Loving Her (Keeping Her) (14 page)

Cassie pictured Lucas Gibb
on a private adult’s only island, without his suit, wet with the sun glistening
off all that taunt golden skin.  She cleared her throat, her cheeks pinkening.

Mac growled, and Ben leaned
over and nipped her shoulder.  "You better be thinking about me and Mac
when you smell that good."

Mac and Ben on a private
adults only island.  Naked and glistening.  Her eyes glazed over, her breath
going ragged.  They both chuckled at her reaction.

She smacked Mac in his six-pack
and actually hurt her hand.  "Stop laughing.  It's not my fault you're
freakishly hot and I'm susceptible."

"Just how susceptible
are you?"  Ben purred into the curve of her neck, causing her to give an
all over body shiver.

He wants to play that
game does he?  Fine.
 

Cassie turned in Mac's arms
so that her back rested against his chest, and she was facing Ben.  She met his
eyes and licked her lips.  "I suppose,” she said, her voice low and
sultry.  "You don't have a reaction when I talk about sandy beaches and
pounding waves?"  She shifted her ass against Mac just the smallest bit,
feeling his hardness against her.  Then she leaned forward and rubbed her cheek
against Ben's chest.

  "Thinking about us
under the hot sun, wet, naked.  Does nothing for you?"  Ben purred, his
hands going in to her hair while the grip Mac had on her hips tightened until
he was pressing his erection against her soft ass.  "Nothing?" she
asked, then abruptly pulled out of their arms.  "Guess it's just me
then."  She walked away, hiding her smile when they both growled behind
her.

She found herself hauled
into Mac’s arms laughing, while they headed for their own wing.

"Hey, who's going to
get the crazy jaguar bitch home?”  Eli called, turning to look for Demon when
they kept going.  Demon was busy tipping Roxanne until she giggled, and
sneaking in Clytie gropes when she was distracted trying to save Roxanne from a
tumble that would never happen.

"Damn it," he
muttered.  "Maybe I can con Shawn into it," he grumbled, not holding
out much hope and heading for the stairs.

The sounds of Demon
chuckling, while Roxanne and Clytie giggled followed behind him.  It made him
smile, despite the errand he just knew he was going to regret.

What were the chances he
would run into a hot, unmated, jaguar female that wasn’t insane?  Yeah.  Not
likely.

Lucas Gibb was alone in his
office in Napa when the call finally came.  He had been spending too much time
the last few days looking out the window at the rolling vineyards in the
distance and seeing nothing when he should have been working.  It was so unlike
his usual work ethic as to be ridiculous.  He picked up the phone on the first
ring.

"Tell me,” he growled
out, his lion so close to the surface he could feel the fur rolling just under
his skin and knew his eyes had gone cat.

"It's confirmed,"
Logan said.  His voice quiet on the line.  "It's Miley."

Lucas closed his eyes and
tried to relearn how to breathe.

"How do you want me to
proceed?"

"I'll take care of
it.  You still have Bidel to track down."

"Lucas,” Logan said. 
His voice low.  "There has to be a reason.  She's running, but she's covered
her tracks well.  You go after her, you might as well shine a light her way. 
You could be putting her back in harm’s way."

"I let her go to keep
her safe," Lucas said.  His voice practically a growl.  "If she did
this, she's in danger regardless of whether I claim her or not.  That means
she's safer with me."

"You sure about that? 
You sure you're not just grasping at any excuse to take what you want?"

"Careful Logan,"
he growled.

"I'm just saying, be
sure you want to do this," Logan said hurriedly.  "You walked away
two years ago for a reason.  Has anything changed?  Really?"

Lucas sighed, rubbing his face;
he hadn't slept since he saw the files.  "I thought she was dead, Logan. 
I thought I had walked away to protect her and she died anyway, within weeks. 
That changed things."  He shuddered, his voice rumbling.  "I never
want to feel that again." 

He clenched his fist
feeling, the claws under the surface.  "You're right.  I'm grasping at any
excuse to keep her, but if she's already in danger, for whatever reason, then I
can, because she's safer with me then on her own."

"And if she doesn't
want to come back?"  Lucas growled, but Logan kept talking.  "You
never told her how you felt about her.  For her own safety, you never showed
any partiality towards her.  As far as she knew, she was your executive
assistant and nothing more.  She was good at her job, friendly, well liked, and
you fired her anyway.  Not exactly job security.  What will you do if she
doesn't take the job back?"

"Job?"  Lucas laughed;
it was not a comforting sound.  "It's not a matter of employment Logan, or
an offer she can accept or decline.  Not this time."

"Lucas," Logan
warned.  "She may have shifter in her family tree but she was raised
human."

"I took that into
consideration last time.  I put everything in careful lines and made the
logical decision.  For all our sakes."  His voice hardened to steel. 
"Then she died on me.  Never again."

Logan heard the growl
behind the words.  He blew out a breath. 

"I hope you know what
you're doing Lucas.  For both your sakes."  But he was talking to empty
air, because Lucas had already disconnected.