Cougar's Luck (Pacific Northwest Cougars Book 2) (7 page)

E
verett realized
they were standing naked in the middle of the desert. This was no place for his mate. He wasn’t sure why, but his cat agreed.

Pulling away from her mouth, Everett could see her lips were wet and bruised from his kisses. It just made him want to kiss her more.

“I think we should head back to the house. We need to talk,” he suggested.

“Whatever you say,” she replied.
What the hell?
She didn’t think she had ever uttered those words before in her life. She always had something to say. Not right now, clearly, but usually. Taking her hand, he brought it up to his lips and gave it a soft kiss. “You are so beautiful. I’m going to make you so happy,” he promised.

“Of course you will,” she instantly responded. Wait, how did she know that? He could be terrible, leave stinky socks on the floor, wet towels in the bathroom, chew with his mouth open.

“Let’s shift and run back so we can get to know each other with our clothes on,” he suggested.

“Or we could get to know each other just like this,” she purred, running a finger down his chest. What the hell was wrong with her? My god, she was being slutty in the desert. It was tacky.

“Tempting, but let’s try to think clearly. I’d really like to talk to you and clothes will help me stay on track.”

Sighing dramatically, Layla offered, “Fine, if we must.”

Everett leaned over and placed a kiss on her forehead. He couldn’t resist touching her. His heart skipped every time their skin touched. It was like a drug.

He stepped back and told his cat they needed to run back. He shifted in a flash of light and sparks. A little harder than normal, but his emotional state was high.

Layla watched him shift again and thought how sexy it was. She realized he was waiting and let her cat flow out of her in a soft rainbow shimmer. That was unusual, normally she was in a hurry to shift and it looked more like Everett’s shift, hard and fast.

Once she was on four paws, she took off towards the house. Everett followed flanking her as they ran. They reached the piles of clothes and shifted back. Everett grabbed his clothes and shook them out the best he could before putting them back on. He turned and watched Layla remove her clothes from the bag. She pulled on her dress without any undergarments and turned her back so he could zip her up. Grabbing her shoes in her hand she turned to him and looked up.

“Fancy clothes there, Duchess,” he remarked.

“I like nice clothes, they make me feel pretty,” she said with a smirk.

“You don’t need the clothes, beautiful,” he said, growling low. Damn, she was hot, knowing what was under the clothes just made her outfit all the more sexy.

“Nice to know,” she purred back. Then her brain snapped back into reality for a moment. “Shit, this is weird.”

“What?” Everett didn’t think anything was weird. It was right, perfect even.

“This is too fast, is it supposed to be this fast? I mean, I just met you. You could be a serial killer. Shit, I could be mated to a psychopath. You don’t know me, I could be the nutter,” she said at him, her anxiety creeping in.

“Are you?” he asked, grinning at her.

“Well, no, but still how can we both be so sure. A few minutes and I’m planning our future,” she said frustrated.

“I’m not a killer or a psychopath. So we’ve cleared that up. I don’t know if this is too fast. How fast is it supposed to be? My parents always gave me the ‘you’ll know’ speech. I didn’t understand, but now I do. I know, Layla. I’m sure, positive, one hundred percent committed to you. I don’t know why or how it works. But my cat and I have never been so sure about anything in our life.” He said this so earnestly as he reached his hand out to cup her cheek. He felt her shiver under his touch, causing him to growl deep in his chest.

Layla was staring at his eyes as he talked. His cat shining through. Everything he said was exactly how she was feeling. Her human mind wanted to fight it. Her cat was happily rolling around in a bed of catnip it was so happy and content.

“Okay,” she whispered to him. She didn’t have any big insight to respond with. Her cat was telling her to shut up and roll with it. So she did.

“Okay then,” he said quietly, leaning over to place a soft but wet kiss on her lips.

Grabbing her hand, he walked her back towards the light of the house. As they made their way to the patio, there were a few pack members floating around, including Layla’s parents, her brother Micah, and her brother William.

As they came into the circle of lights, her parents turned towards them. Her mother immediately spotted their joined hands, took in the fierce look on Everett’s face and the odd blush on her daughter’s face and let out a scream.

“Thank you fates! Praise be, my baby has a mate!” Her mother clapped her hands and squealed.

Everett watched Russell looked between the two of them and then smile. William was laughing and Micah was looking confused.

Running over to the pair, Grace grabbed their joined hands in hers and asked, “Is it true?”

“He’s mine mom,” Layla said quietly.

“And she’s mine,” Everett answered firmly.

