Winter Wishes

by Vivian Arend, Vivi Andrews

  He could get to like that. Did like having her around. When all this was over, maybe…

  The rumble of a car’s motor grew closer. They weren’t alone, he and El. There were other men in position farther down the parkade—some of El’s compatriots she’d called in as backup. She’d insisted they needed to be there, but had managed to convince her chief to keep them far back, as a last-ditch resort. Whatever went down, Kyle would be able to make the decision about how to keep it under control, and he was so grateful she’d understood his point about that. Even as he’d understood why she had to call her captain.

  A long black limo rolled around the corner and Kyle whistled softly. Yup, whoever Uncle Roy had connected with was one rich bastard—probably had the cash to make the deals and hide the bodies no problem. Maybe after this was all over his uncle would actually be thankful for having his butt saved, because guys like this tended to take what they needed then get rid of the evidence.

  The car stopped, the front door cracked open and a henchman appeared. His head swiveled like a lighthouse before he stood back and waited for the next move.

  Game on. Kyle straightened his spine and stepped into the light.

  As he took his first steps to greet the limo, three things happened simultaneously.

  The door from the elevators to the right opened and Uncle Roy stepped out, tattered remains of his shirt and tartan clinging to his body, a clear sign the man had recently shifted into cougar while fully dressed.

  The passenger door on the far side of the car opened, and in his peripheral vision Kyle spotted a gun rising into the air and swinging in his direction.

  And El came out from her hiding spot, and pounced.

  Then it was all Matrix-like, with slow-mo bullets, bodies in midflight, sharp sounds smeared into a blur of vibration and deep moaning like rushes. Kyle twisted to the side and threw himself at his uncle, attempting not only to avoid his becoming a pincushion, but to possibly use the man as a temporary hostage. The ground came up far too quickly. Kyle’s cat reflexes saved him from a bad crash as he nabbed his uncle and dragged him to the ground. In the distance he heard El’s snarl followed by a sound that stuck terror into his heart.

  The report of a gun.

  “El!” he screamed, his words meshing with the angry screech of a cougar in pain. Uncle Roy ignored, Kyle rose, gun at the ready as he raced for the far side of the limo. Another door snapped open, and this time the sound of gunfire came from behind him, from his uncle’s direction. The door snapped shut as another of the bad guys retreated out of the line of fire.

  “Damn it, Kyle, you need to get out of here, now. Grab your girl and leave!” Uncle Roy shouted.

  The bad guys had hidden in their car. The engine roared to life and the vehicle began to move.

  “Uncle, you go. This isn’t for you.” Kyle snapped off another warning shot at the vehicle, taking out a tire.

  “Don’t be so stubborn, son. Whatever you’ve gotten involved in, we can get you out. Now go.” Uncle Roy dashed to his side, the ragged flaps of his tattered clothes making him look like a possessed scarecrow.

  “Me? You set up this damn meeting.” Kyle grabbed his uncle by the shoulder and tugged him behind a pillar as one of the windows slid down a crack and gunshot rang out again. Where the heck was El? Kyle chanced a quick glance, looking to spot her body on the ground. There was blood on the concrete, but nothing else, and that’s all he had time to see before he had to yank back to avoid a shot to the head.

  “What kind of bull is that? I arranged this meeting to get you out of trouble. Kyle, I’m not trying to tell you how to live your life, but crime doesn’t pay, not in the long run.”

  “Are you insane? What are you talking about?” This whole situation was beyond unbelievable. Below them, tires squealed as the driver attempted to turn the massive vehicle in the limited space. Kyle’s heart was in his throat, and even standing shoulder to shoulder with the cause of his dilemma wasn’t enough to distract him. “El? Where the hell are you?”

  Ear-shattering noise filled the parkade. The walls echoed from another series of rapid shots as he and Uncle Roy simultaneously took out the back tires of the limo. Smoke rose from one of the holes in the front of the car, a nasty grinding noise indicating they’d hit some vital component in the engine.

