For Your Paws Only (Supernatural Enforcers Agency #2) (12 page)

Lucie
. She really was an angel.

He had some vague recollections of calling her beautiful and asking her to climb on top of his dick and have sex with him. He wasn’t certain whether they actually happened or whether he was just dreaming saying them. He had numerous dreams where he did both those things. He generally preferred to be on top, be he wasn’t averse to the idea of Lucie riding him.

Fucking A. Now he was turned on and too tired and in too much pain to do anything about.

He looked around the room for a distraction. His fingers curled into the bed sheets. He wondered how she got them so soft. It was like sleeping on a marshmallow. His wolf rumbled peaceably. The beast was just happy to have finally made it into Lucie’s bedroom.

Lucie’s bedroom…

Cutter groaned and scrubbed a hand down his face. He was such an ass. He’d broken into her house, bled all over her furniture, forced her to perform impromptu surgery on him, and now he was hogging her bed while she was banished to a cold, cramped chair.

Yes, why didn’t she just sleep with him? There was certainly room enough for two.

Cutter felt an irrational wave of jealousy. Yes, there was room for two. The bed was huge. Who had she been entertaining in that big bed?

He inhaled deeply and was more than a little relieved that all he could scent was fabric softener, lavender and the heavenly, blissful and sublime aroma of blueberries – Lucie’s scent. Good, no male scents were present.

At least he hadn’t actually broken into her house. Lucie had a spare key to her back door in a hidden rock that wasn’t fooling even the dumbest of burglars. It had been disturbingly easy for him to get into her house. He needed to have a word with her about security. The next person who broke in might not have as good intentions as he did. While his intentions veered on the impure side, they weren’t bad – per se. She needed bars on her windows, six locks on each door, an alarm system and possibly even a guard dog. His wolf wagged his tail approvingly. He made a mental note to speak to her about it in the morning. As for the rest… he’d buy her a new couch, and he’d worship at her feet for saving his life. Hell, it was true – she really had saved his life.

He sighed as watched her sleep; her pink lips were slightly parted as her chest rose and fell rhythmically. Cutter switched on her bedside lamp, and soft light illuminated the room. Lucie moaned, stretched and snuggled back down.

Carefully, he swung his legs out of bed, grimacing at the pain. Whoever the fuck shot him was going to pay. Judging by what he heard, he was going to guess that it was Harvey. However, it was just something he overheard as he was jumping out the window, and he had been shot twice. It was possible he had been mistaken. Whoever it was, they were using silver bullets, and that was strictly against SEA policy.

He tested his weight on his injured leg and deciding that it wasn’t completely unmanageable, he shuffled out the room in search of a drink of water.

Lucie was still sleeping and snoring sweetly when he returned. He marveled at the many shades of pink adorning her bedroom. He had no idea so much pink existed in the world. A long line of stuffed toys, porcelain and wooden figurines all in the shape of hedgehogs of varying sizes were arranged on shelves that wrapped around the room. She also appeared to have a large toy house standing on a dresser. He peered at it and recognized it as something a female cousin also had when she was a kid. It was like a plastic dollhouse, only the dolls in it were actually animals. His cousin had a huge collection of them. She had families of cats, bunnies, squirrels, dogs – you name it she had it. He and his brothers destroyed several of them when they younger while pretending to be Godzilla. That earned him a thorough smack from his stepdad and a lost summer working for his uncle at his garage. Lucie’s house,
naturally
, contained a family of hedgehogs.

Lucie was too cute for words.

She caught his attention as she shivered slightly. No, he couldn’t have that. It wasn’t fair for her to be sleeping in a recliner; she should sleep in her bed.

He leaned over and pulled her into his arms, easily lifting her. Her curvy little body felt phenomenal curled against him. She fit there so perfectly like she was made for him. His wolf almost purred in agreement. He arranged her on the bed and slid in behind her, pulling the covers over them both.

