The Cougar's Timid Little Lynx (Sweet Water) (12 page)

“Okay
.” She smiled at Talia, and took hold of the hand Luke offered. “Have fun, Joey.” Her daughter looked up from the massacre of dolls and dresses scattered about.

“Bye,
Momma.” She bounced up and ran up to Alice. After a big hug Joey was right back next to Amelia, completely engrossed and Alice totally forgotten. It felt incredible to see her daughter having a good time. Ford came out of the living room and wrapped his big arms around Talia. The red fox shifter curled into him and placed her hand on his chest.

“Have fun
, you two. You can pick her up anytime tomorrow. Believe me, they will probably stay up late and sleep in.” Talia grinned and waved, all but dismissing them. “Seriously, Joey will be okay, but call anytime.” Luke was dragging her out of Talia’s house, probably because he thought she might change her mind. He led them toward his Escalade, and once he had her comfortably seated in the passenger side, he was striding around the front of the SUV and climbing in the driver’s side. Once they were on the road Alice settled back against the buttery soft leather and sighed. Even though this was the first time she left Joey she felt safe and secure. There was only comfort and affection that came from Talia and Ford, and now that her lynx had stopped hiding, she sensed that they would take care of her daughter like she was their own.

“You doing okay?” Luke reached across the seat and took her hand. Without lifting her head she turned and looked at him. His profile showed a strong bone structure. His jaw was square, and a light dusting of scruff lined his jaw. Alice found the
sight of that highly arousing.

“I am, and thank you for setting it up so Joey could play with Amelia again. I have never gone out without having Joey with me, and although I love it, I know that she needs
to be around children her own age, too.” Luke smiled, but didn’t take his eyes off the road. He did, however, squeeze her hand in acknowledgment. “That was sweet of Talia and Ford to offer to watch her so we could go out alone.”

It had been a couple of weeks since she had given herself to Luke, and although things had been going great, there was still a part of her that held onto the past,
but she knew in time that, too, would lessen. She had high hopes that one day her past would just be that … the past.

Looking again at his profile had a wave of fierce possessiveness filling her. Could she actually love this male, this cougar
who had brought her back from the brink of darkness without really even knowing? It was far too soon to tell, she decided. Yes, she cared for him immensely, and couldn’t picture how her life would be if she had never met him. He made her happy, had Joey smiling, and treated both of them like they were the most important things in his life. Yes, she knew there would be no doubt she could love this male, but first she needed to be healed fully on the inside and love herself before she could give those emotions to someone else.

“I wanted to take you someplace really snazzy, but I didn’t think you were the kind of girl to like that sort of thing.” The corner of his mouth twitched.

“You’re right, I’m not.” He chuckled and nodded.

“I didn’t think so. There
is this bar and grille that opened up on the outskirts of town. I know the owner, a growly, grumpy polar bear shifter, but the food is damn good.” He brought their entwined hands to his mouth and pressed a kiss to her fingers.

He turned the radio on
, and she turned and stared at him as the music started playing. “Didn’t peg you for an Imagine Dragons fan.” He gave her a lopsided grin but didn’t respond. For the next twenty minutes neither said anything, but it was that kind of silence that didn’t require words to fill the comfortable space. Luke pulled the Escalade into a parking spot in front of a modest sized building. The neon lights flashed, and the music came through loudly. The people that milled around the entrance were decked out in leather pants and leather vests. The men were big and burly, with a lot of tattoos, and she had no doubt they could make a guy cower with a look.

“This place looks a bit rough, Luke.” Although she did trust Luke, was trusting him more and more each day, this place was not an establishment she would have ever
come to. Ever.

