WereCat Fever (10 page)

Lacey turned and stared at him. He swore she hadn’t taken a breath. “Sit down and keep breathing, Lacey.”

“Right. Breathe,” she muttered.

Bryan lowered his voice to match hers. “I’ve loved you all along.”

When she sat down, her tentative gaze darted to the entrance where the big cat stood. Hunter dropped to the ground and lazed in the fading light at the mouth of the cave. His position guaranteed Lacey couldn’t escape before Bryan had a chance to explain his predicament.

“There are things you don’t know about me—things I didn’t know about myself until I left.”

Lacey started to move and protest, just as Hunter shook his huge head. She shut up and sat back down on her rock with a frown furrowing her brow.

“I was adopted.”

“So?” Her eyes flicked to the lion and back to Bryan as she shrugged. “What’s that got to do with…him?”

“He’s my brother.”

She snorted. “Better him than Tory.”

She’d misunderstood—thought he meant “brother,” like “buddy.” Not the literal meaning. It made him want to pick her up and kiss her, but she kept shifting her attention between the large cat and his face. Worried. Bryan couldn’t help the slight smile testing his mouth. He’d always loved her sarcasm, and he agreed with her about his brother. Tory was cruel. She had a thousand and one reasons to hate him and the whole family.

“You’re right. He is an ass.”

“If you say so.” Her gaze darted to Hunter and back to him. She kept her voice steady as she spoke. “As far as I’m concerned, a pack of rats would be better relations than yours. If you’re not a blood relation to old man Cauldwell, that’s a plus in my book.”

“Yeah, that was the upside to finding out about my background.” She was right. Not being related to any of the Cauldwells could be considered a real plus. “It’s not the whole story, though.”

“I’m sorry if it bothers you, but plenty of people find out they’re adopted and learn to deal with it.”

“Some things take more adjusting to. That’s what I’ve been doing, learning to deal with it. Do you mind if I come a little closer?”

“No. But is this the time to be discussing this?” Her expression darted to the lion and back to Bryan’s face.

“It’s okay. Hunter is going to show you why I left and didn’t come ba—”

“I told you…” She looked confused. “It’s not necessary to expla—”

“Yes, it is.” He pressed a finger to her lips and placed a hand on her shoulder and said, “Hunter?”

The cat got up and shook, turned his back to them, and shimmered into his human form. His body was in shadows as the last light of the day backlit the cave entrance.

Lacey’s hands gripped Bryan’s shirt like a lifeline. Her eyes were as big as saucers in her pale face, and her mouth hung open, as if she wanted to say something but couldn’t quite wrap her mind around the words.

He knew what a shock this was. She trembled beneath his hand. “Are you going to be all right?”

She nodded her head “yes.” Then slowly, she shook it several times for “no.” Confused, she closed her mouth before stammering out, “I–I don’t know.”

Hunter walked outside to put on his pants and returned a few minutes later with the rest of his clothes. “Nice to meet you, Lacey. I’m Hunter Harris, and I’m a shape-shifter, like Bryan here.” He held out a hand.

Obviously shocked, she took his hand out of sheer good manners, but leaned around Hunter to look behind him like the lion was hiding there.

Her gaze kept pivoting between the two men while Hunter finished dressing. “No, it’s not possible.” Her mouth opened and the words spilled out.

Bryan expected that reaction. Maybe it was a good thing he’d held onto her elbow, because he felt her trembling kick up a notch before her knees buckled. Shock. He hoped she didn’t collapse before they were finished. Believing she was made of sturdier stock than most was the only reason he agreed to do it this way.

“Lacey, take deep breaths and blow them out.”

She let a small sigh escape.

“All the way. More. You need to sit down.” He helped her back to the boulder. Although no amount of explaining would help, at the moment, he thought some sort of explanation was worth a shot.

“Honey, I know it’s a shock. It was for me, too, but Hunter is teaching me how to deal with my natural instincts. He’s helping me adjust.”

