Outfoxed (2 page)

When she’d officially left the Silver Fox Clan and joined the pride three months ago, he’d been like her shadow. This past month he’d gradually pulled back. He teased her the way he teased Julia and Rachel and Maggie—one half of the bear couple in the pride. But the three of them were happily married. She wasn’t.

She sighed. All the attention she’d been getting from the other single men of Cougar Falls was actually turning her off dating, period. Before, when she’d been a simple fox, she hadn’t been good enough for anyone. Oh she’d had a few boyfriends, but no one serious, no potential mates. Then everyone learned she had another animal spirit and bingo, she became Ms. Popular.

As she moved through the living room, she tossed a fallen pillow back on the couch, grabbed her jacket and pulled it on, and went outside to take in a breath of fresh air. Gabby would never admit it to anyone else, not even Julia, but she liked Grady
a lot
. He was smart, funny and incredibly sexy. Whenever he brushed up against her, her entire system went into overdrive.

Like other Ac-taw, Grady had little modesty. He walked around naked from time to time after a shift, but no one made a big deal about it. Then again, before she’d arrived, the only women living at the Catamount Pride’s ranch were happily married. No one here used to give a thought about a naked pridemate.

Ty, Gabby’s new brother-in-law, had become especially prickly where Gabby was concerned. She’d overheard him threaten to lock Dean and Grady up if they didn’t watch their step around her. As if Gabby was some tenderhearted young girl afraid of her own shadow.

She snorted. Tenderhearted? Not at all. Gabby had toughened over the years. Being told she wasn’t good enough, a freak of the first order, had forced her to be strong. What made it worse was that it hadn’t been the town bully verbally abusing her, but her own relatives. Her guardian aunt and uncle didn’t like her and never would. The same tainted bloodline that now earned her so much fame had been shunned by her relatives for years.

Ironic. Yet because of it, she now lived with people she actually liked. Her sisters had married the men of their dreams, and Gabby had a brand new life just waiting for her. A lonely, sexually frustrating new life.

She wondered, not for the first time, what Grady would do if she actually accepted one of his many invitations. If she hadn’t heard Julia ask him to treat her kindly and make her feel better about herself, she might almost have believed his sincerity.

Julia, for all her meddling, meant well. But knowing the man Gabby lusted after thought of her as a pity project was just too humiliating.

She kicked a rock out of the way and walked deeper into the woods, wondering what a girl had to do to get a little bit of
honest
attention around here.

Chapter Two

The next few days passed in relative peace. Grady focused on work in Whitefish, where Chastell Tours had picked up a steady clientele. With the weather finally breaking, folks were starting to seriously fish. Hiking had slowed due to the rains, but as the weather warmed, the campers appeared in droves.

“Somebody shoot me.” Dean sighed and plunked his ass in a chair. “Sometimes I really hate tourists.”

“What’s wrong? Did Diana Do-Me not give you enough attention?”

Dean grinned. “Jealous? Who knew a woman could look that hot in waders? She and I went a few rounds yesterday and the day before. But now I’m bored, and she’s not getting the hint.”

“Just suck it up. She’s heading back to Florida in a few days.”

“I know.” Dean studied him with piercing brown eyes. His expression so eerily mirrored Burke’s that Grady blinked. “Grady, Grady, Grady. You’ve been pining for weeks—hell,
months
—and it’s starting to become embarrassing.”

“Fuck off.” Grady hung up his hat and jacket and moved to sit near the vacant fireplace. The office served its purpose, but the fireplace and seating area made it a favorite of Grady’s when he just wanted to relax and get away from the pride. Though Cougar Falls was only a half hour away, most Ac-taw never left town. Only he and a few other Shifters held down jobs on the outside. At the thought, he asked Dean about the schedule.

Dean checked the book on the desk. “Yeah, Monty will be out tomorrow. A business group he’s taking out on the boat. The Johnson party. They’re regulars, so it should be an easy one.”

“Lucky bastard. He’s a real pain in my ass, you know that?”

