Cougar's Eve (11 page)

He grunted in approval. “That’s great. The Eagle Eyes will really come in handy, though you’ll probably find yourself in a ton of pictures, along with some deer, rabbits and whatever else triggers it. Sometimes, you get really nice pictures of leaves, too.” He laughed.

“I think I’d feel better if they were all of leaves and rabbits.” I laughed with him.

“You all right by yourself tonight, Evie? I’d be happy to keep you company again.”

“I’ll be fine, but thanks. Besides, I’ve got Murrlin, remember?”

“Yeah, yeah, don’t get me started or I’ll show up with a dog on your doorstep tomorrow,” he teased.

“I’ll be fine,” I repeated. “I’ll call you tomorrow morning, okay?”

“All right. Talk to you later.”

The computer made a dinging noise, and a voice said, “Picture saved.”

I walked over to the laptop and wiggled the mouse to get it off screensaver mode. I clicked the bar flashing in the lower left-hand corner to view the first picture taken from the motion sensor camera. I laughed as a surprised squirrel stared back at me. At least, I knew the cameras worked.

Chapter Eleven

I was assembling another meal when the computer dinged at me so many times, I thought it had a short. Certain that something was out of whack, I made my way around the counter and ran over to sit in front of the laptop to figure out what was wrong.

The voice on the computer repeated over and over again, “Picture saved…picture saved…picture saved…”

I clicked on the flashing box on the taskbar and was amazed, dumbfounded and freaking scared at the images presented on the screen.

A huge, black cougar had gone into the old limestone house, some kind of clothing hanging out of its mouth. After a few minutes, the computer dinged again as the motion detectors prompted the camera to snap another picture. The next picture showed a man—an incredibly gorgeous, tall, dark-haired man—jogging down the trail leading to my home. I could hardly believe my eyes when I realized the man was Vale. How had he gotten away from the cougar in the house?

You already know the answer to
that
question, Eve! Stop denying it!

I watched the cameras pick up his image as he hurried toward my house. One picture, in particular, caught my attention—the one where he was looking straight ahead, where I could see his eyes clearly. Something about those eyes was as familiar to me as any part of my own body.

It took a moment for my mind to accept what my eyes had seen, but my suspicions were confirmed beyond a doubt as it hit me like a semi-truck.

The eyes…the eyes weren’t human! They were
cougar
eyes; the same ones that had stared back at me from the patio, the same eyes that belonged to the cougar who had protected me from the intruders the other night.

The magic on the iron fence strummed through me, bringing my brain back to reality. I scrambled for my gun and tried not to panic as the progression of pictures showed Vale walking across the lawn and toward my front door. Rather than allow him to think he had the advantage of surprise, I threw open the door and pointed the gun at his head just as he reached the sidewalk leading to the steps. I turned on the outside light, making him cringe momentarily from the brightness.

“Look at me,” I said with a calmness I didn’t feel.

He put his hands up to show me he was harmless then raised his head slowly and focused on my face.

My breath left me in a rush as the unbelievable stared right back at me. “Your eyes,” I whispered. “They’re yellow.”

His face was a flurry of emotions: from confusion, to shock then realization as my words sunk in.

“
Why
are they yellow, Vale?” I asked him, giving him a chance to explain. My voice was still calm, but I was shaking. He swallowed twice before answering me, and I nearly yelled the question at him again because he took so long to finally speak.

Sensing his emotions, I could tell he was considering whether to tell me the truth or lie. Finally, he quietly answered, “I shape-shift into a cougar.”

Though I knew he was telling the truth, even if the words seemed preposterous, it was still difficult to absorb. On the other hand, it made complete sense, and the events of the last week could finally be explained.

“Yeah, well, you forgot to change your eyes back to human,” I informed him.

Clearly confused, he scrunched his eyebrows together. “I don’t know if I can. I mean, I didn’t realize they hadn’t changed.”

Though I wanted to trust my Sensitive abilities and I believed him, I was still suspicious.

“You don’t seem surprised,” he commented.

I was about to explain the reason for my lack of shock when a streak of black fur flew by my peripheral vision then plopped down in front of Vale. Murrlin had terrific timing, as usual. He didn’t even have the sense to know he was in danger. Geez, there was a feline shifter standing right in front of me and my pet cat…was rubbing against his shins? What the hell!

