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Authors: Marie Harte

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BOOK: A Matter of Pride
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Monty nodded, his expression grim. “If he’s using Hunters, I need to get us backup right away.”

“But you can’t let them know we’re on to them if the Hunters are for real. Hunters endanger not only Stacey, but the entire town.” Dean shook his head. “Stacey and I will keep them busy out here. Make sure you’re not followed and get us help. Be careful, Monty. With all these invisible players, it’s a nightmare. Whose side they’re on, only they can say.”

Stacey tried to add,
“But Quince—”

“Is a dick who used fear to coerce you into doing what he wanted. He should have come to us for help,” Dean said.

“Coerce?” Monty blinked. “Big word, cat.”

“Fuck off and fetch us some help, Scooby.”

“I’m going to Scooby your ass when this is through,” Monty muttered. “I have a bone to pick with Grady for that stupid nickname. Scooby is a damn dog. I’m a wolf.” He put his pistol on the ground before lifting his T-shirt over his head. He toed off his boots and started on the snap of his pants before Dean stopped him.

“Whoa. Hold on.” He didn’t like the fact that Stacey had yet to blink.

“For God’s sake.”

“Wait a minute,” Dean growled. “Stacey, turn around. Do it.”

“This is stupid,” Monty said.

Considering Ac-taw always saw each other in various states of undress, Dean knew his behavior was irrational and territorial, but he couldn’t help himself.

To his vast satisfaction, the stubborn female listened to him. She took her sweet-assed time doing it, but that she turned around at all told him she felt a hell of a lot more for him than lust. She barely took orders from her brother. The sex must have softened her attitude toward him. Good to know.

Monty stripped naked and
turned
.

Dean waited until Monty had completely shifted. He found Monty’s radio and a collar stuffed into his jeans pocket. He attached the collar to Monty’s neck and strapped the radio to it, wishing he’d had the foresight to have done the same to the radio he’d left in the cave. Then he stashed Monty’s clothes and gun out of sight.

“You get help. Stacey and I will be around. Have one of the raptors close, would you? We’ll use him to keep in touch, since I left the radio behind.”

“Dumbass.”
Monty’s tongue rolled out. A large black wolf with threads of gray in his fur and eyes that were Monty’s in wolf form or human, he looked oddly regal, and especially intimidating among other wolves.

“Hey, not my fault.” Dean shot Stacey a glare. “I didn’t know I’d be dealing with Hunters as well as crazy cats from Miami.”

She sat and rumbled an apology. “
I’m sorry. I didn’t know either.

He appreciated her sincerity, but he didn’t like that she hadn’t trusted him enough to tell him of her troubles earlier. They’d have to work on that. He had a few ideas about how to teach the woman to believe in him.

After Monty left, Dean transformed back into his animal spirit. He stretched and dug his claws into the ground, releasing scent. They left the cabin and he raced to a few spots to mark territory, unable to ignore the instinct.

“What are you doing?”
Stacey watched with curiosity.

“Staking a claim.”
On this land, and on
you
.
He didn’t intend to let her know yet. He had to get past her emotional walls holding him out. Sex was all well and good, but he wanted more from the cocky cat. How much more he didn’t yet know and was afraid to think about, but he’d never let uncertainty stop him before. He’d get her trust, at least, one way or another. One kiss at a time.

 

Stacey wanted badly to argue with him—about anything—but she feared any animosity would transition into lust on her part. Who knew having sex with Dean Chastell would get her so keyed up? It was as if by giving him access to her body, she’d opened up a locked gate on her emotions. She couldn’t help looking at that charming feline face and feeling all warm and gooey inside. Gooey! Stacey Bermin, a woman who’d denied sultans and movie stars, smitten with a country boy who gave tours to hikers and fishermen for a living.

She glanced at his cat, loving his predatory stillness, the watchful gaze he kept on everything. He had muscle and stamina and a glorious coat covering said strength. Such a beautiful pelt. It just figured he’d be as handsome a cat as he was when a man.

Too bad he had the fashion sense of a lumberjack. Fortunately, the clothes he’d stripped out of at the cave were beyond salvaging—jeans and T-shirts, with the requisite flannel overshirt he’d left at the campsite with their gear. She could have wept. She was dying to put him in an Armani suit. He clearly had the looks and build to carry it off. Hell, she could have paraded him down any runway and watched the dollar signs go up as women bought the clothes, hoping to make their men look half as good as Dean.

“Like what you see?”
He winked at her as they walked into the woods once more.


I’d like it better if you just looked pretty and shut your mouth. Oh wait, where have we heard that before?

She liked that he laughed. For all that Dean constantly annoyed her, he had a great sense of humor. How many other cats would take her constant bitchiness without either slapping at her or just finally leaving? She’d tried her damnedest, but Dean wouldn’t shake. And now she didn’t know what to do about these weird feelings for him she’d thought she’d buried years ago.

What a stupid time for a crush to grow back.

“Don’t worry, honey. I’ll take care of that sweet need you’ve got for me after we run for a while. Let’s settle in and make sure we’re dealing with nothing more than human campers before we get busy again. What do you say?”

She swiped at him and growled. He narrowly avoided her claws and gnashed his teeth at her.


Please. Like I’m scared.
” She huffed. “
It’ll take a tougher cat than you to throw me.

“I’ll throw you all right.”
He mumbled something else she couldn’t make out, and they spent the next few hours giving each other a hard time as they navigated through the woods.

In the form of her animal spirit, Stacey thrived. She liked challenging Dean. They moved in concert, avoiding anything loud while keeping to the shadows of the trees. Birds chirped overhead, warning of their movements, and the rodents and small animals they encountered gave them a wide berth.