He traced his fingers over her face, brushing away stray strands of hair. He hadn’t forgotten the events that had led them to spend the night together, but at that moment he was choosing to ignore them. Lying in bed with Lucie by his side might be the last peaceful, happy moment he had for a while, and he wasn’t about to squander it. No, he was going to grab onto the little bits of joy he had in his life – like he should have been doing over the past year – and he was going to enjoy them while he could.

Because if that day had taught him anything, in the blink of an eye you could be seriously screwed.

Chapter Twelve

Friday

“No, Delmonte, don’t sleep on my chest… you know I can’t breathe,” murmured Lucie, sleepily.

She used her free hand to slap listlessly in that general area but frowned when she didn’t come into contact with an overly hairy, lazy cat. She was currently cat sitting for her ex-husband, and Delmonte had a habit of curling up right on her chest during the night. The fact that he was an extremely large cat –
who managed to terrify foxes
– made breathing very difficult. Lucie was trying to teach Delmonte to sleep at the end of the bed, but it was hard to do, especially given that he was, in spite of his size, absolutely adorable, and Lucie constantly caved and let him do whatever he wanted.

The pressure on her body actually felt different to Delmonte’s presence. The whole left-hand side of her body felt like it was being crushed. It wasn’t exactly a bad feeling; it was surprisingly comforting – like being trapped in a big jelly. She assumed, anyway; obviously, that had never actually happened to her.
Sure looked like fun in Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs
. Instead of being worried, her little beast was actually purring contentedly. In her half-asleep state none of this made sense.

And just what was that thing remorselessly digging into her thigh? She burrowed her free hand under the cover to feel it and…
holy Zeus!

Her eyes snapped open. She was definitely awake now. She turned her head to find herself staring into the sleeping face of Cutter. The events of the previous night hit her like a tidal wave. Right – Cutter was shot. She took out the bullets. She put him in her bed. She just felt up his morning woody!

Dang rabbit! She literally just fondled a man in his sleep. She pulled her hand away ignoring the thrill she had felt at having his hard, silken length throbbing in her hand. Oh, she was a dirty girl!

Maybe if she could just slip out of the bed before he awakened. Hmmm, no dice. He was half laying on her, with one arm over her torso and a leg casually thrown over her. Given that he was about twice her size, she wasn’t going anywhere.

He must have felt her squirming because his arm tightened around her and pulled her even closer to his body. His face was now only a whisper away from hers. She could feel his breath against her cheek.
It was surprisingly minty
.

Lucie smiled at his sleeping countenance; his brow was slightly furrowed, and he even scowled in his sleep, but waking up to his face beside her, despite the confusing circumstances, was downright lovely. If they were together, they could wake up this way every day. Cue dramatic, over exaggerated, wistful sigh. Maybe she should just enjoy this morning. Who knew if it would ever happen again?

Frowning, she craned her neck to look at her recliner. She remembered reading a book while she watched him sleep and then nothing. She must have dozed off. Yet, how does that explain how she managed to get all the way over to the bed? Did she sleepwalk over in the middle of the night?

Double dang rabbit! Her subconscious must have made her do it. Well, he didn’t exactly seem to mind, not if the position of his body and the size of his,
ahem
, wood was anything to go by. She only worried about what else she had been doing to him in his sleep.

She really needed to get out of bed and get back to that recliner. Yep, pretending nothing had happened. That was the way to go. She began shuffling away with a more concentrated effort.

“Where are you going?” demanded the gruff, stern voice.

In surprise, Lucie squealed and whipped around to look at him, promptly head-butting him. Cutter grunted as she let out a wailing ouch. Did he have a metal plate in his head? It felt like he had a freaking metal plate in his head.

Cutter rubbed his fingers over her forehead. “You alright?” he asked in amusement.

“Yes, you just startled me,” she hissed. “Are you okay?” she grumbled, remembering that she had actually slammed her head into his.

He snickered. “Yeah, I’ve had worse.”

Lucie bit her lip as her hedgehog whined for him. She should be more sympathetic. He was virtually knocking on death’s door the day before. “I’m sorry.”

