Winter Wishes

by Vivian Arend, Vivi Andrews

  They panted, full grins painted across their faces. Sticky juice and lines of cream coated them both. He reluctantly withdrew from her body, and a rush of seed followed. He held out a hand and helped her to a sitting position and she grabbed him, pulling their torsos together as she kissed him brainless. Not that he had far to go or anything.

  She laughed as he stumbled back to find a chair to collapse in. “You need to work on your stamina.”

  Kyle waggled his brows. “I can do that. Right after I order some more food, we can go and do some stamina building sprints in the shower. You game?”

  She winked. “Game on. But for the record? I still don’t like you very much.”

  “Ditto.”

  El stared down at the counter and wrinkled her nose. “And I don’t clean kitchens.”

  * * *

  El stretched lazily, her eyes closed, listening to the television show Kyle had playing in the background. Her legs were stretched out the length of the couch, and Kyle absentmindedly rubbed her feet. Oh man, the guy had magic fingers. He pressed hard into the ball of one foot and the ensuing streak of pleasure raced up the inside of her leg and plugged into her sex like an extension cord into a high volt battery.

  It really was unfair how quickly the man turned her on.

  They’d been holed up for two days, and other than diving into his research work, they’d done nothing, not setting a foot outside the apartment.

  “You think we’re doing the right thing?”

  “What’s that?” He brought those mesmerizing baby blues to focus fully on her.

  El crossed her arms behind her head and shrugged. “You said this engagement was the only way to keep media attention low. There are still camera men outside the door.”

  Kyle sighed. “There’s only two or three. Trust me, that’s good news. If we were doing anything interesting, there would be up to a hundred.”

  She nodded. It was such a strange experience, like falling into a rabbit hole. And like Alice, nothing was what she expected. When they hadn’t been on the computers digging for dirt, they’d been doing the nasty. After that first day of holding back and trying to stay professional, El had called it for what it was. She had been pissed off, and wanted to punish him. But now that she’d let the cat out of the bag, so to speak, her cougar wanted to rut on him all the time. Like, all the time. Even as she checked him over, there was an interested ache in her core. Her inner cat twitched and struggled to be released.

  Screw it.

  She sat up and stripped off her shirt.

  “Hmm, much better than the show.” The interest in Kyle’s voice made her hesitate, but her cat wanted out too bad to resist.

  “Later, Casanova. I need to take a little R&R.” He watched with hungry eyes as she tugged off the rest of her clothes, his gaze fixated on her bare crotch. She laughed. “You want to join me?”

  He reached for her and she danced away. “In cat, you idiot.”

  She shifted before waiting for his response. Her cougar itched to get out. The transformation felt as good as always, the scents that exploded into her brain even better. He was the main thing she smelled, his aroma a mixture of sex and fun.

  She padded over to where Kyle was in the process of dropping his pants, and she batted his naked butt with her head, sending him flying to the floor.

  “Hey, cool it. That’s not fair. Two hundred pounds of cougar versus one man?”

  El crawled over him and licked him from collarbone to temple, her tongue smearing a wide streak as he laughed maniacally at her. He wrapped his arms around her torso and hugged her cat form, and suddenly the whole insane chaos of the past week seemed all worth it.

  There hadn’t been a time since she’d broken up with Samuel and left home that she had a partner she could play with. Most humans she’d fooled around with had either not known she was a shifter, or they’d been looking for the experience of fucking a furry. As she rolled to her side and Kyle came with her, she realized that was a pretty screwed up way to live—either being feared or sought after for a part that wasn’t who you were, but simply was a part of you.

  With Kyle, she didn’t have to fake anything. Didn’t have to pretend she was in the mood for something when she wasn’t. Of course, considering he was sex-on-the-prowl, she was always in the mood. He had turned her into a lust machine, and there always seemed to be time for another romp, trapped as they were twenty-four/seven.

  Kyle scratched her ribs, digging his fingers into her fur, and she purred happily, rolling to her back to give him better access. He sat up and draped his legs over her body, leaning back on the couch as he pet her lazily. “You know, I was thinking. We have to maintain this engagement for a while to keep my uncle off our back, but there are a few other positive twists. My brothers, for example. Jake’s got to take over the position as ruler from Uncle Roy—man, I hope that’s soon, too—but he’d be far better off with a partner by his side. If he thinks we’re getting hitched, he’ll be more open to the idea for himself.”

  El patted him with sheathed paws. Great, the man was acting matchmaker now. Another poor woman sacrificed on the matrimonial altar. Why not toss in a lobotomy for good measure? She rolled out of reach and paced toward the playroom to burn off a little steam without having to resort to sex. Not that sex was a bad method, now that she’d given in to her cat urges. And Kyle was a very good itch-scratcher, in more ways than one, but…

  She paced down the hall, letting her body move without thinking about where her paws were landing. With every day that passed, as she learned more about Kyle, there was more to admire. He was a good agent. Thorough, efficient. She’d had a chance to go through all his files and correspondence regarding his most recent cases, and everything he did impressed her. It was clear from others’ responses he had an excellent reputation and yet was very much known as a cat.

