Dating the Panther: A Shifter Dating Agency Romance Read online

  Dating the Panther

  A Shifter Dating Agency Romance

  Ruby Forrest

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  WARNING: This book contains sexually explicit scenes and adult language. It may be considered offensive to some readers. This book is for sale to adults ONLY.

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   Copyright 2018 by Ruby Forrest - All rights reserved.

  In no way is it legal to reproduce, duplicate, or transmit any part of this document in either electronic means or in printed format. Recording of this publication is strictly prohibited and any storage of this document is not allowed unless with written permission from the publisher. All rights reserved.

  Respective authors own all copyrights not held by the publisher.

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  All character names and pen names used in this work are fictitious and the author’s own creation. Reasonable care has been taken not to use character names or pen names that might be associated with a real person, or that of another author. Any such use is coincidental.

  Kate Blake Publishing does not without consent use, and makes no representation as to the ownership of or rights to, any third party intellectual property.

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  Table of Contents

  Dating the Panther

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Chapter Fourteen

  Dating the Panther

  Chapter One

  “Rae, pleeease!”

  Raelyn Garrett shook her head with a smile that she didn’t even bother to hide. Since her twin sister, Lucy, wasn’t in the room, she couldn’t see it anyway. She sighed into the phone. “Luce, why can’t you go? It’s your date, remember?”

  Lucy sniffled, fake tears, no doubt. She knew her identical twin sister’s fake cry better than anyone. “Because I’m with Jared.”

  “Jared, like musician Jared?” she asked, needing to clarify because her sister had a bad habit of dating so many guys, she legitimately couldn’t keep them straight.

  “Mmhmm. And he’s on tour. So, obviously, I need to do this.”

  Raelyn sighed again. “Then why did you sign up for the matchmaking service?”

  “Well, they’re willing to pay girls just to go on dates! Besides, I am still single. Technically. Sort of…” Lucy’s voice trailed off.

  Raelyn rubbed her temples. Only Lucy, while still technically single would follow a musician around the world instead of following through with her own commitments. But, she certainly wasn’t changing her thirty-year-old sister’s mind now if she hadn’t done it already. “What night is it?”

  Lucy squealed into her ear. “Oh, thank you, thank you, thank you! You won’t regret it. I’ll owe you one! It’s tonight.”

  Friday…Friday…Friday. Raelyn didn’t even have to check her schedule to know she was free. She’s been completely free of plans since about two months ago when her boyfriend of three years, Christian, had dumped her for the Hooter’s waitress. C’est la vie…

  She pulled away the phone from her ear and tapped in an Outlook calendar reminder for Friday. Then, she put the phone back up to her ear. “Yeah, you do owe me. What am I supposed to wear? How will he know it’s me? Has he seen a picture of you?”

  “You’re supposed to wear a black dress, black-and-gold heels, and I’d have my hair down and curled. You can find those things, right? Wear my Louboutin’s if you have to.”

  Raelyn almost snorted into the phone. She might be single and be experiencing a dry spell since Christian, but she was not so despondent that she didn’t own a black dress or a pair of black-and-gold heels. “Yes, Luce, I have those things. I’ll be there.”

  “Eek! You’re the best,” she exclaimed. Then promptly hung up. Typical Lucy style. When she was done with you, she dropped you like a hot potato.

  How did Raelyn consistently get roped into this? She should’ve just said no, but she had been wanting to try Bonheur, the French restaurant where the date was supposed to take place. As far as she knew, you had to have a reservation for almost a solid year before getting in. And somehow Lucy’s ‘date’ had just managed to procure it with only days’ notice? Odd, that.

  Mentally shrugging, she went to her closet. Black dress, huh? She went past the sleek black number, and the sequined dress she’s worn to Vegas, and the strappy black bodycon that she’s worn for her three-year anniversary with Christian. She went past all those, and then her fingers snagged on something familiar.

  She pulled it out. It was something she’d gotten as a gag gift at a White Elephant Christmas party a few year ago. Arguably the most shapeless black dress in existence today, it was perfect for what she had in mind. This guy would never know what hit him, and Lucy would learn her lesson. Lucy didn’t care about losing money, or not fulfilling her obligations. What she did care about was her image. That was everything to the model-turned-escort.

  Grabbing a thick pair of fake plastic glasses from when she’d went as a sexy teacher one year for Halloween, it was complete. The only problem was the shoes. They just didn’t make ugly black and gold heels. All of hers were understandably cute or sexy. Shrugging, she grabbed one of her favorite pairs. She doubted the guy would even look at her feet. He’d be too focused on the hot mess that she’d be.

  She grinned at herself in the mirror. Oh Lucy, you’re going to regret calling me for this favor.

  ***

  Blake Richardson stood at the hostess stand like an idiot. As a man with over twenty luxury properties, a private jet, and more power than the Mayor, something he was not accustomed to was feeling like an idiot. Strike one, he thought to himself as he checked his Armani watch for the third time. What kind of desperate, single woman showed up to a date with a billionaire twenty minutes late?