Dean laughed. “You’re just pissed because Sophie seems to like him but your wannabe girlfriend won’t give you the time of day.” When Grady tried to deny it, Dean cut him off. “Look, I have eyes. I see how you look at her. Hell, we all know you’re not joking around. Well, all of us but Gabby.”

“What can I do?” he moaned and shook his head. “Aside from asking her to fuck my brains out, I don’t know how to get her attention.”

“Well, that would surely get mine,” a husky voice said as a Shifter he hadn’t seen in years stopped in the doorway.

Grady stood, surprised and not a little wary. “Stacey Bermin?”

“In the flesh, sugar,” the cougar purred as she walked into the room like she owned it. On her tail came her sisters, Joy, Melissa and Amy. All in all, a welcome visit from sexy cats he knew and liked. Except if the women were here, their brother wasn’t far behind.

“Please tell me you finally saw the light and ditched that asshole you call family.”

“No such luck, Grady.” Miles Bermin strode into the room and glanced around, a polite smile on his face. “This is what you do for a living? How…quaint.”

“
Day-um
, Miles. What a fancy word for nifty.” Dean played the fool to a science when this idiot came to town, which thankfully wasn’t that often.

Joy, Melissa and Amy coughed to hide their laughter, but Stacey sniffed in disdain. A carbon copy of her brother, she thought everyone not a Bermin was someone to be pitied.

“Let me guess. You’re slumming and you decided to grace us with your presence,” Grady said sarcastically.

Amy sighed and her sisters exchange worried looks.

“What’s wrong?” Dean’s hick accent disappeared. “I smell worry.”

“It’s not a big deal.” Yet Miles frowned. Normally nothing impacted his perfect little world.

“Spill it, Vermin.” Direct hit. Miles’s old nickname still annoyed the shit out of him, and Grady wasn’t too proud to use what had once worked in grade school.

Miles clenched his jaw. “We left the pride.”

“What? Why?”

Stacey answered. “I’ll tell you why. Because a bunch of rogue Ac-taw came in and started demanding special favors.”

Dean sighed. “Being nice isn’t exactly a favor, Stacey. It’s called common courtesy.”

She glared at him. “Look, you overgrown hick, being told you have to spread your legs and keep your mouth shut while the new pride leader has his way with you exceeds common courtesy by a country mile.”

“Did he hurt you?” Dean growled.

Stacey blinked at the menace coming off Dean in waves. “N-no. Miles took care of him. But we weren’t willing to hang around and find out what else he—”

“You’ve said enough, Stacey,” Miles interrupted, his voice like ice. “The Chastells don’t care about our problems.” He turned to Grady. “We just thought we’d stop for a visit on our way to Oregon. We have some family out there we’re thinking of joining.”

Grady noticed the unhappy expressions on the females’ faces. He wanted to know what the hell had really happened down South, but he’d wait until later to confront Miles, once the females had settled. “I’ll call Rachel and let her know to expect five more for dinner.”

Melissa smiled. “Thanks, Grady.”

“That’s awful nice of you,” Amy said softly. Joy nodded.

Even Stacey gave him a warm nod of thanks.

Four sexy females. Four cats. The answer to his celibate existence, and he still couldn’t stop thinking about Gabby.
He forced a smile and tried to find his cell phone.

A few hours later, as he and the rest of the pride sat around the long dining table in the main house to eat a late dinner with their guests, he came to the realization he’d lost his fucking mind. Inviting the Bermins—inviting
Miles
—had been a huge mistake.

If the bastard touched Gabby one more time, Grady wouldn’t be responsible for his actions. Why the hell couldn’t they have seated Miles between Joel and Monty? Just as the idiot leaned closer to Gabby to ask her to pass another dish, Rachel grabbed Grady’s arm and forcibly tugged him from the table. He thought about pulling away, but annoying his brother’s mate—a breeding feline at that—might get him seriously hurt. It wouldn’t score him any points with Gabby either.

He had to clear his throat so as not to hiss in Miles’s direction. “Yes?”