  Somehow he’d found the balance, staying strong enough and yet playful enough that the scary cat side didn’t make waves when he was on the job. She wished they’d had time for her to observe him interact a little more with humans—she could probably learn a few things about how to keep true to her cat side and not make the non-shifters uncomfortable, unlike what she’d been doing, sacrificing her cat’s needs. Maybe when this whole thing was over, she’d be able to work with him. Train a little.

  Maybe it had nothing to do with anything but lust, but she had it in spades for the guy. She even admired how he’d been trying to make her more comfortable over the past days, getting her to help him with research. The two of them together had scoured the Internet for clues, and while they hadn’t found the answer yet, she’d discovered he was intelligent, and caring, and damn good at what he did.

  She pawed open the door to the playroom. She still couldn’t believe Kyle had a cat’s version of a playground set in his penthouse. When he’d given her the grand tour he’d shrugged.

  “I don’t need room for more guests, but when other shifters come to visit, it’s nice to have a place for us to go in our cat form that doesn’t involve having to vacuum all the furniture in the morning.”

  There were platforms and ropes, and obstacles to maneuver. El laughed inside—if any of Samuel’s pack saw this they would tease Kyle unmercifully about owning an enormous scratching post. She took aim at the side platform and sprang into the air. She missed the top landing, a dinky little four-by-four-foot thing, but managed to snag the second level, curling her body around the support post until it stopped swaying.

  It was a fabulous way to exercise both her mind and her body, and did she ever need it. She ran loops, setting a course she repeated again and again, each time trying to finish the circuit faster and cleaner. A tuck jump from one side to the other, followed by a dash around a support base. A climb up a sharp incline, then a swing hop from one rickety lily pad to the next. El enjoyed the sensation of blood pumping through her, the thrill of using and challenging her cat making her sing out in happiness.

  Kyle answered back.

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nbsp; She whipped her head around to face him. Long, lean muscles flexed under his tawny skin as he stepped forward. His bright cougar eyes bore into her, the power of his shifter family rolling off him like heat waves above a sun-scorched road. She kept her feet through sheer determination, holding herself vertical, keeping her gaze locked on him. He rubbed along her side, every inch of his fur brushing hers, before he sauntered to the starting position, crouched and then exploded onto the course.

  El watched with admiration as he stretched through her routine, beating her leaps easily, struggling through the tight corners she’d set that were more suited to her smaller size. When he made the final rush and crossed the finish line she would have applauded if she’d had hands.

  So she did the next best thing.

  She jumped him, letting their cat bodies roll over and over together until they smacked into the base of one of the platforms. She landed on top, her weight pinning him down and even as she showed her teeth she knew it would never last. With a laughing snarl, he twisted, trapping her under him as she squirmed. He grasped her neck with his teeth.

  The resulting rush of sexual pheromones that hit her made her knees go weak.

  It was instinctive—impossible to ignore—for her to give in to the dominant male taking his reward. Everything in her that protested the unfairness of her body submitting gave way to the reality that her brain acknowledged it too. He was physically stronger than her, but he was also at least her equal in the brain department.

  That was the sexiest part of it all.

  She pressed against him willingly, putting herself into his command. Kyle licked her neck, nuzzling her, his big cougar limbs caging her in, keeping her trapped. A rumble of contentment vibrated against her, emanating from his chest, and she answered in kind. Once more she felt his power—the inhuman vibration that came from shifter control and hierarchy—as it wrapped around them both. El gasped as the force dragged her from her cat form and she found herself naked, their human bodies pressed skin to skin. He knelt at her back, his erection tight between them, his lips at her neck. Urgent kisses followed, one hand coming around her torso, one anchoring his body to the ground.

  They both panted, hard. The emotion and need racing through her was unusual and yet undeniable. He stilled. El wiggled with need. What the hell was he waiting for?

  Kyle stroked the side of her torso, caressing her breast, and then she realized. He waited for her. For her human side to choose, not simply accept her cat’s decision. A small nugget of the fear in her soul melted away.

  Did she want this? Oh, did she ever.

  “Yes. Take me.” Kyle kissed her again, but when he would have rolled her to her back, she braced herself, spreading her knees wider and raising her hips to him. “This way.”

  His curses were soft, heartfelt, as she rocked back against him. Seeking, needing. He took her then, hard. Powerful enough to please both the cat and the woman, so that when she cried out with pleasure her voice carried the timbre of a roar that echoed off the playroom walls.

  Chapter Eight

  El popped the lasagna back into the oven and reset the timer. Thirty more minutes should do it. Kyle had already set the table and made a salad before puttering back to his computer, hot on the trail of some information.

  The whole setting screamed homey, and she didn’t even want to crawl out of her skin.

  She picked up her wine glass and went to stare at the lights of the city. She loved it here, high above the rest of the world. Tomorrow was New Year’s Eve, and they would head out for the party. For a night of flashbulbs and questions to grin through without providing any real answers or making any real commitments. When this assignment was over she wanted to be able to walk away with her head held high, with no lingering aftereffects.

