Cougar's Luck (Pacific Northwest Cougars Book 2) (4 page)

L
ayla was sitting
at the last stool on the edge of the packed bar against the wall. She was going over the receipts even though the club was packed to rafters with writhing, drunk, and sweaty people trying very hard to make a memory. Usually one that after they checked their phones in the morning or their social media, they’d hope they could forget. The adage what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas only works if you don’t out yourself to your family and friends back home that you were half naked on a bar top having a stranger do shots out of your belly button.

Her numbers were looking on point, the alcohol counts were on track to. She’d been doing it so long and her staff were so trustworthy, Layla could tally the dollar amount per empty bottle in her inventory. She knew Paolo was already ensconced in the VIP lounge. He was on his second magnum of Grey Goose and Dom Rose. There were enough barely dressed women back there to ensure he was going to keep the alcohol flowing until they closed.

That’s okay with her, his money was good and nothing made other partiers more likely to show off and order more drinks than trying to catch a glimpse of someone they think is a celebrity.

Nodding to her bartender because she hated yelling over the noise, she took another scan around the room, took in the vibe and decided the music and lighting was perfect for another few hours. It was like her orchestra and she loved making it move to the flick of her wrist. Deciding an hour long nap in her office sounded like an excellent plan, she gathered up her phone and tablet and worked her way through the throbbing crowd.

She turned at the entrance to speak to the bouncer, who was pack, when she caught the aroma of another shifter. Her eyes scanned the lobby and saw the back of a very tall, very sweaty, but delicious smelling shifter waiting for the elevator.

The man’s head was pitched down as he used a towel to wipe the sweat off the back of his neck. Layla’s cat was purring in her head, the horny little thing. Her cougar was all efficiency and work, but she still loved a good tumble. This cougar smelled like sex and syrup. Yup, he was a giant stack of buttery, maple-flavored goodness.

Her stare lasted until he stepped onto the elevator. The air conditioning was just right so she could smell him but not the other way around. Taking a deep breath and trying to calm not only her greedy cougar but her greedy pussy she turned back to Charles her bouncer. He had a huge stupid grin on his face. Not only had she got caught staring at another shifter, but she knew that her pack mate could smell her interest. Great that would be the talk of the run tomorrow night.

“Looks like Mr. Hayes is making use of the gym. Gotta keep fit to keep those females happy,” Charles said with a smirk.

“Oh shut up,” she said to him and clipped away on her heels.

“Whatever you say, Ms. Klein,” he called back laughing.

Damn, she was never going to hear the end of this. But there was also a chance she could get to Everett Hayes and negotiate some mutual encounters while he was here. Layla didn’t sleep around, in fact, she’d only ever dated humans because she didn’t want to have any relationships get uncomfortable inside the pack. They all knew no matter who you were sleeping with, the moment you found The One, the others didn’t exist anymore. It was a harsh reality, but it was one that everyone understood.

Layla kept her encounters to fun weekends with out-of-towners. Granted, it had been a while since she’d done that. Her brain started ticking away at the numbers, shit okay, it had been a few years. She was a busy woman! There wasn’t time to play the field when you had work to do.

Her cougar gave her opinion on the lack of sex and Layla tried to ignore her. It’s not like it had grown over or anything. Her battery operated boyfriend was very reliable. Her cat was just being picky.

Walking quickly through the lobby to her office, the scent of the other shifter lingered. It was nice. Once she was safely behind her office door, she flicked the lock, and turned down the lights. Flopping down on the couch, she threw an arm over her eyes. She just needed about an hour of rest. Just a recharge to take the edge off to push her through the rest of the night.

Still holding her phone in her hand, she checked the time to see how long she could nap and saw her voicemail icon. Not being able to sleep until she found out who it was, she dialed in her password. A warm sexy voice started stumbling over his hello, it was Everett. His voice was growly, low and made her pussy twitch. Yup, his voice made her clit start to freaking tingle. The message ended and she hit replay instantly. Her body was being a total traitor. Her cat was no help, she was purring loudly in her head.

