Prey & Prejudice: Cougar Falls, Book 7 (3 page)

BOOK: Prey & Prejudice: Cougar Falls, Book 7
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Trust Miles to walk right up to an unknown cat like he was king of the castle. But God. He sure had filled out in the last seventeen years. His animal spirit glowed in the gorgeous panther—the definition of strength and power wrapped up in a feline frame. His eyes could have been fragments of jade, so light and cool as they regarded her. So shiny and pretty.

“Well, well. Little Candy’s come back. Welcome home.”

“You call me Candy once more, and I’ll rip your tail off,”
she said with a smile. To emphasize her point, she walked around him with her claws out, and grazed his flank with a sharp nail, hard enough to draw blood. It just figured the first cat to give her any crap would turn out to be Miles Bermin.

He tensed but didn’t otherwise move. Nor did he turn his head to follow her.
“Oh yeah. You still have bite. Well,
Zoe
, what the hell are you doing home? Back for a visit, I presume?”

“Um, I live here?”
She circled and sat facing him, nose to nose, assuming the same pose he did. It gave her a rush to see his intense focus on her, because she hadn’t mistaken his interest. He watched her the way a male studied a potential sexual partner. She recognized the scent of lust in the air.

“You
used
to live here. Last we heard, you and Esmie were floating around the world, decimating clans and prides one continent at a time.”

She grinned.
“There is that. Mama is a real hell-raiser.”

“And then there’s you.”
He opened his mouth, taking her scent deeper as he tasted her on the air. She found the gesture incredibly arousing.

“What about me?”

“You liked to stir things even as a kid. And you’re no longer a juvenile.”

“Nope.”
She studied him, wondering how he’d take the truth.
“I’m back for good.”

“Oh?”

“Yep. Me and Mama would have come back sooner, but we had work to do. Then Quince warned us to keep away until he dealt with Lex. Now we’re back, and I’m ready to take over.”

“Take over?”
He cocked his head.
“You?”

So cute, that big-ass panther looking confused and condescending. She’d never seen anyone able to put down another with such class.
“Yes, sweet cheeks. I’m back to take over the pride. Quince doesn’t want to lead, and from what I gather, there’s no one else to take the job. I’ve spent years traveling the world, learning. And I’m here to help.”

He stilled.
“Oh?”

“You said that already,”
she teased.
“Don’t worry. I promise not to kick you out of the pride for being an obnoxious jerk. You are Quince’s friend, after all.”

Miles just stared at her.

“Nothing to say?”

“You can’t take over for Quince.”

Bring it, GQ.
“Why? Because I’m female? Let me tell you something. We women are more dangerous than you idiot men. We think with more than our dicks—and thank God we don’t have those. Besides, I’ve been planning this for some time.”
Especially after hearing how you guys have been more concerned with wealth than appreciating life and embracing your felines.

“That’s wonderful, honey.”
So condescending.
“But Quince isn’t pride leader.”
His smirk warned her she wasn’t going to like hearing this.

“Who is?”

“I am.”

 

Miles hadn’t wanted the job. He’d been tricked into assuming control of the haughty Miami pride, and since he’d taken over, he’d been trying to find a way out of leading without further scarring the pride in the process. But this almost made his ordeal worthwhile. Seeing Zoe Castille with nothing to say.

He continued to watch her, his cat in lust with the healthy feline sitting so close. He’d been fascinated with the sultry scent in the woods and had followed it, determined to see who’d captivated him. Only to find a beautiful, large, cinnamon-and-sand-colored panther he didn’t recognize.

For the first time in months, he desired a female. And an Ac-taw at that. Excitement soon turned to chagrin at finding out that the object of his lust was Quince’s little sister. Then again, she’d never exactly been little. She had a tall frame and an even bigger mouth.

But she sure had turned into a beautiful cat. The human part of him wondered what she’d look like as a woman. He was dying to know.


You’re
in charge?”
she asked, sounding stiff.

