He stretched her, his hard girth opening her tender passage. A small rock at a time, he inched his way in. Behind his back, the first of the fireworks rose into the air—a swirling stream of light. From above their heads, voices rang out from the second balcony. The higher level meant a better view of the show, yet there was nothing happening out in the field that could distract from what Kyle was doing to her right here. And when he was finally firmly planted all the way to the root they both let out a sigh of relief.
“So long in coming.”
“Feels so freaking good.” El leaned her head back on the wall and squeezed her internal muscles, just to feel the fullness. To know he really was there.
Another light exploded in the sky, and another. The sounds of rock music rang out as the pack put on the show. Kyle put on his own performance, dragging out slowly, then slamming in again. His elbow supported her knee, opening her wide to his invasion. He bent his knees to gain leverage and the angle changed.
“Oh, yeah, right there.” El clutched Kyle’s shoulders, clinging for dear life as he maximized his thrusts, driving her against the wall, spearing into her. Tingling pressure increased, the feel of being taken by him so good, so powerful. He snuck his hand between their torsos and pressed on her clit in time with his thrusts, in time with the echoing beat of the music in the background. A starburst opened above them, and another, and then Kyle swore because she was coming, her passage so tight around him he was nearly locked in place.
“El, oh El…” Kyle’s whole body jerked as he climaxed, releasing into her, his seed hot and wet and delightfully dirty as the lights in the deep black sky were gasped at by the crowds above them.
It felt as if they were gasping at Kyle and her, and the marvel of it made her go off again. Kyle lowered her leg and leaned heavily against her, his torso shaking, hers shivering with continued reaction. Their breathing remained erratic, unsteady. El cupped his cheek and turned his face toward hers and kissed him, their bodies still joined. He kissed her back, gentler now, hands stroking and easing her with such tenderness she thought something inside might break and pour out.
A final display of explosives lit the night sky, and loud cheers rose into the air.
Kyle chuckled. “It was rather praiseworthy, wasn’t it?”
They laughed together, and El thought the night was possibly the best she’d had in her entire life.
Chapter Six
Kyle peeked around the corner of the door, his fingers meshed through El’s. She checked the other direction, and suddenly he had the violent urge to hum the theme song from a 007 movie.
“Clear?”
She shushed him. “There’s a group to our left, but if you keep your face down and we move immediately to the staircase, we should be good. Go around the back way until we get to my room.”
“Done.”
He cracked the door a bit wider and she slipped through, with him right on her tail. So to speak. He had his chin tucked tight to his chest, glancing out his peripheral vision and trying to keep his torso facing the wall.
Of course that’s when the party of people descending the stairs spotted El.
“Eloise Inez! Yoo hoo! There’s someone I’d like you to meet!” Mrs. Scott’s timing was impeccably bad as usual. Almost as bad as when she’d opened the door the previous day and he’d just slipped his hand out of El’s pants while they were digging through the pantry.
El swore, yanking her fingers from his in a flash. She whispered hasty instructions. “Keep walking. Maybe they’ll think you’re some of the hired help.” When she turned to face the party guests, he stepped behind her.
And came face to face with his uncle.
Amazing how many different tangents managed to simultaneously race through his mind. While silently calling down curses in a dozen languages, Kyle flicked a rapid glance out around the party room. It was clear that, so far, there wasn’t a lot of attention directed their way. Even as that information made its way into his brain, he had time to notice his uncle had aged well. Like most shifters, Uncle Roy still looked young, but there were additional lines marring the corners of his eyes, and a heavy, almost disgusted look crossed his face as he recognized his nephew.
Yup. Shit, meet fan.
“What the hell are you doing here?” Uncle Roy snarled, his gaze darting back and forth between El and Kyle. He sniffed and swore. “Great Scott, you’ve got some nerve. Taking advantage of a girl during her family’s Christmas party.” His uncle flicked the collar of the misfitting uniform Kyle had hastily dragged on after the little balcony interlude. “I see you’ve found a suitable job for your skill level. Or…” He narrowed his eyes. “You’d better not even think about using this as an opportunity to case the place for a future opportunity to make some easy cash.”
