Best Intentions: A Ghost Cats Story

by Mandy M. Roth

  Not Brayen.

  Lily found strength she didn’t know she possessed and she jerked back, her hand going instantly to her swollen lips. His sweet taste was still there, lingering, letting her know what he offered.

  She wanted more.

  Needed more but couldn’t dare.

  Wind whipped around her once more and she yelped, her eyes wide with fear.

  “Don’t mind them. The spirits rarely do more than kick up a wind. They must have thought we needed to get a bit closer. If I were you, I’d follow their advice. They don’t tend to mislead anyone.” He put his hand out to her and she took a step back, afraid that if his skin touched hers she’d take him to her bed. The only man she intended to sleep with was one she felt nothing for. Not this one.

  Nervous, Lily glanced out at her car and back at Brayen.

  He closed his eyes slowly and shook his head. “Listen, Lily. You don’t have to be afraid of me.”

  “Who the hell would be afraid of you, Cougar?” a husky voice bellowed from behind her.

  Lily jumped and spun around to find a tall man standing in the doorway—filling it completely. Whatever was in the water around the area sure produced hardy stock. She couldn’t remember a time this much delicious man meat was in the same room. The newcomer obviously had Native American blood in him. A good amount. He was either full-blooded or damn close. His dark hair reminded her of Jack’s a bit and guilt for why she was here trickled through her.

  The man’s dark brown gaze fell on her as he stopped in his tracks. “Well, what do we have here?”

  Brayen stepped in front of her quickly, the action seeming as though he was shielding her from the newcomer’s view. “Mason, this is Lily. She’s just here for the weekend.”

  Mason peered around Brayen and smiled widely. She was still trying to get over how gorgeous Brayen was. Adding another hunk to the mix was almost too much. Lily grinned and extended her hand. Brayen stiffened and for a minute, she thought he might slap her hand away from Mason. He didn’t.

  “Hi, I’m Lillian. My friends all call me Lily.”

  Mason took her hand in his and brought it to his lips slowly. There was an air about him that said he knew his way around a woman with his eyes closed and both hands tied behind his back. “Then I hope I get to call you Lily.”

  He was a fine specimen of a man and the fact she felt little when he kissed her hand proved he should be the one she spent the weekend with. There was no question on whether or not he’d be good in bed. The way he carried himself screamed as much. She’d have a little fun, get what she came for and push the memory from her mind.

  Her gaze slid towards Brayen and the pull to him intensified. She fought it.

  No attachments, she reminded herself.

  “You here by yourself?” Mason asked, helping to stop the rushing sensation to go to Brayen.

  Brayen growled and Mason just grinned at him.

  Lily nodded and took her hand back slowly. “Yes, I’m here for the weekend. Needed to get away for a little while.”

  “Everyone eventually does,” Mason said knowingly.

  Lily pushed past Brayen and stood between the two men. Each was over six foot and dwarfed her. Thoughts of an erotic sandwich filled her head and she had to shake them off. An affair with two men was definitely not something she was up for. One was going to do her in and she technically wasn’t cheating. She and her husband were legally separated because of his choosing—not hers. The semantics of it all did little to ease her guilt.

  “Do you think you could give me a hand with my bags?” she asked Mason.

  “It would be my pleasure.”

  Brayen’s jaw twitched with rage. How could she stand there and flirt with Mason right in front of him? She wasn’t attracted to Mason, at least not in the way she’d been with him. His heightened senses made him very aware of her body’s chemical reactions and there was no way she wanted Mason as much as she wanted him.

  I sound like I’m in junior high.

  Lily walked out to her car and Mason turned to look at him. “You all right? You’re not thinking anything serious can happen with her, are you? She’s so human that I almost choked on it. How the hell did she find this place? My grandfather said he put a veil on it. She shouldn’t have been able to wander in here. I’ll put a call in to him in the morning and get him out here to repeat the ritual.”

  “No,” Brayen said, lifting his hand. “She felt the spirits of the land rush through. She’s human, but some powerful blood runs through her veins. That’s how she found us. Leave Running Elk alone. He’s not as young as he used to be.”