“Oh my goodness! This is the best day! I knew it, I just knew it! Didn’t I tell you?” she said looking at Layla. “Don’t think I don’t have the fates on speed dial young lady, a mother knows!”

“Alright now, Grace, let’s give the kids some room. I’m sure they would like some private time. Layla sweetie, why don’t you to head up to your room. We can all chat later,” her father suggested walking up behind his wife.

Russell held out his hand to Everett. “Welcome, son.” Everett shook it, grateful he already liked Russell before he knew they were going to be family.

Turning to his daughter, Russell gave Layla a kiss on the cheek. “I’m so happy for you, baby.” There was a tiny shimmer in his eye.

Shit, her dad was going to cry! She had to get out of there. She could deal with the life changing event of finding her mate. But her daddy crying would totally do her in.

“Let’s go,” she said, tugging on Everett’s hand. As they walked the rest of the pack broke into applause. Wow, that was embarrassing and had Layla blushing bright red and as she scurried away pulling a goofy grinning Everett behind her.

R
unning up the stairs
, dragging her mate, Layla tried to get her mind in gear. They should really make a list or something. Yeah, lists were good, things you could check off. Put it down on paper, photocopy it, and file it away for future reference.

Instead, she was trying to figure out how fast she could get her mate out of those frat boy shorts he was wearing.

Closing the door behind them, Layla spun and let go of his hand and leaned back against the door to gain some distance.

Everett took a turn taking in the room, then his eyes shot back to hers. “Nice room,” he said low.

“Thanks,” she whispered back. Her cat was shining brightly in her eyes, she couldn’t help it. She finally saw that Everett’s eyes were gold and shining just as bright as hers.

Layla was twitching being a few feet apart from him. It didn’t feel right, it was unnatural to be so far away from him.

“Will you hold still for me?” she asked, in a hushed voice. Her cat creeping out in her tone.

Swallowing, Everett would do anything his mate asked. He got it now. He understood Dax’s call earlier. How fast his world changed. He wanted to call his brother and tell him. Share his joy.

“I can try,” he said to her, curling his hands into fists so he wouldn’t reach for her. Realizing that wasn’t enough, he shoved them into his pockets.

Layla pushed away from the door. Each step she took, Everett’s heart skipped a beat. Step, stutter, step, stutter. He had to remind himself to breathe.

As she got close enough to touch, her eyes closed and she leaned in. She inhaled, filling her lungs with her mate’s scent. It was more delicious than what she’d smelled at the hotel. It was going to be her most favorite scent. It was sweet, strong and her cougar urged her to taste him.

Instead, she walked around him, her nose just inches from him as she took him in. His body was rigid, he was almost shaking as he tried to stay still.

Making a full circle she came around and saw his eyes were watching her, glowing brightly.

“Thank you,” she whispered.

“Anything you want, Duchess.”

He meant it too, there wasn’t one thing he could think of he wouldn’t do for her. He was so wrapped around her little perfect pink finger that he was downright proud. She was the center of his universe in the blink of an eye. He knew he would be attracted to his mate when he found her. He knew he would be protective. Everett didn’t know that the love for this woman would overwhelm his every cell. Love at first sight wasn’t enough. Love, lust, infatuation, worship, these were just a few of the feelings coursing through him.

“Duchess?” she asked him. He’d called her that a few times. She didn’t mind it oddly. Better than Will calling her runt.

“You certainly aren’t a princess. Queen seems too harsh, but Duchess, well that’s royal, classy, and sexy. So yeah, Duchess.”

Fair enough, she wasn’t going to argue with him. Not only was this man coating her heart as they stood there, she had felt a huge weight float off her shoulders when they met. She hadn’t realized it was there until it was gone.

She was always so focused, task oriented. Layla hadn’t realized that the responsibility she carried, she had put there herself. Nor did she realize how heavy a burden it had been. Finding her mate seemed to ease that burden. Like the fates handed her someone strong enough to support her.

“Maybe we should sit down?” Layla started walking toward the seating area, she took a spot on the couch and Everett was right behind her. Instead of sitting next to her or taking a seat in one of the four other chairs, he took a seat on the coffee table across from her. He grabbed both of her hands in his.

Staring at each other in awe, they both took the moments they needed.

“Hi,” he said. His thumbs were stroking over the back of her hands. He needed to touch her, but he was struggling to keep his cat from taking over. It wouldn’t be good if he gave in to the base urges his cat was suggesting.

“Hi,” she said, with a laugh. “Where do we start?”

“Maybe there is some kind of manual?” he offered.