Cutter rubbed a thumb over her cheek as his lips curled upwards. “You saved my life; you have nothing to be sorry for.”

Lucie twisted onto her side, propping her head up on her hand. A flash of, what she suspected was, disappointment passed over his face as his arm and leg slipped away.

“How are your shoulder and leg?” she asked trying to be clinical over the matter, and trying not to stare at the hard lines of his gorgeous chest.

He shifted slightly and winced. “They ache, but I’m fine.”

Lucie glanced at the clock on the wall. She had a million questions she wanted to ask Cutter, but if she wanted to get to work she doubted she had time to ask them all. More than that, she actually wanted just to stay in bed all day ogling his fabulous form. But, no, she did need to go to work.

“I need to look at your wounds again before I go to work.”

Cutter’s face tightened. “You’re planning on going to work,” he said slowly.

“Of course.”

“Can’t wait to see your boyfriend?” he spat as amber rolled through his fiery eyes.

Lucie rolled her eyes – not
this
again. Even her sweet, patient hedgehog – who could forgive Cutter anything – was bored by this subject.

“Ugh! Give it a rest,” she exclaimed angrily before flopping onto her back and throwing an arm over her face.

She tried - she tried really, really hard - not to giggle, as she felt soft, questing fingers tickling their way over her stomach.

“Stop,” she whined without much conviction. “Don’t, I’m really ticklish.”

Telling him that was a big mistake. He was relentless as she writhed, wriggled, jiggled, squealed and snorted beneath. Her hedgehog was virtually rolling around in an excited ball.

“Stop, stop!” she begged. “I give in; I give in!”

Her wayward hand slapped at his shoulder, and he groaned.

“Peanut butter and jelly! I’m sorry!”

Lucie spun back over and started pulling off the dressing she had applied to his wound. She let out a breath of release as she saw that his skin had already knitted back together. He was an exceptionally fast healer. Still, it was best that she didn’t hit him in any of his afflicted areas again. She pulled off the dressing completely and dropped it in the wastebasket before pulling down the covers and doing the same for his leg wound. She made sure the cover remained artfully draped over his boy parts. Yes, she’d seen them before, but if faced with them again she might not be able to restrain herself. With an apology to her battery operated boyfriend, he was nothing compared to the real thing.

“The good news is you don’t need more bandages on your wounds. Just be careful when you shower – they’re going to be tender for a while.”

“Peanut butter and jelly?” he repeated before roaring with laughter.

Lucie blushed as she pulled the covers back over him. “It’s how I swear.”

“That would explain the times I’ve heard you shouting kitty whiskers and noodles.” He rested an arm underneath his head, stretching out his body before her devouring gaze. “You’re an adult, you can say fuck, you know?”

“It’s not polite to swear,’ she told him loftily. “When I was a teenager, we had a swear jar in our house, so we found other ways to swear. Besides, I think the number of times you say the f-word more than compensates for me not saying it.”

“Say another one,” he teased playfully.

She gave him a small, shy smile. “Fishsticks,” she cooed.

Cutter ran his tongue over his teeth. “Ah, yeah, talk dirty to me, sweetheart.”

Lucie felt a fluttering in her nether regions. Crikey, this version of Cutter – the flirt – was dangerously sexy. And all it took for him to come out of hiding was getting shot twice with silver bullets. That realization had her arousal dimming. Yes, she still needed to get the low down on that situation.

She scooted up the bed and leaned against the headboard. “I really need to get up and get ready for work.”

Cutter fixed her with a steely gaze. “Don’t go; call in sick.”

Lucie opened her mouth to ask why but the words caught in her throat as someone knocked on her front door and rang the bell. The twangs of Greensleeves sounded throughout the house.

He sat up, looking around the room. “Who’s that?”

“I can’t see through walls; I have no idea.”

She jumped out of bed and slipped on her fluffy, thong slippers.

Cutter gave her a leery look. “You weren’t expecting anyone?”