Mrs. Scott’s group had descended to the landing and she stepped into the fray. Her nose wrinkled, she eyed Kyle with dismay. “Whatever are you doing, dear? Is this some kind of a joke? I’m sure we had already hired enough help—you didn’t need to feel you had to step in.”
The arrival of Mr. Scott was the icing on the fruitcake. He stalked around the group in his massive cat body, butting his head between people until he circled once around El, once around Kyle. He then sat and glared at Kyle.
Shit. While a cougar’s sense of smell wasn’t as keen as other shifters’, like the damn wolves’, it was far better than your average human’s. At that moment Kyle suspected El’s father knew exactly what the two of them had been up to during the fireworks.
El slipped next to her mom and spoke quietly. “Why is Daddy in his cougar form?”
Mrs. Scott sighed. “There were a couple of reporters bothering him. He said he was tempted to bite them, so he shifted.” Kyle stared in dismay. “Oh, don’t worry,” she reassured him. “He never bites humans while in this form. It’s actually safer he shifted.”
“Mrs. Scott, I take it you know this miscreant of a nephew of mine?” Uncle Roy’s hand shot out and manhandled Kyle to the side before he could brace himself. He tugged himself free.
“Good to see you again too, sir,” Kyle growled.
Voices rang out, people returning from the fireworks display drawing closer to see what the commotion was. El tried to quiet the crowd, making sure she stayed between him and her father, whose tail twitched ominously. Right now, Kyle figured he was pretty much dirt in her daddy’s eyes.
Uncle Roy tugged the front of his shirt again and Kyle got mad. He slapped the man’s hands away. “Do you mind? If you’d like to speak to me, then speak. Stop trying to jerk me around like I’m ten years old.”
His uncle stared at him. “Fine. I want to know what the hell you’re doing here. I thought you were out on the coast. I didn’t expect to find you acting as a damn servant for a nouveau riche family. It doesn’t look good. If you need money, you know all you have to do is ask.”
“I don’t need your money, I—”
“It’s not my money, it’s the family’s money, and if you’d have contacted us anytime in the past years you’d know that. Damn it, boy, what kind of mischief have you gotten yourself into?”
“Respectfully, sir, my life is none of your damn business.”
Kyle shouldered past his uncle, harder than he needed to. Uncle Roy slammed a hand down on his shoulder and dragged him close. Nose to nose.
“You don’t want to try yourself against me. I may be old but I’ve still got what it takes to lead the clans.”
Kyle snorted. “You never had what it takes to understand me. Now lay off.”
“No, not until I find out what your intentions are here.”
Mrs. Scott’s voice rang out. “Mr. Branegan, I’m not sure what the trouble is. Kyle and El are simply good friends. Let them be.” She stood to the side and smiled innocently. She whispered a little more softly, as if sharing secrets between the three of them, “I don’t think it’s our business as parents to ask questions of a personal nature, do you?”
Kyle’s uncl
e cleared his throat. “Ma’am, I think it’s of vital importance to find out what kind of relationship our children have. I find it highly suspicious that the first time I see my nephew in almost ten years is at your home, especially since you’ve said your daughter has also been out from under the family wing for nearly a year.”
El had given up on keeping attention off the chaos. She stepped over to Kyle’s side. “What are you insinuating?”
Uncle Roy sneered. “Knowing my nephew’s reputation, it’s possible you’re simply a pawn in his game to find an easier life. Then again, maybe you’re in the ploy as well, and you’re both planning on taking advantage of your parents’ innocence when it comes to money matters.”
“You think…you think Kyle and I are trying to steal money from my parents? That’s ridiculous. How much of my father’s eggnog have you had, sir?” El’s natural reluctance to make a scene and her need to try to follow orders seemed to have lost the battle to her temper.
Damn, she was smoking when she was pissed.
