by Danica Avet
“Do me a fucking favor and mate her before she kills someone,” Monk said.
Daisy broke off the kiss and lunged at the cat, claws out. Ram snagged her around the waist, holding her away from Monk, who was trying to straighten his clothes. The heat of his need left him a little fuzzy around the edges and he wasn’t feeling too kindly toward the cougar for interrupting them. He roared a clear warning at the other cat.
“Sorry,” Monk said with a twitch of his lips that suggested anything but remorse.
Daisy almost got away from Ram but he caught her again and tried to soothe her. “What’s going on here, dammit?” he demanded of the cougar. “Did you attack her?”
Monk’s jaw dropped. “Are you fucking kidding me? That crazy bitch clawed my car!”
The cougar’s outrage burned away some of Ram’s anger. “What kind of car?” Ram asked curiously. “I noticed it across the pasture, but was in too much of a hurry to check it out.”
“1965 Mustang with the original paint job until Fast Claws McGraw touched it.”
Ram whistled. “Nice. Original engine?”
Monk grinned. “It’s mint from top to fucking bottom. Took me a few—”
“You sold my house!” Daisy cut in, still struggling in Ram’s hold. “You’re lucky I didn’t castrate you.”
Ram winced at the statement even as his balls tingled with the need to make his mate submit. The lion did not like the cougar’s scent coupled with the scent of her anger. It wanted her on all fours, ass in the air and pussy dripping with desire.
Monk’s retort shook him out of his lustful thoughts. “It was mine to sell. And you know this isn’t just about that.” He wiped a hand over his face, suddenly looking exhausted. “I was eighteen years old. Cut me a little fucking slack, dammit.”
Daisy’s gasp almost knocked her off her feet. “I’m supposed to forget you fucked my cousin and then told everyone at school about it? That you broke her heart and made sure she’ll never want to come home again?”
“You beat the ever-lovin’ shit out of me for it!”
“I wish I would’ve castrated you instead!”
They were nose-to-nose, glaring at each other and bristling with anger. Ram frowned. “All of this is over something that happened, what, twenty years ago?”
Two sets of eyes swung around to glare at him. “Fifteen,” they both spat and turned back to weigh each other with their stares.
Ram rolled his eyes. “Okay, fifteen years ago, Monk hurt your cousin’s feelings, you beat the shit out of him for it and you’re still fighting about it?”
“He’s an asshole,” Daisy announced with clenched fists.
“And you’re a psycho bitch,” Monk shot back. “All the shit you’ve pulled over the years I’ve let go because I know how close you and Kitty are. I figured I deserved it, but goddamn it, Daisy, we’re too old for this.”
The tension in Daisy’s body suggested she strongly disagreed, though she said nothing. Ram didn’t trust it. He also didn’t want to get involved in the feud between them, but this was the second time he’d been witness to it. And as much as he loved Daisy when she was pissed off, he also scented a touch of hurt.
His plans for stripping his mate and riding her until dawn flew out the window. He sighed. Ram thought he’d never see the day when a rock star was more reasonable than a couple of small-town shifters. The world had gone crazy.
“Let’s talk about this like adults, okay?” Ram suggested, tearing Daisy’s attention away from staring a hole through Monk’s skull.
“What?”
He shrugged. He wore a polo shirt with a pair of khaki slacks and dress shoes. He’d obviously done himself up good to look less like a musician and more like a successful, acceptable mate for her parents. She bit back a dreamy sigh. He was so damn sexy no matter what he did— or didn’t—wear.
“I just think you two need to talk out this…” he waved his hands between Monk and Daisy, “thing and get it off your chests.”
Her jaw dropped and all thoughts of his sexiness dissipated. “Are you out of your fucking mind? I have nothing to say to that jackass.”
“Because you’d rather act like a spurned lover,” Monk shot back.
“I wouldn’t touch you with someone else’s hand!”
Ram roared loud enough to blow Daisy’s hair back. When he finished, she glared at him, though she didn’t open her mouth again. Her ears were still ringing.
“We’re going to sit down and talk about this,” Ram said in a dangerous tone that sent desire dancing through her body.