“Yep. Miles Bermin to the rescue.”
He tried to sniff her again, subtly. What was it about her scent that called to the cat and man in him? He caught anger, annoyance and mutual attraction. Ah, so her cat liked the look of him.

As well she should,
his cat agreed.

“You?”
She snorted, seemingly no longer put off by his news. Zoe always had recovered quickly.
“From what I heard, my brother saved the day. Figures you’d step in at the last minute to take all the credit.”

Oh yeah. Beautiful but annoying.

He shrugged, stood, then turned on his heel and walked away.

“Hey, I’m talking to you.”

He ignored her, knowing how much it would piss her off, and jogged back to the House. He passed a few cats on his way and nodded, wishing he’d had the place to himself. But for a good two hours that morning, at least, he’d had his wish. Solitude out in the woods, enjoying the crisp fall air, the humid blanket of home he found only in Everglades, a place that would always be his home, no matter where he went.

His time spent in Cougar Falls, Montana had been surprisingly pleasant. The pride leader there, Burke Chastell, was a good guy, although his brothers and the non-felines he lived with could grow irritating. Cougar Falls catered solely to Ac-taw. Only those with Shifter blood or Shifter mates could even see the town, courtesy of a magical totem.

But Miles preferred the gritty reality of Miami. He liked mingling with pure humans as well as cats. He could do without all the other Ac-taw who traipsed through his city though. The wolves and foxes in particular. And this new threat of northern raptors looking to expand. Hell. He found the lot of them thuggish, puckish and downright peckish.

Something swatted his tail—a large paw—and his cat wanted to turn and engage the female behind him. She smelled good, and she seemed like a fitting female to rut with. He would pounce, then position himself behind her, ready to mount—

Oh
hell no
. Miles immediately rejected that notion. He didn’t have the time or patience to deal with Zoe in the middle of the mess that was now his life. Yet even as he denied her, his arousal continued to grow. Damn it.

He quickened his step. She smacked his tail again. Then she nipped him.

He turned and growled at her to stop.

She grinned back at him.
“Sorry, mighty pride leader. I thought we might play.”
Her nostrils flared, and her smile widened.
“Something tells me you wouldn’t mind rolling around with me.”

His cat would like nothing more than to mount her, possibly even impregnate her.
A strong cat, she’d make a worthy mother for his offspring.
Not going to happen.
Miles wanted a mate, but not at this point in his life. So much upheaval around him made it that much harder to focus on any one thing.

Miles disliked chaos. So he needed to find some order in his life before he lost his damn mind. Adding Zoe into the combustible mix was asking for trouble he didn’t want.

“While I’d enjoy a quick fuck, I’m sure you’d complicate it with emotion. Clingy, needy females really aren’t my type,”
he said with as much disdain and ice in his tone as he could manage.

She blinked at him, and he waited for her outrage.

She surprised him by laughing.
“You know, I think I did miss you after all, Miles. That cocky attitude is just so freakin’ cute.”

He snarled at her and turned on his heel once more. She didn’t bother him on his way back into the House and seemed to have disappeared. Knowing he’d taken more time from work than he could afford, he reluctantly let go of his cat and flowed back into the form of a man. After taking a quick shower, he dried off and started to dress.

He’d just stepped into his boxer briefs when she walked into his bedroom as if she owned it. He scented her before he saw her, so that he’d already started to growl a warning. “This room is off-limits. Pride leader privileges only, so don’t…you—
Shit.

Zoe Castille stood in his doorway wearing a black lace bra and panties that barely held her in place. And good Christ, but she was the best put-together woman he’d ever seen in his life. She had a few tattoos on her shoulders and stomach, cats in various stages of hunting, it seemed. But her skin practically glowed. A healthy caramel cover over toned, slender thighs, a flat belly and bountiful breasts. He stared harder, unable to help himself, when she shifted and a nipple peered at him.

“Like what you see, handsome?” she practically purred. Aggressive females normally weren’t his type, but fuck if he could stop his cat’s growl of approval.

He didn’t feel himself moving yet had her backed against the wall of his bedroom in seconds. Her skin radiated heat, and when she put a hand over his shoulder and pulled him closer, he went without protest.

