Outfoxed (9 page)

“You’re finally mine.” The satisfaction in his face gave her pause.

“Yeah, well, you’re mine too.”

Instead of showing worry that he could no longer tomcat around town, the canny male winked at her. “Honey, I’ve been yours since you took a bullet for your sister.” He rubbed her left thigh, where not even a scar remained to indicate she’d been injured. “That kind of courage, inside that gorgeous cat, got my notice.”

He didn’t let her go, but continued to remain inside her.

She leaned down and kissed him again. “You just wanted a cat.”

He frowned when she pulled away. “Bullshit. I could have had any of the cats who are right now sitting around the pride. I wanted you.”

She knew the moment he remembered Joy, because his expression grew shuttered. Before she could say something to ease his pain, he rolled her over and proceeded to love her until she couldn’t move. The man shouldn’t have had the stamina, but he did. Lord, did he.

When he’d wrung another orgasm out of her and had made a real mess again, filling her up, she pleaded for mercy.

“Okay, okay.” She tried to catch her breath, feeling completely boneless. “I give up. You win.”

He grinned down at her, his face flushed with spent passion. “Honey, I’d say we both win.” He sniffed the crook of her neck, then licked her there. “Oh yeah. No going back now.” He opened his mouth to say something else, then froze.

“Grady?”

In seconds he’d pulled out of her and shifted into his cat.
“Someone’s out there.”

Gabby turned into her fox without thought, the need for speed and cover overriding her concern about size.
“Go. I’ll watch your back.”
If they encountered real danger, she’d shift into her larger, more lethal animal.

“Be careful.”
Then he screamed in warning at whatever awaited them and took off like a shot.

She followed, relying on her sense of smell and hearing, as her vision wasn’t as good in this form. When Grady stopped a few moments later, she stopped with him. He turned his head and opened his mouth to taste the scent on his tongue.

“Feline, but I don’t know him.”
Grady shook his head, his ears back, alert.
“He’s gone now, whoever he is. I didn’t detect aggression in his scent, though you never know. I’ll let Burke handle this. We have more important things to do.”

“Like what?”
she teased.

“Let’s get back and finish this discussion.”
Then his eyes widened when he took a good, hard look at her. He grinned.
“You are so cute.”

“Cute? I’m vicious.”
As a cat she would have bared her teeth at him, but as a fox, she lacked the facial muscles to do so. Instead, she pounced on his tail and gave him a warning bark.

He chuffed at her and flicked his tail away, but not before she’d nipped it.

“Ouch. Okay, Rambo. Let’s head home.”

Home. With Grady. She liked the sound of that. She trotted next to him, preening as she accepted his flattery and appreciative study. Her fox liked the nimble-tongued feline. And speaking of nimble tongues…

She whispered what she wanted to do with him when they returned, and he nudged her to hurry. She smiled. She couldn’t wait.

From some distance away, he watched them turn and leave, glad he’d had the foresight to roll in the carcass and entrails of the deer he’d killed earlier to mask most of his scent. Stupid to have gotten too close. But he’d wanted to see if the rumors he’d heard were true. Another feline, but one that could shift into a fox as well? Intriguing, and she would definitely be of interest back home. If he planned on telling.

Because Quince had no intention of helping the jackass currently ruining the pride with anything other than dying, and only after he’d seen to his own future—one that included a sexy cat with claws.

He needed to report something though, especially since the female had been claimed by a Chastell. Which brought him to a particularly sore point—Chastell’s bastard younger brother. Now what to do about him…and Joy? He climbed down the tree he’d been hiding in and ignored the urge to mark the spot as his. Instead, he wandered back into the forest, debating how far to take things. Initiative was a wonderful thing, but too much of it could get him killed.