She dragged him several steps before she answered. “I need your help for a minute.” She waved Burke back. “I’m fine, honey. I just need an extra set of hands to carry something I forgot.” Once in the kitchen, she turned on the faucet and pulled him with her right by the sink. Even for Rachel, this was odd.

“Ah, Rach? You okay?” He glanced at her barely rounded belly. “The kitten giving you problems?”

Rachel tugged him close by the ear, ignoring his small yelp, and whispered harshly, “Your brother is driving me crazy with his constant worry. I don’t need your shit too. What’s wrong with you? You’ve been giving Miles dirty looks all through dinner. Cut it out.”

She let him go and he rubbed his ear, annoyed but knowing better than to take it out on his sister-in-law.

“I don’t like Miles. Never have. He’s an arrogant prick—ah, jerk.”

“He’s in trouble. He and his sisters need our help.”

Grady counted to ten in his head. “I know.”

“So stop being such a jerk yourself and help him. Burke’s so clingy lately it’s giving me fits, so he’s not going to be much use. Joel and Maggie are going on a trip to Florida for a few days to get away. We’ll make sure Dean and Monty are occupied in Whitefish with the tours next week. It seems to me helping Miles—who will be staying here at the ranch—will give you an excuse to be near Gabby.”

He blinked. He hadn’t expected Rachel’s help. “Thanks?”

“Sure. But if I could give you some advice? If you’re serious about her, don’t let her see you dance again. And don’t wear a hat or bow tie. Not a great look on you, Grady.” She shook her head, grabbed the pot of leftover vegetables sitting on the stove and left him standing by the sink.

Grady took a moment, turned off the water and walked back in a much calmer cat.

He did his best not to react to Miles. The way the bastard flirted with Gabby, complimented her sister and flat-out impressed Rachel with his knowledge of totems and antiques was enough to drive him insane. He deliberately turned to Stacey.

She toyed with the food on her plate, sneaking glances around the table. No doubt making snide remarks to herself about the
hillbilly
Chastells. The woman was a beauty, but such a cold thing. Not like Gabby, who could warm a room just by smiling.

“You okay, Stace?”

“It’s Stacey, with an E-Y. And no, I’m not.”

“What exactly did they do to you down there?” He thought he’d kept his voice low enough, but the entire table quieted.

“Time to share with the rest of the pride what’s been going on, Miles.” Burke and Rachel shared a glance. “We don’t run things like the Florida pride. We’re family here, all of us. The wolf, the bears, the foxes and the rest of us.”

“Rest of us superior cats,” Dean tacked on.

Monty’s lip curled. “You wish.”

“Well said,” Joel, the lone bear, added. His wife, Maggie, laughed.

Stacey and her sisters glanced at each other with worry.

Miles folded his napkin. “I do appreciate you letting us eat before delving into the unpleasantness.”

Christ, could the cat ever talk without sounding like he had a stick shoved up his ass?

“Most of you don’t know this, but we have—or I should say,
had
—a large pride down in Florida.”

“In the Everglades,” Stacey corrected.

“But our family kept apart, running a lucrative business in Miami.”

“Doing what?” Julia asked. The clever fox looked good sitting next to her husband. She glowed with her new pregnancy, and Grady had a sudden thought that Miles and his family being here might not be safe for the pride if their troubles followed them.

Stacey answered her. “Designer fashion. I design upscale clothing. Joy, Melissa and Amy sew. Miles is our financial whiz.”

Dean whistled. “Didn’t know you were into lady clothes, Miles. ’Course, as prissy as you are, it kinda makes sense.”

Rachel glared at him; Grady and Monty shared a grin.

Miles ignored Dean. “It’s a very successful venture, and not the only one I deal with. But that’s beside the point. To make a long story short, my pride leader mysteriously disappeared just after his two sons returned to town. In the span of a few months, they turned the pride inside-out. Lex is the oldest, with Ronnie a few years his junior. They’ve gone through money and resources like they’re water. Then they set their sights on us.”

Stacey scowled. “And not just for the money. We told them to forget it, but they don’t like to be told no.”