El leaned in farther, right in Uncle Roy’s face. “And who are you anyway to come in here and try to order us around? Maybe you need to get the hell out of this party.”
The cougar-that-was-her-father padded forward, his tail in full twitch mode, head low as he stalked Uncle Roy. Kyle added together all the puzzle pieces and came up with a bit of a mess. His uncle bristled, the power of his shifter side flaring with his anger. Kyle leapt. He landed in front of El and her father, and glared his uncle down. No, they’d never seen eye to eye, but there was something very suspicious about Uncle Roy’s behavior. It was as if he was trying to pick a fight. With the number of people in the room, of all levels of authority, human and shifters, this wasn’t the time or place for a power struggle. Papa Scott snarled, his roar of displeasure echoing off the walls of the suddenly quiet room. The voices faded, but Kyle was busy standing up to his uncle. The man was strong, but since Kyle was fully grown, his own authority was more than enough to keep his feet. A few of the closer shifters weren’t as fortunate, backing off the display of power streaming out from them both.
“You want to challenge me, son?”
“I’m not your son, and I don’t want your job for the world. Jake can have it, it’s his responsibility, not mine.”
Uncle Roy leaned closer. “And what is your responsibility, Kyle? To wander the world and mooch off people? Or do you have more despicable goals?”
“Enough,” Kyle shouted as Papa Scott simultaneously growled in warning.
Unless something happened, and quick, this was not going to end pretty. Whatever stick Uncle Roy had up his butt, there was no easy way to wipe away the public insults he’d just made against El. And with Uncle Roy the ranking cougar, her reputation, and the Scott family’s, could be in tatters unless Papa Scott wanted to fight.
Kyle glanced at El’s dad. He looked ready to leap into the fray, but even in cougar form he still wore an enormous red bowtie, for heaven’s sake. The man was an innocent when it came to wrongdoing, and it was doubtful he could fight for long. Kyle scrambled for an alternative solution.
Bingo. It should work, and piss off his uncle at the same time. How much better could instant inspiration get?
He snatched El’s hand and pulled her to his side.
“Oh!” A small noise burst from her as she slammed into his chest.
Kyle cleared his throat and made his grand announcement. “We had planned to share this more privately, but since you seem to have made some wrong assumptions, I’d like to inform you that El and I are engaged.”
* * *
The room spun. No, it really spun. El clung to her mom’s shoulders as the squealing matriarch manhandled her.
“Oh sweetie, I knew you were planning something special. This is so exciting!”
El held on to her last sugarplum with sheer determination. She was not about to throw up, although…She eyed Kyle evilly. If she had to, she’d be sure to do it in his direction. The noise had flipped back to less insane levels, the hooting and cries of good wishes meshing with the resumption of the Christmas festivities.
“I sensed there was something secretive happening. I told Roy it was nothing to be concerned about.” Kyle’s Auntie Janet enveloped both El and her mom in a big hug. “I insist on organizing an engagement party.”
“Oh, that’s not—” El spoke as she scrambled out of the confining embrace, trying to scramble out of the confining words. No freaking way! This had to be stopped.
Unfortunately, her mother already was totally enamored with the idea, hands clasped in front of her, face shining with delight. “Why, that would be so kind of you. Would you like to hold it here? Or in Colorado? I’ve heard so many good things about the Ritz, do you think we could book on short notice?”
“Oh, darling, of course. Or we could…”
“But I don’t think…”
The ladies wandered off, talking animatedly, completely ignoring the rest of them. El stood, attempting to shake off a slightly dazed sensation. She battled down extreme nausea as well, but that was someone else’s fault. She turned to face Kyle. He had a smile pasted to his face, a sickly attempt that twitched at one corner.
“You—” Her voice shook. Her body shook.
“I know we said we’d wait, pumpkin, but Uncle Roy had the wrong idea. I hope you’ll work with me on this one.” He winked the eye on the side away from his uncle and her stomach fell. Kyle actually thought this was a solution? Well, it was better than seeing her father go tooth and claw against another shifter, but who were these people?