  “Are you sure I can’t get you anything,” the hostess asked, tipping forward so he got a clear shot of her black-cupped breasts. He fought the urge to groan. Seriously? Now he was going to get hit on by the hostess? God, what a night.

  He clenched his teeth, an imitation of a smile that resulted more in a baring of the teeth than a smile, but the hostess didn’t seem to notice. Her face flushed but before she could say anything, the storefront glass door opened and in breezed a woman clad in black. A waft of scented air followed her, and he dragged it in on an inhale. His felt his pupils dilate and gripped the bannister next to him hard enough to mold the metal frame.

  He was on the verge of shifting in a crowded restaurant because this woman and her damned amazing smell had walked in. He’d never been so close to losing control and his body was confused, stuck somewhere between the feline senses of his panther side and his human side. He breathed in and out, controll
ing the shift so he wouldn’t morph. He’d never felt something so strong before. It was difficult to describe, but it was like Christmas morning and a chemical attraction and a magnetic pull wrapped into one. He looked at the woman again, surprised at the intensity of his desire only based on her smell.

  At least, he assumed it was a woman. It was hard to tell by her shape, but based on the wheat colored long, bouncily curled hair, he was going with female. She was wearing a god-awful black tunic dress that belonged in the trash or a thrift store, in his opinion. He wasn’t up-to-date on female fashion, but even he knew no woman of his acquaintance would be seen in that thing.

  She had thick, black-plastic framed glasses. He could only see her profile, but those glasses dominated any other features that she had. He apprised her lazily while he waited for his date. She was tall for a woman, maybe 5’8”, but still a good deal shorter than his own 6’5” frame. Her legs seemed shapely under the dress. She must be covering up the shape of her body and that was a shame. He abhorred the way women these days didn’t appreciate their own feminine beauty.

  When his dark blue gaze landed on her shoes, he almost laughed out loud. She was an enigma, albeit one that wasn’t exactly his type. But her shoes were everything she was not – sleek and sexy and refined. They were tall black pumps with skinny heels lined in a metallic gold. There was a strap that fit around a surprisingly shapely ankle. Between the ankle strap and the curve of the shoes were fine gold chains that connected the two pieces. Painted black toes peeked out from the peephole of the shoe. He bit back a groan. Those shoes were built for sex. What was someone like her doing wearing them?

  He heard her voice, the husky sound not helping the stiffening in his dress pants. “I’m here for someone. His name is uh…Blake?”

  While the hostess searched her list, he stepped up to her, shocked but a little intrigued that this shapeless woman was his matchmade date. “That’d be me.”

  ***

  Raelyn tried to take in the man standing partially in the shadow, but she had to tip her head back to do so. God, he was tall. She was tall in these heels, but he dwarfed her frame, and it wasn’t all in his height. He was just big. Broad shoulders, tapered waist, powerful thighs. She hadn’t seen him when she’d walked in and now she wondered how that was possible. He certainly wasn’t the type to blend into the crowd.

  He had dark hair that was carelessly styled, shorter on the sides and longer at the top so that he looked a little dangerous and a little lustrous. He had enough sinew to make her mouth water and she could see a tattoo peeking out at the bottom of his dress shirt.

  Raelyn’s first thought was that she’d made a mistake. Standing there looking at the guy—Blake—she wished she wasn’t wearing fake glasses and a sack of a dress. From appearances alone, Lucy’s date was someone Raelyn would have approached outside of being her sister’s double. He was hot. Except since Christian, Raelyn was more than reasonably cautious about her dates. She knew all too well what a nice body and good looks could mean, besides one amazing night. Raelyn wasn’t about to hitch her star to a comet that would leave her in the dust.

  But it didn’t hurt to try, right? Raelyn opened her mouth and started to speak. “Oh, thank God. I was worried I’d missed you! I’m—Lucy.”

  Raelyn almost let her name slip out and she mentally cursed herself. Blake gave Raelyn an obvious once-over. Strike one, she thought to herself, pinning her casual smile in place. She felt a little unclean, being undressed and picked apart by someone that looked like he bathed with rose water. Still, Raelyn wasn’t going to back down.

  “No. You’re only twenty minutes late,” Blake said. Raelyn decided to ignore the jab. They’d got off on the wrong foot, obviously. Raelyn hadn’t meant to keep him waiting; she’d just been pressed for time, what with Lucy calling last-minute to set up the date swap. Blake continued, “I have reservations.”

  The hostess obviously wasn’t sure what to make of the odd couple before her, but Raelyn pretended not to notice. She was going to enjoy the dinner, even if she felt silly in her fake-frumpy clothes. It had seemed like a good idea to spite Lucy for her constant dependence on Raelyn to clean up her mess, but now, Raelyn was only feeling bad memories being dragged up. The last thing she’d wanted was to put herself in this position, but it was too late, now.

