by Harte, Marie
She felt out of sorts, simultaneously elated and terrified. Dean mattered. What if she screwed up and he left? What if he saw the real her and ran the other way? Even she knew beauty was only skin deep.
“You just want me for my money,” she accused, her mind racing. If he wanted her money, at least she had something to keep him interested.
“And your body, don’t forget that.” He nodded, smirking. “Yep. I found me a rich woman with nice breasts. I’m golden.”
If she gave him twenty bucks, he’d probably spend it on beers for his friends. The man needed her money like he needed a hole in his head. Dear God, he really loved her. She swallowed hard. “Yeah, well, what do I get if I take you on?”
“My wonderful family,” he deadpanned.
She laughed, then remembered she was supposed to be freaking out about her future.
“And my fine body. Come on, Stace. You have to admit I have a stellar tongue.”
“Hmm. There is that. But how do I know you won’t throw me over for some other woman?”
He snorted. “I’ve already been through the ladies out here. Hello? Still single.” His eyes darkened as he looked her over. “Or I was single, until you.”
She teetered on decision’s edge, ready to change her life forever. “So maybe if we stayed here, I’d be more comfortable. I mean, there’s less competition for me. You’ve already slept with most of the town,” she added to be nasty.
His breath hitched. “Yeah. That’s true. No one else for me here to work my wiles on.”
“I guess your family will keep you busy enough that you’re not always clinging to me while I’m working. I’ll have my hands full trying to bring style to this poor little town.”
“Yep. Think about Cougar Falls, baby. They need you. Miami doesn’t need you as much.”
“Hmm. But how do I know I’ll be happy here?”
He shook his head. “That was my line. Seems to me you still owe me for not trusting me from the beginning. Lying about Quince. About Lex. Getting me all beat up.”
“You’re healed.” But she choked up, remembering him so helpless, so hurt while Hunters and rogues surrounded them.
His expression softened. He caught a tear from her eyelash. “Uh-uh. You’re not getting off so easy.”
“What?”
“I’m not buying the tears. I’m the walking wounded. I’ll carry scars on my fine body for life.”
“You mean until you shift back and forth a few times and heal.”
“Well, yeah, but it will feel like forever.” He shook his head. “I think you should take at least one pain away.”
“Oh?”
He glanced down at his erection.
The schemer. God, she loved him. Dean used jokes and laughter to work through his problems. She’d seen him joke his way out of bigger trouble, and right now, the love she felt vibrating through their tied spirits radiated joy.
Only a moron would walk away from a future with Dean, and Stacey refused to be led by fear. If Dean tried cheating or messing her over, she’d make him pay. The thought encouraged her.
“So wounded,” he said again and tugged his pants down to free himself. He didn’t wear underwear. “I bet a few kisses would make everything better.”
“I’ll just bet.” Stacey scooted down the bed and gently pried his legs apart, aware of his real injuries still healing. “Throbbing, is it?”
“You have no idea,” he answered, his voice gravelly.
She didn’t give him any warning and took him to the back of her throat.
He groaned her name and arched off the bed, his hands in her hair, his cock hot and wet. She sucked and licked, teasing his balls while she loved him with her body, mind and spirit.
“God I love you,” he moaned as she stroked the underside of his shaft and scraped his inner thighs with sharp nails.
She flicked her tongue along his slit, lapping up his cream, and she purred when his animal spirit crept through her, petting her cat.
“Christ, I’m coming. So hard, baby. Oh God. Stacey. Take me.” He pumped and filled her mouth with seed. And while she absorbed his essence, his cat entwined with hers, scent layering over them both and settling into a connection that would never fade, never end.
She finished swallowing and let him fall from her mouth. Rising to her knees, she stared at the puckered flesh of claw and bite marks. Saw the play of strong muscle there beneath her thighs and gaze. Dean Chastell—all hers and only hers. The way it should have been all along.
“You’re looking at me like you’re going to eat me again,” Dean teased in a thick voice. “I like it.”