“Oh my. You are a pretty one,” she whispered and stroked his chest. She ran her nails over his muscles and flicked his nipples. Then she leaned closer and tantalized him with the heady scent of ripe woman. Her fingers trailed up his arms to his neck and smoothed through his hair. “I’ve decided to have you. For a while, if you prove as interesting in bed as you are out of it.”

He stood there frozen, unable to move, caught in a lust so extreme he didn’t know what to do. He’d never before felt the like, so when his animal spirit overruled his caution, he couldn’t protest.

Content to remain as a man, for now, he lowered his head to hers and kissed her, needing to taste as much as smell. Her smooth lips beckoned a deeper kiss, and he pulled her closer, rubbing his chest against her breasts, feeling her hard nipples poke him through the scratchy lace she wore.

She moaned and gripped his head. Then she raised a leg and wrapped it around his waist. He thrust his tongue into her mouth, lapping at her arousal as he fit his pelvis against the hot core of her. Rocking into her wet heat, cursing her panties to hell, he ground and rubbed, seeking ease from the frustrating need plaguing him.

She tried to yank him closer, but he growled and shoved her hands to the wall while he plundered her mouth. Still rubbing, seeking ease. Her scent wrapped around his balls, encouraging his painful erection.

He pulled his mouth away and trailed his kisses across her cheek to her ear. “Want to fuck you,” he admitted in a guttural voice, lost in his desire.

“Yes, in me,” she moaned and tried to move her hands again.

He closed his mouth around her neck in warning and bit down, not hard enough to pierce the skin, but enough to tell her to stop moving.

She immediately stilled, and he let go of one of her hands to run his fingers over her taut belly to her panties. He slipped his fingers under the lace, and slid his fingers between her folds.

“Oh, yeah. Please,” she moaned.

“Yo, Miles. Oh, uh…” a male’s voice said from the
open doorway
right next to them. “I’ll come back.”

Miles froze, as if someone had dumped a bucket of ice water over his head. “What am I doing?” he rasped, his fingers still coated in Zoe’s sweet cream. He knew better. The woman was trouble, and one he’d be doing his best to stay far away from. He pulled his finger free and leaned back to glance down at her.

So fucking beautiful. Dark black hair cascaded over her shoulders and tickled her breasts. Her lips were parted, her cheeks flushed and her eyes bright with unspent passion.

“You getting ready to fuck me, Miles?” Zoe murmured and laughed with a throaty rumble that made him ache to finish what
she’d
started. Especially when she used her leg to pull him closer to her once more.

His cock rubbed against his underwear, yet he felt her wet heat anyway. A few more rubs against her, and he’d come. Losing control. Ignoring years spent learning to discipline himself.

He looked deeply into her satisfied gaze and swore. With quick movements, he pulled himself from her and stepped back. And every step away from that silky heat physically hurt.

“Come on, baby. Why so cold?” She laughed at him, literally chuckled as she studied his visible erection.

“The door’s open,” he said, unable to voice what he needed to say.
You’re a scary, sexy woman, and I’m not ready for you. Not if I want to come out of this without scars. Jesus, I’m Miles Bermin. Women don’t control me.

“So what? Sex is a natural part of life, right?” She shrugged, calling attention to her large breasts again.

Fuck, but Miles wanted to suck on those nipples and feast for hours. Days. Until he felt satisfied. He cleared his throat. “I have duties to return to.” Then, because he knew she sensed his unease, he forced himself to smile. “Thanks for the playtime, Candy, but not today.”

He moved into the bathroom to wash his hands and face, then returned to the bedroom and stepped into his slacks, as if he didn’t still sport a monstrous, aching erection and she didn’t remain standing, watching him. He put on a dress shirt and tie, then grabbed his suit jacket. After running a comb through his hair and glancing at the mirror over a dresser, he turned to smile at her again.

BOOK: Prey & Prejudice: Cougar Falls, Book 7
8.7Mb size Format: txt, pdf, ePub
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