Jupiter (Were Zoo Book 2) (3 page)

“
Yeah, well. What the fuck
ever. What’s your name, honey?” Caesar asked.

“
Celeste
Patterson.”

“
Well, today’s your lucky
day, Celeste. You get to hang out at the security office while I
find someone special to talk to you.” She opened her mouth, and
Caesar cut her off. “See this guy? His name is Jupiter and he’s
hanging on by a thread. So no dawdling. You can take the tour
another time.”

“
Now wait a damn minute,”
she said, putting her hands on her hips. Jupiter rolled to his paws
and padded toward her, butting his head against Caesar’s leg in
annoyance as he passed by. “I’m not going anywhere until someone
tells me what’s going on.”

Caesar frowned, and then started to
chuckle. “Man, are you perfect for each other. Celeste, please. Get
in the Jeep. I promise that everything will be explained to you in
the office.”

She
stared at Caesar, her lush mouth curved unhappily. Then she
made a disgruntled sound and threw up her hands. “Fine.”

Jupiter’s whiskers twitched. She was
such a feisty female. He was entranced, watching as she stomped
over to the Jeep, where Jasper and Evan were waiting. He growled
when Jasper helped her into the vehicle. Even though he wasn’t
doing anything inappropriate, Jupiter didn’t particularly care for
the wolf touching her. In any way. Ever.

As the Jeep pulled away, Caesar
thumped him on the nose and Jupiter made a face. “What the hell did
you think you were doing? You were planning to climb the fence, and
then what? You’re in your damn shift for fuck’s sake, in plain view
of anyone that might come by. I’m sure I don’t need to remind you
of what’s at stake here. Get your ass into the shed,
now.”

Jupiter didn’t like being reprimanded,
especially not by his dad. It was important to him to be a good
pride member and do his job well. But at the moment, he didn’t
particularly care about anything except getting to Celeste, and
following Caesar’s orders quickly would ensure he’d get to see
her.

He padded swiftly to the shed, waited
for Caesar to open it, and hurried inside. The remaining pride
members were lounging in the paddock waiting for the next tour.
When Caesar shut the door, Jupiter shifted and grabbed his black
uniform pants from where he’d hung them on a wall hook.

“
I know what you’re going
to say,” Jupiter said.

“
Oh? You mean about how
much of an idiot you are?”

“
Yeah.”

“
Well, I’m also going to
say that I think we made an error with the protocol, and we need to
discuss more in-depth what happens when a soulmate is
found.”

Jupiter nodded as he fastened his
pants and lifted his shirt from the hook. “I can’t think much past
getting to the office to see her. I know it’s not reasonable to
bring them into the paddocks when they’re identified as a mate, but
there has to be a better way to work this out than hurrying them to
the office.”

When he’d fastened his utility belt
around his waist, he turned to his dad. “Thanks.”

“
What for?”

“
You kept me from doing
something stupid out there.”

“
That’s what I’m here for.
And congratulations on finding your soulmate.”

Jupiter pulled up the door and hurried
down into the underground level. He heard the door shut, and knew
that Caesar would shift and go back out into the paddock to be
ready for the next tour. He couldn’t believe that the VIP tour had
actually worked, and he was the lucky one to find his soulmate
first. He hadn’t believed in fate, but he sure as hell did
now.

He rushed through the pride’s private
section and into the central area, where the different groups ate
meals and purchased goods. At the far wall of what was referred to
as the market, he pressed the button to call the service elevator
that would take him up to a private building in the park marked
‘For Employees Only.’ It was the ground-level cafeteria, where
staff met in their human forms to eat during their shift breaks.
After what had to be the freaking slowest elevator ride in history,
the door opened and he rushed down the hallway that led to the
cafeteria, then out the doors to the park, his only thought getting
to the security office.

He hurried into the back room of the
security office, only to find Justus, one of the bears, turning to
look at him in surprise. No Celeste.

“
Is everything okay?”
Justus asked.

“
No. Where is
she?”

“
Who?”

“
My soulmate!” He couldn’t
stop the roar that followed, as his cat demanded he find
her.

Justus’s brow arched and he shook his
head. “Caesar called. I checked the GPS on Jasper and Evan’s Jeep,
and they just parked back at the main station.”

“
I should go get
her.”

“
No, you shouldn’t. Do you
have any idea how you look right now? Like you’re about two seconds
from shifting. I personally don’t want to be on the business end of
your claws, so just stay put. Jasper and Evan are bringing her
straight here.”

Pushing at his cat, Jupiter snarled
and ground his teeth together, forcing himself to calm down. He
didn’t want to frighten Celeste. She wasn’t a shifter, so she
wouldn’t understand his possessive nature. He’d have to rein in his
natural instincts, which would not be an easy feat since his lion
was being very vocal.

“
So no shit, you really
found your soulmate on a tour? That’s awesome. Congrats,” Justus
said, swiveling in his chair and facing Jupiter. “Gives me
hope.”

“
Why aren’t you in your
paddock?”

“
Someone has to man
security,” he said, shrugging. “I honestly didn’t think that the
tours would work. What are the odds that everyone’s soulmates are
in New Jersey? I mean it’s nice here and everything, but seriously.
I can scent my soulmate as well in my human form as my bear form,
so I figured I’d be where the action is. Plus, I didn’t mind a
change of pace from cooking.” The bears handled the food stalls in
the park as well as in the underground cafeteria.

“
I didn’t think they’d be
successful either,” Jupiter said. Cracking his neck, he turned to
one of the windows and spread his finger and thumb between the
slats of the metal blind so he could peer in the direction of the
tour station.

“
But here you are, about to
meet your soulmate for the first time in your human form. That’s
got to feel amazing.”

