Courted by her Cougar (Cougar Creek Mates Shifter Romance Series Book 3) Read online

  He could be whatever she needed him to be.

  Rath handed her another beer, which she accepted with a graceful dip of her chin and by saluting his brother with the bottle.

  “Here’s to new friendships…” She held Rath’s gaze, hers filled with light and warmth that made him want to snarl and fight his brother, and her tone remained gentle as she stared his brother down. “Long may they last… because you don’t want to see my bad side and if you hurt Ivy, I’ll hurt you.”

  It was said in a light way, a hint of a joke about it, but Flint could see she was deadly serious as she held his brother’s gaze.

  Flint looked from her to Ivy. Her friend.

  Her only friend.

  He got why she was so protective. She was close to Ivy, and they seemed more like sisters than friends to him as Ivy poked Yasmin in the ribs and they broke out into giggles, talking about how terrified Rath had looked.

  Flint sipped his beer, absorbing the conversation as it began to roll. Rath moved past Yasmin, coming to stand beside Ivy to lean against the railing there, on the opposite side of the deck to Flint. He held the females captivated as he told Yasmin about the creek, made up bullshit about the people who had cabins here, and about what was happening.

  Flint’s focus drifted back to Yasmin, and he lost himself again in watching the way she smiled as she talked, and laughed at times, the soft sound lending warmth to her words. The setting sun cast a golden glow over her skin, and she paused to look at it, her profile to him as she drank it in.

  “It’s really beautiful here,” she murmured, sounding as lost as he felt. “Has the land been in your family long?”

  Rath shook his head. “We moved here after we lost our parents.”

  Sorrow drew the warmth from her eyes as she looked at his brother. “I’m sorry. It’s never easy losing someone you love.”

  She reached over and squeezed Ivy’s hand, and Rath looked at his mate, concern written across every line of his face.

  Ivy shrugged stiff shoulders. “I met Yasmin when I lost my father. We bonded over it in the corridor of the hospital. I felt so alone, alienated from the world, and Yasmin… well… Yasmin brought me back.”

  Ivy twisted her hand beneath Yasmin’s and linked their fingers.

  Yasmin smiled softly.

  “It wasn’t easy for me to lose my parents, and when I saw you, you reminded me so much of myself.” Her smile faltered but returned brighter, her tone lighter as she shook her head. “You still do… although you’re far more reckless… you don’t see me running off and falling in love with a mountain man.”

  Ivy smiled, and he felt her eyes land on him for the briefest moment before they shifted up to Rath and she started talking again. Her words were lost on him as he stared at Yasmin.

  She had lost her parents too.

  It struck a chord in him.

  Her eyes dropped to her knees and then subtly lifted, meeting his as he looked at her.

  In them, he could see the loneliness that beat inside him.

  Loneliness he refused to acknowledge, but that burned like a cold numbing fire in his chest as he fell into her fathomless dark eyes, drawn to the surface by the way it echoed in them, calling to him.

  Filling him with a need to find a way to break down her barriers and make her surrender to him so he could take care of her.

  So he could ease her loneliness and his.

  He stared into her eyes, hiding nothing from her, holding nothing back, letting her see that she wasn’t alone.

  And she didn’t have to be lonely anymore.

  She only had to give in to him and they could erase the cold from around their hearts.

  Even if it was only for a moment.

  CHAPTER 4

  Flint had risen before the sun, unable to settle after waking from another torturous dream that had been a gift from his restless cougar side.

  Only this time, the gathering hadn’t been responsible for the wicked fantasy that had ended with him waking hard as stone and primed for a female.

  He groaned as his thoughts leaped on the chance to return to the sultry, exotic temptress that had been the star of his dreams.

  Yasmin.

  He stomped around the woods, following the path he always took whenever he patrolled, not noticing that the dark was giving way to light as the sun finally began to rise over the mountains beyond the glacier at the head of the valley behind him. His focus was firmly on Yasmin, replaying every smile and glance, every laugh and even all the scowls, as he headed back towards the clearing.

  He slowed as he neared Storm’s vacant cabin, his thoughts finally shifting away from Yasmin. Would he see Storm again before the gathering ended? He wanted to catch up with his brother, but he could understand why Storm was reluctant to return to Cougar Creek.

  Storm was doing his damnedest to smooth things over between the pride and his new mate, but Flint was yet to see any positive effect from the news he had been sending to Rath via email.

  Flint had hardly believed it himself, had only grudgingly accepted it as fact when Rath had pressed him after showing him the proof Gabriella and Storm had sent to him.

  They had done some digging in her half-brother’s computer and had discovered he had been working alone, and had forwarded a few email conversations where Archangel had rejected his attempts to work with them.

  In one of them, Archangel had labelled him as dangerous.

  Turned out they were right about him in that respect.

  The male had been dangerous, so bent on revenge that he had run solo instead.

  He had used the information he had uncovered from the original attack on Flint’s pride over thirty years ago together with a network of wildlife photographers he had been secretly using to do his research for him in order to discover potential locations of shifters. He had almost bankrupted himself hiring mercenaries to take with him on expensive hunting trips to kill Flint’s kind, and the last trip had brought him to Cougar Creek.

