Today, I thought I’d share a small excerpt of Leslie’s story, Catching her Mates (formerly A Cougar’s Mates). It’s part of the Whyr Desires series, but I haven’t submitted it yet. I’m not going into all of the explanation of why. Let’s just say that I wasn’t putting in as much time on it as I should. It is close now. I’ve been working on it and making progress and filling in a couple holes.
Excerpt: (the meeting)
Leslie strolled around the floor of Dover department store. Her nonskid shoes squeaked on the gray marbled flooring. On duty as one of the floor manager’s, she took a quick look into the housewares section. No obvious problem. No customer service agent overwhelmed with customers. She headed toward furniture.
She focused on the job and the people on the floor with her. Make sure the customers are happy and don’t give them an excuse. This job had become a nightmare.
The soft murmur of conversation drifted to her along with the astringent scent of the floor cleaner. People ambled through the clothing section and she’d seen a few couples wandering in appliances. She strolled around the edge of furnishings. One of the floor workers there helped a customer who stared at the beds.
She continued on and turned to go to the nearest cash register to check how the cashier was doing. Movement teased at the corner of her vision. What the… She twisted around.
The man from the furnishings section marched toward her. The male’s eyes fixed on her. She blinked. He looked familiar, but she couldn’t ever remember meeting him. She glanced behind her. No one there.
Did he need some help? His eyes narrowed, brows drawn down over the hazel orbs. His long stride ate up the space between them, almost as if he was afraid she’d run. She took a deep breath and her muscles tensed. She clenched her hands as her heartbeat kicked into a faster rhythm.
Fuck. She fought the warring urges within her because of that unbending stare. Run or swing at him. If she did either of those, she could lose her job. Not a good idea at this point.
“Can I help you, sir?” She pasted a smile on her face and resisted the urge to bare her teeth at him in a hiss. He was just another customer, even if that stare did come off as aggressive. At least, that’s what she tried to tell herself.
“You. It’s you.” He stopped in front of her. His shoulders shifted. Although his hands hung at his sides, tension kept them stiff.
She drew back a little. He better not mean what she thought he meant. She hadn’t caught his scent yet. Frankly, if what she suspected was true, she didn’t want to.
His dark blond hair was cut short, but thicker on top. He had a lean, chiseled face, but those gleaming eyes still held her attention. She could see so much in those orbs.
“Excuse me, sir.” She raised her brows. She didn’t know what he meant. “Is there something you need?”
Please, let him not be a whyr. She would have crossed her fingers or toes if it would help. The way he acted, he thought he knew her or he’d found his mate. And if he reacted to her, he was definitely a cougar. Probably John’s brother.
“Your scent. You’re our mate.” The man stepped forward.
Fuck. Why did he have to come upon her here? She hadn’t thought that her plan had worked because she hadn’t heard any rumors that John had caught his mate’s scent. She had a lot of cougar friends so she should have heard something.
“I can’t do this here.” She took a deep breath and looked around. Sure enough, a coworker stared at her. “I need this job.”
Hope you have a great day