  Mason laughed. “The man will outlive us. He’s got to be pushing two hundred now.”

  “With as slow as we age, I’m betting over that,” Brayen said, peeking over Mason’s shoulder at Lily.

  Mason smiled and followed his gaze. “Cougs, if you like her, just tell me and I’ll keep my distance. Wouldn’t want to piss the kitty off.” Mason growled as he wrinkled his nose.

  Brayen rolled his eyes and laughed at his old friend. “I think I’m in love.”

  Love? Why the hell would I say that, even in jest?

  Love wasn’t a word that was even in his vocabulary. Joking or not. Or, at least it hadn’t been until recently. Like Lily-kind-of-recent.

  “You just met her and she’s human,” Mason said, ever the voice of reason. “You don’t know anything about her and I’m betting she has no fucking idea you can shape-shift into a cougar. That, buddy, isn’t love you’re feeling. It’s a stiffy wanting to be buried in that hot lil’ pussy. Use her to scratch the itch and be done with her. Humans aren’t for our kind. You know it and so do I.”

  He was still stuck on the proclamation of love. He’d never, in all his years, brought up the L-word. It just wasn’t done. Yet here it was, rolling off his tongue as if he used the word daily. He worried his jaw with his hand, unsure what was happening to him, but knowing enough to understand it was big.

  “What are you thinking?” Mason questioned, his gaze as troubled as Brayen’s.

  “That I’m in a boatload of shit.”

  Pursing his lips, Mason nodded. “Yeah, I was thinking the same thing. What are you going to do about it?”

  “You think fucking her out of my system will really work?”

  The blank stare Mason leveled on him was answer enough.

  Shit.

  Chapter Two

  Lily applied a thin layer of lip-gloss and double-checked her outfit as she fluffed her towel-dried hair. She hoped the tiny black dress didn’t scream sleazy but in truth, she was desperate to find a man to sleep with her tonight, so the hooker get-up was completely in order.

  She turned slightly and nodded in approval at the low-cut back of the dress. It just missed showing her butt. She slipped on her thigh-highs and heels and headed out the door. The cool night air smacked her bare skin and she cursed herself for wearing something so skimpy.

  I’ll not only get laid, I’ll get pneumonia too.

  She wasn’t even ten paces from her door when Brayen stepped out and into her path, nearly scaring her to death. Her hand came to her throat and she took a calming breath. His good-old-boy smile eased her fears.

  “I’m buying you dinner, remember,” he said, bending his head to see her better. The well-fitting navy shirt he now had on drew attention to his blue gaze. The man was stunning. A sight to behold. He seemed oblivious to it which only served to turn her on more. Her nerve laden body sung with desire for him to be above her, easing in and out her. She stomped on the thoughts, forcing her gaze from his. “I, umm, I’d rather eat alone.”

  His jaw jutted out, his gaze tight as he stepped closer to her. “Well, I’d rather have company when I eat so consider yourself trumped.”

  She blinked incredulously. “You’re a bold one, aren’t you?”

  “I might be used to getting my way,” he said, his hand coming out to her.

  Against her better judgment, Lily placed her hand
in his. Heat flared up her arm as his fingers laced through hers. His expression reflected the attraction she felt for him and she knew if she took a step with him, he would be the man she ended up with. He tugged lightly, seeming to sense her indecision.

  “Do I have a date for dinner?” he asked, stepping closer to her.

  Nodding, she covered the remaining distance between them. “Yes.”

  Yes?

  Lily struggled to surface through the fog that had become her mind. No attachments. It’s what she’d drilled into herself before making this daring journey yet here she was, handing her soul to the devil for the taking.

  She raked her gaze over Brayen.

  Oh, what a devil he was.

  Alarm bells went off within her but she squelched them, the lure of the man before her too much to deny. He lifted their joined hands and traced a finger down her cheek, neck and upper chest. She arched to him, wanting more.

  His lips found her ear. “We should eat.”