“It’s not a trick? Y–you do that, too?”

He cupped her face in his hands and looked straight into her eyes. “Yes, but I thought he’d be the best one to help me demonstrate.”

“How?”

“…ability. I want to prove what I am to you. I need you to believe I wouldn’t have left you without a damn good reason.”

He reinforced his next words by gripping her shoulders. “Stay where you are. I don’t have Hunter’s control yet. He’s here to protect you.”

“Against what?”

“Not what. Me.”

“You’d never—”

“I know what you think. I’d never hurt you. Not intentionally. But my lion doesn’t know his own strength, and I can’t risk a lapse that would put you in jeopardy. Trust Hunter and do as he says.”

She nodded with her eyes darting left to right. “O–okay, but I still can’t believe this.”

“You will,” he warned.

* * * *

Bryan stepped back to the cave entrance and began removing his clothes, starting with his boots.

As he began to unbutton his shirt, Lacey’s mouth went dry remembering his ripped abs and the way his skin felt when it rippled beneath her fingers.

He pulled the shirt out of his jeans, shrugging out of it like a practiced stripper. God, he looked good—beefier than before. What was previously a six pack was now an eight pack. And where his sides V’d into his hips… Hell, she could imagine holding onto those lats like handle bars while he fucked her.

She smelled the intoxicating scent lingering from his touch and cringed when her nipples tightened. Heat blasted through her, spreading to every nerve point on her body.

Everything about Bryan turned her on, and five years only made her need for him that much more desperate. Why was she thinking like this, reacting this way to him? Where was the anger? She didn’t need sex, or rather she hadn’t even thought about it after the last two failed fiascos. Not until now. Not until him.

Dammit, was that a grin on his face? Was he flaunting his mouthwatering assets at her on purpose? She was aroused and he knew exactly what he was doing to her. As he reached for his belt buckle, she squirmed. Next, he undid his pants and slowly slid down the zipper. While she waited to see what she suddenly ached for, she held her breath.

With a rough push, the pants slid down over his hips and his cock sprang free. It was only then she remembered he never wore underwear. What had changed was how the light sprinkling of hair on his chest had thickened and so had he, all over. His thighs were huge, his cock proportionate with his massive body, and he was thoroughly aroused. Biting her lip, she forced herself to show no emotion.

How he affected her—that much hadn’t changed. Well, honestly the desire might even be more intense.

She licked her dry lips. Good Lord, had she ever taken all of him inside her? Oh, yes, sweet misery, she had. And those had been the most exquisite experiences of her life.

Hunter cleared his throat. “Uh, Bryan? Could you get on with the demo and stop showing off?”

His annoyed voice made Lacey jump. She’d been so engrossed in Bryan’s naked body, she’d forgotten all about Hunter standing beside her. When he’d been naked, although she’d only seen him outlined, he’d looked just as impressive—as big and muscled as Bryan was now. She hadn’t missed the absence of a tan line on all his golden skin, or that silky, shoulder length, blond hair. Both men must have had women panting after them like rock stars have groupies.

Without warning, Bryan suddenly dropped to his hands and knees, drawing her attention back to him. Light shimmered around him as the transformation turned him from man into beast. The shift happened more slowly than it had for Hunter, but within seconds, Bryan stared back at her out of golden eyes outlined in black and a broad face of furred splendor.

“Oh, my God.” Surprise couldn’t keep her from admiring the pure magnificence of the cat. “Oh, Bryan, you’re s–so…beautiful.” She turned to Hunter. “He’s massive. Spectacular.”

Shocked, and in awe of his transformation, Lacey touched Hunter’s arm for support. In spite of her words of admiration and praise for Bryan, the lion let out a low jealous warning in the form of a growl.

She pulled her hand away, but relaxed when Hunter smirked. “Don’t let him intimidate you. He’d never hurt you.”

“What about you? He’s much bigger than you were. Why?”