“Don’t tease, I’d love that,” she giggled. Shit, she just giggled. The world was coming to an end. Layla Klein giggling was surely a sign of the apocalypse.

“How about you tell me a little about yourself, and I’ll do the same. Then we can build on that?” he offered gently. He was trying really hard to not show her how aggressive he was feeling. He knew they needed to talk, but he could also smell her sweet arousal from the second they met. His dick was hard and his cougar was antsy. The large bed behind him was mocking him and his dick.

“You know my name, I’m thirty-eight, the youngest of the Klein kids. I run the club at the hotel, still live here when I’m not at work. Although I’m pretty much always at work. And I never thought I’d actually find my mate. This is totally surreal.”

Everett was nodding, he was listening to her at the same time he was counting her blinks, her respiration. He watched as she would lick her lips between sentences. How her hands would twitch every time she wanted to gesture, but he wasn’t letting her go.

“Well? How about you?” she prodded.

“Not the youngest, technically I’m a minute and a half older than Stryker. We’re thirty-five, although I act like I’m about sixteen. I work on the family computer systems for the company. I like computers, I play video games or work out in my spare time and I really thought I had decades before I found the One.” He said all this in basically one breath. As he took in air and let it out, his sweet breath washed over her.

“Well, that explains the shirt,” she said with a laugh.

Everett had forgotten he was wearing his
Gamers Do It In The Dark
shirt. Nice impression. Shit, he should have worn something nicer. Except he didn’t own anything nicer.

“Yeah, sorry, I have a lot like this,” he said a little chagrined.

“Don’t be, they suit you,” she assured him.

“So…” he started, but didn’t know how to finish.

“I’m so lost right now and at the same time, I feel found. Does that make sense?” she asked him. Surely she wasn’t the only one feeling this way.

“I understand, I didn’t know I was missing you, until I found you,” Everett said, letting go of her hands to bring both of his up to her cheeks. His thumbs stroked over her cheekbones, softly, like she could break. Leaning his head down to hers, he rested there, content in the knowledge he had everything he would ever need in this life in the palms of his hands.

“My cougar is very clear what she wants,” Layla laughed softly. Enjoying the weight of his head against hers.

“Yeah, mine is trying to figure out why we are still talking,” Everett admitted.

“Do we wait? Do we bond tonight? I’m not sure, I’m so ready. My heart and mind are so clear that it seems silly to wait,” she agreed.

“I want you too, I want your sweet pussy wrapped around my cock as I taste your blood,” he growled.

Layla jerked back as his words caused her pussy to clench. She could see the outline of his cock in his pants. She wanted him just as much, but she felt like there needed to be something more formal first.

“Shit, I’m sorry, was that too much? I’m trying to hold back, really I am,” Everett all but moaned. Fuck, he needed to be inside her. He swore if his cougar could talk it would be saying
do it do it.

Everett was taken aback by his own words. He’d always been rather casual about sex. It was something fun to do, gave him a release. But now, he wanted to claim. He wanted to own. Never before was his desire for someone so consuming.

“
I
have an idea
,” she started.

“I’m listening,” he said, stealing a quick kiss.

“How about I wrap my mouth around your cock and make you come, then you return the favor. Just to take some of the tension off. Then we drive into town, get married by Elvis and check into a honeymoon suite. I know a few hotels that would be happy to do me a favor. Then we will feel like we’ve crossed our T’s and dotted our I’s.”

Everett’s cock somehow managed to get thicker and harder at the thought of her sweet lips sucking him off. The idea of licking her honey just made his dick hurt.

“Elvis huh?”

“Do you want me?” she asked in a purr as she leaned towards him. She swung her legs around his as she kneeled over his lap on the coffee table.

“Yes,” the word was ground out.

Layla felt the hard ridge of his cock, pulsating between them. She rocked her hips over it, teasing them both.

“Do you want to fuck me?”

“Yes.”

He got another rock from her hips.

Leaning over to his ear, she ran her tongue along the shell, breathing into it, as his body shivered under hers.

“Do you want to bite me, mark me as yours forever?”

“You know I do, damn, Duchess, you’re fucking killing me,” he groaned.

“Then will you marry me? We can be in the courthouse within the hour. They have twenty-four-hour marriage license clerks. You can have me laid out under you, screaming your name before the sun comes up,” she hissed, slipping her tongue into his ear.

“Fuck yeah,” he said roughly, standing up with her still wrapped around him.

Moving her back to the couch, he laid her back down and said, “I want to taste you first.” He nipped at her lips as he squeezed her hips in his hands.