  “Yes,” she whispered, her lips grazing his jaw. Her nipples hardened and before she knew it, she was planting the tiniest of kisses on his jaw.

  He smiled as he turned his head, his lips now directly above hers. “You feel the pull between us, don’t you?”

  She nodded in agreement but somehow managed to push out a lie. “N-no.”

  His manly chuckle made her weak in the knees. “Interesting response. Not sure I buy it though.” He kissed the back of her hand, his lips scorching her tender skin. “Now, about that dinner I promised you.”

  “The what and where?” she asked, lost in the moment and rapture of the man she was fast beginning to suspect had bespelled her.

  The edges of his sexy mouth slid upwards. “I’m planning to fill that belly of yours.”

  She stiffened. “What?”

  “With food,” he amended, though the suggestion of filling her with more still lingered. “There isn’t a whole lot to you and I’d like to know you’re good and ready for a long night.”

  She traced her thumb over his wrist. “Why is that?”

  “Don’t play games, Lily,” he said sternly. “We both know where this is headed.”

  “Then we should skip dinner and go straight to my room,” she supplied.

  “We could—” he touched foreheads with her, “—but I want to spend time with you out of the bed as well as in it.”

  The air left her and she swooned in his arms. He smiled, dragging her against the expanse of his chest, his erection digging at her stomach. “Eat now. Play later,” he said, as though he were trying to convince himself as much as her.

  He led her towards the bar entrance, his arm slipping around her waist before his hand splayed over her stomach. He pushed the door open and kept her close to him. The first thing Lily noticed about the bar was how it was almost all male. The second was how their gazes didn’t just linger on her. They seemed bolted to her. She stepped closer to Brayen, feeling safe near him.

  He held her tighter, his lips finding her temple. “Let’s eat, beautiful.”

  Nodding, she allowed him to lead her to the back corner booth. He positioned her so that no others could touch her and placed himself in their path. He nodded to the man behind the bar. “Can I get a menu for her?”

  “Sure thing, boss.”

  Lily touched Brayen’s hand. “Bray, I’ll have whatever you pick for me.”

  “Trust me that much?” he asked, lifting a brow. “You hardly know me.”

  He was right. She didn’t know him but she did trust him. She couldn’t explain it. Didn’t even want to try. “Pick for me.”

  He did and she was impressed with his choice. The chicken salad was something she’d have selected for herself. He went with a burger, done rare. When he was finished ordering, he focused on her.

  Brayen could barely control the raging need coursing through his body. Lily was the single most beautiful woman he’d ever seen. Her mannerisms were so ladylike, so schooled it was hard to believe she’d be caught dead in public with a man like him.

  An animal.

  He grabbed the front of his jeans, adjusting his cock. She caught the action and he felt no need to apologize for it. Instead, he winked. “He’s excited and already ready for later.”

  The faintest of blushes stole across her cheeks. “Do this often?”

  “Do what?”

  “Inform women you just met that they will be sleeping with you later?”

  “I’d answer that, but it would only serve to piss you off.” He leaned back in his chair. He was the kind of guy who didn’t mix words. When he needed release, he sought a woman out and told her what he wanted. She gave it to him and then he was done with her. It was that simple. Or had been. Nothing about Lily seemed cut and dry. “How about you? Enter into a dinner arrangement with a guy you just met, knowing full well you’re going to be fucked later?”

  She jerked as the word fucked fell from his lips. He winced, wanting it back. She was different from other women he used to sate his baser needs. While he would indeed fuck her, she wouldn’t be just another fuck.

  “Hey,” he said, bending forward in an attempt to take her hand in his.

  She pulled away. “Hmm?”

  “You’ve never done this before, have you?” he asked, already knowing the answer. There was no way she made a habit of agreeing to bed men she just met. The cross between excitement and fear that seemed to radiate from her was telling enough. But an inner knowledge crept over him, alerting him to just how out of her element Lily was. He mentally chastised himself for not making more of an effort to wow her. He grabbed her wrist gently. “Lily, when I take you tonight, I’ll give you pleasure like you’ve never known.”

