Page 30 of Purrfectly Kissed

There was no denying the way her she-Cat stood at the ready whenever Brayden was near. The animal inside of her was definitely interested in the sexy Black Bear. The woman, however, always seemed to turn shy whenever she was within ten feet of him.

Until lunch the other day, the Cat reminded her.

True. At lunch she’d been poised, refined even. She told stories and a joke or two. Heck, she had even coaxed a smile from the typically solemn Beta.

Then there was the physical evidence. Her stomach flipped over, and her heart raced in his presence. When his fingers had grazed hers after she’d asked for a napkin, her entire body shuddered.

Moisture pooled between her thighs, and Jessica could hardly breathe. His rugged good looks and incredible over the top muscles made her mouth water. There wasn’t a damn thing wrong with the man. Well, except for one thing, and she might be nit-picking here, but it was a pretty big deal to her.

Brayden seemed all too able to resist her.

Sad chuff.

Maybe she should do something to entice him?

Like what?

She dismissed the idea as quickly as it entered her head. Jessica was not going to play games. If Brayden thought she was his mate, then he needed to let her know.

She walked to the backroom as Kylie came in to start her shift.

“Hey girl, I’m gonna sit in the front and work on designs between customers.”

“Sounds good,” she replied.

“Yay. My favorite kind of day,” the she-Cat drawled pleasantly.

Next week, it would be different. Last-minute shoppers for the holidays would be cruising every store in town for little knickknacks and gifts.

After her first year in the business, she had an idea what most folks were searching for, and had prepared by ordering plenty of scented lotions, bath bombs, hair clips, silk scarves, candles, and the like.

She’d even gotten a few local romance authors to allow her to sell some of their books. Jessica always was a sucker for a good steamy romance novel.

And for the adventurous male shopper who dared stepped into the predominantly female boutique, Jessica prepped several gift bags to make shopping easier on them.

She took lingerie sets from herKisses by Kyliecollection and matched them with candles, massage oils, lotions, CDs, books, and other doohickeys. Then Jessica wrapped them in tissue paper in special silver foil boxes and topped them with teal bows and ribbons. On the outside of each box was a label with a picture of the inside and the size information.

The idea was to give the customer a way to buy their girlfriends, wives, or matesan exciting gift they might actually like instead of a toaster or, gods forbid, an exercise bike, this holiday season.

Some males seriously had a death wish, she mused after hearing horror stories of what some men bought their significant others. Pots and pans were great, but sometimes a gift needed to be personal. Jessica walked to the backroom and saw the packages Uzzi had come in with earlier sitting on the table.

Uh oh.

“Kylie? I’m going to the Pride House to deliver these to Uncle Uzzi while he is still there,” she said, waving to Kylie.

“Sure thing, boss,” the pretty She-Cat returned.

Jess nodded at her and headed out to her little white four-wheel drive. It was cold, but she was fine in just her sweater and jeans.

With any luck she’d run into her Bear at the Pride House. Maybe then she could get a read on him. See if he was really what she thought he was.

Mate.

ChapterEleven

Brayden paced the yard behind the Pride House in Bear form. Even taking a long run through the woods did nothing to relieve the animal’s stress. He loved the clean smell that winter brought to the land and the beast had marveled at running through the frost covered mountains, but he hadn’t alleviated any excess of energy he’d been feeling.

The snow-covered trees always looked pristine against the dark gray skies of the early afternoon in this part of Burlington County. Usually, it would help to settle his anxious animal. But not today.

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