  The gunshots from the vehicle faded to nothing as wild curses and swearing rose out the open windows.

  That’s when Kyle spotted El. She was to his left, stark naked and shaking her head as if she’d witnessed the stupidest thing.

  “Boys, you want to pretend for a minute those aren’t water pistols you’re playing with? Listen up, and quick. You are not enemies. Now cover me.” She shifted back into cougar in less time than he could call out her name.

  Shit.

  “Bloody headstrong woman.” Kyle leaned around the pillar and took careful aim on the limo.

  “She’s a handful, all right. Think she’s good for you.” Uncle Roy joined him on the other side and Kyle flicked a quick glance at him. Could he trust the man? Then El leapt again, and he had no choice.

  She sped forward, landing for a second on the roof of the limo before springing to the side, hiding herself on one of the air vents hanging from the ceiling. She raced around the space, cutting behind pillars, flying from one surface to another, much like he’d admired her doing back in his playroom at the condo. Damn, she was good.

  A shot rang from his side and Kyle froze in terror, but the cry of pain came from the shooter in the limo, a bloodied hand retreating, his gun spinning on the concrete where it had fallen.

  “You’re not doing much covering there, boy,” his uncle said. “You want to take the next one, or do I have to do all the work?”

  Son of a bitch. He’d been so fascinated watching El move. “Bastard.”

  “So you’ve told me before.” Uncle Roy grinned evilly.

  The limo’s engine ground out horrible noises, lurching forward a few feet as the bad guys attempted to escape. El taunted them, using her slender cougar body to dash in front of their path before darting behind posts and out of danger at the last possible second. Her movements gave Kyle and his uncle enough time to calmly take shots at any visible body parts offered by the bad guys to their line of fire. Kyle admired the hell out of El—her fluid movements, her fine turns. When she leapt straight at the front windshield he nearly swallowed his tongue.

  The clattering from within the limo died away, the air of the parkade filled with the tortured sounds of the dying engine, steam still billowing from under the hood. El landed lightly in front of the car and padded over to stare in the driver’s window. She gave a cry, then returned to the hood, coming down with both paws hard enough to rock the vehicle’s suspension. She did it again, snarling loudly.

  The doors eased open slowly, empty hands raised in the air like a group of fans at a bad rock concert. El jumped to the side, swatting a shaking bad guy to the ground. The rest of the foursome from within the limo gave up and joined their buddy face down on the hard concrete ground.

  Kyle let out the breath he didn’t know he’d held. “God, she’s gonna be the death of me.”

  “Welcome to married life. Your aunt kicks my butt a million times a day. You’ll get used to it.” His uncle’s chuckle didn’t annoy Kyle so much this time. Must be the sheer relief of having survived whatever the hell had just happened.

  Kyle paced forward to where El had shifted and stood patiently. She accepted his gun, keeping it trained on the bad guys as Kyle worked down the line of villains on the ground, searching them for extra weapons. He smacked one of the men who stared at her a little too long. “Stop looking at her.”

  “Mr. Branegan,” El said. “If you leave now you’ll have time to change and still make it back to the party for the midnight toast.”

  Uncle Roy cleared his throat. “Let me stay and help.”

  El motioned him to the side and spoke loudly enough for Kyle to hear, but not the men on the ground.
“Sir, I don’t mean to be rude, but your nephew went out of his way to try and keep the clan strong, in spite of bad feelings between you. Please, don’t cause a disturbance tonight. We’ll debrief as soon as we can. Kyle and I will return to the party once the perps are in custody. Hopefully no one will have even noticed we were gone. If we don’t make it back in time I trust you’ll come up with a suitable excuse?”

  Uncle Roy nodded then with a flick of his finger against an imaginary cap, he strode back to the elevator doors and disappeared.

  * * *

  El waited until her contacts in the force had taken off with the foursome they’d arrested before attempting to return the tartan Kyle had draped around her shoulders. The thought that he was trying to keep her covered after spending so much time trying to convince her to act more catlike wasn’t lost on her.

