Momma's Got a Brand New Jag: BBW Shifter Romance (Seaside Shifters Book 1) (6 page)

Rina realized she needed to find her phone. She hoped she hadn’t lost it at the beach. She looked around, but didn’t see it anywhere. Maybe Joven knew. “Do you know where my wristlet went? I think I dropped it in the sand with everything that happened,” she said. The jaguar cocked his head to one side. “Brrrrrrt?”

She continued. “Uh…it’s a turquoise blue bag? Made of leather?”

The jaguar made a gurgling sound and looked at the nightstand at her side, pawing at the drawer. She opened the drawer to find her wristlet. Oh. Maybe he just hadn’t known the word?

She pulled out her phone. Cely and Kris had both texted her, asking how things were going. That had been over two hours ago. The jaguar sniffed at her phone briefly before laying down again. She sent Cely and Kris the same text—’balut’.

She put her phone back into her wristlet and left it on top of the nightstand. The jaguar was staring at her again with his head cocked. She felt inexplicably obligated to explain.

“My girlfriends and I have a ‘safe word,’ for lack of a better term. Basically if we’re hanging out and someone goes solo, she’s supposed to text the safe word to check in for the night if she doesn’t plan on coming home.” Rina felt like she was babbling, but it was more than a little unnerving to have a big fucking jaguar next to her. Especially when she knew that the jaguar was really Joven.

“It was something we came up with during spring break one year when we were all in college. My best friend Kris came up with the general idea and our other best friend Cely and I decided on the word. It’s the word for a certain Filipino street food that none of us would ever eat, so we thought the word was perfect since it wasn’t something we’d say accidentally, it’s short…” She trailed off. Now she was definitely babbling.

Darren returned with a glass of water and placed it on the nightstand next to her wristlet.

“If you need anything, I’ll be in the living room,” he said as he nodded at them and shut the door behind him, leaving it open just a crack.

Rina sipped at her water and realized she was exhausted. Sure, she’d napped during her flight, but it hadn’t been particularly restful since she’d had a sex dream about Joven. She blushed as she recalled the dream. The jaguar started licking her hand again. Rina yawned and got back under the covers. After a few seconds she felt the jaguar curl up next to her in bed. He was soft and warm, and she was fast asleep within a few minutes.

Chapter Ten

Rina awoke on her left side, feeling something very large and hard poking into her back. Someone was cuddled up behind her, but on top of the sheet while she lay underneath it…and whoever it was, was naked. She lay still, trying to decide what to do.

A familiar voice spoke behind her. “I know you’re awake. Good morning, Rina.”

Rina carefully rolled over to find Joven next to her. She struggled to keep her eyes fixed on his face, and only his face. “Uh…good morning Joven,” she said.

“Are you hungry?” he asked.

“I’m okay,” Rina said, but then her stomach growled. It was embarrassingly loud. She flushed.
Thanks a lot, body!
she thought.

“I’ll make you breakfast,” he said, then got out of bed.
Holy shit!
Rina knew it was rude to stare, but he seemed completely at ease that he was naked. Although, she thought, if she were a guy and she had that body, she’d probably go around naked all the time. His body was a perfect example of flaunt it if you’ve got it, she thought. She noted that he was tan all over. Did he just go around naked all the time? He got dressed while Rina pretended not to check him out.

“There’s a bathroom down the hallway to your right,” he said,” and if you go left instead you’ll hit the kitchen. If you’d like to sleep some more I’ll wake you up when breakfast is ready.”

Rina thought about it for a second, then shook her head. “No, it’s okay, I’m awake now.” She definitely wanted to use the bathroom before breakfast. She hoped she didn’t look like a hot mess.

Joven nodded. “I’ll have breakfast ready soon,” he said as he left.

Rina walked down the hallway to the bathroom with her wristlet in tow. She let out a whistle of admiration as she looked around. It was one of the biggest bathrooms she’d ever been in and was even nicer than the one at her hotel.

