by Bianca D'Arc
“Sorry, big kitty, I doubt you’re domesticated and I have enough work to do in that house without any further wreckage. But I’ll get you a bowl of water and maybe I have a steak or something from the fridge?” She shook her head with a bemused smile as she wiggled around the screen door, not letting the cat in. “I’ll see what I have for you,” she promised as she watched him settle on his hind legs as if to wait for her return. His long tail swished lazily from side to side, making her grin again. There was something about this big cat that was quite amazing. He didn’t act like any wild animal she’d ever seen.
She watched him as he waited with seeming patience for her. Returning moments later, she held a big metal mixing bowl filled with water and a thick steak she’d intended for dinner. It was raw and only slightly cold from the fridge but the cat bit into it happily when she offered it to him on a thick earthen ware plate. He lapped at the water too, as if he was truly thirsty and she sat down on the step to watch him with wonder.
For his part, Grif was enjoying being so close to the woman who had captivated his senses. Seeing her threatened by that Pack of curs angered him enough to challenge them all—in their territory. He knew he’d have some explaining to do about that when he next met the wolves’ Alpha, which he knew would be soon. That arrogant SOB would probably be knocking the door off his cabin as soon as he returned, but this was more than worth it. Even if she didn’t realize the beast she cuddled and scratched and let paw her all over was more than just a ‘big kitty,’ as she’d been calling him. And damn him, if he didn’t get a kick out of that too.
Protecting her had made him feel noble in the aftermath, but her tears had nearly broken his heart. The smiles she gave him now were much better to sooth his savage beast, which wanted nothing more than to pad into her home, up to her lonely bedroom and stretch out full length on the bed in which he’d watched her toss and turn deep in the night. He would change, and in his fantasy, she would welcome him with open arms. But this wasn’t a dream. She didn’t know what he was, and if she ever found out, he feared she’d run away as fast as she could.
Plus, there was the unforgettable fact that she was human. He couldn’t mate with her, couldn’t have her for anything more than a short fling, lest it break both their hearts. He knew he needed a cougar mate, one that could run the mountains with him and rejoice in their differences from humans. Though this human woman fired his senses in a way he had never before known, he knew it was damned difficult to have anything other than an affair with a human, often ending with heartbreak on both sides. He didn’t want that for himself and he sure as hell didn’t want that for her.
He finished the steak and lapped up the water she’d brought for him. He’d relinquished the game he’d stalked for the better part of an hour to come to her rescue and he was hungry enough to eat the cold meat with thanks for her thoughtfulness. Licking his chops clean, Grif turned back to her, boldly rubbing his head against her breasts as she sat on the steps of the porch. He lay down, putting his head in her lap, enjoying the caress of her hands as she stroked his head and belly. He was aroused by her touches, but he’d be darned if he’d scare her away. It was delicious torture.
“You’re like a big pussy cat,” she said softly as she rubbed his soft fur in her delicate fingers. “If I didn’t know better, I’d think you were human. But grandfather never mentioned shapeshifters that could take the form of mountain lions. The werewolves are bad enough.” She shook her head as he turned in her lap to search her eyes, but she was looking into the distance, as if in memory.
He was shocked. She knew about the wolves. She knew about shapeshifters. She knew!
But she didn’t seem to want to admit even to herself, that he could be the very thing she seemed to fear. He licked her throat, drawing her attention back to him.
She smiled and stroked his head back down to her warm lap. He loved the smell of her and he loved burying his nose against the seam of her jeans, fragrant with her woman’s scent. If possible, he became more aroused than he already was. He shifted his long body on the porch, hiding his state from her as best he could.
“Yes, those wolves were scary, weren’t they? They don’t want me here and they’ve let me know it as men and now as wolves, but I’m not leaving. I promised my grandfather,” she said, her voice choking as she seemed on the verge of tears again. “I know what I have to do.” Nodding, she seemed to firm her resolve. “And perhaps you were sent to help me. Grandpa always said my Spirit Guide was a mountain lion. And here you are. Now I know I’m on the right path.”
He wanted to argue with her, but he couldn’t change in her presence. She wouldn’t accept the truth now, he could tell. Perhaps she never would be able to accept the truth about him. Though she seemed to understand the werewolves’ nature, she was clearly repulsed by it, as if it was somehow distasteful. That didn’t bode well for their future interaction. He knew he would never be able to keep her in the dark about his dual nature if they made love. He would slip somehow and she would know—and probably run screaming from the room, never to return.
He stood, not looking at the pain in her eyes as he removed himself from the porch and stalked out into the yard. He couldn’t play this game any longer. It was just too painful. He turned once to watch her for just a moment before he slipped into the woods. She was watching him, a look of heartbreak on her lovely face, but he knew he had to leave her. She would never accept what he was, and he had an irate Alpha werewolf to confront. He would protect her as best he could, but she would never know what he was. Never know what they could share.
He stalked angrily into the woods and broke into a run. He needed to burn off the regret he was feeling with a good run before he faced the Alpha that was undoubtedly waiting for him at his cabin.