“Okay, one more time,” she whispered to herself and hit the button again to replay.

“Oh, damn. That’s sexy,” she moaned.

Her cat was laughing at her in her head. She knew that the sweet smell of Everett Hayes was still swirling around in their brains. Hell, her nipples were still puckered under her La Perla bra.

She was alone, who would know? Sliding her hand down into her skirt and tucking it under her satin panties, she rolled her middle finger over her rigid clit.
Mmm, that was nice
. Her brain kept flashing back to the sweaty man in the lobby. Her keen eyes had taken in each drop of sweat that was clinging to his tan muscles. She’d only caught the side of his head and had seen dark stubble across his jaw that matched the dark hair on his head.

Layla added a little more pressure over her nub, bringing another finger over the top of it to increase her speed. Her other hand slid up her shirt and flicked her nipple through the sheer mesh of her bra. Rolling it between in fingers she squeezed it just like she liked it. She thought about his smell, it was so sweet and savory. It made her want to lick him from top to bottom. Her cat agreed, even she knew he’d taste like he smelled.

A gush of fluid coated Layla on the inside, her pussy was contracting as her hand moved faster. In her mind, the handsome man’s head turned and all she saw was golden yellow eyes.

Fuck, she wished she’d seen his eyes. The tangy smell of him worked her brain into a tizzy. The man was a perfect specimen of a shifter. She usually could appreciate a good looking man, she saw them all the time. Something about him was different. Her normally laid back cat wanted to investigate.

Layla slid her hand farther down her soaked slit and pushed a finger into her tight channel. She dragged her finger along the top finding a sweet spot. The palm of her hand pressing down on her clit, adding more pressure, working her into a thrashing arch. His smell alone would carry her for a month of self-gratification.

“Oh, god!” she called out quietly as her body bucked as a sweet sharp wave of pleasure flowed over her. Her legs were twitching and her pussy was clenching around her finger as she tried to drag out the pleasure.

Panting she let the last tingles trickle over her as she pulled her hand out of her skirt. Sighing, she let herself think of those eyes, not sure if they were real or not. But it would make for a nice dream.

E
verett woke
up on the couch in his suite. There were technical manuals strewn about the room. The computer was in the background running diagnostic programs as he slept. There wasn’t much he could do while they were running, so he blew through a Sudoku puzzle book that he’d picked up in the lobby just to get his brain to go to sleep. Just the difficult level ones, of course. It was like his lullaby. He thought about logging on and shooting some bad guys. But that would have had him up all night.

Sadly, even in his sleep his brain had him dreaming about coding and string theory. He should be exhausted, but it was his brain’s way of going on autopilot.

Standing, he stretched, easing his muscles from his workout last night. He’d run five miles before going through a full lifting set. He felt good, but his muscles were hungry. He picked up the phone and called in a huge breakfast order.

While he waited he checked the computer, everything was still running and nothing worrisome had come up. There were a few clouds out the window when he glanced up and it was such a rarity, it drew him outside. Swinging the doors open wasn’t the furnace in the face effect he was expecting. It was too early in the morning, the concrete and steel hadn’t had time to heat up.

Taking a deep breath, his cougar had a mental stretch and let Everett know he appreciated the fresh air. Going on the pack run tonight was a good idea. A dark romp through the desert would have lots of things for his cougar to track and explore.

Plus he was living large in the hotel, it would be good to introduce himself to the Kleins and firm up the pack connections.

Hearing a knock on the door and he reluctantly moved away from the balcony, but left the doors open to let some fresh air in.

Thanking the waiter, he performed his uncover and dump maneuver on the omelet, hash browns, and pancakes like he did with his dinner and sat on the couch as he scarfed down his meal.

Everett had managed after his workout to not pull up Layla Klein’s picture again. He was actually quite proud of his self-control. He could even feel the surprise from his cat.

