One Wild Vegas Night by SJ Thomas Read Free Book Online Page A

his feet. He turned to face Sol again; his eyes gleamed with madness and he managed to land a blow that rocked Sol’s head to the side. Damn, he is strong. And with the knife Sol was at a distinct disadvantage.
    Sol could shift, of course. Richard’s knife would be nothing against four sets of razor-sharp claws and the most powerful bite of any big cat. But he didn’t want Hannah to see him change, not yet anyway, not in the middle of a fight where he’d use his animal form for violence.
    His hesitation cost him as Richard managed to catch Sol across the chest, cutting a searing line across his skin. Sol gasped with the pain and he heard Hannah scream. His whole body started to buzz, his skin starting to tingle and itch, just as it did before he changed.
    No. Not in front of Hannah.
    Seizing the opportunity, Richard barreled into him and they went crashing backward. Richard had the knife raised, the wicked-looking blade pointed down toward Sol’s chest. Sol tensed for the blow, but suddenly Hannah appeared behind them, her expression wild. In her hands she held a heavy glass vase and with a yell she smashed it across Richard’s back, showering them both with broken glass.
    Forgetting Sol for a moment, Richard turned and grabbed Hannah by the throat. “Bitch,” he shouted, his fingers digging into Hannah’s fragile neck. Her eyes were wide, her hands scrabbling at Richard’s arm, her body thrashing against a hold that was choking her.
    With the direct threat to his mate, Sol stopped fighting his instincts and his shift came fast, his limbs burning with a delicious strength and energy, his muscles rippling along his new form.
    The sound of Sol’s clothes tearing and the menacing growl that rumbled out of his chest drew Richard’s attention. He jerked his head toward the sound, his hands still clenched around Hannah’s throat, but when he saw a massive jaguar standing in front of him, his hands dropped to his sides. The anger drained from his face to be replaced with a look of stark horror. Blinking, Richard shook his head and started to back away, his mouth flapping, although no sound came out.
    Grasping at her throat, Hannah also backed away, her eyes fixed on Sol, her expression just as horrified. After a few steps, her foot caught on the rug and she went crashing to the floor with a pained whimper. Sol forced himself to shut her out, forced himself to focus his attention on the threat in front of him.
    Enjoying the man’s obvious terror, Sol stalked menacingly toward Richard, another growl rumbling out of his chest. Still shaking his head in denial, Richard kept backing up, too terrified to scream, even when Sol leaped at him.
    Richard’s hand flew up as if to shield himself, but Sol raked his claws across the man’s arms, knocking him down. With a harsh exhalation, Richard hit the floor hard, struggling underneath him, but Sol had the man pinned. His claws dug into Richard’s chest until blood pooled from the wounds and Richard’s body jerked with the pain, his mouth opening in a silent scream.
    Though Sol had never killed a human before, all he could see was the male who had tried to harm his mate, and that demanded death. Tilting his head to the side, Sol clamped his jaws around the doomed man’s throat. Gargling, gasping breaths came out of Richard and he scrabbled at Sol’s back, his fingers yanking at his fur, but Sol barely felt it. With a vicious snarl Sol was about to sink his teeth into the tight flesh of Richard’s neck when Hannah’s anguished scream cut through the rage that held him.
    “ Stop! Don’t kill him.”
    Though it went against everything inside him, Sol stopped himself from biting down; instead, he lifted Richard’s head and slammed it against the floor. Richard’s body went limp and Sol released him, slowly turning to face Hannah. She still sat where she had fallen, staring at him with an expression so blank it filled him with unease.
    Moving off Richard, Sol paced over to