Fascination: BBW Paranormal Shape Shifter Romance (Shifters Forever After Book 2) by Elle Thorne Read Free Book Online Page A

during reading time.” A forced smile curved her lips.
    He laughed, though she didn’t seem amused. “No, I think it’s safer to say I need your shifter skills more than I do your teacher skills.”

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    C ade fought to keep her hand from shaking as she raised a chip to her mouth. She put it back down. She’d probably choke on the damned thing.
    “My shifter skills?” Why does my voice sound so squeaky? Yeah, like she didn’t know.
    “It seems the cat burglar—”
    “Who is a shifter and a woman…” She couldn’t help cutting him off. “And you’re sure of that?”
    “Yeah. Very. I saw her last night. She’s definitely a woman. All woman.”
    Cade wasn’t sure she cared for the appreciative gleam in his eyes when he said that. She knew she was the one… but he didn’t. “Why didn’t you catch her, then?”
    “For starters, we didn’t have the… Well, it was just me and Ky. I didn’t have anyone else there.”
    “It wasn’t an official thing, then?”
    “That’s one way to put it.”
    “And she got away with it? Whatever she stole?”
    “This time.” His jaw clenched. He most definitely wasn’t happy with that situation.
    “So I don’t get where my help would come in handy.”
    “She’s a feline shifter—”
    “What kind?”
    He gave her a look, as if he was wondering why she kept interrupting him. “I don’t know. It was dark, and she was quick.”
    Thank God. “So what do you need me for?”
    “I just thought of it when I came into your place. I can’t jump from building to building like she does. Bears don’t jump. You can.”
    “And you want me to risk my life jumping between buildings to catch a common cat burglar that the NYPD can’t?” She shook her head. “And you see nothing wrong with asking me that?”
    At least he had the decency to look chagrined. “You have a point.” He scratched his days-old growth of beard.
    Why does he have to be so sexy when he does that?
    “There’s another option. I could ask my brother if there’s anyone in Unit 13 with InterForce who could help out.” He didn’t look thrilled with the idea.
    “But you’d rather not.”
    “It doesn’t fall into their jurisdiction. They might be able to help, off the books, but I’d rather make the collar myself.”
    “What harm is this criminal really doing, Isaac? Is she stealing from people who are hungry and poor? How do you know she’s not doing something good with the proceeds?”
    “It’s a crime.”
    “It’s black and white for you, just like that?”
    He looked up from his sandwich and stopped his hand mid-air, almost ready to take a bite.
    “No exceptions?” she pressed further.
    “None I can think of, right off the top of my head.”
    “You should think harder.” She bit her tongue and clamped her lips shut.
    He studied her face, his expression somber. “Working with little children has given you an amazingly innocent perspective.”
    If you only knew. “I always root for the underdog. Let’s go.” She pushed her chair back with a loud scraping sound. “We have shopping to do.”
    He held the door open for her as they exited the deli.

12
    H ours later … had it really been hours? She’d actually enjoyed the normally tortuous task of shopping. She’d had a good time, and it was because of Isaac. They’d laughed, his earlier request forgotten, and they’d shopped for gifts for each other’s families. They’d spent hours and hours, and yet, it didn’t feel like it.
    He put his hand on her arm just after they’d exited the last store.
    The beginnings of dusk were making the city darken as he pulled her into an alcove. Tiny snowflakes swirled around them, creating a magical environment where dreams and wishes could come true.
    But dreams and wishes don’t come true. Cade knew better.
    “Cadence.”
    She loved the way he said her name, not short and choppy like she insisted everyone else say it. On his tongue, it was a caress that flowed through her and then