by Unknown
The cougar’s weakness had grated on his last nerve while in the meeting. He’d sat there watching him, looking for a way to get to him and dearly wishing he could go ahead and get it over with already, and just snap his neck. Lucas had been flawed as well, but he never disregarded a kill order. He could always be counted on to follow through on his duty as a death enforcer.
He should have fought harder against forcing Lucas out of the clan. He’d have been more than happy to see Lara dead for her crimes, and no amount of sweet-talking would have worked on him. Not a cougar who’d joined with a born mate.
Born mate.
With the first appearance of a born mate after decades with none, the traditions and quality of the clan would be threatened.
Why couldn’t Kane have just done his duty and followed his orders? What had happened to make him so weak? The Enforcers weren’t known for their generosity, damn it. He needed to think on it and surely something would come to him. He’d either find a way out of this mess or clean house, whatever it took.
“Hey, Daddy.”
He looked up to see his eldest daughter Kitty standing in the doorway—his only daughter as far as anyone in the clan knew. Her face was flushed bright red and she had scratches on her arms and legs.
“What happened to you?”
“Had a run in with Kane’s new bitch.” She crossed to his mini bar and poured herself a drink.
“Damn it, girl, don’t you ever fucking listen?” She flinched at his words but he didn’t care. It drove him absolutely insane when people didn’t follow his instructions. “I told you to stay away from them. You push that boy too hard and he’ll kill you instead of breeding you. Stop being a stupid child and do as I tell you from now on.”
“But, Daddy...”
He cut her off with his raised hand. “No, enough is enough around here. If you hadn’t stuck your nose where it doesn’t belong you wouldn’t even know about her, and this situation with the girl is going to be a mess. She’s dangerous and not to be trifled with.”
“She’s just a human. I can take care of myself against her.”
He sighed. “She got away from three black cougars a few short weeks ago. Never underestimate your enemy. Unless, of course, you want to lose.”
She rolled her eyes and he clenched his hands to keep from slapping her. She may be his child, but she had an attitude problem in desperate need of adjustment.
“Katherine, for once in your life just do as I ask. Your disobedience is getting old and no male in this clan is ever going to accept you unless you learn to behave, or at the very least learn some subtlety.”
“Have you ever considered that not everyone has to bend to your will, Father?” she asked him coldly.
“Get out then. If you’re going to ignore my advice and instructions, then you need to leave and learn for yourself what you can and cannot do in this clan to survive. You are nothing but a fool. Don’t come back until you’re ready to accept your place, either.” He turned his back to her and strode to the window. He wasn’t so sure Kane would ever be able to handle his Katherine. She needed a strong hand and a lot of guidance, not to mention some discipline here and there.
But, in the end, she was a smart girl who didn’t want to be on her own. She would listen. So he waited for her to say something more. To beg for his forgiveness, maybe cry a little, but ultimately give him what he wanted.
“Before you kick me out, you might want to know I have some interesting information. Something that could cause lots and lots of chaos if it were revealed.”
The threatening tone of her voice chilled him to the bone. Maybe his daughter had more of him in her than he thought.
***
Lara hurriedly dressed in shorts and a tee before making a grab for her running shoes. Staying cooped up in this house for one minute more was out of the question. With little regard to whom or what she might encounter around here, she was going for a run. She opened the front door and ran headlong into Kane.
Fuck.
“Running away isn’t an option.”
“I’m not running away, I’m just running. I need to get out of this house and away from you for a while. Things are out of control.”
“The perimeter of the property is five miles, stay within it and you shouldn’t have any problems. Go outside it and you’re on your own.”
“Yes, Sir.” She gave him a mock salute to go with her smart-ass response and sprinted off the porch. Her legs were cold and unstretched so the first few minutes were a challenge, but once she warmed up she got up to full speed. Something about going for a run in nature always cleared her mind and lifted her mood.
The colors of the plants and trees exploded around her as she ran through the unfamiliar grounds, making sure to keep track of her distance as much as possible. The fresh scent of earth and wildlife perked up her senses as she made her away across a shallow stream. Tension and anger eventually gave way to the loose and lax sensation freedom always gave her. It had been far too long since she’d given herself a chance to stop and think. After a while of running the sweat soaked through her clothes and her energy began to wane, but the setting sun lured her to keep going and enjoy it for as long as possible.
She slowed to a stop and movement from the corner of her left eye caught her attention. She spun around, catching a quick glimpse of a large dark animal behind a stand of trees. A grizzly?
No, this was no bear, but she was being followed. “You can come out now.” She waited to see if he’d show himself.
The huge black cat bounded out from behind the tree and ran towards her. For a minute she held her breath and worried whether he would attack her. She presented him the perfect opportunity to carry out her death sentence. Without her magick she had nothing to protect herself. Damn, he really is humongous.
It slowed a few feet in front of her and stared at her with his golden eyes. This was the first time she’d gotten more than a fleeting glimpse of one of the black cougars. Malcolm had never shifted in front of her, and when she’d had to fight them there hadn’t been time to really study them.
