The Cougar's Timid Little Lynx (Sweet Water) by Jenika Snow Read Free Book Online

felt all of that shift into something pleasant. Now he felt like some kind of hormonal teenager getting ready to go out on his first date.
    “Remember when you took Michelle Harston out to dinner when you were seventeen, and how nervous you were? I swear you were going to pass out.” There was laughter in Talia’s voice, and Luke couldn’t help but smile at the memory. Talia was always good at making an otherwise uncomfortable situation bearable. He didn’t even know why he was feeling like this. His animal was calm and ready to see its mate, but the human side couldn’t help but feel like he was on pins and needles. Before he could answer her Talia was talking again. “Listen, you know why you’re freaking out, right? The last time you took a female out was when you were with that bitch.”
    Talia never said Mina’s name, but after everything that had happened, the way Mina treated his little sister, and all the times she had been made to feel less than the important person she was, the ugliness had stuck with her, even years later.
    “Yeah, I know.” He rubbed his hand over his head, and grabbed a chunk of his short hair at the base of his skull.
    “She’s your mate, Luke, and you have every right to feel these things. It’s normal. But I have faith that everything will work out. You just have to give it time, be patient, and not second guess yourself.”
    After they hung up he let her words sink in. She was right, of course, but he didn’t know if everything would be okay. Tonight he would pick up his mate and her little girl, tell her about the shitty fiancé e he had and the trust issues he still harbored, and hope she didn’t see him as weak. He also knew tonight would be one of revealing, because she hadn’t said much on the phone, but he had sensed enough in her voice to know that she had a lot of things to say to him as well.
    He started the car, but the feel of his phone vibrating had him grabbing it and answering. “Hello?” He hadn’t looked at the caller ID before answering, very unlike him, and something that proved his head was elsewhere.
    “Doctor Landon?” The deep voice was Michael, Shelby’s husband, and although he sounded calm, Luke could sense his nervous energy through the receiver.
    “Yes, this is Shelby’s husband?”
    “Yeah.?” Obviously something had to happen for him to be calling.
    “Everything’s okay, but Shelby wanted me to call you and let you know she won’t be in.” There was a clear smile in Mike’s voice. “We are at the hospital right now, and the baby should be here in the next couple of hours.”
    Luke found himself smiling, and after the two men spoke a little more, he hung up. But even the happiness of knowing Shelby was having her baby couldn’t help get rid of the nervous energy that coursed through him. It may have diminished as he heard of someone else’s joy, but as soon as he had hung up he was right back to feeling less than confident. He shifted the car into gear, gripped the steering wheel until his knuckles turned white, and told himself that he needed to get himself under control. If he allowed his uncertainty to come through while he was around Alice, she wouldn’t feel the stability he needed her to sense. It was clear she had a lot going on in her past, and he picked up on enough of the fact that his strength, certainty, and inner animal power calmed her instead of deterred her.
    Pushing his human emotions to the side, he let his cougar rise up and take control. The only thing he felt now was a steady beat of stillness inside of him. Good, that was what he needed.
    Once on the road he took the two turns he would need to navigate in order to get to her home. She was so fucking close to him, and the fact he had run through the woods as a cougar, stopped right at the tree line, and watched her through the kitchen window on more than one occasion, was something he felt slightly ashamed of. It could be construed as a bit stalker-ish, or