He didn’t answer, as he saw
Celeste walking between Jasper and Evan. They were a foot on either
side of her, close but not touching, and he made a mental note to
his cat not to tear them apart, since they were at least
trying
not to touch
her.

“
I’m going to hang outside
the building so you can have some privacy,” Justus said.

“
Thank you,” Jupiter said,
turning and smoothing his hand down the front of his uniform shirt.
He shook his head at himself for his primping. They were soulmates.
Even though she was human, she’d feel a connection to him,
something immediate and deep.

At least he fucking hoped
so.

Chapter 4

Celeste wasn’t a happy
camper. Evan and Jasper had rushed her through the rest of the
tour, barely slowing down at the paddocks. They weren’t talking to
her, either, but she wasn’t sure what she’d say if they did. She
couldn’t stop thinking about the lion. He’d looked at her so
intensely, as if he could tear through the fence – as if he
wanted
to – so he could
get to her. Even though she hadn’t admitted it out loud, she
wouldn’t have minded getting a chance to meet the lion up close and
personal. Which was insane. Possibly the most insane thing any
woman had ever thought.

Letting out a frustrated sigh, she
said, “Do you know where my friend Adriana is? She was in the tour
Jeep behind ours. I don’t want her to wait for me at the station.
And on that note, why couldn’t we wait there? Why do I have to go
to the security office?”

Jasper said, “I’ll find out about your
friend. As far as the security office goes, it’s best to just leave
the details up to the head of security.”

“
And who is
that?”

“
His name is Jupiter Ross,”
Evan said.

“
You have a security guy
named Jupiter, like the lion?”

“
Something like that,”
Jasper said.

A muscular man wearing a beige
jumpsuit strode around the side of a large round building. He
paused, stared at them for a moment, and then smiled. “He’s inside.
I’m patrolling.”

“
Thanks,” Evan said. “Do
you need someone to relieve you?”

“
I said I’d work up here
until the park closes.” He smiled at Celeste and said, “I’m Justus.
You can go right in, Jupiter’s waiting for you.”

“
The lion or the guy?” she
asked with a smirk.

“
Yep,” Justus
said.

Celeste rolled her eyes, then glanced
at her tour guides and said, “I’d say thank you, but honestly this
wasn’t a good tour.”

Jasper’s brows rose, and he chuckled.
“It’s not over yet.”

Shaking her head, she opened the door
to the security office and shivered as a blast of chilled air hit
her skin. She stepped into the office, releasing the door and
letting it shut behind her. The security office was a large, open
room with a long counter. Just beyond the counter were four doors,
all of them closed except one.

“
Hello?” she called as she
walked to the counter.

In a heartbeat, a man appeared in the
open door of the room, practically filling the entire doorway. He
had blond hair the same tawny color as the lion, and his eyes
locked on hers with the same intensity that the lion’s
had.

Okay. Stop thinking about
the lion.

Shaking her head at her insane train
of thought, she said, “I’m supposed to talk to Jupiter. Is that
you?”

Something vibrated loudly, and she
frowned as she stared at the man. Was that sound coming from
him?

“
Are
you…purring?”

The sound stopped and the man’s cheeks
darkened in a blush. “I,” he started, cleared his throat, and then
said, “I’m Jupiter Ross.”

His voice was so deep it sent a chill
down her spine. He was the sexiest man she’d ever seen. She simply
couldn’t take her eyes off him, the center of her body heating as
she let her gaze roam over his body, from his broad shoulders to
the taper of his waist.

He was suddenly in front of her,
moving so fast she hadn’t even seen him until he was over the
counter and in front of her. He was taller than her by a half a
foot at least, thick with muscles that strained against his
uniform. She gasped as he cupped her face with large, warm hands
and that strange vibrating sound came from him again. She
instinctively rose onto her tiptoes and he pressed his lips to
hers, sliding his tongue between her parted lips and crushing her
to his chest. Her hands landed on his pecs, and she could feel the
vibration of his…purr?

Part of her wanted to break
away from the kiss and find out what the heck kind of guy thought
it was okay to just go around kissing strange women with only the
tiniest of introductions. But the larger part of her, too busy
pleasurably moaning as he licked and sucked her tongue, was telling
that small part of her to
shut
up
. Relaxing into his embrace, she slid
her hands up his chest and around his neck. She couldn’t remember
when a kiss had devastated her so expertly, but her mind was
swiftly turning to mush. He tilted her head slightly, deepening the
kiss. As she chased his tongue with her own, she scraped against
something sharp in his mouth and jerked back.

She touched the side of her tongue
with her fingertip and looked down at it, surprised to see
blood.

“
Sorry,” he said gruffly.
“Damn it.”

He grasped her wrist gently, tugging
her around the counter and through the open door of what turned out
to be a surveillance room. Computer monitors, stacked in two rows,
covered three desks. She sat in one of the desk chairs when he
pointed to it, watching silently as he walked to a mini-fridge,
bent over – giving her quite a nice view – and removed a water
bottle. He straightened and turned, catching her ogling him. It was
her turn to blush.

He knelt in front of her, his face
carved in worry. It was then that she noticed his eyes were amber,
an enchanting whiskey color. “Let me see,” he said.

She raised a brow. “Did you really
just ask me to stick out my tongue?”

“
I nicked you. I just want
to make sure it’s not bad.”

His concern made her stomach flutter.
It was just so sweet.

Feeling totally ridiculous, she stuck
out her tongue a little and ran her finger lightly over the place
where she’d been bleeding. It didn’t hurt anymore, and her finger
wasn’t tinged with blood.

“
It’s healed,” he
said.

“
That’s weird.”