She looked at herself in the mirror. Yeesh, she really needed to do some damage control. Her ponytail barely qualified as one anymore. She let her hair down and secured it into a low ponytail as she washed her face at the gleaming white vessel sink. As her face dried, she finger combed her hair and styled it into a high ponytail as best she could without a brush. She rinsed her mouth out with some mouthwash that was sitting on the counter and opted for only a clear lip balm instead of lipstick since she’d be eating soon. The thought of food made her stomach growl audibly again and she realized she was starving.
This’ll have to do
, she thought as she made her way back down the hallway. Right now she needed food more than she needed to look pretty.

She joined Joven in the kitchen, sitting down on a barstool at his kitchen island as he finished fixing her a plate. “Perfect timing,” he said with a smile. She placed her wristlet next to a napkin holder at the far end of the island.

“That smells delicious,” she said. Joven had fried bacon in a cast iron skillet, then used the bacon grease to make fried eggs. He’d also made some toast, and brewed some coffee. Rina added sugar and creamer to her coffee as he slid the plate in front of her. He fixed himself a plate and sat down next to her.

Rina waited for him to start eating before she took a bite. “This is really delicious,” she said as she dug in. “Everything is cooked exactly how I like it,” she noted with surprise. “Slightly runny eggs, crispy bacon…how did you know?” she asked with a laugh.

Joven shrugged. “I just had a feeling,” he said. He’d just cooked everything the way he liked it, trusting that it would meet with her approval since she was his mate, after all. Even if she didn’t know it just yet.

She gave a happy sigh as she scooped up some of the runny yolk with a piece of toast. “I didn’t realize how hungry I was,” she said. “Thanks for making me breakfast.”

“Anytime,” Joven replied. “There’s more if you want it,” he said.

“Is there more bacon?” Rina asked hopefully. She gave a squeal of delight as Joven nodded and placed the last strips on her plate. He thought it was adorable how happy she got over her food.

They settled into a comfortable silence as they ate. Joven liked that Rina wasn’t dainty with her food.

“Can I ask you a question?” Joven asked.

“You mean besides the one you just asked me?” Rina joked. “Sure, go ahead.”

He didn’t look amused. “I want to know what you were doing at the beach,” he rumbled.

Rina blinked. Holy shit, was he jealous?

“I told you, I’m on vacation. I went to explore and have some fun. I
had
been trying to call it a night when things turned…ugly.” She took a deep breath and continued. “I’m not going to apologize for going off with them. I know it was stupid. But it was my choice to make.” She sipped at her coffee.

He shook his head. “It was incredibly foolish of you. What if Darren and I hadn’t been there?”

“But you were there,” she said in a small voice. “And thank you,” she said. “I never thanked you properly last night. But then again, you looked considerably different.” She hoped he’d tell her more about therians.

Joven was silent, then finally said, “You’re welcome.” There was an uncomfortable silence, and then he cleared his throat.

“So you know about therians, then?” he asked as he buttered his toast.

“Some. My friend Cely used to date one in the past, I think. But she doesn’t talk about it much. I learned more from the little Darren told me last night than everything she’s ever mentioned,” Rina admitted. “Where is Darren?” She remembered that last night he’d said he would be in the living room. Joven’s house had a large open concept floor plan and she could see the living room from the kitchen, but no sign of Darren. She finished the last of the bacon.

“I sent him home early this morning to get some rest while you were still sleeping. I just wanted him around in case I needed him to explain something while I was still shifted and unable to speak,” he explained before taking a large bite of toast.

“But you can still talk to him while you’re…shifted?” The word was unfamiliar on her tongue.

“Yes. Darren and I, we’re werejaguars. We can communicate with body language, scent signals, and near-silent vocalizations when at least one of us is shifted,” he said. “It looks a little like telepathy, but it’s not quite so magical.”

“And you’re the alpha? Do you like it?” she asked.

Joven looked thoughtful. “I’ve never really thought about it in those terms. Mostly it’s tough to strike the right balance with work.”

“You mean you have a job?” Rina asked with interest. She’d just assumed that being an alpha was a full-time position.

He seemed amused. “Yeah, most therians do. I’ve heard about some billionaire therians, but they were all unicorns.” He drained the last of his coffee and placed his mug in the sink, looking out the window above as he continued. “I own a contracting business. Mostly specializing in residential properties and renovations for other therians and sometimes…other Eerie.”

“Eerie?’ She took another sip of coffee.

