by Terry Spear
"Are you really okay after what your sister pulled?" Sometimes Stryker forgot that Nina was just as vulnerable as anyone else, despite her Agency training.
"Yes, I'm fine now. Thanks for asking. I was so worried about you and furious with Ava. I was afraid the taser had badly injured you because it took you so long to rouse from your unconscious state. And then I was concerned that one of the shooters would find you at the house when you were so incapacitated and kill you."
"At least you must have convinced her that it was safer to return to the house."
"I did. With mentioning that everyone was a cougar, and many were in law enforcement who were trying to protect her, I think she finally realized she was better off with us. Until we got stuck in the snow when she tried to make a U-turn. The only good thing about that is that the guy followed us instead of going to the Robinson's house where they might have found you unconscious or groggy still. You know, she did it out of some misplaced sense of wanting to save me this time."
"By tasing you?"
Nina smiled and grabbed another cookie. She explained about how she'd drowned at the river in her youth and that she'd been trying to prevent her sister from killing herself accidentally. "As kids, we sometimes have the notion we are invincible. Not me. I knew just—" She paused, her eyes widening. "Ohmigod, that was it. I'd had a premonition my sister was going to drown. That's why I was so concerned about saving her."
"But you didn't see that you drowned instead?"
"Maybe that was it. I always thought it was my sister caught under the water, but it was hard to see her, and we look so much alike and then the whole scene always faded away."
"That's why you hesitated at the river to get in when we needed to wash off the skunk odor."
"Yeah. I'd gone there earlier, the first time I got skunked too, and I always have a fear of going near water in winter. I'm glad to know why I've always had those nightmares. Maybe now they'll stop, and I can get over my inane fear of going near the water. I'm fine in summer, just winter is the difficulty."
"Just wake me if you have any more nightmares and I'll protect you."
"Knowing you, you'll think I want some late-night loving."
"Well, I'll certainly be up for that too."
She smiled, then grew serious. "Are you feeling all right?"
"Yeah. I didn't know you'd been tased too, or I would have suggested you have Kate take a look at you too."
"I was fine by then." Nina sipped some of her cocoa, then ate a bite of her chocolate chip cookie. She pointed the rest of the cookie at him. "Okay, so on that snowy drive over here when I was trying not to panic about not seeing the road, I was thinking about the issue that your name wasn't changed. I had looked up the name of Henry Hill in Cheyenne, Wyoming, earlier, and didn't find any."
"He probably moved, don't you think?"
"Sure, after all these years, that's a good possibility. I looked up Marybeth Hill and had a hit though."
Stryker had been so concerned about Nina's well-being and getting to know her better, he hadn't even thought about checking on his parents' names, once she'd told him what they were, to see if they were still in Wyoming. Not that he'd thought they'd be anyway as much as most people moved around. "Does she fit the right age? I guess we need to know if she's a cougar too."
"She fits the age. I have no idea whether she's a cougar or not."
"Okay, Chet Kensington with the CSF lives in a safehouse in Cheyenne. I'll give him a call and see if he can look into it when he has time."
"That's wonderful. I thought we might have to drive up there."
"We will." He paused. Nina would be willing to drive all the way out there with him if the woman happened to be his mom?
She smiled and offered him another cookie. "You might need some moral support if she's really your mom."
He ate the cookie, sighed, and said, "Thanks. I really appreciate it. Mrs. Fitz has a wonderful bakery. Don't tell her I said so, but these are the best chocolate chip cookies I've ever had the pleasure to eat."
"Fresh out of the oven. And of course, triple the chocolate chips help. Your secret is safe with me."
"Yeah, heavenly." He called Chet then, apprehensive about learning the truth. What if his mom was no one he wanted to really meet, if this was his mom? What if she was in trouble with the law?
He took a deep breath and said, "Hey, Chet, this is Stryker. I've got a question for you. It appears that Leyton and I were born in Cheyenne, Wyoming. There's a Marybeth Hill located in the city, the same name as our mother's on the birth certificate. Could you see if you could learn anything about her? Basically, is she a cougar? If not, then she's not related and we're back to square one."
"And your dad's name is?"
"Henry Hill, but he isn't listed as living there."
"Yeah, sure. I have the rest of the week off and I'll do some checking around and get right back with you one way or another."
"Thanks so much, Chet. I owe you." When they ended the call, Stryker said to Nina, "Chet says he'll check into it."
"I love how you have such a great network of cougars who can help you out when you need it."
"See? That's another great reason to come to work with me. Not to mention all the extra benefits you'd have."
"Extra benefits?" She was smiling when she asked.
"Free room and board here. Couldn't ask for a better deal than that. We certainly could use your expertise, all your training, and everything else you would bring to the table. And we'd help you out with whatever else you'd need."
"No one's offered me a job," she reminded him.
"That's because we've been so busy with this other business."
"And making sure I don't bring a lot of trouble to Yuma Town."
"After you and your sister both took me down? Dan's likely to replace me."
She laughed.