He grabbed her around the waist, hoisted her off her feet and carried her to her brand new sofa. Daisy was too stunned by his strength to fight. No one had ever picked her up as if she were as substantial as a pillow. Hell, she couldn’t remember anyone outside of Ram ever picking her up.
Her body went liquid at the thought of how he could use his strength in bed. She wouldn’t have to pretend to be weaker than he was. He also wouldn’t whine if she got a little overexcited and squeezed him with all of her strength. Ram was a prime male unlike Kyle who’d complained when she hugged him too hard.
He dropped her on the sofa and settled in next to her. He took up a lot more room than he should have. Monk edged closer as though making sure Ram had a good hold of her before he eased onto the recliner across the room.
Daisy turned her nose up at the cougar. She didn’t want to hear anything he might have to say. He’d been a thorn in her ass for years. Yeah, she probably should just ignore him, but baiting and annoying the hell out of him had been her way of making him pay for hurting Kitty for so long it’d become habit.
Ram slipped his arm around her shoulders and pulled her snug against his side. He was warm and sturdy. She stifled another dreamy sigh. Could she really do what Kitty said and just go with the flow? She studied Ram’s profile while he stared at Monk with hard eyes. If she went along for the ride he’d break her heart.
He glanced over at her, catching her gaze with his warm, amber eyes. “Now tell me what happened,” he said calmly.
Daisy shook her head. She wasn’t going there. She couldn’t. She wasn’t sure she could begin to explain her dislike for Monk.
“We all grew up together,” Monk said in a tired voice. “Me, Daisy Lynn and Kitty were inseparable. We did everything together until we got to high school.” He dropped his head back to stare at the ceiling. “But I always loved Kitty.”
“You have a funny goddamn way of showing it,” Daisy spat.
He looked at her with tired eyes. “You think I don’t regret any of what happened? I didn’t just lose Kitty, I lost you as well.”
Ram let out a sub-vocal growl. “Mine.”
Monk rolled his eyes and went back to staring at the ceiling. “It wasn’t like that,” he muttered. “Daisy was my friend, Kitty was…” He sighed and rubbed a hand over his face. “I’m no good at this touchy-feely bullshit.”
Daisy frowned at Monk and for the first time saw the misery etched onto his face. He looked a lot older than his thirty-three years, the time carving deep lines around his mouth and eyes. It was hard to see the kid he’d been, the one who’d let her tag along behind him while Kitty was taking piano lessons. He was right. They had been friends, very good friends, for most of their lives. It was only the betrayal of knowing how badly he’d hurt Kitty that had turned Daisy against him.
“Why did you do it?” she demanded without meaning to speak at all.
He met her gaze and then looked away, his mouth turning down into a deep frown. “It doesn’t matter now.”
Daisy’s temper, always on a short fuse, ignited. “No, don’t pull this bullshit again. If you want me to stop fighting with you, you’re going to tell me exactly why you took Kitty’s virginity and then bragged about it.” Her fingernails cut into the palms of her hands. “You were our friend, Monk! We trusted you, Kitty loved you, and all you wanted was another notch on your fucking belt.”
He jumped out of the r
ecliner and glowered. “I love Kitty!” he roared, the tendons in his neck standing out. “I’ve always fucking loved her. I was going to mate her as soon as she graduated high school.” He paced, running a hand through his shaggy hair. “After we—afterward I went home and told Dad my plans and…” His words stalled and a muscle bunched in his jaw. “You know how we always thought my mom died when I was a kid?” he asked suddenly.
Daisy frowned, wondering what that had to do with anything. She shrugged against Ram’s warm body. “Yeah, she had cancer, or something.”
Monk shook his head. “She didn’t. Dad finally told me that my mom went…nuts. Flat-out crazy. She tried to kill me when I was young. He had to lock her away and told everyone she died.”
“But…what does that have to do with Kitty?” Daisy asked in a soft voice.