“Some of the people look a bit scary, but I promise you they are harmless, and besides,” he turned so he was facing her, “I won’t let anyone hurt you.” The fierceness in those words could be felt in every part of her. She looked at the entrance again, at the men that sat on their Harleys and smoking their cigarettes, and knew that Luke wouldn’t let anyone hurt her.
Didn’t she have to continue to put one foot in front of the other? Just because something scared her didn’t mean it was a logical fear. “You see that guy?” She followed the line of where Luke was pointing. The guy had a long greying goatee and a perpetual scowl on his face. “He used to be an eighth grade science teacher.” Before she could say anything Luke continued. “Now he drives around on his Harley to different towns doing charity work for sick children. And that mean looking guy next to him sings in the church choir every Sunday.” He gently gripped her chin and turned her so she was facing him once again. “They look mean, but if anyone wants you they will have to get through me, and I promise that is not going to happen. Ever.” He leaned in and gave her a light kiss.

They climbed out of the SUV and made their way to the front
doors. The scent of rain coming filled her nose. It was a fresh, clean scent, one that reminded her of things being washed away and starting new. The retired schoolteacher and choir singer dismounted their bikes, and although they were both humans they were the biggest humans she had ever seen.

“Evening, Miss
, Doctor Landon.” The singer smiled at both of them, and she couldn’t help but smile in return. The other man tipped his chin toward her, and she noticed his eyes were so pale blue they reminded her of the warmth she felt when she looked into Talia’s.

“Good evening, Miss
, Doc.” Strange to see these two huge guys talking so softly to them, but it was welcome. Luke wrapped his arm around her shoulder, brought her closer to his body, and greeted the two men. They made their way inside, and once they were through the doors she had to stop and look around. The bar was packed, and although the majority of the people wore leather and no doubt rode motorcycles, there were also people in jeans and t-shirts with beers in their hands and smiles on their faces. The bar was surprisingly large, much bigger than what it appeared on the outside. There were a few pool tables off to the side, and several flat screen televisions hung on the walls. A long bar sat in front of them, and the male on the other side looked angry and just downright mean. When Luke led them toward the bar and she was seated on one of the stools, he made sure to pull her close to his side. There wasn’t a time that he wasn’t touching her, and she knew that was just as much for him as it was for her. The scent of a polar bear shifter filled her nose right before the grumpy looking bartender stopped in front of them.

“Glad you took me up on my offer and came in, Luke.” The polar bear grinned at Luke and slid just his eyes her way. His voice was very deep and sharp, like
a piece of broken glass. She was struck by how green his eyes were. His black hair was cut short, the strands lying haphazardly across his head. It looked like he had been running his fingers through his hair.

“Well, I though
t Alice would like this place.” The neon sign above the bar flashed “Dakota Dark’s”. The polar bear kept looking at her, and the smile he gave her, although she scented it was genuine, looked forced. Clearly this male didn’t smile very often.

“Trace
Dakota.” He stuck his hand out for her to shake. “Nice to meet you, Alice.” She smiled and took the offered hand, which engulfed hers completely. Luke was a big male, but this guy was like a tank, and had the hard personality to match. Someone called him, and he looked to the side. She caught sight of a long scar that ran from his temple to his chin. How had she missed that initially? The male he looked at was even bigger than he was, and a lion shifter. He had this distance about him, this aloofness that warned others away. Alice looked back at Trace, and tried not to stare at his scary appearance. Trace looked back at her, most likely saw her staring at his scar, and grinned. This one seemed purely predatory. “You guys thirsty?” Before either of them could answer Trace was grabbing their drinks. He handed her a glass of white wine and gave Luke a bottle of beer. The music was loud, but enjoyable. She scanned the room, people watching because of the array that was packed into the bar, and when she turned back around Trace and Luke were talking too softly for her to hear. Trace tilted his chin toward an empty booth off to the side, and then Luke was leading her over to it. Once they were seated a waitress was instantly there, taking their order and then leaving just as quickly.

“The service certainly is fast.” Luke smiled and leaned back in his seat. He brought his beer to his mouth, and she found the lazy way he did it extremely arousing. “So, you and Trace seem close.” He set his bottle down and leaned forward, placing his forearms on the table. He wore a button up shirt, but tonight he had the sleeves rolled up his thickly muscled forearms
and looked casual.