  “You okay?” Kyle’s fingers raced down her arms, searching for any injuries. As he spread his fingers over her hips and smoothed his palms up her back under the fabric, she melted a little.

  “Oh yeah, more than okay. And if you keep that up, we’re not going to make it back to the party in time for the New Year’s toast. Just saying…” She leaned against his body, breathing in the comforting scent of his skin. She wasn’t used to working with a team like that, and definitely not in her cat form. It had been—invigorating.

  “I saw blood…”

  She stepped back and checked the inside of her arm. “Just winged me. It was already healing when I shifted to human, and was completely better by the second shift to cat. You and your uncle did a good job on the take down.”

  Kyle shook his head as he tugged her back into the elevator. “What the hell was going on there? I take it my uncle wasn’t a part of the actual underground group?”

  “Listening to the two of you talk was like a bad comedy routine. It certainly looks as if there’s another solution.”

  “Hopefully we’ll get some information from the guys we just arrested. My investigation isn’t over yet.”

  He hit the button for their floor and dragged her back into his arms. It was as if he couldn’t bear to be apart from her, and with the adrenaline rush spiking through her veins, she wasn’t about to complain.

  In fact…

  When he got the door to their suite open she jumped him. Sheer relief was part of it, after dealing with the guns and the violence. Cluing in that Kyle’s uncle, while he had a lot of explainin’ to do, was obviously innocent and not a part of the bad guys had made her heart even lighter. Hope rose that a happy ending was possible for this whole mess.

  Kyle rumbled with anticipation as she ripped open his button and zipper and hauled his kilt down his hips. The whole time she stripped him, her thoughts raced. Yeah, a happy ending was a possibility, which meant her time was drawing to a close as well. Now that part of Kyle’s investigation was dealt with, they had no justification to continue the façade of their engagement. He had to report for the hearing in January, but she had no reason to doubt he’d show up, even if she stopped babysitting him. The man was reliable, and funny, and…

  She was going to miss him like crazy.

  The countdown clock was ticking on more than the end of the year.

  Kyle hauled her against him. She wrapped her legs around his waist and they got lost in a kiss that threatened to set off the overhead sprinkler system. Their lips continued the erotic tangle as he blindly stumbled back into the bedroom, finally lowering himself on top of her. Every hard, hot inch felt so perfect, she let a long, satisfied moan escape.

  He covered her face with kisses. “You were freaking amazing tonight. Watching you work the sting, your cat in control like that? Man, I think you need some serious petting.”

  One long, sensual lick trailed down her throat as he headed down to other territory, but she was beyond needing foreplay. El cupped his face, forcing his gaze to meet hers.

  “All I want is you.” The words caught in her throat. He had no idea how much it cost for her to admit that.

  Or maybe he did. His expression changed, the lust-filled cat easing down and a bright light in his eyes making her heart ache. He rose over her, broad hips nestling between her legs as he adjusted position, then with one press, joined them together.

  Bliss. Sheer and endless. Every nerve was happy and invigorated. Tingles of pleasure spread out from her core to her extremities. El smiled—she’d never had an orgasm in her fingertips before, but today it seemed likely.

  Time slipped away as he moved, fast, then paused to kiss her dreamily, their bodies still connected. Then he stretched his arms to separate their torsos and open the view until they could both watch his cock slip into her sex, her labia open and glistening with moisture.

  The digital clock beside the bed changed, and she caught the glowing announcement of yet another deadline.

  “We’re never…going to make it…to the ballroom in time,” she warned. He stroked into her again, and again. Long, languid thrusts that connected them intimately, his torso and hers rubbing together. Suddenly she didn’t give a damn about doing the right thing. “Or we can start the New Year right here.”

  Kyle rolled and brought her into his arms, her body straddling his as he sat on the bed. He directed their motions, his fingers tight on her bare ass cheeks until the clock flicked over, and her body responded. To every touch, every caress, every drive but most of all?

