Page 50 of Finding Her Panthers

“For a long time, that’s all I had. Words. I was pretty scrawny growing up. I wasn’t as smart, tough, or assertive as my brothers. I had to find another way to be an important part of the family. My job for a long time was to talk them down, from fighting mostly with each other. I found humor. I found my voice,” I confess, not used to talking about this.

“They fought a lot? Not with you?”

“They did all the time. Not so much with me, for a while anyway. When they got tired of the jokes, they ganged up on me. It was never harsh. Who could beat up someone that just wanted to make you laugh?”

“You make me so happy, James. You are an amazing man.” She kisses her mark.

“Have you ever been surrounded by people but felt utterly alone?” I ask softly.

“All the time,” she whispers.

“Now, we never have to be alone again. We will always have each other, no matter how many people surround us.” Her eyes tear up but shine with gratefulness.

“James, can I tell you a secret?” Her voice lowers even more, her lips brushing against mine.

“Of course.”

“I love you,” she stutters out softly, nervously studying me closely.

Wonderous at this stunning woman in my arms, I hold open my heart completely. “I love you too, sweetheart.”

With silly grins, we get dressed, touching lightly, kissing the marks that show our bond. Jax sits at the table with his laptop in front of him, a scowl on his face, turning on us the minute we appear.

“That was torture. Hearing everything and not being able to join. When it’s Blue, I recommend we leave the house,” he grumbles, scratching the scruff on his cheek.

“I have to say, I had fun. But I’m on board with leaving the house,” I agree, not being able to help but rub it in just a little.

“Hey, can you not discuss this like I’m not in the room? Or maybe not at all.” Harmony taps me on the back as she moves past.

“Baby girl, better?” Jax asks, circling her hips.

“Much. So what have you figured out?”

“Stephan is tracking all the locations that the car took. He did find some video, so he just has to fill in the blanks.” He kisses her and pats her ass.

I take a seat next to him. “Are the images clear enough to get a good look at who’s working with her?”

“The quality is not great. The best we can do is know it’s the same car. We ran the license plate. It’s a fake.”

“Great.” Harmony slumps down in her seat.

“In the end, it doesn’t necessarily matter who it is with her. We’ll take care of whoever it is when we find them.” Jax drums his fingers on the table, drawing Harmony’s eyes to his skeleton fingers. I feel the heat enter the room. I narrow my eyes, watching her lick her lips, not breaking her stare. Huh? Is it the tattoo or Jax? I would be happy to take her back upstairs. I thought I wore her out, but I guess not. “I spoke with Kerian. He’s going to stop by. His grandfather is in town, so he called to make sure it was alright to bring him. Since this is urgent, I told him it was alright.”

Harmony tore her stare away from Jax. “Is this the wolf?”

“Yeah. He could help. His tracking capabilities are outstanding,” I answer, not thrilled about the thought of them being in the same room together. He’s a decent guy, but he goes through women like crazy. And he flirts way too much.

“Don’t worry about our mate, James.” Jax looks at me knowingly.

“Why would you worry? Is he dangerous to me?”

“No, especially with us in the room. James is worried because Kerian likes to flirt with everyone.”

I punch him in the arm, wiping the smile from his face. “I can speak for myself. And you can’t tell me you're excited about him being near her.”

“Okay, I admit, I don’t like it. But it will be fine. If he can help us track, I’ll ignore a little bit of flirting.” He shrugs.

“Once again, can you not talk like I’m not even involved? Are you guys going to be this jealous forever? Even though I marked you both?” She sighs, frustrated.

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