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    Whisper: Twin Leopards, #1
    Whisper: Twin Leopards, #1
    Whisper: Twin Leopards, #1
    Ebook126 pages2 hours

    Whisper: Twin Leopards, #1

    By Tressie Lockwood

    4.5/5

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    About this ebook

    Previously published.

    Whisper has always been in the shadow of her slimmer, sexier best friend. She doesn't expect that to change the night the two meet her tall, dark, and mysterious neighbor across the hall. At first sight, Alec doesn't appear to want anything to do with either one of them. He's too busy breaking the apartment building's rules about no pets. Whisper can't believe the size of Alec's pet leopard, one that quickly becomes attached to her. When Alec offers her five dates to put out or walk away, Whisper can't bring herself to be offended. The man is crazy. His pet has the same name as his twin brother, and what they do in the park at night should have her running in the opposite direction. Alec might be much more than a girl can handle no matter how bad she wants it.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherTressie Lockwood
    Release dateNov 23, 2014
    ISBN9781937394509
    Whisper: Twin Leopards, #1

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      Book preview

      Whisper - Tressie Lockwood

      Chapter One

      Whisper, wake up, came the voice through a hazy fog in her brain. Whisper moaned and tried to sink further into sleep. Someone flicked her nose, and she swatted out blindly. Whisper, damn it, wake the hell up!

      She jerked and opened her eyes. Her best friend, Sheila, sat on the side of her bed still in the slinky red dress she’d worn on her date out. Whisper yawned and rubbed her eyes. What? she grumbled. You know how hard it is for me to fall asleep. Why do you want to mess with me when I finally get there?

      Sheila sucked her teeth and rolled her eyes. I wanted to tell you about my date.

      And it couldn’t wait until the morning?

      No, now get up. She tugged Whisper’s arm until she was in a sitting position on the queen size bed. Then her friend took up the spot next to her and kicked off her shoes. Whisper sighed and offered a bit of her cover.

      Fine, tell me, but if I get fired tomorrow because I’m drooling on the conference room table asleep, you’re going to pay my rent.

      Sheila sucked her teeth. Please. You know damn well your boss is into you. He’d give you a raise if you just shook your ass a little for him.

      Which is exactly why I won’t!

      Sheila waved her hand. "You have to learn how to use what you got without using what you got. If you know what I mean."

      Whisper smothered another yawn. If I knew what you meant, I’d be already using it, and this conversation would be pointless.

      Lawd, girl, why you have to be difficult?

      Whisper squinted at the bedside clock. Because it’s two in the morning.

      So we went to Carrabas, right? Sheila said as if Whisper hadn’t spoken. And then he said to me—

      Whisper stared at her friend, and Sheila stared back. Something had thumped and crashed in the hall outside her apartment. The noises had been followed by what distinctly sounded like the growl of an animal. Whisper gasped. Pets weren’t allowed in her building, and as far as she knew no one had any. All of her neighbors were older, although she remembered Mrs. Stevens had mentioned a new guy moving in across the hall. Whisper hadn’t seen or heard him.

      What the hell was that? Sheila said, casting her voice low.

      Whisper tossed her covers aside and rose. Like I know? Whoever it is better get rid of the animal before the management company finds out. They aren’t very tolerant.

      As if they’d signaled each other, they both crept on tiptoe toward the front of her small apartment. Whisper reached the peephole first but couldn’t see anything. No one’s there.

      I’ll get to the bottom of it. Before Whisper could stop her, Sheila wrenched the door open and stepped into the hall. Whisper rushed out after her to jerk her crazy friend back inside, but a man naked from the waist up stopped both of them in their tracks. He stood in the doorway diagonally across from hers and watched them with narrowed dark eyes. Whisper couldn’t figure out if they were a deep gray or just downright black. She shivered. Either way, they were sexy as hell but held a hint of danger.

      The man said nothing but let his gaze lower. Sheila had paused just ahead of Whisper, so she figured he was checking out her friend’s body. Who could blame him when Sheila loved to wear skimpy clothes that accentuated her lithe figure. Boobs the perfect size as well as her round ass and long legs, Sheila always had to beat men off with a stick. Whisper on the other hand—well, she’d been fighting with the same thirty pounds too many for half her adult life. She loved her friend but, damn, a woman like her couldn’t be seen past the diva that was Sheila. Tonight was no exception.

      I suggest you watch your step, Tall-And-Sexy said in a panty-wetting tone.

