Captivated by the Cougar

by Rayna Tyler

  Captivated by the Cougar

  Seneca Falls Shifters: Book 2

  Rayna Tyler

  Captivated by the Cougar

  Copyright © 2018 by Rayna Tyler

  http://raynatyler.com/

  Published by Rayna Tyler, 2018

  All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, without the prior written permission of the author.

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales, is entirely coincidental.

  ISBN-13: 978-0-9993513-9-0

  Table of Contents

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Chapter Fourteen

  Chapter Fifteen

  Chapter Sixteen

  Epilogue

  A Special Note

  Books by Rayna Tyler

  About the Author

  Excerpt from Enchanting the Bear

  Chapter One

  BERKLEY

  Of all the men on the planet, why couldn’t I keep Preston Harker, with his smug, egotistical male shifter attitude and sexy-as-hell smile, out of my thoughts. I squelched the image of his intense luminous jade-green eyes from my mind and smacked the egg I’d been holding on the side of the large ceramic bowl harder than I’d meant to.

  The shell broke into numerous tiny white missiles that landed in the nicely formed pile of flour and other ingredients I’d sifted together for my special pancake batter. It irritated me even more when the yolk missed the bowl entirely and slithered along the smooth side to form a gooey yellow puddle on the light gray laminated countertop. “Err.” I carefully picked out the shell pieces, then opened the cabinet underneath the sink and tossed them into the trash.

  “Problems, sweetness?” Speaking of his smugness, the rumble of Preston’s deep voice caressed my skin like a thin layer of melted chocolate. And damn if I didn’t really, really have a thing for chocolate.

  I winced and ground my teeth, hating how easily his nearness aroused me and silently cursing the unwanted chemistry between us. Being a wolf shifter with enhanced senses, I should have been able to hear the sneaky cat—or in his case, a cougar—enter the private kitchen. This room had been specifically designed for the owners, of which I was one, who lived in the main lodge of the Seneca Falls resort. And since he was a resident employee, our new head of security, he had full access to the area.

  Reese, Preston and I all had our own room in the owner’s wing, making it a little difficult not to have our paths cross daily. There were times when I wondered if my half brother, Nick, didn’t have the right idea when he insisted on living in one of the rental cabins scattered across our property. When he’d first arrived at the resort, Reese and I had accommodated his request to live alone because his animal was part wild wolf and by nature could be extremely antisocial and sometimes feral. Now that he’d taken a mate, it only seemed fair to let him remain in the cabin to give them some privacy.

  Preston was also a military buddy and close friend of my brother, Reese. Other than the two of them serving together, I knew very little about him. Reese never talked about those years much, and no matter how curious I was, I didn’t ask. For an older brother, they didn’t get any better than Reese. Sure, he could be overbearing, overprotective, and, on occasion, a bit annoying. But when it came to our personal lives, we had a noninterference understanding, one we both respected—most of the time.

  Preston, on the other hand, must have missed the stay-out-of-my-personal-space memo. He excelled at showing up when I least expected, and spent a lot of time aggravating the crap out of me. He was a thorn in my proverbial ass, oh yeah, and let’s not forget that he was also my mate. A mate I didn’t want, didn’t need, and refused to acknowledge...to anyone. Especially him and my family.

  Though Preston never said anything, I knew he was aware of our connection, which was why I was constantly the focus of his perusal. Some shifters could go their whole life without finding their mates. For those who were lucky enough to discover their identity, the recognition was immediate. I’d known Preston was my destined mate from the moment Reese had introduced us. The minute I’d shaken his hand, my body thrummed as if it had been supercharged by a bolt of lightning. It had taken every ounce of willpower to control my wolf and keep her from tackling him to the ground.

  It was the same night we’d rescued my friend Mandy, Nick’s mate, after she’d been kidnapped by Desmond Bishop. At the time, Bishop owned the Hanford Regency, a lush, expensive hotel located on the outskirts of the city of Hanford. Bishop was a wolf shifter and a powerful lowlife. He’d been after us for months to sell the resort to him. When that didn’t work, he kidnapped my friend and used her as leverage to convince us to sign the deed over to him. Needless to say, after a bloody battle that included fur, fangs, and claws, we were able to stop him and save Mandy.

  Even though two months had passed since our initial meeting, being around Preston didn’t get any easier. My body temperature still rose to unhealthy levels, and my wolf was still pissed that I wouldn’t do something to change the situation. Preferably something that involved Preston and me being naked—together. As far as I was concerned, she could keep her opinions to herself, and he was standing too damned close. I reminded him of the fact by shooting a warning glare at him over my shoulder.

  We’d gotten good at telling each other what we were thinking without actually saying anything out loud. I knew he got the message when he had the nerve to grin, forming boyish dimples. He quirked an eyebrow, his gaze sparkling with mischief. It baffled me how the man could be so infuriating and look so damned delicious at the same time.