  The red wine Kyle had opened earlier slid smoothly over her tongue, the brilliant flavor seducing her taste buds. It was a wonderful accompaniment to the setting. Christmas lights sparkled in the city below, and in the air the aroma of the lasagna lingered—part of the delivery the previous day along with a whole fridge-full of other meals prepared by a fabulous local catering company.

  She was fighting hard not to get too attached to the lifestyle.

  She’d checked in with her chief and coordinated the information she needed to make sure the situation at the club for the following night had adequate protection. The only good part of it being an engagement party—she’d be able to stick to Kyle like a partridge in a pear tree.

  It wasn’t going to be easy to return to her regular street beat and the undercover bike scene, but with the things she’d learned from Kyle, she’d get back into the swing eventually. Maybe she’d take a holiday first, travel a little. That would help settle the rollercoaster of emotions she kept facing at the thought of not seeing him anymore.

  She stared out the window until the oven timer went off, the low buzz echoing through the room. She hauled out the pasta, covered it and went look for Kyle.

  “Hey, guy, supper’s ready.”

  He was in his usual position at the computer, feet up on a box, iPod ear buds plugged in and his music playing so loud the heavy pulse was audible from across the room.

  Good thing shifter senses healed quickly—a human would be deaf after a few days of his abuse. And the music? El cringed at the sudden shriek that carried across the room and dragged its nails up her spine.

  “Kyle.” She gave up and stepped into his line of vision. He still didn’t notice her, he was so intent on the screen. She reached out and jerked one plug from his ear. “Hey, grub’s up.”

  He shook himself and rubbed his face as if surprised to see her. “What…what’s that?”

  One snap of the wrist unplugged his music. What had caught his eye to make him so focused? “There’s food. You hungry?”

  He gave no response to her words at first, just a cold, empty stare. “I found something.”

  Shit. She spun to get a better look. “The contact in your chemical investigation?”

  He rotated the screen toward her a little more and she paused. “What are you doing? That’s a picture of your uncle. Did you flip to a different screen or something?”

  Kyle pushed himself away and spun the chair. He rose and started pacing all in one motion. “My uncle’s not the contact, but all of a sudden his name has shown up in the middle of the mess. I found an unprotected phone trace and followed it back to a dozen sites. His computer signatures are crystal clear. He’s not even bothering to use a protected ISPN, and the trail goes all over the place. All the sites I’ve bookmarked on an almost daily basis for the last couple of months, ever since I started looking for information.”

  He snatched a pillow from the back of the chair and hurled it across the room. “Fuck. Fuck.”

  El went very still. Kyle’s anger bubbled like a pot of burnt mulled cider. He was furious, and the edges of his power turned dark. She stepped closer. This couldn’t be good for him. Or for her, to be trapped in close quarters with a wild cat. “Kyle, you need to stay calm and not jump to any conclusions.”

  He snarled at her, but she kept her gaze fixed on him. He fought the cat—striving to keep the animal part of his nature under control. She licked her lips and tried not to think about how much she wanted sex at that moment. To her human side the reaction seemed irrational, unreasonable. To her cat? Her cat wanted to lie down and offer itself to her partner, to make him feel better.

  A spike of fear shot through her. Partner? Fuck. Where the hell had that come from?

  She closed her eyes and drew a steadying breath. There was nothing to fear from him. Nothing. Complete and utter conviction raced through her.

  She stepped forward, her arms held open and low. “Kyle?”

  He glared at her, and she worked hard to project nothing but innocence in her body stance. The tension in his shoulders dropped slightly, and he stepped over and snatched her against him. He buried his face in her neck and breathed deep, as if drawing strength from her.


  El held him for a few minutes, rubbing his back, stroking her fingers along his shoulders and through his unruly hair. He pulled away just far enough to speak quietly into her ear.

  “If I turn Uncle Roy in right now without finding out how he’s involved, the clan goes to chaos, even if Jake is ready to take over leadership. We could end up with internal bickering and bloodshed in the cat clans for the next ten years if the other families decide to challenge Jake’s authority and battle it out. But if I let my uncle go, I’m a traitor to both my investigative team and the shifters around the world potentially harmed by this chemical. I need to find a way…”

  He dragged a hand through his hair and she clung to him, their bellies tight together, sharing warmth.

  “Whatever I can do to help, I’m here.” It was all she had to offer.

  She couldn’t imagine what was going through his brain. She couldn’t imagine the pain. Yeah, her family was ripe for joking about, with their unorthodox ways, but the truth was she loved every single one of the insane bunch. During the stories Kyle had shared over the past couple days, about growing up with his uncle and aunt, there had been a longing in his voice for more connection, a place to belong. Cats might not have the same kind of need for multiple family to cling to that other shifters had, but they still liked having a few chosen close kin.

  To have his longings turned into something potentially darker than a misunderstood childhood was a bitter pill to swallow.

  He kissed the top of her head, arms locked around her body. “Thank you.”

  They turned back to the screen together. El leaned in to take a closer look at the information. She scrolled down the page, speed-reading through the notes Kyle had amassed. “What’s with all the 12.31 references?”

  Kyle gave a bitter laugh. “Remember back at the Christmas party when I said it looked as if my uncle was pissed to see me? And even more surprised when I announced our engagement?”