Vale picked up Murrlin, who purred so loudly at the loving scratches he received under his chin, it almost sounded fake. Then I realized I wasn't hearing just Murrlin's purring. Vale had joined in and purred, too. This was crazy! This. Was. Not. Happening. No, no, no, no!

He took one step toward me and said sincerely, “I’m not going to hurt you. I would never hurt you. You must believe me.” He looked down at my traitorous feline, and his cougar eyes sparkled. “Murrlin wouldn’t like me if I were a bad guy, would he?” His thick black hair fell in front of his eyes, hiding his expression for a moment, but I could tell he was amused.

He flipped his hair off his forehead then he did something really manipulative—he smiled at me, and his whole face changed. My anger washed away as I watched him grin and pet Murrlin. Dammit, I wanted to be angry with him, but the man’s eyes, even though they were cougar’s eyes, were so sincere.

I lowered the gun. “Murrlin is the equivalent of a male hussy when it comes to getting petted—he’ll take whatever he can get, even if it means defecting to the enemy camp.”

Looking slightly wounded, he said, “But I’m not your enemy. Surely, some part of you knows that to be true.”

I crossed my arms and nodded. I’d never forgive myself if I didn’t ask, so I just went with it. “You
are
the cougar from the other night?”

He smiled wryly. “Do you know any other big cats who would come into your house willingly?”

Feeling a bit silly, I replied, “Ah, not exactly.”

He grinned, gave Murrlin a final scratch behind the ears then set him back on the ground and pointed to the door of the house. The domestic long-haired feline immediately obeyed and trotted inside as though he’d been through this thousands of times with Vale. I stood open-mouthed as I watched my normally disobedient cat go in and sit on the couch.

I glanced back at Vale but ended up staring at him instead. Was he telling the truth? There was one sure way to find out.

“I want to see you shift,” I demanded.

At first, he was taken aback then he seemed to understand that I needed to see him change shape so I could trust him. He blew out a breath. “Okay.”

He took off his T-shirt and eased his jeans off his body. Shocked at seeing his gorgeous physique, I stared open-mouthed, unable to ask the reason he was disrobing. Before my voice could return, he shifted.

Surprised at the ease of his body’s morph from human to cougar, I gasped. There was no evident pain, no exploding skin, contorting muscles, cracking bones or goopy mess. The shift was smooth and seamless. Magical. That was definitely something with which I could intimately relate.

Amazed at the beautiful cougar standing on all fours before me, I stepped forward, hoping to look at him closely. His eyes had remained the same, and I still saw Vale looking through them at me. Tentatively, I reached forward and caressed the sleek ebony fur atop his head, finding it silky. My hands travelled onto his flank, and I was surprised to discover it wasn’t as soft as it looked but was coarse, almost wiry. I reasoned that a wild cougar with soft fur would end up with a thousand mats, which would definitely not be a good thing.

I felt the vibration of a purring rumble from his chest and smiled as I continued touching the big cat. Realizing I was actually petting Vale, I blushed and quickly retracted my hand.

“Um, thank you,” I said quietly, still in awe.

Vale changed back to his human form as quickly and quietly as he had the first time, with one exception. His denims were lying in a pile, and he was stark naked. Not bothered in the least with his nudity, he casually leaned over, picked up his T-shirt and jeans then held them against his hip.

I tried not to look at his gorgeous body, but failed miserably. I remembered all too well how I had memorized the ripples of muscles covering his naked body while I’d cared for him. A breeze blew his masculine scent toward me, and goose bumps instantly covered my body, though it was probably still eighty-five degrees.

It was as though all rational thought and the ability to form words had been chased from my mind. I inhaled deeply as the aroma of his skin filled my nose. His scent was familiar, but I couldn't place it. He smelled so incredibly delicious, I wanted to jump into his arms have my way with him.

Dammit all to hell,
what
was wrong with me?

It dawned on me that I was staring, and I quickly looked at the ground, again wondering what was wrong with me. I blushed even harder when he stared back at me with a slight smirk. Hells bells!

