Nine Lives of an Urban Panther Read Online Free PDF Page A

back on the counter and clenched her jaw. “But no, I don’t practice witchcraft.”
    â€œWe’ll take the lot,” the older brother said. “And can you get us the other thing?”
    â€œMaybe,” was all she said as she began to package up envelopes with enough of the plants in them for their purpose.
    â€œMoney is no object.”
    â€œIt’s not the material cost I’m thinking about,” she said as she left the counter and walked up to the cash register. The boys followed. “Spells like these cost more than just money, gentlemen.”
    Serena looked down at the ingredients and looked squarely at the young men.
    It was the elder’s words that convinced her to find that other ingredient for them. “She’s our sister. We’d do anything for her. No matter the cost.”
    I WOKE UP and stretched along the couch. Dreaming normal dreams again. Well, normal for me. That was nice. And dreaming in full-blown writing fodder to get back into the groove again. That was even better. I needed to get writing again. I needed something juicy to wave underneath my boss’s nose to make sure he always loved me. The movie that I’d written for Drew and Cloak & Dagger Productions was awesome, but I needed to make sure that the awesome kept flowing so those mortgage payments kept getting paid.
    I took in a deep breath and stretched. I sat up on the couch and scratched my head. No one had started breakfast yet. Maybe I could see if I’d picked anything up from my domestic god.
    I SMELLED C HAZ before he ran his hands around my waist. “When did you get in?”
    I leaned back into his strong chest. “Don’t know. Went for a run and then crashed on the couch.”
    â€œYou should have come to bed so I could greet you properly from your quest.” Chaz chuckled and I felt his laughter in the muscles of his stomach and in the soft ebb of power that he’d opened up around us.
    He reached beyond me and flipped the pancakes I was making a mess of. “Have you seen your planner for today?”
    â€œSkyping with the boss at ten, meeting with two from the pack around lunch, and dinner with Waylon.” I gulped at the mention of the last appointment. I wasn’t quite ready to deal with the emotional hiccup that was the impending visit of my long lost cousin.
    â€œAnd it’s nine thirty. Let me finish these or you will starve. You need food, otherwise you’re a monster.”
    â€œI’m a monster either way.”
    I pulled away and grabbed my coffee. I went to sit on the counter next to him as he worked on a stack of pancakes that could have fed an army, but really would only need to feed me, Shadow, and Chaz. Guess he was used to more people sleeping over.
    â€œI’d like to put something on the table,” he said as he flipped the pancake.
    â€œButter? I can get it for you.” I was being purposely obtuse.
    â€œI think we should move in together.”
    My brain went a little foggy and my skin chilled. I rested the hot coffee on my bare leg and stared blankly at him. This was one of those steps that I was still amazed I was actually taking, and actually taking with a male model by day and gun-toting guardian by night.
    â€œI don’t like having to schedule time with you. And if we lived together, it would automatically be more time together. I could rent out my house and get some extra income. And I think I can build my gun cabinet in that little storage under the stairs and . . .” He looked up at my blank face. “Violet?”
    A million things were running through my head and, of course, I latched onto the wrong one. “I don’t think you should get rid of your house.”
    â€œYou don’t want me to move in?”
    â€œNo.”
    â€œOh.” His eyebrows jumped and he moved away from the stove. “That didn’t go as planned.”
    I hung my head. “I really