Page 13 of Purrfectly Kissed

“Do it for me, Brayden. Please?” Elissa chimed in.

Shit.

He didn’t have a chance in hell of saying no to both of them. He respected the Alpha couple too much to go against them. Not that he thought Uncle Uzzi could help him find his fated mate.

The fact was, Brayden Smith knew exactly who his one true and fated mate was.

Jessica Maverick.

He’d only just realized it for certain. But there was still no way in hell, he was claiming Jessica as his own. His Bear let out a mournful bellow. But even his beast could not change his mind. Brayden refused to doom her to life with someone as broken as him.

After the tragedy of John’s death followed by Valerie’s suicide, Brayden did not deserve happiness. Jessica was so sweet and pure. She was much better off without him.

Now he just had to be strong enough to stay away.

Sad growl.

ChapterSix

“Excuse me, Mr. Stregovich?”

Jessica snuck inside the conference room shortly after leaving the scene in the living room behind.

Whatever it was that had the Pride Beta wanting to strangle Reg was probably something she did not want to know about. Bad enough her she-Cat was ready to climb the big, burly Bear after his macho display.

Eeek!

All those muscles. Who could blame her? Brayden was built like an Olympian god, for fuck’s sake.

To think he’d seen her almost naked moments before had her heart skipping beats. Jessica was all Shifter, but she’d gotten some recessive gene or something that made her curvy and rounded where her peers were svelte and lean.

Embarrassment made her cheeks pink, especially since she’d caught Brayden checking out the Pride’s own personal beyotch gang. Those skinny females gave Shifters a bad name.

She understood why Hunter invited them, he was their Neta. But she would never understand how they could sleep around with every male that whistled at them, then acted like she was the one with a problem.

Jessica did not have any issues with sex. Hell. She wished she was having some right now. And no, she did not play into the old double standard that women were whores and men cool when they slept around. She believed everyone should treat themselves with respect, whether male or female.

Sex was natural, and it was good, but that didn’t mean she intended to pass herself around like a tray of crackers, for fuck’s sake. She had tensed with the arrival of those women, wondering why those females even bothered to get appointment cards to see Uncle Uzzi.

Oh well. To hell with those women. They’d never paid Jessica any mind except to make nasty quips about her size. Even though they frequented her boutique, they still put her down.

Jessica’s Closetwas the name of her shop, and it was the best damn one in town. She was fluffy, but she had good taste.

Stylishly sexy with a dash of practicality.

That was her motto. Apparently being a shop owner meant Jessica couldn’t scratch the eyes out of those two-faced she-Cats for all the times they’d hassled her. More’s the pity. But Jessica had learned to grin and bear it.

And she did on the daily.

Sure, she had some money in a trust, but after using some of it as start up cash for her shop, she tucked the rest away, wanting to leave the rest for her future cubs. Cubs she wouldn’t have if she didn’t find a mate. Her Tiger pressed against her skin, the she-Cat eager to claim hers.

Chuff.

Her boutique meant a lot to her, especially since she recently expanded her reach with an online store. Things were looking good, and she was getting more and more orders every day.

Jessica’s Closetwas one of the few boutiques that catered to both typical and larger body sizes. She had always been a bigger girl. And no, she didn’t mean big boned.

Jessica was a Shifter. She liked food, and it showed. She had thick thighs, a sizeable ass, and one or three belly rolls. Not to mention big, heavy breasts. She owned it, though.

---