He’d be lying though if the idea of seeing her at the run tonight wasn’t part of his reason for going. Finding out why she was so appealing was a puzzle he wanted to solve. It could just be he found her attractive, he was a man after all. He usually didn’t venture into shifter territory to find sexual partners, but maybe he could make an exception.

Finishing up his food, he left the dishes on the cart knowing it would be gone when he got back. He had a long day ahead of him with the security company. He was looking forward to it, all day long in the server room, heaven.

“Ms. Klein, delivery for you.”

Layla looked up and saw a huge arrangement of flowers being held by an employee. There was a smirk around the edges of the woman’s face as she struggled to hold up the giant vase. She was leaning to the side in order to see Layla around the garish display. Every color of the rainbow, and some she didn’t think were found in nature, were represented. It looked liked something you would send to a clown’s funeral.

“Wow, just wow,” she said, shaking her head.

“I know right!” the woman said with a laugh.

She didn’t even need to look at the card to know exactly who it was from. Vincent usually sent bouquets of flowers, but this one was over the top.

“Would you mind having one of the delivery drivers run that over to the hospital? I’m sure someone could use a pick me up. Hell, that should cheer up a whole floor.”

“Yes, Ms. Klein.” The poor woman managed to turn and make her way down the hallway peeking through the stems.

Clearly her innuendo that her parents were arranging a marriage for her wasn’t enough to dissuade Vincent from continuing his perusal of her. She really wished she could just scratch him once to show him she really wasn’t interested.

Her phone started ringing and she could see it was Vincent calling. Not today, she was not talking to him today. She had already checked in at the club, they were set for tonight and she had an appointment. Hair and nails and a little pampering were just the thing to keep her mind off of creepy Vincent and yummy Everett.

Everett was finishing up going over the facial recognition software. It was state of the art, top of the line, and wicked cool. The same software they used to scan the casino floors for criminals and people on the hot list, those that had gotten caught cheating before, was the same they were going to use for employees. If your face does not match the login information for the computer you are sitting in front of then you don’t get in. Then security will be standing behind you in the blink of an eye.

He was having such a great time. Awesome room, sweet view, and all the toys he could play with. Checking the time, he saw that it was almost time to change before he headed out to the Kleins for dinner before the run. Will had called him and asked him if he would like to eat with his parents. They were thrilled he was here and they loved to have houseguests. Everett was happy to oblige. Thanking the workers, he headed up to his room for a quick shower and a change into a clean pair of shorts. He figured they were going to be getting naked after dinner, so why dress up?

His mother, of course, would have an absolute fit. She was one of those mothers that deep down you loved because she loved you. But when she was protecting her kids or thinking her kids were making the wrong choices, well then she became the devil. Her world was very orderly and the rules were simple. Sadly, it seemed sometimes she was the only one that knew the rules, seeing that she made them after all.

The idea of going to such a prominent family’s house wearing shorts and a shirt that said
Gamers Do It In The Dark
would not have made his mother happy, to say the least.

Heading to the front of the hotel, his buddy Joseph was waiting for him.

“Nice shirt,” he said with a laugh.

“Thanks, it’s one of my favorites,” Everett shot back as he climbed into the passenger seat.

“Well, the Kleins will think it’s funny,” Joseph assured him.

“I live to amuse,” Everett smirked.

The drive out to the Kleins was downright restful once they got past the busy strip. The desert was beautiful and the heat was almost tolerable with the windows down as they drove.

Everett was relaxing when his phone rang. Seeing it was Dax, he picked it up.

“Bro, how’s that mate of yours?”

“Kidnapped.” Was the terse reply

“What the fuck do you mean kidnapped?” Everett yelled.

Joseph at the word kidnapped pulled over the side of the road. Everett turned to him and could see Joseph’s cougar shining brightly in his eyes. The words mate and kidnap was enough to make any shifter go on high alert

“I called in the Rochons. Their cousin Cash is heading my way, but I wanted you on call just in case. You are too far away, but I don’t know how long it’s going to take to find her asshole ex-boyfriend and rip his fucking throat out.”