Chapter Six

They spent Saturday making love and having the time of their lives in an upscale bed and breakfast in Whitefish. Grady had gone to great expense to treat Gabby to a romantic weekend away from everyone and everything but him. It had been a magical time he’d never forget, and it had forced him to confront his feelings. He’d decided to tell her the truth—he loved her. The big L. The issue with Joy and Dean could wait. It bothered the hell out of him he had to deal with it, but as soon as he reasoned a way to tell Gabby without looking like a horse’s ass, he’d do it.

There was no way they could hide the mating scent from the others. The thought of flaunting his relationship in front of Miles excited the immature competitor within. “Stupid,” he muttered, wishing he and Gabby could have spent forever sequestered and in love.

But
was
she in love? He thought so. The way she looked at him, the way she’d loved him with her entire being. He compared her glances to the ones Rachel gave his brother—a pair of cats totally enamored of one another. Gabby never seemed annoyed with him. She got him. She liked that he worked in Whitefish, away from town. She appreciated his close ties to his brothers and that he planned to live in the pride until the day he died. With any luck, they could convert his or her cabin into a place big enough to raise cats. Kits. Whatever.

He hadn’t brought up the question of babies, and he wouldn’t until he confessed how he felt and heard it returned. Sweat covered his brow. What if this was all just fun to her? Some hot sex and light-hearted play? Foxes were devious creatures, after all. Yet he’d scented a deeper bond, hadn’t he? Or was he just overwhelmed by their chemistry? Would their mingled scent fade in time?

Fuck. He needed to talk to Burke, to figure out what the hell he and Gabby really had. He knew what he felt, but the time had come to determine what she felt as well.

Sunday afternoon, he pulled his truck up to her cabin to drop her off. “I’ll meet you back here in an hour, okay?”

She kissed him with a lingering desire that only sparked brighter when they touched. “Sure thing, hot stuff.” She giggled. Actually
giggled
and flushed that pretty pink. Then she left the truck and entered her house.

Their joined fragrance lingered after, appeasing the feline inside him.

He still worried about her avoidance of anything serious and pondered what that might mean as he drove back home. He’d parked before he realized he wasn’t alone. Unable to avoid him, Grady left his truck and lugged his travel bag onto the porch.

“Well, well. Bad kitty finally comes home.” Monty took a long drag on a beer bottle and pushed himself away from the front door.

Monty. Work. The fishing tour he’d been supposed to take out on the boat this weekend, when he’d been with Gabby instead. “Shit.”

“Yeah, shit. When you didn’t show on Saturday and refused to answer your cell, Dean and I covered for you. Look, I appreciate that you’re finally getting a piece of ass—”

Before the wolf could finish his sentence, Grady had him by the throat against the door. “Do not, I repeat,
do not
ever
refer to my mate as a piece of ass.”

Monty choked out an apology and sucked in a breath when Grady dropped him.

“Fucking cat claws.” He winced at the cuts at his throat.

Grady would have felt bad at losing control if Monty hadn’t insulted Gabby, so he said nothing.

The wolf had the grace to know he’d been in the wrong. “Hell. I’m sorry, okay? I didn’t mean anything by it. I like Gabby. You, on the other hand, are a pain in my ass.” Monty braced himself against the wall and stood, fingering his throat. “I was this close…” he put his thumb and forefinger together “… to having Sophie accept an actual date without laughing. From me, you asshole, not
Scooby
.”

Grady smothered a grin.

“But instead of going out to dinner, I spent my weekend entertaining businessmen fly-fishing.” He sneered. “I hate fish.”

“The Watson group. Sorry about that.” He
so
wasn’t. “But Gabby and I…we mated. She’s mine.”
I think.

“Good God. You mean it. So that scent all over you isn’t just sex. I thought it smelled deeper.”

And if Monty could smell it, the others definitely would. Miles included.

“Well, I’m off. Dean will be by soon enough to tear you a new one.” Monty punched him in the arm. “Next time, dickhead, just call to let us know you’re busy doing whatever with that delightful vixen.” He paused. “For the record, foxes are more dog than cat. Wolves, jackals, foxes. We’re canids, dude.”

