A Cougar's Claim (Charmed in Vegas Book 7) (16 page)

“Well, I think I should get to bite you back then.” The musk of arousal rose from her, and she licked her lips.

His cock swelled. “After your first shift.”

“Do you want me to?”

How could she have the confidence to perform almost naked on stage, so brave and almost crazy when fighting a demon, and yet get all quiet and hesitant with him? Fuck. This was his fucking fault. “I don’t want anything more, right now, than for you to bite me so fucking hard it takes a week to heal.”

Reaching to cover the hand he still had on the nape of her neck, she squeezed his fingers. “Okay.”

The simple reply hung in the air, a fragile construct between them.

“I want to climb into this bed and make you scream yourself hoarse, but we’ve got to clear shit up with the mob and find my cousin.” Not knowing precisely where to start, he figured he’d try and find the werewolf who’d approached him on the sidewalk after the confrontation with Lillith. “I smelled a female werewolf in that room back at the Thornhill Regency. Know if there’s a local pack?”

“Yeah. The bar I dance at, The Howler. It’s owned by the pack here in Vegas. But when I tried calling there earlier, I couldn’t get ahold of anyone, remember?” She finished her eggs and he took the empty plate, satisfied to see she’d eaten everything he ordered for her.

“After the second time Lilith attacked us, I ran into a guy on the sidewalk that said he knew where Jase was, that Jase was causing trouble for their pack.” He finger combed her tangled hair. He just had to keep touching her. “He introduced himself as Paul Sloane. Ever heard of him?”

“Shit. Paul’s kind of an asshole. Unmated, possessive with his lovers. I think he came here from another pack.” Rhiannon dropped the sheet and clambered over him to get to the bag of clothes. “Callum and his twin Tristan are the alphas. I’m not sure how they feel about Paul, but he’s a wolf, Jase isn’t. They won’t let Jase live for long if he’s really screwing stuff up. Or they’ll find him amusing and let him hang around. Those two are just...they’re weird.”

A twinge of jealousy uncurled in his gut over her focus on Jase’s wellbeing. Maybe they should just leave Jase to take care of his own mess for once. They could leave Vegas and not look back. “You sure you want to run in to rescue him? He has a way of getting out of trouble on his own. He is a grown up, Rhiannon.”

“He has my money! Did you forget about Mancini? I could run off with you now, but I don’t want to start a life together with this crap hanging over my head. Plus, Jase is my friend. We’re really close.” Rhiannon threw her hands up and tossed aside a discarded pillow. She ripped the tags off the bra and panty set he’d purchased. Bounced over and dropped a quick kiss on his lips. “These are pretty. Thanks.”

“Mancini was dealing with you as a human before. Now you’re a cougar shifter with the backing of a clan. He’ll leave you alone.” And if he didn’t, Kit would rip his throat out. “Odds are good Jase doesn’t have the money anymore. We both know that. I came out here to find Jase and bring him home, not start a war with another shifter group or the mob.”

“Kit, we aren’t leaving him. I don’t walk away from my debts, and no matter what Jase did, I’m not going to let the wolves have him. Callum and Tristan aren’t guys you want to fuck with, okay? I know them. They helped me get my start, you know? And you know Jase. He thinks with his dick more than his head, but he’s not a bad person.”

“He’s irresponsible, juvenile, and he screwed you over. We’re going to have to disagree about whether or not he’s a total dick. I’ll have my uncle send someone else to get him.” He didn’t hate his cousin, but there was some small part of him that didn’t want Rhiannon anywhere near Jase. When he’d come out here, he was an unmated male shifter high enough in the clan hierarchy to throw some weight around with the locals if needed, but not so high up that if he died it’d hurt the clan.

Now he had a mate to protect, a future to think about. He wanted to get her away from any danger, get settled into a new life and future.

“Kit, you know that’s a totally crappy thing to do.” Censure in her tone, she frowned at him. “You’re here, you have a pretty good idea where he might be. Let’s go look.”

Helping her smooth her new shirt down over her head, Kit groaned. He couldn’t lose her again. She was bound to him, they were mates. Nothing could tear that apart. Right?

Except, he’d done that before. Torn them apart himself, years ago.