  While Raelyn followed Blake to the back, she noticed that he was wearing an expensive suit. Raelyn knew the look of Armani and she knew the look of bespoke suits; she knew quite a bit about all the styles and cuts. One look told her that Blake must have been rich—incredibly so, to the point that Raelyn was starting to wonder what Lucy didn’t tell her.

  As soon as they were seated, a man came up with a spotless uniform and a towel over his arm. Fancy, Raelyn thought, almost as pleased as she was embarrassed by her attire. “Something to drink?”

  “Red,” Blake said immediately, smartly adjusting his sleeves. He didn’t even glance at the man when he continued, “Private reserve.”

  The man murmured an affirmative and slid away before Raelyn could even open her mouth. She stared at Blake. He still seemed to be ignoring everything around him, and Raelyn took a moment to let him explain. He didn’t take it.

  ***

  Blake was not pleased. The interest he’d felt when he’d smelled Lucy was diminishing. He was forcibly pushing it away, and her demeanor was doing nothing to help. Even the hostess who’d given him a clear view of her bra was seeming more appetizing. Lucy was just wrong for him in every imaginable way. Those glasses were eating her face, even if her hair was beautiful and her shoes seemed to say she meant business. The dress was an eyesore.

  The order for wine Blake had given was more for himself than her. He hated wasting a good vintage on someone like Lucy, but he had the feeling he’d need it to make it through the night. Lucy seemed to be attractive, from the glimpses he caught of her body under the sack of a dress she wore, but her attitude said he’d have one hell of a time taking it off her. No matter, he thought, I enjoy a good challenge.

  “I have a mouth,” Lucy said. Her words dragged him out of his thoughts and he turned his gaze on her. She didn’t seem pleased.

  Blake surveyed her once more, noticing how it annoyed her. He smiled at that. “So, you do.”

  He let his gaze linger. Not a bad mouth, either. He couldn’t help wondering what the hell had happened with the match service. Lila had promised him only the best, as he’d paid for. The service was supposed to offer girls—or guys, for those looking—that were of a certain caliber. Class and style were important, especially to someone like Blake. He had places to be seen and events to attend; he wouldn’t do them with a woman whose greater appearance was that of an inexperienced bank teller.

  “Well, don’t worry about me,” Lucy retorted. Her smile was bright, but her eyes were sharp. “I’m capable of ordering for myself.”

  “That won’t be an issue. I’ve arranged things,” Blake answered. His annoyance was growing, even if he had to fight the desire to lean in and take a deeper breath.

  Lucy’s scent was quickly becoming irritating. It lingered under everything, as if taunting him. Reminding him that he was experiencing a likely isolated event under the worst possible circumstances. Blake could almost hear his brother, Aaron, whispering in his ear. I bet he’d say something about fate, Blake thought disgustedly. Blake almost didn’t want the comfort of telling Aaron about how bad the date would go, considering he’d had scoffed at the matchmaking service. He was of the type that preferred ‘natural’ relationships. He was naïve, Blake thought. In more ways than one.

  Chapter Two

  Raelyn noted the way Blake said private reserve. He was rich, she thought, and not just in an upper-class way. He was the richest of the rich. If she was right, he probably made millions. Possibly billions. Raelyn immediately felt an itch of anger at Lucy for not bringing the fact up in the first place. Going on a date was one thing; going out with a billionaire was another.
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  Still, Raelyn felt a little triumph at having the spine to stay in her outfit once Blake started acting dismissive. He wasn’t making the best first impression and, despite the little number hiding beneath her lumpy dress, Raelyn felt no compulsion to change. He didn’t deserve it if he was treating her like this five minutes in.

  The waiter brought out wine and an appetizer. Raelyn let the man do his work and waited to see if Blake would say anything—when he didn’t, she decided to take the initiative. There was no reason for her to wait on him, and she was still curious about him, even if she had a bad first impression.

  “So, what do you do?” Raelyn asked. Blake looked at her with vague annoyance, like he’d been interrupted in the middle of something. It was annoying to Raelyn to get the reaction. She wondered if he treated all his dates this way and decided bitterly that no, it was probably just her. Me and my frumpy dress.

  “Do?” Blake echoed. “I’m a billionaire. People do things for me.”

  Raelyn almost immediately wanted to leave. She felt cheated for a moment; Blake was hot, and she realized she’d been harboring a small hope in her heart that this wouldn’t be terrible. That maybe they would click, or he’d prove to be better. No such luck. “Oh. That must be nice.”

  “What about you?” Blake asked, giving her a look that clearly said he didn’t expect much.

  Raelyn bit back her disappointment. So, he’s an asshole and a rich guy. What a shock. She felt stupid for having agreed to take Lucy’s place. With Lucy’s track record, Raelyn should have expected this. As it was, she only felt the sinking realization that her evening was wasted, and she was now stuck feeling unpretty and belittled.