“Maybe if you’d—” She began again.
“Kyle, are you sure you know what you’re doing?” The older man interrupted, and El bit back a snarl. It would be really nice to get to finish a damn sentence.
Kyle nodded at his uncle, the asshole who’d been spewing nonsense. “Everything is as it should be. If you’ll excuse us, I’d like a brief word with my fiancée.”
“Branegan, Scott—”
She and Kyle both glanced toward the voice and a million fireworks went off again, this time inside as the media caught them in a swirl of cameras and live recorders. Shit—Kyle’s location was being fed to every part of the electronic world even as they stood there. Relative obscurity fluttered out the window like an abandoned party favor. Her cop instincts took over.
“Excuse us, sir.”
El grabbed Kyle by the wrist and marched him out the side of the room, escaping into the family section of the house. Even as they retreated her mind filled in the missing gaps. Frick, he was a Branegan. Of the Branegans—how could she have been so stupid?
She waited until they were safely behind the locked door of her bedroom before she spoke. Even then the roaring pulse in her ears made it hard to think coherently.
She pointed to a chair and he sat obediently. That was good, and bad. Good, because she would have been liable to rip off his head if he had so much as squeaked in protest. Bad, because she could have gone for a rumble to wear off some of her steam. She took a deep, centering breath. Kyle sat meekly, his hands crossed in his lap like a repentant schoolboy. The white uniform hung open on one side, the button she’d torn from the waist of his pants leaving a gap showcasing his smooth abdominal muscles, and that trail of hair she’d had her fingers tangled in not even an hour ago.
How in the heck had things gone so insane?
“Kyle Branegan. Of the Colorado Branegans. The highest ranked cougar family in the western territory…and you were planning on telling me this when?”
There, that came out rational. Calm.
“I’m sorry. It’s—”
“I can’t believe you didn’t freaking tell me!” she shrieked. Okay, not so calm this time. It burst out of her loud enough to echo off the walls and Kyle’s eyes widened. His mouth opened as if he’d have the audacity to speak and she snarled at him. “No words—sit and listen. The last time you apologized, I accepted it and we had sex.” His eyes lit up. “Ain’t going
down that way this time, bucko.”
Kyle leaned back in the chair and dragged a hand through his hair. “It wasn’t supposed to matter. I mean, you were taking me away to hide. What difference would it have made who I was? If I’d told you, would you have brought me to your parent’s house in the first place?”
“If I’d known, I would have left your sorry ass handcuffed to my bed!”
“Oh, and that’s supposed to be a reason to share anything with you? El…I’m sorry, but don’t worry, this was the best solution. Just…think of it as being undercover.”
She casually reached into a drawer and palmed a potentially needed item before crossing her arms and leaning back on the highboy dresser. “Go on, talk your way out of this one, you silver-tongued devil. What possible reason could there be for us to be engaged, other than you’ve gone utterly insane?”
Kyle fought to hide his smile. She saw it, and she had to turn away slightly. Yeah, the whole situation was surreal and along with the nausea there was a large portion of humor. But she was not letting him off the hook. He’d lied to her parents, as well as to his uncle and aunt. Going to hell in a hand-basket would be a nice refreshing trip after this.
“My uncle is up to something. I’m not sure what he planned to accuse me of, but it almost sounded like a set up for a fall. I’ve been getting close in my investigation to finding out who the key players—”
“Wait.” Investigation? “You told me you were a graphic designer who did online consulting, that’s why you needed a wi-fi connection. What are you investigating, bad color schemes?”
Kyle opened his mouth then paused. “Shit.” He stormed to his feet and paced the room. “Shit, shit, shit.”
“What?”
He twirled. “I’m not a designer, but I can’t tell you what I do.”
As if that was acceptable. She turned up the perky and batted her eyes at him. “Oh. Okay.” He breathed out a deep sigh and she snapped. “I was kidding, buster. You tell me what I need to know, all of what I need, or you’re going to be getting rather intimate with that bedpan.”
Winter Wishes Page 7