“You should, Jethro. Not just any man can handle me in all my glory.”
He grinned, and his smile made him absolutely beautiful. “You’re going to want a really big house, aren’t you?”
“And an even bigger ring.”
He chuckled. “You’re paying for it, moneybags.”
“I know. But we’ll pretend you hocked your life savings just for me.”
“I will if you want me to.”
And she knew he would. Money didn’t mean much to Dean. Family, love, a mate. Those were his riches. And now hers too.
“I just want you, Dean.” She paused. “There’s just one thing.”
“What?”
She liked that he looked wary. He might play dumb, but the man had an uncanny way about him. “No jeans and no flannel at our wedding. And when we have date nights twice a month, you wear the clothes I set out for you.”
“Hell. You’re going to be a pain in my ass about this, aren’t you?”
“Every damn day for the rest of your life, Gomer. Count on it.”
About the Author
Marie Harte is an avid reader who loves all things paranormal and futuristic. Reading romances since she was twelve, she fell in love with happy endings and knew writing was her calling.
Twenty-plus years later, the Marine Corps, a foray through Information Technology, and children, her dream has finally come true. Marie lives in Oregon with her family and loves hearing from readers.
To read more about Marie, visit www.marieharte.com.
Look for these titles by Marie Harte
Coming Soon:
Cougar Falls
Right Wolf, Right Time
Now Available:
Cougar Falls
Rachel’s Totem
In Plain Sight
Feral Attraction
Foxy Lady
Outfoxed
A Matter of Pride
Westlake Enterprises
To Hunt a Sainte
Storming His Heart
A Scorching Seduction
Enjoying the Show
Sins of Summer
Closing the Deal
When a cat tries to outsmart a sexy fox, only love can save him.
Outfoxed
© 2012 Marie Harte
A Cougar Falls Story
Grady Chastell, Shifter extraordinaire, wants to take a mate—the delectable Gabby Easton. She’s sexy, kind, and has the extraordinary ability to shift into two animal spirits, cat and fox. There’s just one problem.
Gabby won’t take him seriously.
He’s at his wits’ end trying to convince her to give him a chance when trouble comes knocking at his door. Before he knows it, he’s unwittingly party to one whopper of a lie that finally has Gabby where he wants her…but will she feel the same when she realizes she’s been duped?
It will take all his cunning, the help of the pride, and a good bit of mutual trickery to convince his foxy lady to forgive and forget. And more, to love him—the cat born to be hers.
Warning: Arrogant cats who think they can outsmart the slyest of foxes. A cat war, devious siblings, hijinks with consequences, and the threat of sexualized danger as a foxy feline turns the tables on a man who likes to tell tales.
Enjoy the following excerpt for Outfoxed:
“You guys aren’t taking that bet seriously.”
/>
“As a heart attack.” Monty nodded to the full house on the green, felt-covered table. “Read ’em and weep.”
Grady Chastell stared at his pridemate with alarm. Monty wasn’t budging. “Dean?” Surely his brother would have his back. Dean knew how badly he needed to not screw up his chances—any more than he already had—with the delectable Gabby Easton.
“Sorry, bro. All that smack talk last week and the best you can come up with is a pair of eights? You lost the bet—time to pay up.”
The other Ac-taw around the table watched with expectant curiosity, more than willing to watch Grady make a fool of himself in front of the only woman who mattered.
Annoying shapeshifters. Not a one of them had a decent sense of humor except Dean. But after this, even he was starting to look suspect. “Come on. Guys, don’t do this to me. Please?”
Dean’s golden eyes glinted, his inner cat more than amused at playing with his older brother’s feelings. “It pains me, it really does. But a bet’s a bet. Can’t have it said the Chastells welsh, now can we?”
Grady cursed the lot of them under his breath and ignored the new bets being placed. Somehow, Thursday night poker had been replaced with let’s see how miserable we can make Grady night. ’Course, winning a friggin’ game might have alleviated his run of bad luck when it came to Gabby Easton.