“So then you stay here and I’ll go after him. Some of my friends are here in the hotel and they can protect you while I’m gone.” Underneath the minty smell of the hotel body wash, he detected his own scent entwined with hers. The evidence of their mating helped calm him. He kissed her throat, the nape of her neck, her ear lobe. “You’re more important to me than Jase. If it comes down to leaving him to save you, I’m leaving him.”

“You’re so worried this is going to be a big battle with like, rocket launchers or something.”

No, not rocket launchers. But he had a bad feeling about that bar. With a demon on their trail, the two henchmen he’d taken out at the train station, the Wild Hunt in town, and the rumors about Inila’s mate heading for Vegas, Kit wasn’t going to let his guard down for even a second.

Part of him wanted to order her to stay put. Let him handle it. But he knew harsh words or actions would send her running from him. Was this going to be their first fight as mates? If she was by his side he’d be able to keep an eye on her himself. “Sure you won’t stay here? My friend Daegus is a blast.”

“I’m sure. I won’t change my mind so stop stalling. I want to be able to leave Vegas behind without worrying that Mancini is after me.” She rushed to him, kissed him once, hard and fast, and tugged him behind her to the door. “Come on, let’s get this over with. I’m dying to give you a private dance.”

Wicked, wanton female. A purely male growl rumbled up from his chest. She had him on a leash already and he couldn’t be happier. Swinging her up into his arms, he sprinted down the hallway, passing more than one open door.

Each framed a member of the Wild Hunt, his old friends whooping and hollering, filling the air with a reverberating concussion of sound.

“Who the hell are they?”

“Fae shapeshifters. My friends.” Kit couldn’t wait for the elevator, heading for the stairwell instead. “I spent a few years traveling with them.”

“I bet they all have pierced dicks.” Rhiannon peeked over his shoulder. “Ugh. And motorcycles. Let’s make them take Jase with them. Maybe he’ll stay out of trouble that way.”

“You obviously don’t know anything about the fae if you think they’ll keep someone out of trouble.”

T
he Howler mimicked an old, rustic bar like one of dozens on the Vegas strip, despite being established for only seven years. Housed inside the enormous Shifted Reality hotel and casino complex, the establishment had the requisite neon beer signs adorning the windows and walls, a huge mirror behind the bar, and a scuffed wooden floor. A large curtained stage ran from one side of the bar to the other across the back wall with the bar situated to the right of the entry. The pure predictability of the place was part of what Rhiannon loved about it.

Rhiannon led Kit around to the left of the faux building within a building, entranced by her heightened sense of smell. She caught traces of perfume, sweat, sex, flowers, hamburgers and eggplant parmesan.

Kit prowled near her left hip, a half-step ahead of her. She couldn’t argue with him about the arrangement as he managed to make it appear they were directly side by side. But his boot heel hit the ground moments before hers, and he’d angled his chest in a slight diagonal. If you weren’t looking for the signs, you wouldn’t know they were there.

“There’s a back entrance for performers and staff back here.” Sniffing the air, she tried to parcel the scents into viable threads that indicated an individual, but she didn’t have a clue. Her poor nose had never been anything but decoration before in comparison to the array of information relayed by the same organ post mating. “Do you...?”

“Yes. He’s here. Or he was recently.” Kit scanned the area around them, his gaze never resting in any one place for long. “Keep your guard up. I smell the demon as well.”

“Fuck. What is her issue anyway?” Heart beating faster and sweat beading in her palms, Rhiannon wanted to be tough and unafraid, but the demon had almost killed her. Her cougar surfaced enough for Rhiannon to make out a pair of gold eyes and the dark tips of her ears, but that was all. The cat wanted to hide until the right moment presented itself to attack.

Unfortunately, Rhiannon had to throw herself and Kit into more danger so a moment could present itself to begin with.

“I don’t think she’ll be an issue. After she tried to strangle you, I ripped her throat out.” Kit waited near the side entrance, his attention focused outward.

Rhiannon blanched. “You’re so casual about it, like it’s no big deal to kill someone.”

“She tried to kill you. No one harms what is mine.” The beast swam to the surface in Kit’s eyes, his face hard and unapologetic. “I screwed up the first time she attacked. No demon will ever get that close to you ever again.”

“Aren’t you afraid the police will arrest you? Oh God Kit, you shouldn’t have killed her,” she hissed under her breath. “Let’s just go. They could be searching for you right now.”