“He comes to the office occasionally.”
He seemed to trail off, and she knew he was clearly keeping information from her, but that was okay because she wasn’t sure she wanted to know. Besides, Trace seemed like a guy that might need a doctor frequently, like the kind that liked to get in fights. “He’s pretty mean looking, but he’s a good friend, and is surprisingly pretty gentle to the ones he cares about.” Alice looked over at the polar bear again, saw him throw his head back and laugh at something a waitress said, and realized that small act changed everything about his face. “He gets into a lot of fights, but he first came into my office because he had caught his wife, at the time, cheating on him with his best friend.” Luke took another drink of beer. “Obviously Trace was angry, and he and the guy started going at it. Long story short, I had to treat him for that now scar on the side of his face.”

Alice swallowed and glanced at Trace again. That certainly would make anyone have a perpetual scowl on their face. “That’s horrible.”

“Yeah, but it was five years ago, and ever since then we have been good friends. He is a pretty angry guy, and rightly so, but that anger gets him into a lot of fights, hence why he comes to see me for the more serious wounds.”

Oh.
How angry could someone be that they continuously put themselves at risk, and got hurt purposefully? She could somewhat relate to the hardened and clearly broken polar bear. Alice also harbored anger over everything Joshua put her through, and that she had let herself be his victim for so long. Life was a vicious bitch, and liked to go around in circles, but if someone wasn’t willing to stand up for themselves and fight back, there really was no hope. She had stood up that first time when she tried to leave, and although she had been pulled back, she still survived. It had taken her a long time to come to that realization, and an even longer time to realize that. She looked at Luke, at the strength that came off of him tenfold, and knew that he was giving her that power to realize there was more to life than holding onto the past.

“Hey, you okay?” He reached across the table and took her hand. The steady back and forth motion of his thumb
over the back of her hand soothed her. “I didn’t upset you by telling you that, did I?” Shaking her head, it was now her turn to lift his hand to her mouth and kiss his fingers. The surprise and then affection that came from him after she did it filled the space between them.

“No, you didn’t make me upset. I just want you to know I am very thankful you are in our lives.” They held each other
’s stares for a suspended moment, but it was broken when their food arrived.

He gave her hand
one more squeeze, and they ate, the conversation easy and comfortable. After their meal they spent the next half an hour just talking about random, unimportant things. It was nice to not be on edge, and being able to relax with the man she had grown to care about. The sound of glass breaking had both of them turning and looking at two guys who were nose-to-nose only a few feet from them. The music still thumped through the speakers, but it seemed everything else had stilled. Patrons stopped talking and playing pool to stare at the altercation, but she also didn’t miss how they looked over at the bar, presumably for Trace, but the polar bear was nowhere to be found.

One of the guys was a snake shifter, and he looked the part with his slimy, slicked back hair and rail thin body, but what he lacked physically she could tell he made up for in sheer craziness. That was clear by the scents coming from him. The other guy, a slightly overweight
and short baboon shifter, looked like he could tear the snake in two. They started yelling at each other, and then that escalated into a shoving match. The baboon swung out, but the snake dodged it and shoved the baboon hard enough to have him stumbling back and right into their table. Her glass of wine tipped over, the glass shattering and the liquid spilling all over her lap. On instinct she jumped up, which had her knocking into the baboon. He turned his head sharply toward her, and his drunken glazed-over expression made her feel dirty. She saw Luke rise up, but the next series of events happened so fast she couldn’t even wrap her head around them. The baboon gripped her upper arm in a bruising hold, and she braced her hand on the table for support. Stabbing pain lanced up her palm as a sharp piece of glass sliced into her hand. Crying out in pain she tried to wrench away, memories of her past assaulting her like actual blows. They slammed into her mind like a sledgehammer, trying to take her down to the dark abyss that she had grown so comfortable with in her life. All she could see was Joshua standing over her, his drunken and rage-filled stare making her feel like shit on his shoe.