  The button-down cotton shirt he wore was nicely pressed and fit perfectly across his broad chest. A chest of firm muscles I’d envisioned running my fingertips over too many times to count. His shortly cropped sandy-blond hair was still damp from a recent shower and carried the scent of coconut shampoo. He never wore cologne and didn’t need to. He had a natural musky scent that teased and enticed my senses. Not that I was paying attention. And, I certainly didn’t notice the fresh-forest smell that clung to his skin after he’d been on a run.

  I blamed my wolf for the fact that I had cataloged all these interesting tidbits to memory and spent most days entertaining one fantasy or another about him. Even now, the fickle animal was annoying the heck out of me. She wanted to make him ours and was joyfully prancing at his nearness, persistently urging me to turn around and melt into his extremely masculine body.

  The temptation was great, but I was determined to stay strong and refused to give in to my wolf’s insistent pressure that we succumb to our mate’s charm. “Nothing I can’t handle.” I let the sarcasm roll from my lips, then stepped away from Preston and reached for the damp washcloth draped across the rim of the stainless steel sink.

  Mate or not, I’d had my heart broken once by another cat shifter and had no intention of going down that road again. Since Preston did an excellent job of protecting the resort, I couldn’t use my pull as a one-third owner to get rid of him, not without having to explain my reasons. Hell, both my brothers liked and trusted him so much that doing the upset-baby-sister thing wasn’t going to work either. Basically, I was
screwed with no alternative other than to deal with my wolf’s longing and be tormented by Preston’s presence.

  His chuckle wasn’t helping. It grated along every one of my nerves, and I couldn’t stop glaring at his back when he turned and reached into the cupboard for a cup. “Coffee smells good. Is it French vanilla?” He poured himself a cup of the fresh brew I’d prepared with beans I’d ground myself.

  Cooking and baking were things I thoroughly enjoyed, so I spent a lot of time in the kitchen. Normally, having someone around while I worked didn’t bother me. Preston, with his sexy smile and the unnerving way he watched me over the rim of his cup as he sipped his coffee, didn’t qualify.

  Instead of leaving as I’d hoped, he turned and leaned against the counter. “Not talking to me today?”

  “Don’t you have somewhere else you need to be?” Using the direct approach had had a low success rate in the past, but there was always a first time. I concentrated on cleaning up the slimy mess and trying my best to ignore him.

  “No, I’m good.” He raised the cup to his lips again.

  I still needed an egg to finish the batter. Of course, the carton was inconveniently sitting on the counter behind him. It meant I would either have to ask him to hand it to me or move around him to reach it.

  He saved me the trouble of having to make a decision by setting his cup on the counter and plucking an egg from the Styrofoam container. “Looking for one of these?” He wiggled the egg in front of me.

  I reached for the egg only to have it snatched from my grasp. I groaned and grabbed for the egg again, lost my balance in the process, and stumbled forward. I ended up with my palms pressed against his chest and his arm wrapped around my waist.

  “A simple ‘yes’ would have been fine, sweetness. Though having you throw yourself at me works a lot better.”

  “Err, I didn’t throw myself at you, you delusional... Let me go,” I growled and pushed against his chest, a futile attempt to dislodge myself from the strong band of steel securing me to his body.

  Grinning, he silently challenged me by raising his brows. He rubbed the side of his face against my cheek, his warm breath caressing the skin along my neck. “Only if you say please.” He drew out the words, his Southern accent getting thicker with each syllable. It was hard to stay angry at him when his voice bathed me in warmth, created little flutters in my stomach, and had me shuddering.

  It pissed me off that I was now more aroused than ever and no closer to finishing my pancakes. “I’ll show you ‘please.’” I lifted my leg and slammed the tip of my two-inch heel into his foot as hard as I could, which ended up being a bigger mistake than trying to wrestle an egg away from him.

  PRESTON

  I knew Berkley’s routine, knew she’d be in the kitchen whipping up something to feed her family for breakfast, along with the one or two employees who periodically stayed at the lodge. As the resort’s new head of security, it was part of my job to know important details about everyone who stayed here. Finding out everything I could about Berkley was at the top of my list.

  When Reese, her brother and my good friend, had called me several months ago saying he needed my expertise with a local wolf shifter who’d kidnapped his brother’s mate, I’d dropped everything to assist him. Receiving a job offer afterward and finding my mate hadn’t been part of my expectations when I’d agreed to show up and help.

  From the moment I walked into the resort’s lodge and got a whiff of Berkley’s intoxicating scent—all feminine with a hint of jasmine—I knew she was my mate. The warm electrical jolt I received when I shook her hand after Reese introduced us was merely a confirmation.

  Surprisingly, quite a few shifters spent their entire life without finding their mates. You’d think the cosmic universe would have done a better job of making discovery possible. Those who were lucky enough to recognize their match didn’t hesitate to act on their instincts. My parents had discovered each other in their late teens and fell into that category. Even my baby sister, at the age of twenty-four, had found her perfect match.