Seeing him like this twisted her up. He edged forward and nuzzled her hand and she scratched him behind his ears, loving the soft silky sensation of his fur. This complicated things. He complicated things. Hell, the whole situation did. Life had seemed simpler when her only goal had been to kill. Kill or be killed had been her whole life, even when she worked with Malcolm in her attempt to find a weakness.
She crouched down on her heels, bringing herself to eye level with Kane. “I didn’t need you to protect me out here, you know. I can take care of myself.” He purred under her hand and some of her anger dissipated. Apparently she was a sucker for a pretty face and a sexy purr. Who knew?
“You know, a little purring isn’t going to get us out of this mess.” She said her words through a smile and he nuzzled against her cheek, and lord help her, she nuzzled him right back. She couldn’t resist cuddling up with a sexy, sleek black cat whose sole purpose in life was killing. Or so she’d thought, but the more time she spent with Kane the more she came to realize he had a human side, too, not to mention a human body that made her scream so loud she would likely disturb anyone for miles.
All the emotions of the day crashed in on her, mixing in with this inexplicable draw to the cougar in her arms. She wanted him and she wanted peace. Her eyes slid closed on the thought and the air around her changed as he shifted back to the Kane she was beginning to know well. They looked at each other but neither spoke for a minute, reluctant to break the mood. He nudged at her neck again, this time with skin instead of fur. His lips traced across her neck and chin to her mouth where he probed and licked the inside.
With a certain weakness for his kisses she suddenly couldn’t remember why she was mad at him. It would come to her later. How could anyone be expected to think straight when her clit throbbed like a musical instrument? When his arms wrapped around her waist and pulled her off balance, she fell forward, fee
ling much of his naked body pressed against her. Fuck, he feels good.
“You shouldn’t do that.” “Do what?” She wickedly licked a nipple, taking him by surprise. “Get aroused around a naked man who can smell you.” His hips pressed forward, the thick erection solid against her stomach.
“Then you shouldn’t be rubbing against me.” She was losing her train of thought quickly. Thick, mutual desire wrapped around them and whipped into her from every direction.
“You like that, huh?”
“Not at all.” His deep, rumbling laugh rolled over her in lust filled waves. She wanted more. More touching, more kissing, all of it. Despite their fucked up pasts and present he seemed to want her more than ever. Later she would demand the answers she needed, but for now she only wanted to scream for him.
Kane shifted position and rubbed his cock against the inside of her thigh, a sensation that drove her wild.
“We should go back.” It took a second for his words to sink into her lust clogged brain, and she couldn’t believe what she was hearing. They were alone, he was naked, and he wanted to leave? “I only came out here to get you because I’m not confident you’re safe out here alone. Call it a crazy hunch if you want.”
“We both knew me coming back here was a risky move, you should have let me go.”
He scraped his teeth along her jaw. “Letting go isn’t an option for either of us.”
“What do you mean?” She let her hands wander down his back, loving every inch of hard muscle he flexed holding her up. Determined to take away the control holding him back, she dug in her nails and scratched at his back and down to his tight ass. Kane snarled in her ear, reached for her shorts and shoved them down her legs.
***
With her bare pussy under him, she wrapped her legs around his waist and hooked her feet behind his back. She writhed in his arms, grinding herself against him. Every time the heat of her sex rubbed against his shaft he thought he’d die on the spot. Damn woman would drive him crazy before this was all over.
“I can’t control...” A sudden gasp stole her words. He must have hit just the right spot.
“No, baby, you definitely can’t control it, and every time you try, I’m going to take it away. You’ll burn right alongside me. Dying for more.”
Unable to stand another second of not being inside her, he used one hand to tilt her hips and drove deep into her warmth. She screamed, her voice loud and breathy around them, which barely registered compared to the sensation of her tight inner muscles giving way to his strokes.
“Oh, yes...” she groaned.
The pleasure was unbelievable, so strong he could come now even though he didn’t want to. Not yet. He slowed his movements, pulling back nice and slow before easing his way back in.
“Please, Kane...torture...please, harder,” she begged.
“Anything for you, baby.” He tightened his grip on her hip as plunged in harder, deeper than before. His mouth latched onto her shoulder and bit down. They might not be able to mate, but damned if he didn’t have to at least mark her. She was his.
The taste of her blood on his lips sent him into a frenzy as he powered furiously in and out of her. Her muscles clamped down on him as tight as a fist with each thrust. Resisting the driving hunger and need was useless.
“Sweet Jesus, Lara, you’re fucking milking me with that tight pussy of yours. So much heat it’s like liquid fire surrounding me. C’mon, baby, give it to me, give me all you’ve got.”
Her final scream of release pushed him over the edge as he drove deep one last time, exploding in his own heated orgasm. The spasms from them both rocketed them together as they fell to the cushioned grass.