Chapter Four
“Just what the hell did you think you were doing, Redstone?” As expected, the Alpha werewolf was there, stalking Grif as soon as he set foot near his small barn. He shifted to his human form as he moved into the stall where his clothes waited, trying for nonchalance.
“I was protecting my woman,” Grif answered shortly, facing the other man as he pulled on his snug T-shirt. “I marked her property. You should have respected my claim.”
The werewolf growled. “I saw your mark, but this is Pack business. Not yours. We’ve asked her to leave.”
“Why?” Griffon went on the offensive with the big male wolf. “What’d she ever do to you?”
Logan cursed and backed down, surprising Grif. “It’s complicated. And I repeat—it’s Pack business.”
“It’ll be my business if you go after my woman again.” Grif showed him a cat could growl just as well as a dog.
“She’s not your mate.” He threw back at him. “She’s human.”
Grif shook his head. “I know that, but she’s mine. For now.” He cursed at the wolf who made him face the impossibility of the connection. “She’s mine.”
“Look,” Logan seemed to want to be reasonable about this, “I don’t know how it works for you cats, but I’ve heard your kind like to play around a bit before you settle down.”
“And your kind doesn’t?” Grif accused with a salty grin.
Logan nodded. “Point taken, but when we mate, we do it for life. I’ve seen a few of my kind try to do that with humans, and it almost never works. Don’t make that mistake here.”
“I appreciate the advice, Alpha, but I don’t think this is really any of your business.”
“The Pack doesn’t want her here.”
“Why the hell not?”
Logan didn’t like the challenge, Grif could tell, but there was a growing respect between the two strong men, perhaps even the beginnings of an odd kind of friendship. “Her grandfather helped one of my Pack members leave. He made it possible for her to be with her human lover.”
Grif looked confused. “So what’s the big deal? He helped a romance along. While your Pack may not have approved it’s no reason to hold a vendetta against hi
s granddaughter.”
But Logan shook his shaggy head. “You don’t understand. Her grandfather was a Shaman. A powerful one. He did something—” Logan paced the small confines of the aisle. “He took away her ability to shift. He made her human.”
“What?” Grif was floored by the revelation. Utterly stunned.
“You heard me.” Logan glowered, clearly upset by the very idea.
“I didn’t know that was even possible,” Grif whispered as if to speak it aloud would confirm the reality of the werewolf’s claim.
“Neither did our Pack’s elders. This all happened when I was still a cub, but I remember it and I remember the curse they laid on the Shaman and his line. I have to uphold it now that I’m Alpha.”
“All right,” Grif finally agreed, his agile mind working swiftly. “I understand your position, but Logan, consider this. She’s told me more than once that she’s here for a reason. Her grandfather gave her some kind of mission before he died and she came here to see it through. I think perhaps the old man sent her to make amends, if that’s at all possible. The least you could do is hear her out. See what she has to say.”
The Pack leader stepped from the barn and stopped abruptly, faced with a small, growling female cougar.
“Friend of yours?” he asked the man behind him dryly.
Grif stepped around him and bent to the female cub. “Kitten, I told you to stay inside while I was gone.” She licked his face, trying to see around him to the big man behind, but he pushed her soft muzzle away. “Go inside. I’ll introduce you to the Alpha when we’re done talking.”
Grif watched her scamper toward the house, then turned back to the male wolf. “My little sister has been through hell,” he said shortly, fiercely, brooking no argument from the other male. “My mother and older sister were both murdered within the past year. She found our mother’s body. Skinned. Belinda rarely speaks, and if you say one thing wrong to her, I’ll rip your face off.”
“Fair enough.” Logan nodded once, compassion in his eyes. “I don’t hurt cubs of any species. And I’ll tell the Pack to look out for her in case she wanders off alone again.”
Grif eyed him for a long moment before relenting. “Thank you, Alpha. That will put my mind somewhat at ease.” Grif started toward the snug cabin. “Might as well come in for a drink. Apparently baby sis wants to meet you, and maybe rejoin the world again. It’s a good sign.”
The two males walked companionably toward the house, both resigned to the troubling matters of their families and female complications.
*
Grif couldn’t stay away from Lindsey. Not after the confrontation with the wolves. So when he returned to the little house in the woods the next day, it was in his human form. He had to talk to her. He had to see for himself that she was all right.
He found Lindsey hard at work out in back of her home, building something. He wasn’t quite sure at first what the little domed structure was supposed to be, but as she saw him she smiled and straightened, and he plain forgot about the little building completely.
In cutoff denim shorts that showed off her long, lean, lightly muscled legs to perfection, Lindsey made his mouth water. The little cropped T-shirt that outlined her full breasts sped his pulse rate right along too.
“What do you think?”
“Pardon?”
“What do you think of my carpentry skills—or lack thereof?” She beamed a smile at him, pointing vaguely to the structure that was taking shape behind her, but he couldn’t look anywhere but at the mouthwatering sight of her beautiful body, displayed so innocently.
He growled low in his throat, still far enough away that she didn’t hear as he stalked toward her, trying desperately to focus on something other than the fact that his jeans were getting tighter by the second in the crotch area. He knew he wouldn’t be able to hide his response from her, so he didn’t bother. Let her know how much she turned him on, he thought. It might be the start of something explosive.