Dax wasn’t even trying to keep his cougar out of his voice. He was pissed.

“You know I’ll be on a plane as soon as I can. Just say the word. I’ll shoot Stryker a text, he’s supposedly in Oregon somewhere. Isn’t mom there too?”

His mother was a serious badass as a human, in cougar form she was seriously dangerous.

“We’ll discuss mother at another time. I really don’t care where the hell she is.”

Well, that was telling, Everett thought.

“Well, fuck,” he growled. “Man, I can come help, no fuckwad is going to touch one of our family and get away with it. Have you called the police?” Everett growled into the phone.

“No, I can do this faster. I don’t want to spook the fucker. I have some places to look. It doesn’t sound like he’s a sharp tack. Cassie basically gave me a map of where he goes,” Dax replied.

“Shit, sic Cassie on him. Crazy bitches can do some damage. Really, I can turn around and be at the airport in twenty minutes. I’ll hire a jet, there’s always ones waiting at McCarran.”

“No, I’m driving now, should be at the first location. Hang tight for me and pray buddy.” Dax was angry, but you could hear the fear in his voice.

“You know I’m there for you, I’m sure she will be okay. Just find her and make sure she’s safe,” Everett said, reassuring his brother.

“Thanks, I’ll let you know when I find her.”

With that, Everett heard the click of his brother hanging up. He can’t imagine someone daring to touch his brother’s mate. The fucker was dead if his brother found him. Dax was pretty easy going, but no shifter would tolerate someone touching what was his.

“We going to the airport?” Joseph asked. He’d heard his brother say he didn’t need to come, but was clearly on the defensive and would probably follow him to Washington.

“He says no. I have to trust my brother knows what he’s doing. He’s called in the Rochons. They are a family of bear shifters. We have history with them. My sister married one of them. They will assist him in getting his mate back.”

“I’ve heard of them, big dudes,” Joseph remarked.

The rage inside Everett was building, his cat wanted out. He wanted to run and fight and help his brother. Lashing out, he punched the dashboard. There was a crack under the dash.

“Sorry, man,” he apologized.

“It’s the least I’d do. Don’t worry it’s a company car. With shifters they don’t last long,” Joseph assured him.

Swiping his phone back on, he dialed Stryker. he got voicemail. “It’s me, Dax’s mate was kidnapped. The Rochons have been activated and he wants us to stand down until he needs us.”

With that he hung up. Then followed up with the same message in text.

“That was succinct,” Joseph growled.

“Stryker isn’t exactly verbose.”

“So we go to the Kleins?”

Thinking for a moment, he nodded. If Dax needed him he’d call. He fully expected Stryker to call when he got the message. He just hoped they didn’t all need to head to Washington and Dax found his woman fast.

During the ride, Joseph called into his Alpha with Everett’s permission and gave him a heads up on Dax’s situation. Their alpha, of course, offered any assistance they might need. This gave Everett a moment of relief knowing between the two packs they could scour the entire state if needed.

They finished their journey in silence. As they pulled up to the gates of the compound, Everett couldn’t help but take a moment to appreciate the grandeur of the place. The Hayes family had a large house attached to their vineyard. The Klein family in comparison would need to have thirty children to justify the size of this place.

“Our pack pretty much spends any free time here. Some of the elders have moved in as they aged. They can live comfortably here and not have to worry about getting ill or outing themselves. The pack takes care of them,” Joseph explained.

“That’s good, nice to know that your pack is tight.”

“We’re pretty proud, it’s an honor to be part of the Klein pack. Russell and Grace have taken great care of us. Russell’s father John, our Alpha, is still strong and keeps his finger on the pulse and health of the pack.”

“Hasn’t Russell wanted to take over?” Usually once a pack Alpha reached a certain age, they were happy to step down and let someone younger and stronger step up.

“As they were building the businesses, Russell wanted to focus on the financial well-being and his father was more than happy to maintain his position as alpha. It’s worked so well, that they haven’t needed a change. I think that Micah may take over in the future, but we’ve got time for that.”