Stryker pulled his phone out, not about to let her get away if she really wanted to work here in Yuma Town. He sure wanted her to. "Hey, Dan, when are you going to ask Nina to come and work with us?"
"I take it you want her on the force?" Dan asked, sounding wholly amused.
"Hell, yeah, I think she'll be a great asset."
"Is she there?"
"Eating up all the chocolate chip cookies she made."
Dan chuckled. "Put her on."
Stryker handed her the phone, hoping she'd give them a chance.
There was a pause as she listened to Dan talk. "A job as a deputy sheriff in your office? Sure, I'd love to come work for you. I just need to make sure I have a place to stay," she said, raising her brows at Stryker. She loved the idea of working with her friend Addie too.
"Here," Stryker reminded her. He sure didn't want some other bachelor cougar making a play for her.
"When did you want me to start?"
Stryker said, "Yes!"
She smiled at him. "Okay, that sounds good. And thank you." She handed the phone back to Stryker. "I'm hired. That was the easiest interviewing process I've ever had to go through."
"We're all cougars. We know a good thing when we see it."
"Are you sure you're all right with me staying with you? What if I got on your nerves, or…you got on mine?"
"Hell, yeah I want you to stay here. If we have issues, we'll work them out, cat-fight in the backyard, however you want to handle it."
She laughed.
"Besides, Zander and Sydney adore you."
She raised a brow. "Just the dogs? I mean, I love them too, but—"
He pulled Nina onto his lap, leaning her back, and licked the chocolate off her lips. "Yeah, me too."
She licked his lips and then kissed him full on the mouth. He was really getting into the kiss when someone called. He was going to ignore it, but if there was trouble afoot, he couldn't. "To be continued."
She chuckled.
He pulled out his phone. "Ahh, Leyton." Stryker answered the phone, suspecting what was up. "Yeah, you missed the boat."
"Hell, brother, you sneaked her right out from under my nose. I was going to offer her a job once this business with the pharmacist was over."
"Too late for that."
"Yeah, well, Dan had to call me right away, gloating about it."
Stryker laughed.
"Is everything quiet over there?"
Nina kissed Stryker's cheek and he wrapped his arm around her and pulled her closer. "Yeah." But not for long.
"Oh, before I let you go, Chet called, saying you might have found our mom."
"Uh, yeah, I guess I should have called you about it. Nina was doing a search for our parents." Stryker had thought about it but wanted to wait a bit to make sure the lead wasn't a waste of time. He should have known Chet would let Leyton know what was up because they both worked for the CSF and Stryker and Leyton were brothers.
"No problem. I figured you and Nina were…busy."
"Yep, homemade chocolate chip cookies and hot cocoa."
"Sounds good. The bad weather has settled in, but if you need anything, just call."
"Okay, thanks, and sorry about not telling you about the situation with our mother. There's no listing for our dad in the area, but Nina said she saw him with her sister. In a vision, I mean."
"Oh, okay. Well, just keep me posted. Thanks!"
"All right, we'll talk later." When Stryker pocketed his phone, he smiled at Nina. "We didn't get much sleep last night and—"
"The snow's falling so heavily, the cookie plate is empty, and our cocoa's all gone—"
"So why don't we get in a cat nap?"
"You won't want to nap." But she quickly got off the couch and gathered up the empty mugs to take them into the kitchen.
Taking her cue, he seized the platter and joined her. She placed the mugs in the dishwasher then took off. He put the platter in the dishwasher, then he chased her down the hall, caught up to her in the bedroom, and tackled her to the bed.
15
Nina couldn't believe she'd been hired as a deputy sheriff for Yuma Town, not without applying for the job and giving Dan her resume. Instead, he'd hired her just based on what she'd told him. Unless Dan had already thoroughly investigated her claims. Then again, everyone, even his wife, Addie, had vouched for her. Nina was eager to catch up with Addie on what she'd been doing. Nina thought she'd enjoy working with everyone else here. And she loved the way the cougars were always there for each other. In the real world, lone cougars had to fend for themselves.
She'd been thinking of how it would make for a nice new year for Stryker if she could locate his parents, or one of them at least. If it didn't backfire. It probably came from her own wish that her parents were still alive.
But Stryker was a typical male. He'd probably been thinking about taking her to bed all along as he tackled her to the bed. So much for saying this was all about napping. For now, she was thinking of something totally different: peeling Stryker out of his clothes, so she could get a good eyeful of his sexy abs. And the rest of his hotness.
Pure need drove her to want him. Where other men were concerned, she could easily resist their charms. Not Stryker, anymore than she suspected he could resist hers.
Yet, she didn't want to stay with him though, not if they weren't going to take this all the way. Not when it would look like they were a couple, and other bachelor cougars would be afraid to ask her out.
"I should get a place of my own to begin with," she said, running her hands up his delicious abs.
He moved off her to pull off her socks, unfasten her jeans, and slide them down. "It's entirely up to you."
She was glad he wasn't insistent that she stay with him. She hadn't lived with anyone for years, not since she'd left home, and she supposed she was feeling a little spooked about taking a new job, moving to a new place, and having a real cougar boyfriend—and living with him right off the bat.