And he liked playing with dynamite.
He saw her eyes widen the moment she noticed the hard ridge in his pants. She blushed prettily and turned away to look at her little building, but he could scent the instant arousal that dampened her panties as he neared. He had to touch her. Suddenly, feeling her soft skin was the most important goal in his life.
Coming up alongside her, he put his hand casually on her back, stroking upward to cup the back of her neck, thrumming his fingers over the sensitive skin there as he toyed with the tiny hairs on the back of her neck. He crowded her, but she stood her ground. Good girl.
He could feel her body’s response as her pulse rate increased under his hand and her temperature rose. Her scent was driving him wild. This woman was hotter than hot, and he wanted her. Bad.
“What is it?” He forced himself to speak casually, allowing his gaze to roam over the bare bones of the structure. She had used long branches to form a large dome of sorts.
She tilted her head, examining her work. “Well, it’s supposed to be a kind of sweat lodge, but I’ve modified the design a little so I can manage it myself.”
“Looks like you’ve made a good start here, and it should be sound enough, though you could probably use another support branch just through there.” He pointed to the weak spot and she nodded gratefully.
“I think you’re right.” She tilted her head up to look at him with a teasing grin. “You ever built one of these before?”
He chuckled low as she turned, forcing his hand away from her nape. “No, I can’t say I've ever built a Native American sweat lodge, but I have done construction now and again.”
How his brothers would laugh to hear him describe the family business in such simple terms, he thought. Good thing they were all tied up at the moment, overseeing various jobs while he took care of Belinda. He had always been the closest to their littlest sister and they’d all agreed that as head of the family, he would raise her now that both their parents were gone. But first he had to give her some time away from the demands of the human world. He had to give her time to heal.
“Well, grandpa taught me this when I was little. I remember him building larger sweat lodges from time to time, when he was conducting special ceremonies.”
“Is that what you’re planning?” He reached up to brush the back of one finger over her cheek. She was so beautiful she stole his breath. “Are you going to do some kind of shamanistic ceremony up here all by yourself?”
She smiled and ducked away from him. “Mmm, something like that.” She headed toward the front of the house. “So what brings you all the way out here?” Her voice carried back to him as he followed after her, enjoying the sway of her hips in those wonderfully short shorts.
“Last time I was here, I noticed your porch needed some work. It’s been bothering me that those loose boards could be unsafe. I don’t want to see you hurt, Lindsey, out here all alone.” His dark expression conveyed the deeper meaning of his words and his very real concern.
He heard her breath catch in her throat, her eyes widening like a deer in headlights before she got hold of herself. He liked that he could rile her.
“You don’t have to do that, Grif.”
“I want to. It would make me feel better to know that possible hazard was taken care of.”
“I can’t afford—”
He stepped right up and placed his fingers over her lips, leaving them there as their eyes caught and held.
“You don’t owe me a thing, sweetheart. I had some extra wood in the barn and plenty of nails. My time is my own and I want to spend it on you.”
She looked about to protest, but he only wanted her kiss. Bending, he replaced his fingers with his lips, licking away her words with his tongue. Delving deep, he thrilled to her little moan of pleasure as she gave in, wrapping her hands around his neck, drawing him closer. She kissed him back with all the longing he could have hoped for, matching him stroke for stroke, fitting her lithe little body neatly against his as if she wa
nted to crawl all over him.
He was hard with wanting her, but he wanted to take things slow. She was human. She wasn’t used to were ways. For that matter, she had no idea what, or who, he really was. He’d have to curb his appetites as best he could or he might scare her off.
So he counseled himself to calm—as much as he could with her in his arms—and gentled the kiss that had threatened to turn from fire to inferno. Instead, he wrapped his arms around her loosely, stroking her back as his lips played with hers, their tongues twining and licking, frolicking in a lazy way as pleasure blossomed slowly through his system.
He’d never really kissed like this. He’d never really had a human before—or any partner that needed such gentle care. He liked it. He liked the challenge and the incredible payoff. He found he enjoyed the slow savor. The easy tingle in his blood. The lingering promise of more… If he played his cards right.
The end game firmly in mind, Grif managed to let her go by slow degrees. He rested his forehead against hers, both of them breathing hard for a moment while the sun shone down around them, warming everything in its path. It was an idyllic moment out of time. Something special had just happened here and he knew it.
“Are you okay?” he asked, hoping she was on the same page.
She smiled and made a little hum of agreement that set his nerves at ease and his body on fire. She was so damn sexy. Unconsciously attractive in a way he hadn’t expected in a human. She was downright hot, but not in an obvious way.
“I’m fine,” she replied on a breathy whisper. “It’s fine.”
He felt more at ease with her reply. She was all right with him kissing her. Maybe she’d be up for more…in time.
“Just fine? That’s not exactly a glowing review. I may have to try again, just to up my rating.”
She laughed and drew away from him so she could look up into his eyes.
“Fine as in, oh, yeah, that was fine.” She drew the word out, each syllable dripping with pleasure. “Not just fine.” This time the word was short, uninteresting. And her humor overlaid it all, warming him from the inside out in a joyful, gentle way.