  To his lips against her cheek, his voice in her ear, words soft and low.

  “Happy New Year’s, love.”

  Chapter Ten

  “How did you get out of the closet?” El perched on the armrest of the overstuffed chair where Kyle sprawled, his belly full of more breakfast than he should have eaten. The entire family was gathered in the salon of Uncle Roy and Auntie Janet’s suite, an uneasy truce called by Jake bringing them together as a whole family.

  Jake and Conn played a three-handed game of crib at the table with Auntie Janet, the bleary eyes of a cat the-morning-after-the-night-before smearing his middle brother’s normally GQ face into a mess. Kyle wondered exactly what Conn had been up to last night that even a shifter metabolism couldn’t deal with easily.

  “How did I get out? Shifted before I completely passed out. I faked it at first, hoping you were under a deadline and would leave me alone before I went completely unconscious. Whatever you gave me was enough for my human body, but not nearly enough for my cat.” Uncle Roy leaned forward on the couch across from them. “We owe the hotel for the repairs to the closet. I broke the doorframe getting out of there. I was desperate to get to the meeting. I figured that must be why you were trying to get me out of the picture.”

  He turned to Kyle. “About a year ago I got word from a trusted friend who saw you in the middle of a bad situation—you were involved with an unsavory underground element. I know you and I parted on not the best of terms, and I’d been trying to let you live your life as you saw fit, but I couldn’t let you completely go off the deep end. Ever since then I’ve been trying to find out what you’ve been up to, and I have to say, you do have some undesirable haunts.”

  Kyle sighed. He owed El a backrub—she’d told him to expect this. “I work for the Cougar Shifter Investigators, a branch of the Shifter Enforcer League. If you’ve received reports of me being around sleazy characters, that’s probably why.”

  Uncle Roy’s jaw hung open. “The CSI? That exists?”

  “Yup, and I’m one of their longest-serving agents. Joined right after I left home. Of course back then I made coffee and did mail runs, but still. They’ve been great to work with.”

  El rocked her leg, the motion making her ass rub lightly against his arm. Kyle fought the distraction. They’d spent a little time that morning talking, but skirted around the most important issues until their meeting with Uncle Roy. There was no way to move forward without getting to the bottom of the mystery.

  Intent on getting answers, Kyle focused on his uncle again. “I found signs of you during my last investigation. You even se
t up that meeting last night. What were you thinking?” he demanded.

  “I told you, I thought you were in over your head. I was simply trying to get you out and into a safer situation. That’s all I’ve attempted with everything I’ve arranged.” Uncle Roy gestured at El. “The police-authorized supervision, hauling you away from your normal haunts. I was—”

  El stiffened as his uncle spoke, interrupting him with a raised hand. “Excuse me? You want to back up a little? What ‘police-authorized supervision’ are you talking about arranging?”

  The tension in her body was subtle, but Kyle felt it. For a second he thought about stepping in and protecting his uncle from what he suspected might get messy.

  Nah, the morning had been kinda slow. Fireworks would be fun. He leaned back to watch the show.

  Uncle Roy gave his best cat-in-charge impression. “I had to do something. I know the Chief of the LAPD. When I found out Kyle lived in his area, I asked if there was a legal way to keep Kyle under a kind of house arrest for a while, until I figured out how to deal with the situation. We arranged the incident at the dock, then he assigned one of his best agents to it.”

  Water could have boiled from the heat rising from El. Kyle sighed. Maybe he should protect his uncle. A death on New Year’s Day would spoil the holiday forever.

  “It was a…setup? There was no crime? There is no court case in January that I need to make sure Kyle attends?” Her voice was low, almost sweet sounding. Kyle got off the chair and moved for cover. This wasn’t going to be pretty.

  Uncle Roy shook his finger at her. “Now see here, young lady. I will do whatever it takes to make sure my famil…” His voice died off into a whimper as El flew across the dividing space and put him into a headlock.

  She was obviously not too worried she had just attacked the head of the cougar clan. Kyle checked his nails.