“Lilith was a demon. There’s no law against killing a demon.” He towed her in close, held her cheek to his chest, and kissed her head. Sucking deep breaths, she let his scent wash over her and calm her. “She mentioned a price on Jase’s head. My guess is she wanted to get paid. She was a bounty hunter and a demon. If that meant she took you out in the process of getting him, she didn’t care as long as she got paid.”

“I wish Inila didn’t have such strong feelings about eating ogres. She could munch Mancini and I wouldn’t be having these issues.” Rhiannon punched in the number code to unlock the door and pushed the heavy steel slab open. “Plus she’d have the fun of taking over a mob family. I’m actually kind of surprised she hasn’t thought of it on her own.”

“She has. She told me to tell you to take a deal with her. I knew you’d refuse.”

“Damn skippy. She’s my friend, but...” Rhiannon let Kit slip past her.

He smiled at her, the expression filled with approval and damn if that didn’t warm her up from the inside. “She’s a dragon.”

“Exactly.”

Alcohol and the astringent nostril burning reek of cleanser wafted into her nose. Preceding her into the dimly lit hallway that ran behind the stage to a small employee lunch room, the communal dressing room, and some storage areas, Kit took her hand and tucked her fingers into the back of his waistband.

“So my hands are free,” he whispered in her ear.

The brush of his lips sent tingles cascading across her skin, almost the same as when they were teenagers.

With cautious, measured steps, they crept through the lunch room. An array of food wrappers and empty take out cartons littered the space. Liquor and beer bottles rested on every surface in the room and the garbage cans overflowed.

Oh, Jase was definitely here. The man had an ability to create disastrous messes everywhere he went. It was his magic power.

Well, that and getting women naked and wrapped around him in under a minute.

Continuing to follow her mate, Rhiannon prodded Kit forward to the communal dressing room. They peeked in, spotted two couples passed out on the floor in a happy foursome, naked limbs entwined and the thick musk of sex in the air.

Kit chuckled. He choked on the reaction when he spotted Rhiannon’s expression. She glared and stomped to the door to their left.

“What?” The crunch-crumple of a cellophane snack bag under foot. “Looks like they had a hell of a time.”

“Yeah. And I bet your cousin is here somewhere buried in a mountain of pussy. Now, normally I’d get out the instant film camera and start snapping—Charlie and Nick back there can’t stand each other because Nick’s mate Clover used to date Charlie and Charlie’s mate Hannah instantly hates anyone who used to date Charlie. But there they are, all smooshed together like a big happy sex sandwich.” Rhiannon walked backward a few steps, stumbling over a discarded men’s sneaker and a spatula. “Hannah’s a mega bitch.”

“So what’s the matter then?” Kit maneuvered his way ahead of her. “I really don’t think there’s any danger here.”

“The problem is that your cousin is or was here and he has a hundred fifty grand I owe a loan shark who’s going to try and make me be his harem girl. His own little fuck toy. Or did you forget?” Frustration and annoyance curdled her stomach, sent her fingertips tingling. She wanted to smack the idiotic look off Kit’s face. “I have a bad feeling my money funded this party.”

“No, I didn’t forget about Mancini.” In the dim illumination provided by some emergency lighting high on the wall, Kit managed to appear chagrined. “That back there was unexpected, that’s all. Cougars don’t tend to congregate in big groups like this.”

“Ah. Well, welcome to your first orgy.” Smirking, she brushed him aside. Rhiannon strode for the main bar area, managing to avoid the worst of the mess scattered across the floor. With the front of the building that faced the rest of the hotel/casino windowless, they hadn’t gotten a peek inside before.

“Oh. My.” Gingerly picking her way across the floor to avoid stepping on people, trash, and overturned furniture, Rhiannon’s mouth hung open. Clothes hung from light fixtures. The reek of cigarettes and marijuana hung in a low, pungent cloud over the room.

And the naked people. Naked people everywhere you looked. One lone couple fucked over by the far wall, with only enough stamina to move against each other with the speed of a couple hundred-year-old tortoises.

“I can’t...I can’t even....” Moving on tippy toe to avoid crushing a man’s outstretched hand, Rhiannon went cold inside. Fury unlike anything she’d ever known seeped into her gut, into her bones, into her blood and bile and every cell of her being. Ice enclosed her. This anger didn’t burn, it encased anything in its path in the resolute grip of sub-zero temperatures and decimated all life. “He had a party. That mother fucker had a
party
while I was burying my mother.”