Vale patiently stood before me, waiting for me to say something, when I heard a car speeding down my road. Making a rash, split-second decision, I rushed him into my house and told him to go into spare bedroom. If he hid for the time being, it would give me time to get rid of whomever was racing down my gravel road.

The crazy driver revved his engine and flew down my driveway, barely stopping before he hit my iron fence head on. I recognized the truck as Bud’s and ran into the house just as he got out of the vehicle and slammed the door closed.

After turning off the laptop, I ran out the front door and met Bud, who was halfway across the lawn by the time I got outside.

“Where is he?” he demanded.

“Who?”

He looked at me as though I’d lost my mind and said with a bit of disgust, “Come on, Eve. The man you were pointing the gun at a few minutes ago.”

“Oh, um…he’s gone,” I lied, immediately feeling terrible.

He squinted his eyes in disbelief. “Are you
sure
he’s gone?”

“Yes, Bud. I saw him walk away.” Well, I really had seen him walk away…right into my house.

He put his hands on his hips, stared at me then shook his head. “Evie, something isn’t right about this,” he said firmly.

Suddenly incensed, I said, “You’ve got that right.” I pointed my finger at him. “I’d like to know how you knew what was happening in
my
yard.”

He turned three shades of red. “I-I was only watching out for you.”

I crossed my arms across my chest and tapped my foot impatiently, letting the silence build. After watching him shift back and forth uncomfortably, I demanded, “Explain…now, Bud.”

He looked at me sheepishly. “I had Joe set up the Eagle Eye cameras with a video feed to my computer so I’d know if anyone came to hurt you. I saw that guy walking through the yard. The next thing I know you’re pointing a gun at him, and I, uh…I freaked out a little.”

I uncrossed my arms and said gently, “I know you mean well, Bud, but you know how I feel about my privacy. If I felt I needed someone to watch over me, you would be the first person I’d call.” I sighed and motioned to the cameras. “I hope you saw that I can handle myself.”

He nodded then looked down at the ground. “Yeah, I’m sorry about this, Evie.”

I patted him on the arm. “I know and I appreciate it, but I won’t turn my cameras back on if you’re going to continue spying on me, you know.”

“But it’s only the two cameras…” His words died off in mid-sentence, and he looked down at the grass. “Oh, hell, there I go again.” After a minute, he straightened. “You have my word, Evie. I’ll shut off the camera feeds.”

“Thanks, Bud.” I smiled at him. “I’d better get inside.” I turned.

“So, Eve, who was he?”

I had to come up with an answer before I faced him again.
Think fast, think fast!
I yelled at my brain
.
I did a half-turn and said, “Just some guy who was having car trouble.”

“Oh? Huh, I didn’t see a car nearby,” he said carefully.

This was the reason I didn’t lie. I was terrible at it. I shrugged my shoulders, hoping to neither deny nor confirm his comment.

Far from convinced, Bud nodded. “Sorry about all of this.” He headed to his car and waved. “G’night,” he called before he opened the car door and got in.

“Night,” I replied as I walked into the house and shut the front door. I leaned on the closed door and exhaled slowly.

“He really cares for you, you know?” Vale observed as he emerged from the spare bedroom.

I nervously smoothed my skirt, though it was perfectly straight already. “Yeah, I know. I wish he didn’t though—at least, not quite as much.” Though he had put his jeans back on, he’d left the T-shirt off. It was extremely distracting.

Don’t stare, don’t even look at him.

Refusing to meet his eyes, I sighed. “Look, Vale, before we talk any further, I need answers. If you’re not willing to give them to me, I want you to leave.” Wow, I even sounded convincing.

Looking worried, he nodded. “I understand. Ask me anything.”

Now that I had the chance to ask every question that popped into my mind, I drew a sudden blank. I opened my mouth, closed it then sighed and took a few moments to gather my thoughts. The simplest way to ask what I wanted to know suddenly seemed obvious.

“What are you? I mean, I can see that you’re a were-cougar-thingy, but…” I trailed off. “And what kind of game are you playing?” My voice grew. “Why did you leave without saying anything to me? Who does that?” I was getting angrier by the second. “You stood me up, too!” I said as I poked his chest with my finger. I vaguely realized I was going backwards with my timeline of questions, but the answers he’d provide were important to me.