by Abigail Owen
Dylan already sat on the side of the mat, nursing a couple of broken ribs and what looked to be a spectacular black eye. He’d managed to get a lucky punch in. Hence, her own split lip. She’d been surprised to hear a guttural growl come out of A.J. when the hit had landed and had glanced over to see him moving toward the mats with purpose in his eyes.
“Stop this fight, buddy, and you’ll deal with me,” she warned. She ignored the surprised laugh that came out of the other guys on the sideline. Then, seeing Dylan was momentarily distracted, she’d taken advantage of her opportunity, flipping him on his back, and bringing a knee down on his ribs as she held his arm behind him almost to the point of breaking. That had stopped the fight more satisfactorily than A.J.’s calling a halt, at least in her opinion.
“Give!” Dylan croaked.
Andie grinned and hopped to her feet. “Who’s next?”
“Bloodthirsty little thing, isn’t she?” William muttered.
Andie smiled and crooked a finger at him. “Guess it’s you then, big boy.”
Where Dylan had been lightning fast, William was simply a brawler. Andie knew that if she let him get a good hit in, he’d do some serious damage. Still, she said, “Don’t you dare hold back,” as he moved into position.
He’d flashed her a menacing grin. “It’s not in my nature, little girl.”
They danced around each other for a brief while. William threw a punch here and there, which Andie dodged. She took note that she needed to avoid his right hook. It looked nasty.
Seeing an opening, she ran straight for him, took a little jump, and using his knee as a stair step, managed to get up on his back with her arms wrapped around his neck. She squeezed just enough to cut off his oxygen without crushing his windpipe. She dangled her legs down the middle of his back rather than wrapping them around his middle, which both aided her in choking him and made it difficult for him to get a grip on any part of her.
William beat at her ineffectually for several moments, then changed tactics. He grabbed her wrist at the front of his neck, then threw his body forward and down in such a way that her feet flung up over his head. But Andie placed her free hand on the top of his head and pirouetted in the air, like a gymnast on the parallel bars. She did a full handstand above him and then brought her feet down to land on his shoulders. With the leverage she had at that angle, she wrenched her wrist out his grasp and flipped herself backwards off him. William caught a face full of her trailing foot as she moved. Andie landed in a crouch ready to spring out of the way should he come at her. But William stayed still.
Andie wrinkled her nose at the sight of blood coating the front of his shirt. “Broke your nose?” she called in a sweetly innocent voice.
He glared and then shot a bloody grin over her shoulder at the man standing silently behind her. “Damn, A.J. Can we keep her?”
Andie glanced at him, her suspicion spiking again. Why would he get to decide?
A.J. shrugged. “It’s up to the Alpha.”
Andie rose gracefully to her feet and tried not to look too smug as she turned to face the rest of the guys. She looked up at A.J., glanced around and shrugged.
A.J. shook his head and laughed. “Okay, you’re good one-on-one. How do you do against a gang?”
“Want to try me?”
He raised a single eyebrow. “Just answer the question.”
She grinned, mischief dancing in her eyes. “About the same, depending on how many and their skill levels. Different techniques for different situations.”
“And in cougar form?”
Andie made a face. “Not as well. I’m more agile than most of you big boys in cat form, but you’ve got me in regard to speed and size. I can’t do all the acrobatics I use when I fight human, so that limits me. I’d never win in a straight-up match, but I can play ‘keep away’ for ages depending on the terrain. And I’m a helluva lot more patient than just about any male cougar on the planet.”
“And you can use features from each of your shifts combined,” A.J. added.
She blinked. “Now how did you know that?”
“The night you snuck into the compound. I watched you for quite a while.”
“Yeah, well.” She held up her hand, and suddenly where there’d been human nails only a moment before, now there were cougar claws. “You’re right. I can.”
“You ever seen a woman shifter do that, A.J.?” Charlie asked, awe evident in his voice.
“Nope.”
She glanced up and caught A.J.’s heated stare. Quickly she looked at Charlie and shrugged. “Any shifter can do it. It just takes a lot of practice. It also takes a certain level of concentration, so it’s harder for me to do much with it in the middle of a fight. But it does come in handy, especially when I’m breaking and entering.” She winked.
“What other kinds of shifters do you fight most up in Canada?” Pete asked.
