather to step into the CEO position of their family’s multi-million dollar security company once he retired and he was a man of his word. Already, using his government contracts he’d expanded the company, pushing them from million dollar profits into billions. He’d moved them from a smaller city in New Jersey to New York City to keep up with the expansion. He kept his small prowl outside of Union City, but commuted to the city to work. He hadn’t made it in their current location a whole year before rogue panthers started showing up at the apartment building he and Derrick owned and the Manhattan office.
He’d talked to his stepfather, Daniel, months ago about the local alphas’ concerns and together they’d come up with a solution he prayed would work. Through some of Daniel’s contacts, contacts most humans would be too scared to cultivate, Daniel had heard of a prowl on the west coast of Florida that was quietly searching for a strong alpha. It would be a win-win for them both. It appealed to his stepfather in that it would expand their business south, and for Carlos, it would get him out of the area.
From the moment he’d heard about it, his cat perked up, interested. He’d done his research and sent his sister and his prowl’s liaison down to Tampa to start negotiations. He wondered after he and Daniel had talked about it, if relocating to Florida was the right move. His mother had barely escaped the state with her life, and the lives of her children, it was risky for him to go back.
But, his cat wouldn’t rest.
Something about the place compelled him, pulled to him, so he would follow instincts he’d honed his entire life and make the move. His mother was obviously worried, but he wasn’t, not quite yet.
His phone rang and he wondered if it was his sister checking in. He looked at the caller ID and saw the nameBeta.
“How is it?” Not one for small talk, he skipped the greetings.
