Romance: Auctioned To The Panther: BBW Dragon Shifter Romance Standalone (Wild Shifters Book 2) by Ashley Hunter Read Free Book Online Page A

down onto the steps, tears pouring out of her eyes. The fear of being kidnapped again seemed to hit her at the most random times, but when it did hit, the feeling was pretty intense. She couldn't seem to quit crying.
    Christian was up the steps in a couple seconds, gathering Grace into his arms. “Hey,” he murmured into her hair. “Hey, it's all right, I'm here now, I'm right here.” He hated the way the woman trembled against him and hated himself for not having been there for her when whatever it was had triggered this panic.
    He'd needed to go for a run, though, needed to exercise his panther form; he'd been feeling restless for days now and was afraid he'd do something he might actually regret if he didn't for a run to let some of the tension out. Not that he thought he'd ever hurt Grace, but he didn't want to claim her as his mate before she was ready for it. Sex was one thing; mating was a lot more intense.
    “Sorry,” Grace said, pulling away. She sniffled. “I just...wasn't sure who would be coming through that door. I thought maybe someone was breaking in, and you weren't here to protect me. I mean, you're a free person, but I...don't particularly like waking up alone at the moment.”
    Grace ducked her head, embarrassed that she'd even just said that. Christian didn't owe her anything; he wasn't beholden to her. If he had other things he wanted to go do, he could go do them, even if it was the middle of the night. 
    Christian felt awful as he helped the young woman to her feet. He didn't know how to explain to her how much he wished he'd been there with her when she'd woken up, especially since waking up alone had clearly shaken her.
    “I'd like to be there for you every time you wake up,” he sighed, inwardly scolding his panther. “I just had this...thought about work stuff. And I knew that if I waited until the morning to act on it, I'd forget it. So I went downstairs and filled out some forms and just went down the driveway to drop them in the mail.”
    He didn't feel good lying to her, but on the other hand, the last thing he wanted right now was to tell her that he had shifted into a panther and gone for a run to ease some of the tension that came with being her destined mate but not formally mating with her just yet. At best, she just wouldn't believe him, and he lacked the energy at the moment to show her proof by shifting into his other form.
    At worst, she'd be even more frightened—maybe even frightened enough that she would refuse to stay there any longer. And Christian wouldn't be able to blame her: he was a wild animal, and while his human side was always technically there, he didn't have the same level of control over himself when he was in his other form.
    Of course, she was his mate and he'd never hurt her like that, but she didn't know that—and that was a whole 'nother can of worms.
    He led her slowly down to the kitchen so that she could get her glass of water. She'd given his explanation a doubtful look, but she didn't comment on it, for which he was grateful.
    In the kitchen, she leant back against the counter as Christian got her a glass of water. He was mysterious, she had to admit—but not mysterious in a way that she feared. She was more just curious about him and about what he'd been up to.
    “Stop thinking so loud,” Christian said with a smile, handing her the glass and standing so that his hands were pressed against the counter on either side of her, hemming her in. She felt safe there, even though by all rights she probably shouldn't.
    She swallowed down the water and then carefully set the glass off to the side without breaking eye contact with Christian. She smoothed her hands down his sides and pulled him forward so she was cupping his ample behind and he was stood there between her legs.
    They stood there for a long moment assessing one another, and then Grace tilted her head to the side. “You know,” she said slowly, “I don't know how I'm ever going to be able