  Just thinking about that had Flint questioning Gabriella’s motives all over again, which only made him feel that Storm had done the right thing by taking her away from the creek. It was going to be a long time before he and everyone else in the pride came to trust her.

  Which meant he probably wouldn’t be seeing his brother at the creek before the gathering came to a close.

  He made a mental note to email Storm when he got back to his cabin. If they couldn’t catch up in person, they could at least catch up via email, and maybe Storm could set his mind at ease about Gabriella.

  He stifled a yawn as he pushed on.

  Gods, he needed to wash up and hit the caffeine or maybe try to catch a little more sleep before he had to do his next patrol.

  His footsteps slowed as a delicate citrus scent snagged his attention and had his cougar side instantly standing to attention, on alert as he took a deeper breath to draw the subtle fragrance down into his lungs. He held it there, relished it like the finest wine, or maybe a drug, because it had come from his newest addiction.

  Yasmin.

  He tracked her scent past Storm’s cabin and across the thirty-metre wedge of forest that divided it from Rath’s one, weaving through the towering pines as he narrowed the distance between them.

  He couldn’t stop himself from pausing behind one of the broader trunks, his instincts to hunt stealing control as he sensed Yasmin nearby. He peered around the tree, wanted to groan all over again at the sight of her where she sat on the same chair she had occupied last night, curled up with her feet resting on the seat, a thick fawn-coloured blanket draped around her shoulders as she clutched a steaming mug in both hands.

  Her hair was down now, black waves tumbling around her shoulders, concealing part of her face as she stared straight ahead, towards the river that formed the border of Rath’s territory at the bottom of the two-hundred metre sloping green.

  In the weak morning light, her skin looked a darker shade of bronze, and her eyes appeared near bla
ck, but gods, she was just as beautiful as he remembered.

  And alone.

  Rath and Ivy were at the river, his brother doing an awful job of keeping his distance as his mate waited for the black bears and other wildlife to make their morning visit to the creek.

  A perfect opportunity to talk with Yasmin alone.

  He backtracked past Storm’s cabin and emerged from the woods, hitting the path that led from the cabins on that side of the creek and skirted the front of Storm’s one.

  The moment he reached the clearing, her eyes leaped to him, sending a bolt of lightning down his spine followed by heat that blasted the chill of morning off his skin beneath his black fleece and dark blue jeans.

  Flint stalked towards her, unable to hold back the urge to hunt her as she stared at him. A male stumbled out of the woods to Flint’s left, where the tents had been set up, yawning and scrubbing his sandy hair, his eyes growing brighter as they landed on Yasmin.

  Flint bared his emerging fangs at the male, warning him away.

  The blond didn’t put up a fight, just turned and trudged along the path towards where Rath had set up a temporary bathing station.

  Flint split his focus between the male and Yasmin, who had gone back to watching the river, hugging that chipped white mug to her chest as if it was a hot water bottle. If she needed something to warm her up, he could make her burn so hot she would never feel the cold again.

  He reached the deck and strolled past her, held back a grin when she surreptitiously glanced at him as soon as his back was to her. He swung her way, shooting her a warm smile instead.

  “Morning.” He stepped up onto the deck and parked his ass in the chair beside her.

  She diligently kept her eyes off him and on the bears where they had emerged now. The two cubs were getting bigger, becoming more of a handful for the mother black bear.

  And Rath.

  Their curiosity had them looking Ivy’s way several times as she crouched on the other side of the river to them, snapping photographs.

  Which had Rath restlessly prowling back and forth around a hundred metres from his mate, agitated by the need to protect her as it warred with a need to keep his distance so she could enjoy the bears that made her so happy.

  Which in turn had the mother bear growing wary and agitated too.

  Rath clearly sensed it, because he took stiff steps backwards, placing more distance between him and the bear, and Ivy. Probably killed his brother to do that. Poor bastard. He didn’t envy Rath. If he scared the bears away, Ivy would be upset with him, but his cougar instincts were strong where his mate was concerned, drove him to protect her from any and all threats.

  Normally, protecting a female got you gratitude, not a scolding.

  Although he had the feeling that if he tried to protect Yasmin, she would probably bash him over the head. She seemed convinced that she could handle herself, was strong enough to face danger head on and survive.

  Her eyes remained locked on the bears, a flicker of fascination in them as she nursed the cup of herbal tea that smelled of raspberries.

  If he kissed her, would she taste of them too?

  He dragged his eyes away from her and fixed them on the river. “Why aren’t you down there with Ivy?”

  She didn’t look at him. “I’m not a morning person. Maybe later, if the bears come back. Right now, I just need to wake up.”

  “I could wake you up. I’m dedicated to ensuring women start their days happy.” He knew it was a mistake before he finished, but he couldn’t stop the words from leaving his lips.

  She frowned and he silently cursed himself for being a fucking idiot.

  Although he couldn’t see why she was so bent on resisting him.

  He had caught her looking, knew she felt the heat that burned between them as fiercely as he did.

  “I’m not interested in you, Flint, and I never will be.” Her cold tone lashed at him and the look she levelled on him chilled him as he stared at her.