Grady grinned. “Please. She’s a fox, a cat and mine. Not a dog, Scooby.”

Monty shot him the finger and walked away, looking awfully graceful for a gray wolf, though Grady didn’t think he’d like knowing that being in the pride was rubbing off on him.

Thinking he’d survived the worst of it, he entered and took a quick shower, wanting to be perfect for Gabby while avoiding his brother at the same time. But when he exited the shower, he found an irritable Dean waiting for him. To make matters worse, Joy stood with him, looking equally annoyed.

He gripped the towel around his waist tight and faced them. How bad could it be?

Gabby decided to surprise Grady. She couldn’t wait to be with him again. No one around here locked doors or windows, so she figured she’d sneak through his bedroom window. When he came out of the shower, he’d find her naked and waiting…and ready to confess. She took a deep breath and let it out slowly. She was going to do it. To admit how she felt, but only after making him say it first. Her fox yapped at her to get on with it already, while her cat wanted to take her time, to play with her prey before going in for the kill.

She took care to be silent as she approached. With any luck, she’d be in bed when he walked back into the room, hopefully sans a towel. Without clothes, the man was a virtual god.

Movement from within showed Grady in the bedroom. She slowed as she approached the window, content that from this angle and half hidden by the curtain that fluttered in the wind, he couldn’t see her. Added to that, she stood downwind, like any smart predator would. A familiar scent hit her.
Joy.
A female near the man Gabby considered hers. Her hackles rose and she took a step closer when she scented Dean as well. Oh hell. They meant to confront Grady now, on the day she’d planned to pledge her undying love and loyalty? She’d have to do it tomorrow then. No way did she want anything to mar this mating.

She took a sniff of her shoulder, sure there was more to the blended smell than mere sex. Like Julia and Ty, she and Grady had bonded. Hadn’t they? She felt emotionally tied to the man, and physically, well, that was a no-brainer. But he hadn’t said he loved her. To her, that would seal the deal, scent or no scent.

“What the hell do you two want?” Grady asked.

Oh boy. The poor guy. But he had her now. He no longer needed Joy, not since he had a prize like Gabby for the taking. So why did that niggle of jealousy refuse to go away?

“How did it go?” Dean asked.

“I’m not giving you details, Dean. Really.”

“Good, because I don’t want them.
Really.
What I want is an apology for leaving me and Monty to clean up your mess this weekend. We almost lost the Watsons to those idiot McKindrick tours.”

He’d left work for her. She shouldn’t feel so good about him getting in trouble because of it, but that he might have forgotten his work because he was infatuated pleased her to no end.

“Fine. I’m sorry. It slipped my mind.”

“And?” Joy asked.

“And what?” Grady snapped. “Look. You two have done enough. I’m meeting Gabby soon and—”

“And how about an
I’m sorry I didn’t trust your judgment, Joy
.”

Gabby didn’t understand.

“I don’t trust it.”

Dean snorted. “Please. The only reason Gabby even gave you the time of day was because of us.”

From her vantage point, Gabby could see Joy nod and cross her arms over her generous chest. Joy agreed with Dean, apparently. “She felt sorry for you, because of me.”

“Because of us,” Dean corrected. “I told you mooning after her wouldn’t work. And that dancing, that almost sunk you.”

“
You
did that to me, dickhead.” Grady snarled and took a step but Joy interceded.

Gabby didn’t know what to think.

“You lost a bet, dumbass. But Joy and I gave you Gabby. We want something in return.”

“I don’t have her yet,” Grady mumbled. “I haven’t told her the truth.”

“Why not?” Joy asked.

Truth? What truth? What the hell were these three talking about? And why did she have the sinking feeling she’d been the butt of a nasty prank?

“Because I’m afraid she’ll hate me,” he said through gritted teeth. “Yeah, your story about Joy dumping me got me close to her. Great. But she’s not going to like knowing I lied to her.”