He stripped down to nothing and shifted into his animal spirit, his bones and sinew reshaping into the form of a large, tawny catamount. King of the mountain, he was a savvy hunter with extraordinary senses…and an asshole of a younger brother.
He grunted his displeasure at Dean, who grinned at him. Then he hissed at the rest of the table.
The birds and wolf flipped him off. The bear grunted back. The lone fox tipped back his hat and waited for the fallout. Too bad the fox happened to be the sheriff, or Grady might have chewed on the others before spitting them out.
“Oh Gab-by,” Dean called out in a singsong voice. “Honey, could you come here for a minute?”
The predators around the table waited with bated breath. Monty slipped an elastic bow tie around Grady’s thick neck and shoved a top hat on his head, then poised a finger over his MP3 player, all-too-coincidentally plugged into portable speakers.
Grady caught the scent of her before she walked in. A new addition to the Catamount Pride, Gabrielle Easton was the hottest thing on two feet or four. He’d seen her around town for years, of course, but he’d never gotten close to the fox Shifter. The pride tended to keep to themselves. But then came the news Gabby could shift into not one, but two animal spirits—fox and puma—and his cat had fallen in complete and utter lust.
The man had too, but it was more than that—Gabby captivated him. The grace of her movements, the sheer excitement that glowed on her face during a hunt, the pleasure she had just being near her family… The woman had somehow found a place in his heart, and he worked like a demon to conceal that fact from his family. Bad enough they knew he wanted the woman. If they found out he was falling for her, they’d try to help, end up interfering and screw up his chances for good.
Not to mention he’d find himself the butt of too many jokes. In a family of pranksters, he knew better than to let his guard down. Unfortunately, the worst joke happened to be on him, because for some reason, Gabby didn’t take him seriously. Him, Grady Chastell, the Great Spirit’s gift to women. He wanted her, and she laughed at him. He didn’t understand it.
Gabby walked in without making a sound. Thick strands of her wine-red hair curled around her breasts, which emphasized the flat plane of her stomach. The faded jeans she wore clung to her luscious ass and those long, toned thighs. A low growl eased from his mouth.
“Down, boy.” Monty snickered and turned on the music.
Jimi Hendrix’s Foxy Lady played through Bose speakers, and Gabby stopped in the middle of the room, looking less than pleased. She groaned. “Not again. It’s been three months, guys. Honestly, could you get a little more creative?”
“We could and did.” Dean beamed and pointed to Grady.
He glared at his brother and slowly walked over to meet Gabby, so she could see him make a fool of himself without the table in the way. Trust Dean to include full view of the dance in the bet.
“Go on, boy,” Monty encouraged. “Gabby, to go with your personal theme song, a magnificent serenade.”
The wolf had to have set him up. After his loss, Monty had produced those speakers awfully quick. And really, when had the wolf swallowed a dictionary? Magnificent serenade? He glared at the canine, who lifted a brow and motioned for him to begin.
To his mortification, Grady was forced to shake his feline moneymaker. Talk about a show—a cougar dancing to Hendrix in front of the woman he wanted to make his mate. She started laughing hysterically, which brought the rest of the pride’s sharp-eared women, his older brother and pride leader, Burke, and a few more visiting birds into the room.
Why the hell had they merged movie night with poker night, anyway? So more witnesses could watch him make a giant ass of himself as he grooved to ‘Foxy Lady’? Sure as the good Lord had gifted him with a tail, whiskers and fangs, Grady couldn’t dance a lick.
Everyone was talking and laughing, so Grady shook off the top hat and smoothly separated Gabby from the pack. He nudged her into the kitchen, away from the dining room, before he shifted back.
“Please, Gabby. Marry me and take me away from all this.” He meant every word, but as usual, the stubborn woman refused to take him seriously.
