Talon (Rise of the Pride, Book 1) (9 page)

Talon accepted his drink, sliding his money
over. He’d just taken his first swig as he felt her approach. Her
scent washed over him and he had to forcefully push his panther
back from demanding he claim her in front of everyone.

“Hey,” she greeted, taking the stool to his
right.

“Hey,” he echoed, then smiled.

“Thank you for the flowers,” she said,
blushing. “They’re lovely.”

The lady at the flower shop had done an
amazing job. He’d asked for something that a man would send a woman
he wanted to date. She’d picked out a large bouquet of wildflowers
with a handful of pink roses thrown in for good measure.

“You’re very welcome,” he answered.

“Are you hungry?” she asked, fingering the
end of her shirt. She looked as nervous as he felt. Her question
also left him wanting to answer honestly.
If I told her I was
hungry for her, she’d run away screaming.

“Yes,” he purred, his eyes tracing her lips.
His cock hardened painfully when her cute, pink tongue snaked out
and moistened her bottom lip.

“What can I get for you?” she breathed, their
eyes locked together. She had to be feeling the mating pull they
had for each other. Her eyes had turned a little glassy, and if
someone would’ve yelled that the building was on fire, Talon didn’t
think either one of them would’ve heard a word of it.

“I don’t know,” he whispered. “Tell me what
you have that is the most delicious thing in the place.” He’d
wanted to hear her say that
she
was the most delicious item,
but he didn’t think she would. This heated flirting between the two
of them caused Talon to lean closer, but not so close that it would
break their connection or frighten her.

“How about I surprise you?” she asked, her
eyes tracing every inch of his face, and didn’t that make him feel
like the luckiest son of a bitch on the planet.

“I look forward to whatever you have to
offer, Liberty,” he teased, taking a chance by reaching out to take
her hand into his. When he kissed the backs of her knuckles, he
suppressed the urge to lick her hand, just to commit her taste to
his memory.

“You smell so good,” she moaned, leaning
closer. Before he could reply, she snapped her head up, gasping in
embarrassment. “I’m sorry. I...I didn’t mean…um.”

“Mating scent,” he whispered, knowing she’d
heard him.

“I’ll get you some food,” she said, hurrying
off the barstool and heading for the kitchen.

He didn’t know how the hell he was supposed
to have a human mate. The fact that his mother had told him it was
possible made him feel a little more at ease.

But what would the pride think? Would they
accept a human female? He knew his Guardians already knew and
actually liked Liberty, but none of his other panthers had met her.
Maybe he should take her to meet them?

He was torn. His pride came first. Maybe he
should just leave, forget about this urge to claim her.

“Yeah, right,” he snorted, draining the rest
of his beer. His panther wouldn’t let him off that easily.

A soft breeze filtered through the room as
the door to the bar opened. Talon’s panther stiffened as a scent
registered in his mind. The scent was familiar. It was the same
scent that had lingered on Liberty’s property.

A female gasped as Talon rushed toward the
front of the bar, exiting the building at superhuman speed. His
nostrils flared as he tested the air, trying to follow the scent of
the unknown panther. Gravel crunched under his black boots as he
slowly searched one side of the building, the scent was missing
from that area. Just as he turned around, Liberty rushed out the
door, a look of panic on her face.

“Talon?” she called out.

“Get inside,” he ordered. He knew the moment
she had noticed that his eyes had changed and his canines were
sticking out of his mouth, because she backed into the building
slowly, pulling the door closed behind her.

Talon kept his senses on high alert as he
prowled around the building. The scent ended at the road, but he
was sure he would’ve heard a car leaving the area in a hurry. Plus,
the panther wouldn’t have had time to get into the vehicle, start
it, and then drive away by the time Talon had reached the door.
Talon was certain that the panther wasn’t working alone.

Once he went back into the bar, he found
Liberty sitting on a barstool, facing the front door. She stood as
soon as he walked in, and rushed to his side. “What happened?”

“The panther that was on your property was
here,” he growled. “He’s gone now.”

“Should I be worried?” she asked, a shiver
rolling up her spine. Talon wrapped his arm around her shoulders
and walked her back to his original seat. He didn’t want to upset
her, but he didn’t want her to be unaware of the dangers this rogue
cat could cause.

“No,” he replied. “Because I will have
Guardians here to keep you safe when I am unable to do it myself.”
It was a promise he intended to keep.

“Talon, I don’t need…” she started, but he
silenced her with a hard glare.

“You will have them here,” he whispered
harshly, letting his alpha powers out. He knew when his mating
scent hit her, because Liberty’s eyes softened and she relaxed in
his arms. “No arguing.”

“Okay,” she nodded. “Let me go get your
food.”

He waited until she was out of sight before
he pulled out his phone and made a call.

“Winter, the rogue was here at the bar,” he
barked. “I want a security detail on this place immediately.”

“On it, boss,” his second in command
replied.

Liberty tried to get ahold of her emotions
and her damn hormones as she stood off to the side of the kitchen
door. There was something about Talon that kept her wanting him to
just reach out and touch her; and not just a simple touch, but the
kind of touch that curls the toes.

Every time she got close enough to smell his
wildness and feel the warmth coming from his skin, she wanted to
crawl up into his lap and rub herself against him as if
she
were a panther. The wetness between her legs was evidence enough
that she wanted him.

When he’d sent the flowers over, she’d read
the card and smiled. What he’d said was simple.

Go on a date with me? Text or call me and
tell me, but don’t make me wait too long.

She didn’t want to seem overly eager, so she
waited for several hours, trying to ignore the card and the hot,
sexy shifter who wanted to be her mate.