  He fell into her eyes, waiting for the paler flecks to burn with the heat that blazed in his own veins, fire he knew she felt.

  When they remained cold, no trace of warmth in them, no glimmer of desire, he couldn’t shake the surprise that went through him.

  Or the irritation.

  Rath stepped up onto the deck. “Damn Ivy chased me off again.”

  Yasmin tilted her head up and smiled at his brother, her brown eyes flooding with warmth that made the gold flecks sparkle.

  Flint growled, shoved out of the chair, and left the deck without looking back.

  “Flint?” Rath called and he ignored his brother.

  And the way Yasmin’s gaze landed on him.

  He shut her out, refused to look at her as he wanted, strode headlong into the forest towards his cabin.

  Unlike a lot of the others, it was shrouded by the woods, enclosed on all sides and set way back from the path that led to a couple of other cabins. The design was similar to Rath’s cabin, with the small ground floor comprising of a living room with a kitchen area that overlooked the deck, and a separate bathroom. In the loft, he had created a bedroom beneath the steep eaves, with steps that led up to it from the far end of the living room. Unlike Rath’s cabin, he hadn’t put in a triangular picture window on the gable end. A small rectangular window sat in the space beneath the two sides of the pitched roof, allowing some light to filter into his bedroom.

  Wasn’t as if he had a view to admire like Rath did. The trees were too dense on this side of the clearing, obscuring everything.

  He stepped up onto the deck, shoved the door open, and stormed into the bathroom. The cold water he splashed on his face did nothing to ease his mood. He growled at his reflection.

  “Fucking idiot.”

  Yasmin had made it clear she didn’t respond to him flirting with her, and he still hadn’t been able to stop himself from shooting his mouth off, trying to charm her. It worked on other females, but it wasn’t going to work on her.

  She wasn’t like them.

  She was different.

  He frowned at that.

  She was different.

  He had noticed it more today, had been aware of it as he had sat beside her, alone with her. There was something about her that set her apart from Ivy, from any human he had ever met. But what was it?

  He shook it off. He was just riled, annoyed with himself and irritated by her giving him the cold shoulder and turning him down. The only thing that set her apart from other females was the fact she was a challenge, was the first female in a very long time not to just give in to him.

  The first female who had fought him.

  He shoved away from the mirror and went on the hunt, prowling into the small kitchen area that was little more than a handful of cupboards, a sink, a basic stove and a tiny under-counter refrigerator.

  A growl curled from his lips as he stared at the coffee maker and realised he had forgotten to turn it on before leaving for his patrol. That growl became a snarl as he opened the round tin beside it and found it was empty save a few beans.

  “Fucking great.” He tossed the can onto the counter.

  It clattered, spinning and bouncing off everything before eventually toppling to the wooden floor as he stormed back out of his cabin.

  The door slammed behind him, echoing in the still morning air as he strode through the woods.

  Towards Rath’s cabin.

  His returning there had everything to do with coffee and nothing to do with Yasmin.

  He was over her.

  In a few weeks, he would be back up north, and he could scratch this itch that was irritating the hell out of him. Just a few weeks and he could have any beauty he wanted.

  Because he didn’t want her.

  She wasn’t his type, and besides, he had more important things to focus on, like finding out more about her for his brother.

  Yet, the moment she moved, he was hyper-aware of her, was singling her out and hanging on every word that left h
er tempting lips.

  “I’ll come see the bears next time. They will come back?” She didn’t sound sure, and he was close to biting out that of course they would come back.

  They came every fucking day.

  Although maybe he would prowl the damned river for the rest of her stay to ensure they never returned.

  Spiteful, yes. Childish, definitely. But he was feeling a little tetchy like that.

  “They’ll come, but sometimes people moving around makes them uneasy so they might skip a day or two.” The way Ivy’s eyes landed on him as she said that had him glancing at her and catching the scowl she directed at him.

  She was getting good at reading his kind if she could pick up his mood.

  He curled his lip to flash a fang at her and stomped into the cabin without saying hello. Rath arched an eyebrow at him as he snatched the coffee jug and a mug from his hands, poured until the cup was full, and left without saying a word.

  Yasmin’s gaze landed on his back, sending heat scorching along his bones, but this time he ignored her and carried his bounty away with him towards the river. He stopped a hundred metres from it and parked himself against his favourite tree because he wasn’t a complete bastard, didn’t have a cold enough heart to stop the bears from coming after all.

  He sipped his coffee, shutting out the way she glanced at him from time to time, and the way Rath came onto the deck to stare at him.

  He was acting up, but hopefully his brother would put it down to the season and how it had him on edge because he was single, a male who could and should be participating in the gathering, not standing by and watching as other males got to scratch their itches.

  Flint glared at every male who passed him as he stood guard, the aggression he felt simmering in his veins, refusing to abate. Every male who dared to look at him received a flash of his fangs in return, but none of them took the bait. Bastards.

  If he couldn’t fuck, then he needed a fight.

  He scanned the cougars as they came and went, singling out the males who looked on edge, as riled and restless as he was. It wouldn’t be long before their hormones got the better of a few of them, causing a fight to break out, one that wasn’t over a female.