They skirted a few families and couples camping, as well as the occasional hiker, but no actual Hunters, that they could tell. They passed the scent of familiar wolves—members of the order, she imagined. But no cats, which she thought strange, especially if Quince had been honest about keeping an eye on her to tag Lex.

“Come on. Let’s take a break.”
Dean bounded away from her, and she followed him into the trees. They continued for a ways until they came to a stream. The early evening sunlight filtered through the pines and danced on the rocky ground. She took a long drink of crisp, cold water and lay down.

“I’m hungry.”

“Me too.”
Dean sat a few feet from her, his paws out front, his feet tucked in, looking like the Sphinx.
“So, Stacey…”

“Yeah?”
She waited for another smart-assed comment. From Dean she’d come to expect and even relish them. He didn’t placate her with flattery or try to coerce her into anything. He flat-out insulted her, teased her or said what he thought. Other than family—she didn’t have close friends—she’d never had anyone treat her like a regular person. Even the other Ac-taw in Cougar Falls fell all over themselves trying to please her. The men at least. The women had left her well enough alone, unlike the cats and socialites in Miami, trying to suck up for fashion advice, to grab one of the many men fluttering around her or hoping to borrow money.

“What do you do for fun?”

Chapter Six

“Fun?”

“Yes. It’s a word we country folk use around these parts.”

“Dean…”


My people call F-U-N something that gives you pleasure. You got that down in Miami?

“I know what fun is, jackass.”

The teasing left his tone as he asked softly,
“But do you know how to have any?”

He didn’t sound like he was mocking her, and she didn’t know how to respond.


Me?
” Dean continued. “
I love having fun. Pulling pranks, watching stupid movies with the pride, having a pizza downtown. Poker night and hunting down deer. Fun.


Don’t forget fucking
,” she said bluntly, wishing she could shut up. She sounded jealous even to herself, but she couldn’t stop. “
After all, you’ve fucked half the female population of Cougar Falls
.”
Including myself. How embarrassing to be so common.

He didn’t say anything for a moment.
“What about you? How many men have you
fucked
down in Miami?”
He tried to keep it light, but she detected something deeper behind his words. That he didn’t call her on being one of his harem eased some of her indignity.


I’ve had a few dates. Nothing serious in the last year, though. I’ve been too focused on business
.”

She couldn’t swear it, but he seemed to relax.
“Doesn’t that get lonely?”

She wanted to say something snarky, not liking the gravity of the conversation after having such lively banter earlier. Taking Dean seriously meant seeing another side to him, accepting that he was more than a playboy or a good time in bed.

“I guess. I’m too busy to think about it, actually.”

“I get lonely.”


Really?
” She sat straighter. “
How’s that?


Contrary to what everyone thinks, I’m not a man-whore
.” He huffed. “
I’ve dated my share of women, sure. I like to have a good time, but my dates always knew I wasn’t after anything serious. You know how hard it is to want forever and know you can’t have it?

She frowned. “
Why can’t you have forever?

He fidgeted and glanced at the river. “
My parents had it. Burke and Rachel have it. Hell, even Grady has it with Gabby. But it’s just not for me
.”

She didn’t get it. “
Why? Is there something hidden under that fur I haven’t seen yet?

“Must be. Within seconds of being with a woman, I just know it’s not meant to be. My cat hasn’t jived with anyone in twenty-six years. I used to think it was a feline thing, like maybe I just needed the right cat. But Joy and your sisters are perfect.”

She wanted to ask why he didn’t include her in that list but kept silent for once.

“And I can’t think of forever with any of them without getting the sweats.”

“Nice image.”

He shrugged and walked next to her.
“I still can’t believe you and I connected.”
He sniffed her, moving around her in a very provocative way.
“But there’s something about you.”


I’m beautiful
.” A fact.

“Nope. You are, but that’s not it.”
He nuzzled her neck, and she felt nervous when he breathed her in. His teeth grazed her throat but didn’t close before he let her go. He circled behind her, feeling so much bigger and more threatening since she couldn’t see him.

“Then what? I have a brain? Something you’re not used to dealing with when it comes to women?”

He didn’t answer for a moment. “
You do realize you just insulted not only the whole town, but your sisters as well?

“You know what I mean. You just want me because you can’t have me.”
A simple explanation for his desire. But what about hers? Why the hell did he seem so attractive and irresistible lately? Why did she have the urge to have sex with him in whatever form she occupied? Cat, human, it didn’t matter so long as she had Dean.

“I hate to break it to you, but I’ve already had you. Twice. And you’re ready for me even now.”

She didn’t like hearing the truth. But when she tried to get up and move, he settled over her. Instead of mounting her as a cat, he shifted into a man.

“Change back,” he ordered in a gritty voice.

“You can’t have me, and I’m leaving this town just as soon as I can.”
Or so she kept telling herself. She had to force herself not to make plans for the empty shop in the quaint but backwards town.

“Change back.” He gripped her throat, caressing but not hurting her. The pressure he applied turned her from intrigued to downright lusty. Her body liquefied as he toyed with her vulnerability.

Without thinking about it, she shifted back to human, belly down on the matted grass beneath her. Dean nudged her legs apart and in the next breath slid his cock deep inside her, his body blanketing hers and forcing her to remain down.

“Fuck, that’s it. That’s the spot.” He kissed her shoulders and nipped playfully at the back of her neck. “All that pretty blond hair is so fucking gorgeous over your back.” He shifted his hips and surged deeper toward her womb.

“Dean.” She meant to sound stern but came across as breathy, needy. Wet.

BOOK: A Matter of Pride
4.27Mb size Format: txt, pdf, ePub
ads

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