Liberty was still embarrassed that she’d
snuck in her sister’s room after Nova had left and borrowed one of
her silly romance books. She felt she had to do some research, and
boy did she ever get schooled on the subject of alpha males who
shifted into animals. The first hour that she’d skimmed through the
book, she had laughed hysterically, but then the author’s words
started to hit very close to home.

A shifter was ruled by not only his human
side, but his animal side as well. There was a constant fight of
wills between the two. The human side of the shifter knew how to
fit in with society. The animal side only lived by what was
ingrained in them by way of their nature; hunt, sleep, mate.
Whoever that author was, they must’ve had some inside information
as to these shifters, because Liberty had seen Talon Shaw with
every word written in that book.

She understood a little better why he’d
kissed her. The urge to claim a mate was predatory…part of his
animal nature. At least he was trying to do things her way, or at
least the way she’d suggested. She’d suggested a date and he’d
asked in the most romantic way possible. What girl would say no to
flowers and a man that looked like Talon?

“Dinner’s up,” Moe snickered, hauling three
plates onto the counter. One was a triple cheeseburger with
everything, the second plate held three grilled chicken breasts,
and the third had a steak that fell over the sides of the plate.
Oh, and a small basket of fries.

She was still smiling as she walked out to
hand Talon his monstrous amount of food. She’d seen him put away
twice as much, so this didn’t surprise her. As she flitted around
the bar, checking on customers and helping Mary Grace with tables,
she realized that she should’ve doubled that order.

When he moaned at the first bite of chicken,
she felt her insides liquefy and heat radiate in the pit of her
stomach
.

“Thank you,” he said politely after he’d
wiped the corner of his mouth. The moment Talon used his tongue to
swipe across his bottom lip, she felt her knees buckle. Before she
could crumble to the ground, he was there to pull her up by the
elbow. “Are you okay?”

“Fine,” she lied. “Just lost my balance.”
With a knowing smile, Talon resumed eating, ignoring the sideways
glances of her patrons.

Voices alerted her to a group of girls
entering the bar. They looked barely old enough to be drinking, if
that. One was tall with long blonde hair, her eyes were ice blue.
The other had dark brown hair, cut into cute pixie. Her eyes were
also ice blue. Liberty immediately knew that they were part of
Talon’s pride.

With them were two boys who’d been stars of
the football team in town several years back. They were brothers,
and she knew them. They’d been good kids, but the girls were new
faces and they didn’t even look old enough to drink.

Before she could go check their
identification, a rumbling growl came from Talon’s chest. Liberty
glanced in his direction and watched as his eyes narrowed on the
group.

“Let me handle this.” He cursed, setting his
napkin by his plate and standing up to his full height. It only
took him two steps before the girls saw him approaching. Liberty
couldn’t see his face from where she was standing, but she could
see the fear radiating from the two girls.

Talon talked in hush tones, the two girls
nodding at his every word. The blonde one blushed with her
embarrassment, but the other girl stood there with her shoulders
back and her eyes cast up to look at Talon. Hell, Talon towered
over everyone. She felt sorry for the girls, but it was obvious
they were a part of his pride, and they’d shown up at a bar with
two human boys who were barely old enough to drink.

It didn’t take long before Talon pointed to
the door, dismissing the group from the bar. The two girls took off
like their asses were on fire, leaving the two boys behind to get
what was obviously an ass chewing from the local alpha.

After the boys left, Talon returned to his
barstool, releasing a deep breath before sitting down and picking
up his hamburger.

“They are not old enough to be in here,” he
stated, taking another bite of his food.

“The boys just turned twenty-one,” she
retorted. “Were those girls part of your pride?”

“Yes,” he huffed. “They are only
eighteen.”

“Well,” she laughed. “You saved me from jail
time and the loss of my liquor license. Thank you.”

“Anytime,” he said, a smile appeared at the
corner of his mouth. God, she wanted to bite his lip. He did things
to her mind and body just by entering the room.

Liberty mumbled a quick goodbye and hurried
back to the kitchen. Moe was just setting another order in the
window. “That man get enough grub?” Moe asked, grinning.

“I think so,” she said, before taking a tray
from the stack to her left.

She made her rounds, refilling drinks and
picking up some plates that had been left on an empty table. It
wasn’t long before Nova came rushing in, pulling her hair up into a
messy ponytail. She held up a finger, indicating that she’d be back
to take over.

The heavy sound of a pair of boots coming in
the door had Liberty tensing. When she turned around, Sheriff
Garrett Lynch stood at the entrance, his eyes zeroing in on Talon
sitting at the bar.

“Hey, Sheriff,” Liberty announced, grabbing a
menu. “Just you tonight?”

“Yes,” he said with a smile. It didn’t go
unnoticed how his eyes warmed as he looked at her. She’d been
friends with him for years, but that was all she was ever
interested in. The sheriff had other wishes.

He was just over six feet tall, and well
built. He was older than Liberty by a couple of years, but he
looked to be much older. He wore his uniform with pride and had
helped her family keep an eye on the bar after her father had died.
They’d had to shut down for a few months before the transfer of
title had been completed. She was grateful for all of his help, but
that didn’t mean she would marry him and start having his
babies.

“I’ll grab you some tea,” she said, placing
the menu on the table. Before she could turn away, a heavy hand
landed on her wrist.

“Libby,” he growled, low and without
warning.

Liberty hissed, not from his use of the
nickname she hated, but from the feeling she got from his hand
touching her wrist. The skin on her arm crawled and her stomach
flipped. Snatching it back, she held it to her chest and rubbed it
vigorously.