“No, but it’s probably just my neighbor. Sometimes she pops by and asks to borrow milk or my wi-fi or my car.”

“Mooch,” he muttered.

“She’s a college student living with her grandma; I cut her some slack, and her grandma makes me peanut butter fudge brownies. They’re
transcendent
.”

Even if Mrs. Wilkerson didn’t, Lucie doubted she’d be able to say no to Marlowe. The young woman was blessed; she was both beautiful and charming. She defied anyone to say no the twenty-year-old sweetheart. Once Marlowe had you in her grasp, she bewitched you until you gave her whatever she wanted. Her eyes were hypnotic. Hmmm, maybe she should keep Cutter away from her. She didn’t want her wolf being enchanted by the lissome young Miss.

“What if it isn’t her?”

Lucie shrugged. “What if it isn’t?”

Cutter tensed as the surprise guest banged on the door with more gusto. Greensleeves assaulted their ears again.

He got out of bed and rose awkwardly, testing his weight on his injured leg and pretending he didn’t see the disapproval on her face. “If it’s someone looking for me…”

“Why would someone…”

“Just tell them I’m not here,” he interrupted brusquely.

Lucie considered arguing, but decided against it and nodded. “You’re going to have to explain this all to me.” Without waiting for a response, she grabbed a bottle of eau de toilette and sprayed in liberally around the room to cover his scent. “Just hide and stay quiet.”

“Why would I need to hide?” he asked as he pulled on her robe. “Why would they be coming into your bedroom?”

Lucie pressed her lips together to stop herself from laughing at the sight of him in her fluffy pink robe. It was a little short on him, only managing to fall below his butt, and it gaped open over his massive chest. Thankfully, Lucie was a little hippy, and it made it’s way around his hips with material to spare.

“Good point, just stay quiet.”

Lucie ran down the stairs, squirting the flowery scent. She pulled the door open expecting to see the smiling countenance of Marlowe, but instead she almost choked at coming face to chest with Rick.

“Oh!” she exclaimed. “Rick, what are you doing here? I mean, uh, hi,” she giggled nervously.

“Good morning, Lucie,” he said in his deep, reassuring voice. “Did you sleep well?”

Self-consciously, she fingered the collar of her checkered, flannel pajamas and dreaded to guess at the state of her hair. “Yes, thank you,” she mumbled.

“I’m just on my way to work early and I thought I would drop this off.” He pulled out her cell phone from his pocket and handed it to her. “You must have dropped it in my car last night.”

Lucie grasped it. “I had no idea.” She checked it for missed calls or texts.
None – big surprise.
“Thank you for this, you didn’t need to go out of your way. You could have just given it to me at work.”

Rick waved a huge hand. “It’s no problem; I thought you might need it.”

“Well, thank you,” she reiterated awkwardly, while praying that he wasn’t expecting her to ask him in for coffee or anything like that.

His nose wrinkled slightly, and he sneezed lightly, most likely an effect of the perfume. “It was my pleasure; I’ll see you at work.”

Faintly, she said goodbye too, relieved that he wasn’t expecting anything more from her and relieved that he hadn’t scented Cutter’s presence. She let out a long breath she didn’t know she had been holding, waited until his car drove away and then ran back into the house, clambering up the stairs.

Lucie flew into the room to find it empty, or at least, so she thought. Huge arms wrapped around her; her hedgehog mewled, but not in fright, no, this was pure excitement. Gently but firmly, he pushed her against the wall. He bracketed one hand on either side of her head as he stared down at her. She licked her lips and pressed her thighs together. His macho manhandling really shouldn’t make her this hot. So why was she envisioning him throwing her onto the bed and ravishing her senseless?

“Were you hiding behind the door?”

“What did he want?” growled Cutter.

Great, back to this again
. Way to douse her rampant desire. “Nothing, he was just returning my phone.” She nodded over to the floor where she dropped it.

Cutter’s eyes flicked in that direction before he huffed. “Why did
he
have it?” He emphasized the word he to an insane degree.