“Lots of wolves.” She managed not to grimace. “Coyotes too. Just recently the Canadian wolf packs have formed an alliance with the grizzly bears. The bears have been travelling in large groups more and more. They’ve agreed to support the wolves in any battles close to their territories so long as the wolves leave them alone the rest of the time.”
All the men exchanged glances. “We’d heard rumors about the alliance but nothing confirmed,” Pete said.
Andie’s eyes turned hard, haunted by memories. “Well, take it from me, the alliance is real. While cougars have been known to fight off individual grizzlies, it’s not a guaranteed win. Sometimes it can take four or five of our best fighters together in a coordinated attack to take down a full-grown male Grizzly.” Suddenly she smiled, although it had a vicious edge to it. “But manage to catch them in human form, and they’re lumbering and clumsy. Easy pickings.”
“Good info to have, right bos…er… brothers?” William said.
Andie caught William’s verbal stumble and wondered what he’d meant to say but kept her focus on A.J. She could tell that he knew she was holding back a piece of information. But it wasn’t vital. Just history.
Finally, A.J. pulled his concentrated stare away from her. “All right. Enough for this morning. Dylan, William, go get yourselves healed up.”
“Hey, what about Charlie and me?” Pete asked. “Commanders can fight as well as Protectors.” William snorted and then cursed as blood started gushing out of his broken nose again.
Andie hid a grin. Apparently Protectors and Commanders had the same arguments in the Keller Dare as in the Carstairs Dare, although she suspected Pete wasn’t kidding. Based on the scars on his face, she’d hazard money he was a good fighter. Charlie was harder to get a read on. He was too goofy. But she’d bet much of it was an act to throw people off.
“You’ll get your chance another day,” A.J. said.
The Commander shrugged. “We still meeting tonight?”
“Yeah, same time and place as last night,” A.J. confirmed.
“Sounds good.” With a wave, the four men trudged away.
Andie walked to the side of the mat. She wiped herself down with a towel and then took a long gulp of water, acutely aware of A.J.’s eyes following her. As she pulled the bottle out of her mouth, she nicked the already healing split in her upper lip and winced.
“Let me take a look at that lip,” he said softly.
Andie jumped a little. She hadn’t realized he’d moved so close. Composing her features, she turned her face up to him. He took her chin between his fingers and tilted her head as he inspected her small wound.
“Will I live?” she asked.
But he didn’t respond. Gently he ran the pad of his thumb across her lower lip. “Do you have any idea how incredible you are to watch when you spar?” he murmured. “I don’t think I’ve ever been so turned on.”
Andie’s breathing hitched. The only thing she could think of to fend off the kiss she saw coming was to instigate a fight. Juvenile, but there you had it. In a surprise move, she grabbed for his shoulders, intending
to topple him off balance. Before she knew what was happening, his hand snaked out, intercepting hers. She was spun around so that her back was to him, his arms banded around her, holding her like steel.
Gritting her teeth, Andie twisted and jerked her wrist down in a sharp movement, then gave a little yelp as he stuck out a foot to tangle her up, and suddenly she was flat on her back. Before she got her bearings, he followed her down and pinned her under the weight of his body.
Hard, hot lips claimed hers in an all-consuming kiss. She went wild beneath him, not resisting him, but opening to him, kissing him back with every ounce of her being. The kiss just seemed to go on and on. The sensation was the most exciting thing Andie had ever felt in her life. She couldn’t get enough.
Finally A.J. pulled back. He buried his face in her neck and took a couple of deep breaths. Andie felt the flutter of his lips over the sweet spot where her shoulder curved into her neck, and she sucked in a breath.
With a groan, he levered up and pinned her with his heated gaze. “Mate me,” he demanded in a voice raw with desire.
Andie’s eyes flew wide. “Wh… What?”
“You’ll be part of this dare, and no one can take you away. You’d be an asset we could sure use. And based on that kiss, I’d say we’re sexually compatible.” He gave her a wicked grin. “Mate me. Marry me.”
She was tempted. God, how she was tempted as she ran her eyes over his chiseled face and dark hair. This close up she could see that rim of black around the blue of his eyes, making them appear even more electric. She felt the muscles under her hands. Heaven knew the attraction was there. She’d only known him a few days, but she already knew that he was honorable and strong. A good man. Hannah, one of her best friends in the world, had vouched for him. And it would solve all her problems. But at the same time, she didn’t know him. Not really.
Besides, the only male strong enough to fend off Kyle Carstairs was Jaxon Keller.
She shook her head. “I can’t.”
