To Catch a Snake: Book Three - Supernatural Bounty Hunter Romance Novellas by E A Price Page A

scent.
    He figured she was Carly’s age. He was a bit older than her, but it wasn’t that much difference. He wondered if she’d say yes if he asked her out on a date. His gut said yes, she had certainly seemed interested in him, and he was sure he had caught a whiff of her arousal. His snake had almost been unbearable at that. He wanted to leap over the desk and throw the little panda to the ground and…
    He clasped his hands together as his muscles trembled. His beast was trying to force the shift, but Marcus was resistant. He had to stay in control. After Kelly died he swore he would never lose control again, and he swore he would never let himself be so affected by a female. Yet, less than thirty minutes after meeting a luscious red panda shifter and he was already in pieces.
    Would Ling even want to get involved with him, after the way her last boss treated her… Just the thought made him want to hunt the man down and wrap his hands round the asshole’s throat…
    Marcus groaned and rubbed his hands over his face. This was why he didn’t like to get involved with women. Attraction leads to lust; lust lead to love; love leads to jealousy and jealousy leads to him losing control and trying to hurt people…
    It wasn’t good for him or his beast, although the snake was adamant that it was worth the risk. Marcus just wasn’t quite so sure.
    He looked at his office door. She was out there right now. She was probably sat at the desk, her shapely legs crossed over one another, her breasts straining at the awful She-Ra shirt, just waiting for someone to come along and…
    Ugh, god, he had it bad.
    *
    Ling flicked her eyes to Marcus’ closed door. He hadn’t come out once since she left him earlier. What the heck was he doing in there?
    Mia had given her some work and she had, much to Mia’s delight, sailed through it. It probably wasn’t her best work. How could it be? All of her thoughts were directed at the delicious hunk hiding in his office. She would guess he was about 40-years-old. That was fine with her. Myron was 47.
    Her panda growled. Ugh, stupid Myron. Although, if he hadn’t treated her like something you scrape off your shoe, she never would have come to work here. So it wasn’t all bad.
    Jackson and Logan had returned and left again with Carly in tow, much to Jackson’s annoyance. But otherwise things were quiet, and she was left to obsess over Marcus. She seemed to think he had been married, but she couldn’t quite recall. Carly had gushed over her job at the bail bond agency, but Ling couldn’t remember everything she said. She would have to find a way to probe her best friend, unobtrusively of course.
    Her phone buzzed. Oh, maybe it was Marcus! Wait, what? How could it be? He didn’t have her number, and besides, he was sat less than twenty feet away from her. Why would he be texting?
    She groaned at her own stupidity, and then groaned even louder when she saw it was a text from her mother reminding her about her blind date that night. Awww, crap . Maybe she could just tell her mother she had the flu. Nah, her mother would come round to her house with pills and potions, and she might even bring the blind date with her for good measure. Her mother had this crazy idea that, at the start of a relationship, it was a good thing for people to see each other at their worst. She said it let you know what you were in for down the line. Ling disagreed. She liked men to see her at her best so that they had no expectation of things getting any better. Hmmm, maybe her mother had a point.
    Ling started as she saw that Mia was beaming at her. “Quitting time. Listen, thanks for taking the job.”
    Ling shrugged. “You don’t have to say that.”
    Mia’s eyes looked desperate. “Trust me when I say this, you are a godsend.”
    Logan, Carly and Jackson returned with triumphant smiles.
    “Caught them all,” proclaimed Logan happily. “We’re going out for a drink to celebrate, you girls