“Transmundane individuals. Collectively we’ve been called ‘Eerie’ since the dawn of humanity. Some groups pre-date humanity. We tend to value our privacy and typically require…unique architectural features that cismundane humans don’t.’

“Huh,” said Rina. “No wonder your house is so nice.”

He gave a small chuckle at this. “I’m glad you like it,” he said. “I built it myself.”

And now I know where those muscles came from
, Rina thought as she finished her toast.

“What about you, where do you work?” Joven asked her.

“I’m a registered nurse at a hospital back home.”

“And do you like it?”

“I love it,” Rina said. “Being able to help people…it’s all I ever wanted to do, ever since I was a kid. Sure, there’s a lot of bullshit I’ve had to deal with lately since the hospital got bought out, but my patients are worth it.” She blushed. She hadn’t meant to be so honest.

Joven was staring at her intensely. She licked her lips.

Rina could feel her heart beating faster as he bent down to kiss her.
About damn time
, she thought, right before her phone’s alarm went off. Joven turned away from her without kissing her. Disappointed, she fished her phone out of her wristlet. A reminder alarm was chirping incessantly.

“Shit, I’ve got to go,” she said as she turned off her alarm. She’d forgotten all about her trip itinerary. Today she was supposed to go on the shopping spree she’d won as part of her vacation package. Joven merely nodded before dumping the dishes in the sink.

“We’ll go out through the garage,” he said. Rina realized she was barefoot and wondered where her sandals were. Joven said they were in the garage and she put them on before following him to his car.

She explained about her itinerary as he drove. Joven listened without asking any questions and she worried that maybe she was boring him as they made their way to the oceanfront. They were almost at her hotel.

“I should have asked for your number before we got off the plane,” he said suddenly. “Let me make it up to you. Can I take you and your friends out to dinner tonight?” Inviting her friends along had been Darren’s idea. He’d explained that human women highly valued their girlfriends’ opinions, especially when it came to men. He was determined to win them over.

Rina was startled, but pleased.

“Yeah, of course, of course! I mean, as long as they’re free. I’ll have to check with them first.” She knew that Kris was easygoing and would be happy to go as long as she didn’t have work to do. But Cely would be pissed if Rina made plans for her without consulting with her first. She imagined both Cely and Kris would move heaven and earth to meet Joven though.

“Great, I know just the place. Seafood okay?”

Rina let out a squeal of excitement and he smiled. He loved seeing her so happy.

“Definitely, seafood would be great,” she said.

Back in her landlocked hometown, seafood was oftentimes prohibitively expensive. Or mostly mediocre, with the exception of Ni Hao Mao’s. Still though, it couldn’t compare to being in a coastal town. The girls had all been looking to eating extremely fresh seafood while they were on this trip.

They agreed to work out the details via text and agreed on a tentative time of 8 PM for dinner. Joven dropped her off in front of the hotel and told her he couldn’t wait to see her later. Rina watched his SUV drive away until she couldn’t see it anymore and then went into the hotel.

Chapter 11

Rina got back to the hotel room just as Cely was waking up and Kris was heading out for a morning jog.

“So where have
you
been?” Kris asked.

“I promise I’ll tell you all about it later,” Rina said. Kris grinned and nodded before slipping in her earbuds and taking off. Cely groaned in protest as Rina pulled the curtains aside, letting in some light. She looked outside and saw that the beach was already starting to get crowded. Maybe they could all lay out in Joven’s backyard sometime while they were here.

“So, did you get laid or what?” Cely was never one to mince words.

“It was definitely a whole bunch of ‘or what’.” Rina opened up a bottle of water from their welcome basket and took a sip.

Cely arched an eyebrow at her questioningly. When she realized Rina wasn’t saying more on the matter, she shrugged and yawned. She got out of bed and headed into the bathroom. Cely always took forever to shower, so she tended to do it at night so she wouldn’t have to fight Kris or Rina for the bathroom. She emerged after about 15 minutes and started doing her makeup by the window, taking advantage of the natural light.

Rina decided to take a quick shower while the bathroom was free. When she got out of the shower Cely was already dressed and eating some fruit from their welcome basket. Rina got dressed and brushed her teeth. She felt much better once she was clean.