  After traveling extensively and reaching my thirty-first birthday without a hint of a prospect, I resigned myself to believing that I’d fallen into the group of those not lucky enough to find true happiness. Once I’d met Berkley and discovered our connection, there was no way I was going to let her get away from me. When Reese proposed I take a room in the private quarter of the lodge versus commuting from the nearby town of Ashbury as part of my employment package, I didn’t hesitate to accept his offer.

  My attraction to Berkley was the main reason the kitchen was my first stop every morning, but it wasn’t the only reason. Besides enjoying her wicked sense of humor and being able to taunt the most beautiful woman I’d ever laid eyes on, she possessed some exquisite culinary talents. I’d never met a female more at home in a kitchen than her. Every dish she created was a work of art designed to tease a person’s taste buds. I was a shifter with a healthy appetite, so who could blame me for being unable to resist her temptations?

  I grinned when I walked into the kitchen and found her facing away from me and swearing at something on the counter. Whatever she was upset about kept her from detecting my presence. I bit back a groan and used the opportunity to appreciate her appearance. She was wearing a simple black dress that enhanced her curves and didn’t leave much to a guy’s imagination. And being a dominant alpha male who could shift into a predatory cat, I could imagine a lot.

  The way the fabric clung nicely to her hips and accentuated her gorgeous ass didn’t escape my attention either. The hem of her dress stopped about mid-thigh, exposing a set of long shapely legs with highly toned calves. Admiring the view left no doubt that the woman could make a T-shirt look sexy. I ought to know, since I’d entertained enough thoughts of how she’d look wearing one of mine. Of course, my fantasies always included stripping her naked first, then making love to her all night long.

  I’d spent too many days taking cold showers and imagining what it would be like to drive into her lush depths, then sink my teeth into that special spot at the base of her neck, the spot that would make her mine. I should have known better than to let my thoughts continue down this path. My cock was hard and throbbed uncomfortably, the way it did every time I got near the enticing female.

  Personally, if I had a choice, I would’ve already claimed Berkley, but there were two very good reasons why I was holding back. The first was my relationship with her brother, Reese. We’d known each other for years, a friendship that started when we were marines and continued long after we’d completed our tours.

  Besides thoroughly enjoying my job and its challenges, it also suited my animal’s nature. Though I’d grown up near a large city, I’d never felt completely at home or comfortable with my surroundings. I was certain being able to shift into a two hundred and fifty pound cougar with the constant yearning to run had something to do with it. I didn’t want to take advantage of Reese’s generosity, nor did I want to risk our friendship if things went badly with his sister.

  The second, and most important, reason holding me back was Berkley. I might receive all my instructions from Reese, but technically, Berkley was my boss. Not that her status played a role in my decision to proceed slowly and carefully. On top of inheriting my cat’s finely honed instincts, I’d been in the security business long enough to develop the ability to read people, to grasp their emotions, to know when they were hiding something.

  I’d learned that behind Berkley’s feisty and sometimes humorous demeanor was a woman possessively loyal to those she cared about. She was extremely guarded with her feelings when it came to males who weren’t in her close circle of family and friends. It was a good thing I was a patient man, because knocking down her protective wall was going to take some time. When I finally made my claim, I wanted it to be on her terms, when she was ready.

  My cat was in total disagreement on the whole taking-my-time plan. He didn’t understand what I was waiting for and spent a conside
rable amount of time urging me to claim her already. To appease my animal’s need to be close to Berkley, I spent quite a bit of time tormenting her. I knew she would retaliate, which was why I snatched the egg from her grasp. I loved seeing her cheeks blossom with a hint of crimson and her beautiful brown eyes darken with an amber hue. It was her wolf’s way of letting me know she wanted to come out and play, even if Berkley refused to admit it.

  Having her end up in my arms was a bonus, and so was the heavy scent of her arousal. The attraction between us was mutual, and I planned to use it to my advantage as much as possible. She might be angry and pretend she didn’t enjoy being pressed up against me, but her body was saying otherwise. It was a game we’d been playing for months. A game I wanted to win, and would—eventually.

  I knew taunting Berkley and asking her to say please before I released her would get a reaction, just not the reaction I’d expected. I barely felt the heel of her shoe connect with the thick leather of my boots. I did, however, know the action had caused her pain when she winced and fisted my shirt.

  “Berkley, are you trying to hurt yourself?” I scooped her into my arms and carried her to the center island in the middle of the room, then gently placed her on the counter.

  “Son of a bitch, you’re wearing steel-toed boots.” Berkley’s growl was more of an observation than a question.

  “Part of the job.” I tweaked her chin. “Are you going to kick me in the head if I take a look at your foot?”

  “No.” She groaned and gripped the edge of the counter and pressed her lips together tightly, amusement flickering in her eyes.

  I knelt on the floor and ran my hand along the back of her leg, slowly skimming her smooth skin as I moved toward her ankle. I removed her shoe and rotated her foot. “Does this hurt?”

  “Uh-uh.” Berkley sucked in her breath, and I wasn’t sure if the sound was from pain or pleasure. One glance at the desire filling her eyes, and I had my answer. I grinned, making a mental note that my mate had sensitive feet, something I intended to investigate fully at a later date.