"But if I had a vote in it"—he pulled off her sweater, and then yanked his own over his head—"I'd say you'd have a hell of a lot more fun staying here. With me. I know I would." He unfastened his jeans and removed them. "More than that though? I'd be at your place all the time, waiting for you to make those chocolate chip cookies again."
She chuckled. "If I made those all the time, we'd have to be running a lot more to work them off." She unfastened her bra because he had stopped removing the rest of her clothes and his own boxer briefs when she brought up the notion of living by herself as if she didn't want to make love to him and wanted to slow way down on their relationship. Which wasn't the case at all! Maybe he thought she only wanted to nap. She slipped off her panties and tossed them at him and they hit him in the chest.
He caught them, bit them, then tossed them with the other clothes.
She laughed.
"If you're thinking you want to date some of the competition…"
She smiled.
"There isn't any," he quickly said as if she might check to see if there was.
She grabbed at his arm and pulled him into the bed. He was all serious now, as if he thought she was going to move right out on him and set up her own bachelorette pad. "I just mean, what if we don't work out? Then it will be all over town and there might be some hard feelings between us and we might not even want to work together any longer."
He smiled then and kissed her.
His mouth was on hers, his masterful lips pressing and nuzzling, then teasing her mouth open. She let him in, his tongue swiping at hers, then stroking, making her wet for him and all the needier.
Any doubts about them being right for each other evaporated like the mist on a hot sunny day. Her pheromones were doing double time, mixing it up with his. Their hearts were beating wildly, and their breathing was more labored as he began to press his body against hers, his free hand stroking her breast. She felt his growing arousal and wanted this more than anything—his loving her in a way that showed he cared how she was enjoying his ministrations too.
His hand slid down her bare waist to her swollen nub and he began to stroke her with dedication and finesse. She felt overwhelmed by pleasure.
This was it! She was staying with him.
She opened up to him, having never felt anyone touch her in such an exquisite way, working her up as he pressed harder against her clit, and she was so ready to come. She felt the excitement welling up deep inside her, felt the waves crashing over her and then she sank into the mattress.
"Ready?" he asked, and she loved that about him. He wasn't just filling her with his cock, without any consideration of how she felt.
"I'm staying here, and yes, do it." She realized how bossy she sounded, but he only gave her one of his lustful smiles.
He moved to center on her and eased in, but then he was kissing her, and she wrapped her legs around him before he began to thrust. His kisses were sweet and then eager, hot and demanding. She kissed him back just as fiercely, her hands sliding over his back and butt, tight muscles meant for stroking. Her stroking, not any other she-cats. Hell, he was hers. Forget about any other bachelor males out there. She knew when she had a good thing.
He pushed his cock into her slowly, then faster, harder, fiercer. God, he felt good. Every bit of him. Hot skin against hot skin, the friction between them escalating. He was a drug she couldn't resist as he teased her mouth open and again plundered her.
She was on fire, right before she came again, and this time she cried out with pleasure. His expression tightened and then he filled her with his heat and warmth and wetness.
They were both riding a high and he pulled out, then slipped his arm around her, pulling her against his body.
Forever, they lay snuggled in each other's arms, feeling happy and satiated.
"So where do you think you might stay?" he finally asked.
She smiled. So he was worried about her leaving him. That was a good sign. "Here," she said, quite assuredly. "You might want my chocolate chip cookies, but after a rough day of deputy sheriffing, this is what I want."
He chuckled. Then he
frowned, gently caressing her arm. "Do you mean you want to stay? For good? Are you offering to mate me?"
She sighed and kissed his hot chest. "A she-cat could do a lot worse. Any man who would come at a moment's notice to save me from skunks, has to be a keeper."
He laughed. "Any woman who would scrub me off to remove the stench had to be my kind of she-cat. Most, I'm sure, would have let me take care of it myself."
"No way. I couldn't think of a more fun task than to wash each other up. I'm glad that Dan and the others hadn't caught us doing more than that."
"I thought we worked really well together when we took down that cougar. Perfect teamwork."
"Yeah, which was another reason I wanted you working with us. With me." Stryker smiled and kissed her head. "I fell in love with you a little, the moment I saw you taking pictures of me. But when I saw you at the Robinson's house—"
"Naked, right? Before I shifted and was having a time with your dogs?"
"Uh well, I had to see what the situation was like inside and who the intruder was. I wondered why in the world you were standing there naked."
"I'd been skunked."
"Right. Anyway, I didn't know what to think, except maybe I was losing my mind because I had fallen for a beautiful she-cat on the lam."
She laughed. "So you would have taken me in even if I had been a lawbreaker?"
"With every intention of leading you down the right path. Absolutely."
She crawled on top of him then and just lay there on top of his hot, hard, sexy body, claiming him for her own, while he stroked her back. She rested her chin on her arms on his chest and looked him squarely in the eye. "Are we making the right decision?"
"Hell, yeah. I love everything about you. I even wore that Santa suit again for Christmas, ignoring all the jibes I got from the guys, just in case you showed up, and that's saying a lot."
