In The Roar(7)

She’d watched enough Animal Planet and National Geographic shows to know the difference. She loved all big cats. There was a distinct terror associated with shifters, along with their animals. At the moment, she felt wonder. This was a shifter. A man and an animal. He was beautiful in his animal form, strong, big, and alpha. His canines shined and massive paws scraped the sidewalk with each step.

“I’m calling the cops,” he shouted when he finally realized the beast was coming straight for him. His hands shook as he crammed them into his pockets, taking a lot longer than expected to pull out the phone.

A scream lodged in her throat when the jaguar leapt in the air, landing next to her date, a giant roar sounding from him.

Gerard dropped the phone. His arms crossed over his face in a weak attempt to protect himself. “No!”

A woman and a man exited the bar via a side door. The woman glanced at the massive jaguar, Gerard, and Liv and shook her head.

“Call Gerri,” she ordered the man. At Gerard, she yelled, “Don’t move. If you run, he will hurt you.” She glanced at Liv. “You his girl?”

“What?” No, she wasn’t his girl. She barely knew the man.

“Listen, tell the kitty to back away. Say it firmly. He’ll listen to you.”

How could she know that? Liv bit her lip and cleared her throat. “Karel?” The jaguar turned his head to pin her with golden eyes.

The woman shouted, “That’s good. Tell him to come to you.”

“Are you insane?” she hissed, her muscles locking into place, unwilling to let her move.

“He won’t hurt you. He shifted to protect you. We saw the exterior cameras in the bar’s office.”

She licked her dry lips and nodded. “Come here,” she said softly.

“No. With authority,” the woman ordered.

The jaguar snapped his head around and growled at the woman. She gave Liv a “see” look.

“Karel!” Liv managed to keep her voice from trembling. “Come here and stand by me.”

The jaguar glanced at her. He lowered his head and took a single step toward her.

“This is all your fault!” Gerard screeched at Liv.

Karel’s jaguar snarled.

“Shut up, you idiot,” said the female bar owner. “Are you not seeing we’re trying to keep you alive?”

“What in the world is going on?” Gerri asked, showing up to the scene, her voice exhausted, coming to stand beside Liv. She had a bath towel folded over her arm.

“We were on a date,” Gerard started.

“Shut up!” Liv yelled.

The jaguar turned back to Gerard, his head lowering to move closer to her pathetic date.

“Karel!” Gerri said with authority. “I told you about this.”

“Gerri,” Liv said, “he came to my rescue.” She pointed at Gerard on the ground. “This jerk has a hard time understanding the word no.”

Gerri’s eyes glowed gold. She raised her brows and a feral look came over her face. “Did he hurt you? Because if he did, I won’t help him.”

She shook her head. “No. He was just being a spineless dick.”

Gerri stared deep into her eyes, searching. “Are you sure?”

She bit her lip. Oh, how she wanted to kick Gerard in the balls now that he was down. “Yes. He caught me off guard.”

Gerri turned to the bar owner and the man who’d returned outside. “Handle him.”

Liv sucked in a breath, her stomach flipping with cartwheels. “Karel, come. He won’t touch me again.”

The jaguar appeared to debate for a moment, his head swinging between her and Gerard. Finally, he turned fully and closed the distance between them to stop in front of her.

The bar owner and her assistant grabbed Gerard, lifting him with ease and taking him around the corner toward the darkened back entrance of the bar. “Come on, asshole. Don’t think we didn’t see what you did to her drink inside the bar. We have friends who want to talk to you.”

Gerri stared between the jaguar and Liv. She rubbed a hand on the side of her temple. “Get a move on, Karel. I expect this hardheadedness from Alyx. Shift back and let’s get you upstairs before someone else sees a big ass jaguar hanging around outside a bar.” She rolled her eyes. “Like that’s a natural occurrence.”

Liv’s eyes widened in shock, her entire body tensing with anticipation. Karel switched from giant cat to big, muscled man. Oh, shit. He was a very naked man, too. She trailed her gaze from his powerful legs to his muscular thighs.

“Oh, my…” she gasped, curling her hands at her sides. She so wanted to reach out and touch him. That body of his was not average by any means and her fingers itched to get a single slide over his tight flesh.