“It’s why we’re here. It’s viral. He’s Were, a bigger version of his natural lion shifter. Before he was aware of his origins, he instinctively sought out his own kind when he approached his first change. The first time was when he turned twenty-one. While he was vulnerable, undergoing a forced shift and searching for our pack, he was attacked by a rogue shifter.

“When we found him in the first stages of his change, he was near death. Then he started having symptoms before he came back that last time. Since then we’ve had to lock him up during the full moon, and he’s getting worse with each cycle.”

“W–what do I have to do with this, this…?”

“Now he’s a danger to everyone during a full moon until he finds his mate.”

“His mate?” The idea of Bryan with another woman or lion, shifter or human, sent arrows of jealousy through her. Focusing all her attention at the large mountain lion stalking closer to her, she stared Bryan down. “What mate?” she asked, sounding a little growly herself.

Bryan let out a low sound, like a sexy purr, as Hunter’s voice whispered in her ear, “You.”

She gulped and straightened up. “Me?” Lacey squeaked. She anticipated that stupid nervous laugh of hers bubbling up. “How could I be his mate?”

“He told you about waking up in the desert? It was our pack he was looking for. At first he showed no signs of the Were virus, so we thought it was safe for him to be with you. We never realized he’d claimed you.”

“I don’t know what you mean.”

“You gave him your virginity—he gave you his. You both swore undying love to one another. You’re the biologist.”

“Mountain lions don’t mate for life.”

“We’re shifters. Our rules are different. His mountain lion imprinted on you years ago. You’re bound to each other. There will never be another mate for him. It’s as simple as that.”

“Simple? I don’t think so.” All she kept doing was repeating his words back at them, followed by a question mark.

“I found him after the first full moon. We nursed him back to health. He checked on you all these years and for some reason you never manifested the symptoms until now. But you are infected. The CDC doesn’t have any answers about your illness because they don’t know about this virus.”

“This isn’t funny. I have a life—a ranch—a business to run if you haven’t noticed.”

“Had a life,” Hunter corrected, but was smart enough to stay out of her reach. “Your new life will be different. We’re here to help you. He couldn’t let you face the fever alone.”

“I’m not sure what I believe. I’m going to need more details, more evidence.”

“This isn’t enough?” Hunter asked and chuckled.

“Well, it’s pretty overwhelming.” With a glance back at Bryan, she froze.

His head leveled to hers. There was a certain familiarity in his face. No, it was the expression in his eyes. He was within reach, and her fingers ached to touch him, caress him. Did she dare reach out to him? What should she do with all her pent up feelings? Follow her heart or hold back? As if fate answered her, Bryan sat down in front of her, bent low, and nudged her hand with the top of his head like a big kitty cat. She tentatively stroked his head, loving the way he felt. The next caress was more deliberate. His soft fur and the ensuing purr seduced her.

She stood and stared into the cat’s yellow eyes, speaking to the intelligence she saw there. “Bryan, this isn’t simple. If you’re bound to me, we’re fucked.” She had closed the door to her feelings for Bryan years ago. It hurt too much to go back.

The purring stopped.

“Is there someone else?” Hunter quickly asked.

Lacey flipped her attention to the man looming over her. She sniffed. He smelled remarkably like Bryan, that unusual clean pine and fresh, sundrenched air scent mixed with male. The scent both relaxed and aroused her. Maybe it was because of Bryan, or maybe it was the way all shifters smelled. She hoped not, because she was so very, very hot for it.

The threatening rumble started from deep within Bryan’s enormous chest, shaking Lacey to her bones before Hunter stepped between them. Recognizing the change in the atmosphere and the danger emanating from the large cat, Lacey stepped behind Hunter.

“No. No one else,” Lacey hurriedly answered, but it was too late. She saw the lion’s eyes narrow, going from Bryan’s conscious human mind to pure animal instinct. The cat took control from Bryan and snarled, his muscles bunching to attack. As everything human dissolved into the lion, Bryan slapped at Hunter to reach his mate.