“Nuh uh, If you make me come first I won’t have the strength to swallow your cock. I’ll be snoring as you cry and suffer.”

Everett couldn’t help but laugh, “Snore huh? Not up for a second round after you come?”

“Sure, after a quick cat nap to rebuild my strength,” she said softly, leaning up to bite his lip back.

With that quick nip, Everett had their positions flipped in a blink of an eye. He was now on his back on the long couch and she was lying over the top of him.

Everett couldn’t resist, he dug his hands into her hair and fisted it tight, just enough to make her growl at him, her eyes flashing. He pulled her towards his mouth and delved in tasting her sweet lips. He bucked his hips up at her and he got another low growl from her. Pulling her head back, he kept eye contact as he pushed her down towards his straining cock.

“You going to suck my cock into that sweet mouth of yours?” he growled.

Layla nodded, licking her lips.

“Get me wet, lick me until I’m slick and can slide to the back of your throat. I like it sloppy and fast, baby,” he ordered. Fuck him, he’d never talked to a woman like that. But he wanted to order her to service him fast so he could eat her out. He felt like there was a monster inside him that wanted to possess every fucking inch of her.

Fuck, this was hot, Layla thought. She always needed something more from her lovers, but they always treated her as if she was fragile. Everett knew how tough she was as a shifter. He also seemed to know she wanted him to take what wanted, not debate it.

She moved down his length, his hands never leaving her hair. She made quick work of his button and fly freeing his cock from its prison. He hadn’t put underwear on outside so she had easy access.

Layla took a moment to appreciate the sheer beauty of his dick. She wasn’t a connoisseur by any means. But this one should be bronzed. Long, straight, and thick. So thick, her fingers just touched around it. She gave him a tight squeeze running her hand from the tight trimmed hair at the base to the thick crown. His flesh flexed and bounced in her hand. It was not lost on her that this cock was hers and hers alone forever. No one would ever get this beauty but her ever again.

That thought made her pussy cream. It clenched thinking of the thick heat of him inside her. Looking up to see his eyes flashing at her, he said, “It’s all yours, baby.” He knew what she was thinking and she smiled back at him. “My cock is on demand for you, in your mouth, in that sweet cunt of yours, even in your ass if I’m a lucky man.”

Layla felt her pussy clench and gush her arousal, the sweet nectar dripping down her leg. Everett sniffed again and let out a roar.

“Stop fucking teasing, Duchess. I want your lips wrapped tight around my dick.”

Keeping his eyes, she leaned over and whipped out her tongue, circling the tip of his cock. He let out a hiss and she let her cat come a little closer. Her tongue roughened as she swiped him again, this time his hands clenched tighter in her hair.

Gotcha, she thought.

Layla wanted to spend hours tormenting him, and she would, one day. Right now they had a schedule to keep.

Leaning up so she could position over him, she used her tongue to bathe his length, licking him like a sweet treat. Once she was satisfied, she opened her mouth and her intent was to swallow him whole. He was big though, and she had to ease him inside her mouth until he bumped the back of her throat causing both of them to let out a growling moan. Her moan vibrating through his dick making his toes curl.

“Fuck me, Duchess. I’m in love.”

Layla smiled as best she could and set to making all his dreams come true. She pulled back to just the tip of him, letting her tongue dip into the slit at the end, pushing in, stretching him just a bit. This earned a hiss from him, but she knew he liked it.

Adding her hand, because deep throating him was going to take some practice, she set up a fast rhythm. Her other hand slipped down and curled around his sack, squeezing gently and tugging as her mouth moved up his length. She found the perfect speed and suction to have him thrashing on the couch. His hands in her hair were tight but never forceful. He let her set her own pace to please him.

“Duchess,” he called out, warning her that she needed to make a choice and fast.

Layla just increased her suction and drew him to the back of her throat and the first spurt of cum coated her throat. Her cat was thrilled, his scent, and taste overwhelming their senses.

She swallowed each jet as he bucked under her. Pulling off him, she leaned down and licked him clean, loving his taste. It was like him, sweet and savory. She finished her aftercare, still with her hand wrapped around his length. He was still hard and throbbing even after coming.

His hands in her hair had gone slack, but he hadn’t moved them. She saw his eyes were closed but then they flashed open and he was dragging her up to his mouth. He kissed her deep then said, “You are amazing.”

Layla wasn’t sure if this was a situation where you thanked someone for that compliment. She decided to just smile instead.

She was pretty content, lying on her mate. Making him come, but having him look at her like he was, was icing on her cake.