“Thanks, I needed the laugh.” She chuckled and tried to escape, but he pressed forward until he’d backed her against the counter and put his arms on either side of her. “Julia keeps renting these god-awful dramadies. This one is about some woman looking for love with a mannequin who comes to life and leaves her. Ech.”
“Hmm.” He loved the way she smelled. Wild, a mixture of fox and feline his cat found fascinating.
She flushed, and he knew she wasn’t as unaware of him as she seemed. He stepped closer, wanting nothing more than to show her how he really felt.
His brother Burke entered and covered his eyes with his hand. “Jesus, Grady. Stop molesting Gabby in the kitchen. What is it with you? I’m really tired of staring at your lily white ass.”
“So I should molest her in another room?”
Gabby looked anywhere but down. Most Shifters were casual about clothing, so her discomfort gave him hope. He thought he scented the faint perfume of desire and would have pushed her for more, regardless of the others just a room away, when Burke grabbed him by the scruff of his neck and pulled him back.
“Shift back, now,” Burke growled.
Grady swore but changed back into his cat, frustrated, horny and heartsick that he couldn’t seem to control himself when it came to Gabby.
She glanced at his neck and bit her lip. If her face turned any redder, she might explode.
He meowed his apology, but she shook her head.
Burke touched her shoulder, and Grady wanted to claw the offending hand away. “Gabby, honey, I’m sorry if—”
She burst into laughter, so loud that a few of the poker players drifted into the kitchen to see what was going on, again. “I can’t help it,” she gasped. “That bow tie is killing me! I can’t believe he was dancing to ‘Foxy Lady’. A great big cat with no rhythm.” Tears streamed down her cheeks.
Fucking Monty and his stupid bets. And fuck Dean too. Grady snorted and snapped his tail before slinking away. He walked into the adjoining mudroom and clamped his teeth around the modified door handle specially crafted for them when in shifted form. Exiting into a brisk June night, he morosely wondered where to go from here.
Stretching out his limbs, he decided to run, in the mood to kill something.
Gabby didn’t seem to realize he was courting her. Ever since Burke had mated and married Rachel, Grady had been feeling the urge to settle down. But his animal spirit called out for a kindred soul, a cat. The only pride in Cougar Fa
lls was theirs, made up of the Chastell cats, a bear and his wife, a few foxes, and a wolf. The Catamount Pride were few but tolerant of others. If you were a respectable Shifter, Burke had a home for you.
Grady couldn’t complain. He liked those in the pride. Well, except for Dean and Monty. And lately Burke had become a huge pain in the ass, watching over Gabby like he was her fucking father.
With a snarl, Grady scared a trio of foxes deeper into the woods and clawed a nearby tree to mark his passage. My territory. My pride. My female, he wanted to yell.
But no one was out here to listen, and the only woman who needed to hear it didn’t take him seriously. Burke had warned him that heavy-handed wouldn’t work with Gabby. Then he’d overheard Gabby tell her sister how tired she was of all the grabby males in town wanting her now that it was known she could shift into two animals—a trait that gave her celebrity status among their kind. Not wanting to be like all the others, he’d tried the light approach.
Hell, he’d even gone so far as to politely ask her out on an honest-to-God date, but she’d patted him on the head like a dog and told him it wasn’t necessary. A thanks but no thanks he didn’t understand.
He needed to change his strategy with the female before some other hungry Shifter snapped her up. But except for tying her down and forcing her to accept his sincerity, he didn’t know what the hell to do. How could he find a future with her when she sure as hell wasn’t seeing him as anything but a comedian, an embarrassing feline no better than a dancing bear?
Danger prowls on two legs…
Wolf Hills
© 2012 Bianca D’Arc
A Brotherhood of Blood Novel
Detective Sally Decker’s Wyoming trip to visit her newlywed friend, Carly, turns into a dangerous adventure into the unknown when she learns Carly’s husband is a master vampire, and there’s a pack of werewolves living just up the road. As if that wasn’t alarming enough, the sexy Alpha wolf has taken a shine to her.