He cleared his throat, his eyes shifting away from Daisy and Ram. “Because it’s happened before on the maternal side of my family and Dad worried I might try something similar with my own cubs.” He turned away from them to stare out the window, his shoulders tight. “I’d never do anything to hurt Kitty, but when I found out my blood was tainted, I couldn’t mate with her. I knew how much she loved me because I felt the same. The only way I knew to make her hate me was to act like I just wanted to get in her pants.”
Bitterness and self-hatred dripped from his every word. As a kid she’d always felt bad Monk had grown up without his mom, but if what he said was true, he had an even bigger burden to bear. Her heart softened despite her lingering resentment of the way he’d handled things.
“You could’ve told her,” Ram said, surprising Daisy. She glanced at him to see his face darken with anger. “You fucked up big-time, man. If Kitty was anything like Daisy, she wouldn’t have cared.”
Okay, if he kept this up, she’d do something stupid and fall for him because she couldn’t help her heart melting at his words. Damn the lion to hell.
“That’s exactly why I did it,” Monk countered. He looked at Daisy. “Do you think it’d be fair to burden her with something like this? She would’ve stayed with me despite my tainted genetics and then we’d both have to live in fear that I’d try to kill my own children one day.”
Daisy stared at the man she thought she knew so well. As Ram said, he’d fucked up. But he’d done it to protect Kitty and their children. Maybe he wasn’t as awful as she’d thought. As the thought crossed her mind she detected a hint of vulnerability in his gaze. She now had a weapon to use against him that would destroy his family’s name in Maison Rouge. The entire town had mourned with the Badeaux family when word came that Carla had died of cancer all those years ago. They’d feel betrayed and Monk wouldn’t be able to hold his head up in town ever again.
But she wouldn’t use it. Dammit, in this moment Monk reminded her of why she’d considered him one of her best friends.
She sighed and slumped against Ram, needing his strength for the moment. “You do realize Kitty’s a grizzly?” she asked in a bored tone.
Monk frowned at her. “Of course.”
She rolled her eyes. “Do you honestly think a grizzly bear would let anyone harm her cubs? Even her own mate?”
The dawning realization in his eyes was gratifying. Even better than clawing his paint job. He looked equal parts stunned and disgusted with himself. She nodded. “You’re a moron.”
“I was eighteen, Daisy Lynn, I wasn’t thinking that far ahead,” he muttered as he flopped into the chair again. “Cher bon Dieu, I really did fuck everything up, didn’t I?” He groaned and threw an arm over his face.
Daisy opened her mouth to agree, but Ram squeezed her ribs hard enough to compress all the air out of them. He shook his head. “Could I get something to drink?” he asked when she stared at him.
She frowned and shot a look between him and the still grimacing Monk. He was trying to get rid of her. She shook her head, but Ram nodded firmly. She growled and he snapped his teeth at her in warning.
“Fine!” she huffed and flounced off the sofa. Let them have their little male-bonding moment. The minute Monk left, she’d let Ram have it.
Ram waited until Daisy was in the kitchen before he looked at the pathetic excuse for a cougar across the room, groaning and grimacing as if he were dying. “God, get over yourself,” he said in disgust.
Monk dropped his arm to glare at him. “You didn’t destroy a young girl’s heart because you were trying to protect her.”
“Yeah, because I’m not an asshole in love with some fragile female,” Ram shot back.
“Kitty isn’t fragile.” The words came out a challenge as Monk sat forward. “She’s strong and independent. She went to New York with nothing but a dream and made something of herself. Don’t ever talk that way about her.”
Ram sat back, satisfied. “If she’s all that, then why are you treating her like she needs to be protected like some goddamn fragile flower?” He shook his head when Monk gaped at him. “Look at you, man. You gave up your mate because you didn’t think she was strong enough to deal with your problems. You didn’t give her any choice—you just let her go without giving her options.”
“I thought I was doing the right thing,” he mumbled.
“Yeah, well, I’m starting to realize that thinking when it comes to a mate is overrated. That’s Daisy’s problem, she keeps thinking things to death and it isn’t something you decide to do. You just do it, you know?”
Monk said nothing. He stared at Ram for several seconds with the sound of Daisy slamming things around in the kitchen in the background. “What do I do now? She won’t want to see me and even though Daisy knows, I don’t think she’s going to help me with Kitty.”