      Whisper glanced down at the floor. Right in front of her place, something glass had shattered. Sheila squealed and leaped to the side. Whisper noticed she’d moved in the direction of Mr. McHottie instead of back into the apartment. Dang, wasn’t she just excited about the date with man number fifty thousand? Now she’s set her sights on my new neighbor? Just let me enjoy a little hope that I have a shot for a minute!

      Oh, let me get a broom and dustpan, Whisper offered. She turned to go back into her apartment, but Sheila wasn’t paying her any mind. She walked on tiptoes toward the neighbor, easy for her since she wore stilettos like they were flats. Whisper rolled her eyes and stomped inside.

      When she returned, she ignored the two beautiful people chatting with each other and began cleaning up the mess. The more Sheila giggled, the higher her anger rose. The least the idiot could do was thank her. No, he was busy probably looking down Sheila’s dress or grabbing her ass or... She grunted in frustration and bent lower to scoop the last bit of glass that had escaped her. A sharp intake of breath made her wonder what happened now.

      Do all the women around here dress this way in public, or just this building? The cynicism was clear in the man’s tone. Whisper peered over her shoulder, and a flutter of panic hit her when she realized the man was aiming his question at her. His gaze was no longer on Sheila but on Whisper’s ass. Too late she remembered that she’d been feeling sorry for herself because she had no one in her life and she’d worn the thong panties she’d ordered online from a plus size lingerie site.

      She jumped to her feet and yanked her nightie down. The broom and dustpan she let fall, scattering the glass all over the floor again. She took a hasty step toward her door, but he was there in front of her in a heartbeat. She wasn’t even sure when he moved or how he could have done it so fast. Maybe she blacked out from embarrassment for a second. His hand was a heavy weight at her back, and then both were about her waist. He raised her like she weighed five pounds, and set her down in her doorway.

      Whisper just stood there staring at him while he bent to clean up the mess. Her heart raced, and her head spun from the memory and sensations of having him touch her. He’d smelled so good, delicious enough to eat. If she’d had her head on right, she would have used one of Sheila’s numbers and stumbled against him so she could get a feel of that big chest and hard abs. No, she was too busy worrying about him seeing her fleshy butt in a thong. Mercy! Why me?

      Um... she stuttered. If her skin weren’t a rich brown, she’d be beet red, she was sure.

      So, baby, you just moved in? What’s your name? Sheila asked, never missing a beat.

      The man glanced up at her. Whisper was struck again by his eyes. They were black now that she saw them closer. He didn’t appear to be about to answer Sheila’s question. His interest was in getting the glass up and getting back to his apartment. When he glanced at Whisper, however, he answered. My name is Alec Macgregor.

      For some reason only when he said his name did she detect the lilt in his speech. Scottish, she guessed. She opened her mouth to say her name, but Sheila zipped to his side once again and held her hand out. Sheila Tate. This is my friend Whisper Price.

      Alec took the proffered hand and shook it. Whisper tried not to notice if he held it a little too long or if he again surveyed her friend’s body. She’d seen it happen too often, and most of the time she didn’t resent Sheila for being what she was. Whisper wasn’t down on herself. She worked hard, was planning to go back to school as soon as her work situation became more stable, and for the most part she took care of herself. She liked her face. Many had commented that it was pretty, which irked her. Hey, she had her pluses, so she wasn’t a total freak.

      On the other hand, a man like Alec wouldn’t give her two thoughts. He stood at least six foot four, was built like a Mac truck, and had thick black hair she wouldn’t mind running her fingers through. Just once she had dated a white man, but he turned out to be a dog just like the previous black guys she’d gone out with. Not that there were many. There weren’t. Still, she liked to think she was open to whatever package love came wrapped in. Stupid thing hadn’t shown up yet, and she was pushing thirty-five.

      Alec seemed about ready to turn to her, extricating his hand from Sheila’s, when he went stiff looked toward his open apartment door. Whisper followed his line of sight. Damn, he was so eager to get away from them that he was looking longingly toward his new home?

      While she peered in that direction, her eyes widened and mouth went dry at the large furry head that popped around the doorway. What the...? she murmured. A breeze stirred her hair, and she found Alec zipping back to his apartment.

      You shouldn’t be out here, he growled.

      She wondered at the way he spoke to the animal as if it would understand every word. Alec reached a hand out, but the animal faked left and darted right to sidestep him. Sheila clamped onto Whisper’s arm. Her friend hated pets of all kinds, which was why she was perfectly happy living in her own no pets allowed apartment not far from Whisper’s place.

      What the hell is that? Sheila squeaked, tightening her hold until Whisper winced.

      The creature padded on huge paws with slanted eyes that locked on Whisper and her friend. Whisper took a step back, and the animal matched her speed

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