  She closed her eyes. “This is wrong.”

  “Doesn’t feel wrong to me,” he supplied. “Feels pretty damn right.”

  “That’s the problem,” she confessed, holding his hand tightly. “It shouldn’t feel right.”

  He wanted to press her as to why but knew better than to push. Already she looked to be on the verge of flight.

  Their food came and they ate in silence, the awkwardness that had been hanging in the air between them seemed to dissipate. Before long, Brayen found himself telling Lily bits and pieces of his life—as much as he could anyway. He left out the big stuff, like the fact he wasn’t human.

  She smiled as he mentioned his mother’s name. “That’s funny.”

  “That her name was Rose?” he asked.

  “No, that she was named after a flower and so am I.”

  The tie had been lost on him until she pointed it out. He grinned. “She’d have caught that too. And Lily, I think she’d have liked you.”

  “From what you’ve told me of her—” she paused, “—I’d have liked her as well.”

  “What about you?” He eyed her, realizing she’d barely said a word about herself or her family. “You from the area?”

  “Yes and no,” she confessed, seeming uncomfortable with the idea of sharing things about herself. “My father and grandmother are from near here.”

  “Really?”

  She nodded. “Lakota and proud of it. Though, my father married a white woman so that diluted me somewhat.”

  It was interesting hearing her mention ties to the people of the area. Now that he really looked at her, he saw it in her. She was beautiful. Running Elk would approve of her as well.

  Brayen jerked at the thought of needing Running Elk’s permission for anything, let alone a woman. It wasn’t as if he was planning to keep Lily around. He just wanted to spend the weekend getting to fuck every sweet ounce of her and then be done.

  Yeah, right.

  She sipped her drink and his cock throbbed with thoughts of those lips wrapped around it. He straightened in his seat once more, desperate for her to share something of herself, of her past, anything to keep his mind off sex.

  “Are you close to your parents?” he asked.

  She held tight to her glass. “I was. They died. My
grandmother raised me after that and she recently passed as well.”

  “So you’re alone?”

  Her gaze darted away and her scent changed. She was hiding something or someone. Brayen leaned forward, his hand skating up her arm, making her shiver. “There isn’t anyone else, is there?”

  Her dark eyes widened and her pulse quickened. “W-what?”

  “Do you,” he stressed, “have someone else at home? A boyfriend maybe?”

  She used her free hand to rub her ear as she took a deep breath. “No.”

  It was a lie. He could smell it on her. That being said, he wanted to believe her only because he knew he was taking her to bed regardless. It wasn’t a case of no values. It was a case of his primal needs taking precedent over everything else, including a possible boyfriend.

  “What about you?” Lily countered. “Do you have someone special?”

  His snort caused her to stiffen again. Admitting to her that he only fucked women and then sent them on their way wasn’t exactly a brilliant move. Brayen slid closer to Lily’s seat, slipping his arm around her in the process. The males in the bar had taken too much of an interest in her. He twisted enough so that Lily couldn’t see his face but the rest of the bar could. Brayen let his eyes shift to amber, warning the others not to try anything foolish. He knew his scent had changed as well and they would pick up on as much. It wasn’t until he himself picked up on the changes that he realized exactly how his scent had changed.

  I’m radiating protective mate energy.

  The information stunned him to the point he stopped and took a large breath. His heart pounded madly and he thought for sure it would thump its way clean out of his chest.

  It couldn’t be.

  She couldn’t be.

  All the couldn’t be in the world didn’t change the fact his body had responded in a way it never had before and that according to the way he was behaving, Lily was more than simply a fancy woman he wanted to romance into bed for the night.

  Far more.

  “Bray?” she asked, pulling him from the verge of hysterics.

  He turned slowly back to face her, his palms sweaty and his chest fluttering. Her gaze held concern and her tiny hand darted out towards his arm. The minute her skin made contact with his, a low growl began to emanate from deep within him. Somehow he managed to stop it before it became full blown.