Bought by the Puma (Studly Shifters Book 1) Read Online Free PDF Page A

the sink and found two sets of cutlery. She was fishing out the knives and forks when Whitney noticed something sticking out from under the steak knives holder.
    Curiosity getting the better of her, she reached for the slip of paper and pulled it out. It wasn't a bit of paper, she realized, but a Polaroid. There was a crease down the middle and it looked tattered but Whitney recognized Simon, sitting shirtless on a beach, sunglasses covering his eyes. He had his arms round a blonde woman wearing a blue bikini, leaning against him as they laughed.
    Simon was gorgeous before but seeing him like this had the temperature of the cottage going up several notches. Whitney felt her core clench and arousal lick at her skin.
    If Simon ever smiled like that at her, she was going to end up in a molten puddle on the floor.
    "Thinking of using that in a story?"
    Whitney squeaked and spun around, slapping a hand to her chest. Simon was standing by the couch, two backpacks and a computer case at his feet. She hadn't heard him come in. He was glaring at her, his eyes going to the Polaroid.
    "I wasn't..."
    "Yeah." Simon sneered as he approached her. "Like a reporter never had an agenda."
    Whitney was too hurt by the comment to react to Simon snatching the photograph away. She wrapped the dressing gown tighter around her like a barrier between them. This side of Simon she didn't like. Obviously, this woman was someone he was close to, someone he wasn't willing to share.
    Someone who had hurt him if the pain in his eyes was anything to go by. Whitney reached out and touched his arm.
    "Who is she, Simon?"
    Simon snarled and shook her hand off.
    "None of your business." He ripped the photo into four pieces and threw them into the trash can. "I'm going back out. Your things are here so you've got things to do." He glared at her. "If you even attempt to leave, I'll know."
    Whitney's temper rose.
    "You can't keep me here." She snapped. "You'll be as bad as the men who kidnapped me."
    Simon grunted.
    "Just be glad I'm not sending you back as damaged goods."
    Whitney could only stare as Simon stormed across the lounge and out the front door, slamming the door behind him. Her appetite now gone, she went across to the couch and sat, rubbing her arms around her middle and taking deep breaths, tears stinging at her eyes.
    She would not cry. She would not.
    #

 
     
     
     
     
     
    Simon was still smouldering hours later as he sat in his jeep while watching Grattidge's apartment with the use of hidden cameras. When Grattidge had been out at work, Simon had slipped inside dressed as maintenance and got into his apartment, planting cameras everywhere in the rooms, including the bathroom.
    They were activated the minute someone stepped inside and now Simon was watching Grattidge in his lounge, entertaining two young women in skimpy outfits.
    He thought Whitney had no right to go snooping. But it was the journalist part of her to go looking for something to make a story out of. However, as the day had gone by and Simon had found a lot of empty time waiting for Grattidge to get back, he had begun to think more clearly about the situation. He still wasn't happy but he had surmised that it was his own fault as much as Whitney's.
    Why he still held onto that photograph long after the incident, Simon had no idea. And it was stupid to leave it in the cutlery drawer. Inevitably, Whitney was going to go in there and accidentally find it. And Simon couldn't expect to sit on the couch all day twiddling her thumbs.
    That food had looked good and Simon's stomach had growled for food when he smelt it coming into the drive. But when he had seen the picture in Whitney's hand, all thoughts of food had disappeared. He had managed to eat from a nice little diner down the street but it didn't seem to compare to the food Whitney had thoughtfully prepared for both of them.
    He was going to have to go back once he was relieved and apologize to her for his behaviour. While she