He couldn’t move; she’d drained him and left him exhausted. Her little post-release whimpers cracked further into his heart as he snuggled her close. He couldn’t recall ever being so, satisfied and complete as he was with her in his arms and the need to protect that ached through him. Problem was, she could very well be the death of him.
Chapter Nine
Occasionally a time comes when you have to admit you’re fucked. When your simple plans for the future have been so thoroughly trampled on, you have to face the change and forget the past. For Kane, this was his fate with Lara. She’d tried to kill his brother and his mate and he’d helped stopped her, but not hated her like a good man should. He’d lusted after her from the moment they met.
He’d kept silent when he received the order to track and kill her, not because he wanted to do the job, but because he’d take any excuse he could use to find her. Unfortunately, finding out why didn’t resolve his issues, only made them more difficult. Mating with her now could end up getting them both killed, and not mating with her would likely drive him mad. Every time he got near her—hell, if he even scented her—he wanted to claim her.
Now, to make things more complicated, he was starting to actually like her. She had a wicked dark side and a knack for creating havoc, but the loyalty to her dead mother had created that. At least, in part. It was a trait he could identify with because he knew first hand the importance of the family bond. Very little could be more important. In fact, right now he couldn’t think of anything.
Today, when he’d talked to the council about her, he’d received even more resistance than he’d expected. Over half of them stood up against his decision to not carry out his duty, and he’d had to argue her defense to hard headed, set-in-the-old-ways clan members. Fortunately, many of the voting members didn’t live in the small village, but instead on isolated parcels a good distance away. Male cougars were solitary for the most part and sometimes their human DNA couldn’t overcome that.
So, he had a few days to prepare. He’d started here in his study on the Internet, looking up any public information he could find about Lara and her mother, which unfortunately was sparse although not altogether surprising for people who didn’t quite fall in the full human category. Supernatural abilities were guarded closely since no one wanted to be responsible for starting a war.
There were some school records on Lara, a Social Security number, and a birth record. The bare minimum for functioning in this day and age. He looked at the birth certificate and found her father listed as unknown. She’d been born February twenty-third, twenty-five years ago, delivered at home by a midwife in a rural town south of Asheville. Only a few hours from here.
Next, he checked her Social Security records and found no work history. The last public information he’d found were from high school, but after she graduated she went off the grid and had successfully hidden since. Smart girl.
Since researching her didn’t produce anything, he decided to switch gears and look up the mother. More of the same there. The mother, Marlene, had no records from her entire adult life. Made no sense. To survive there had to have been money, and getting it always required paperwork. Job applications, tax statements, any number of things. There had to be something somewhere, unless Marlene had a false identify. Curious.
Switching over to financial records, he decided to follow the money trail. Thirty minutes later he had absolutely nothing except a pain buzzing in his head from frustration. Something was out there, he just needed to uncover it. If push came to shove he’d grab an image of Lara off his home security system and start running it for facial recognition. He’d need some expert help on this one.
“Morning.” He jumped at Lara’s voice. “Jeez, nervous much?” She laughed as she settled herself in the chair across from him.
“I thought you were still sleeping.”
“I was until the scent of coffee finally permeated my tired brain and woke me up.” She saluted him with the coffee cup she held.
He shut down the laptop and slid it back into the drawer. “You hungry? The kitchen is well stocked.”
She shook her head. “I want to know about my mark.”
“Well, good morning to you, too, and let’s get right to the heart first thing.” He laughed.
“I’m serious.”
The storm brewing in her eyes was enough of an indication that he wasn’t going to talk his way out of this conversation.
“No worries, baby, I know you are.”
“How can I possibly have the mark of the black cougar? I’m not a shapeshifter. And just because I have the so-called mark doesn’t mean a thing to me, so why is everyone here making such a big deal out of it?” She rubbed at the back of her neck absently as she sipped her coffee.
“Why are you rubbing it right now? Does it itch?”
She froze, hand on her neck and cup to her lip, considering... “The back of my neck does tingle a little.”
“That’s because your mate is in proximity and you aren’t fully mated yet.”
“Whoa, fully mated? What the hell does that mean?”
He sighed and walked over to her. She really wasn’t going to like his answer. “I marked you.”
“You did what?” She stood and slammed her mug on his desk. “How the fuck did you do that? And what the hell does that mean? Are you deliberately trying to provoke me?” She grabbed the metal paperweight from his desk and lobbed it at him. He ducked and it missed his head but nailed his shoulder instead.
“Damn it, woman, what the hell?” “Answer me!” “Sit back down and I will.” He rubbed his throbbing shoulder. “Do
you remember me biting you in the woods yesterday? Check your left shoulder, you wear my mark now.”
She slipped her hand under the edge of her collar and felt around. He guessed she’d found it when her face turned rage red all over again. “I guess this is what I get for consorting with animals.”
“An animal you begged for yesterday, so don’t be a bitch.” “Tell me the rest.” She sat back down and picked up her coffee. He couldn’t blame her for being angry. The biting had been a bad idea, but something about her drove him wild, and when they were fucking he had little control where she was concerned.