Claimed By The Lion: A BBW Paranormal Shapeshifter Romance Standalone (BBW Romance, BBW Shifter Romance, BBW Paranormal Romance, Paranormal Shapeshifter Romance) Read Free Page A

won’t be wearing most of it anymore anyway with the baby coming.”
    “Did you talk to her about it?”
    “I sent her an email when you were going to stay.”
    “And she was your old secretary, right?”
    “Correct.”
    “Is that how she and your brother met?”
    “They went to college together. He had me hire her in the hopes that would bring them together,” he sighed. “It did. I’m not sure why he didn’t just ask her out, but I have rarely understood my brother’s choices. Would you like to go?”
    “Yes, I’m really hungry.”
    “We can shop for some clothes for you as well if you want,” he said as he held the door open for her. “Then you can have your own.”
    “Oh, we don’t have to do that. I probably don’t have the money for it anyway.”
    “Don’t worry about it. I have plenty of money to go around.”
    They walked to his car, the one he had hit her with, and he drove leisurely into town. She felt comfortable with him, and no longer felt she needed to look over her shoulder. Perhaps his arrogance and cynicism made her calmer because he didn’t let the world scare him. He expected the worst from everything around him, so he molded it to his favor.
    “If you’re so wealthy, why do you do so much fundraising?” she asked after a pause in their conversation.
    “Well, I mean, we’re doing a lot of cancer and medical research which does require quite a bit of money,” he said. “The money we have is old money, you see. So it’s more in a trust fund to keep the whole family sustained than to just spend on our company.”
    “But your brother is in the company too, right?”
    “Well, yes, but my other brother and sister aren’t. They’re doing something else. And aunts and uncles both need money too.”
    “Oh, I see.”
    “If we have excess, I donate it to charities and other medical research. Sometimes we fundraise just for that because some of these charities are doing really incredible work.”
    “Well, that’s admirable.”
    He shrugged, “As a doctor, I always wanted to figure out something that would help make people well.  Plus, both my parents died of cancer, so I wanted to figure something out so we didn’t die too. The regrowing of limbs and that is more Adam’s pet project. He had a friend who lost his legs in Iraq.”
    “Ah, so there’s a personal side to it.”
    “There’s always a personal side to things. If you’re not driven by something you know, you probably won’t be driven by anything.”
    “Wise words.”
    He gave a slight smile, “It’s my job to appear to be the wisest person you’ll ever know.”
    “And it’s working quite well.”
    He laughed (the first laugh she’d brought from him), “Thanks for the morale boost.”
    He parked and guided her into the diner. The Japanese owner welcomed Jackson with a smile, and spoke to him in Japanese while leading the two back to a secluded table. The man smiled at Juliet, giving her a quaint “welcome,” then rushed off to seat more guests and grab menus.
    “You know Japanese, huh?” she smiled, trying to play off how impressed she was.
    “My dad thought it was important to know many languages in the business world. We traveled a lot too.”
    “How many languages do you know then?”
    “I know quite a few,” he took a deep breath through his nose. “I don’t like to brag though.”
    “That is something to brag about though.”
    “A lot of people know different languages, Juliet. I’m just one of them.”
    He gave a slight close-lipped smile, and she smiled back slightly, matching him. The owner returned, talking amiably with Jackson again and giving Juliet a smile. The man gestured to her, then said something she didn’t understand. Jackson smiled demurely, but said nothing. The man took their orders, gave the two another smile, and went on his way.
    Jackson talked about work mostly with his monotone, emotionless voice. Juliet listened politely and answered when he’d ask her about the