Ram shook his head. “You’re thinking about it all wrong. Is she your mate? Did you mark her?”
The cougar hung his head. “Yeah.”
“Then she’s your mate. You either go get her, or you wait for her to come to you.” Ram glanced over his shoulder to make sure Daisy wasn’t behind him. He leaned forward. “In fact, wait for her to come to you.”
Monk sighed impatiently. “She isn’t coming back here. She swore she wouldn’t.”
“She’d come back if Daisy got married,” Ram countered smoothly.
Monk blinked as though Ram had lost his mind. “Daisy’s getting married? To…you?”
“Well yeah, she’s my mate.”
“Does she know this yet? I mean, have you actually asked her?” Monk asked with a dubious look on his face.
Ram didn’t like the doubt one bit. He crossed his arms. “She’ll accept.”
“Uh-huh.”
“She will. She’s just being stubborn right now because she thinks I’m here to start a pride or some crazy shit like that. I’m not and once she realizes that, everything will work out.” He leaned back again. “That means Kitty will come home if they’re anywhere as close as Ms. Claudette suggested.”
Monk looked intrigued. “They’re as close as sisters and tell each other everything so yeah, she’d come home for that.”
Ram smiled. “And when she does, you fix it. Simple as that.”
“I don’t know, man, that seems…pretty simplistic. Does that work for you? The whole doing what you want and having them just give in?”
He shrugged. “Yeah.”
Monk snorted. “That won’t work with Daisy. She’s not like one of your groupies, you know. She doesn’t give a shit if you’re famous or not, she won’t give in just because of who you are.”
“Don’t worry about it. I’ll handle her.”
“Oh you will, huh?” a silky voice said behind him.
He glared at the cat across the room. “You couldn’t have told me she was standing there? Where’s the fucking loyalty?”
Monk shrugged as he got to his feet, keeping plenty of distance between Daisy and himself. “I’ve known her longer and while you’d probably just kill me, she’d torture me. Sorry, man.”
“And on that note, you can carry your happy ass home,” Daisy told Mo
nk, coming around the sofa with a glass of something in her hand. “I’ll stop by your office some time this week so we can talk about this some more without Dr. Phil over there to referee.”
Monk shot her a startled look, but the warmth in his eyes was unmistakable. “Sure thing, Daisy Lynn,” he said with a slow smile.
“And stop fucking calling me Daisy Lynn!” she shouted at the cougar as he opened the door.
Monk laughed, the door slamming shut behind him. Seconds later, they heard the contented purr of a fine-tuned engine. Daisy sighed. “I’m gonna have to pay for a new paint job, huh?”
“Probably.”
She rounded on him, her dark eyes narrowed. The scent of her anger peppered the air around them. “And you’re going to handle me, huh? How exactly are you planning to do that?”
Ram gently removed the glass of whatever it was from her hand and peered at it curiously. “What is this?”
“Your drink.”
He sniffed it, his stomach turning at the combination of scents. “Are you trying to poison me?” he demanded.
“It was a thought, especially after the way you acted with Monk.” Her frown deepened. “What the fuck are you doing here anyway? Aren’t you supposed to be at my parents’ house kissing ass?”
Ah, no wonder she was so pissed off. “Did Monk tell you I was there?” Because he’d have to hurt the cougar for ratting him out.
Daisy snorted and moved away to sprawl in the recliner. “As if I’d have believed anything he said.” Her face twisted. “Well, before tonight.” She ran a hand over her face. “Cher bon Dieu, I can’t believe he didn’t tell us about his mama,” she whispered. “I’m still pissed about how he went about breaking things off with Kitty, but…he’s right. She would’ve stuck by his side anyway. God, what a mess. How do I tell her?”
Ram plopped down on the sofa, idly noting it was new. “You don’t.” Her glare should’ve killed him, but he wasn’t worried. “It isn’t your business. It’s between Monk and Kitty. If it works out, it works out, if it doesn’t, it doesn’t. You can’t be involved.”