The desire in his eyes cooled, and he rolled off her and onto his back. “Why not?” he asked flatly.
She hopped up and grabbed her water bottle with shaky hands and took another long swig.
“Hey, wildcat,” he called softly. She glanced over at him. “Why not?”
“Don’t you think I should meet with the Alpha before anything gets decided?” she asked reasonably. She watched his reaction closely. If he was Keller, then he’d say so now, right?
“Damn,” A.J. muttered under his breath. He ran his hands distractedly through his hair and down over his face. “All right, sweetheart. I’ll take you back to your room and we’ll be rational about this.”
He pushed himself up off the mat and waited while she grabbed her stuff. He walked her back in total silence, both of them lost in their own thoughts.
At her door he said, “I’ll be by to pick you up around nine tonight.”
“What for?” she asked.
“I want you to show the guys how you got into the compound so we can adjust our defensive systems appropriately. And we’ll be testing you out as a sentry tomorrow night.”
She smiled. “Sounds like fun. I’ll be ready.”
She closed the door with a soft click and then fell back against it with a deep sigh. She couldn’t fall for A.J. Not while her future depended on Jaxon Keller.
Chapter 9
Andie lay close to the ground so she would blend in with the landscape should anyone be watching. She’d found an outcropping of rock that gave her an unobstructed view of the area she’d been assigned to patrol. The darkness was just barely illuminated by the tiny sliver of moon in the sky. While everything was painted in greys, she could see every detail of the gorgeous land surrounding her, thanks to her cougar’s excellent vision.
If Andie could, she’d smile. Patrol was about as mind-numbingly boring as it got, but she relished the sense of freedom afforded from being completely by herself in the woods. While she’d become used to the slightly claustrophobic sensation of living in a dare, Andie took advantage of the opportunities her role created to get out alone in the wild as frequently as possible. Well, mostly alone. She wasn’t the only sentry out here.
The rock where she lay jutted out from the side of the mountain, keeping her just above the tree line. She was in her cougar form and employed all the senses that came with it. Keen eyesight, smell, and hearing were all highly attuned to her surroundings. Based on her exploration of this spot, no other sentries had discovered it yet. She made a mental note to mention that fact to A.J. when she got back. This should’ve been found by at least one of the cougars familiar with the local area.
Thinking of A.J., her mind wandered back to the previous night. Andie had spent it with him and his fellow men going over the different methods she’d employed to get into the compound. She’d pointed out the few subtle changes they could make to tighten security for individual assailants. It wasn’t a lot, mostly tiny things. Very few shifters of any type had her particular skills to slip in and out of places unnoticed. Stealth was one of the areas her petite size aided.
A slight, telltale rustle in bushes below alerted her to the passing of the mobile patrolman. Another mental note for A.J. – a few of Keller’s patrollers were too loud, too obvious. Cougars were naturally stealthy animals. These guys were good, but they could be better.
She’d been positioned here for hours, and man was she going to sleep well when she was relieved of duty. After the long run her first morning and then the strategy download, followed by the sparring and then her review of Keller perimeter security measures last night, she was running on fumes. And she knew that was the idea, part of her test for the dare. But she’d done this kind of duty before, so she wouldn’t falter or let them down.
Only the tiniest scraping sound of rock moving against rock warned her of the other cougar’s presence. She had absolutely no doubt who it was. A.J. He’d climbed the rock just above her and was probably planning to pounce.
Damn. That was the second time he’d managed to sneak up on her in as many days. Andie started feeling a little less smug. Maybe she’d spent too much time in the office lately strategizing, and not enough in the field practicing. Maybe she was slipping. At least this time she knew of his presence before he revealed himself. But how long had he been up there?
Andie turned her head and looked straight up into a pair of dark golden eyes. He pulled his lips back in a cougar’s imitation of a grin and deftly dropped down about fifteen feet to land on padded paws on the rock beside her without even a whisper of a sound.
Well, that explains a little bit. Dang man’s even more silent than I am.
A.J. lay down beside her and looked out over the view. Andie watched him from the corner of her eye. In cat form, he dwarfed her. He was a massive cougar, one of the largest she’d encountered. She was a little surprised that Keller would keep such an obvious Alpha-type in his immediate close circle. She still wasn’t convinced that A.J. wasn’t Jaxon. She’d thought maybe he would’ve owned up to it when he proposed they marry. But still, there were other little clues that seemed to be adding up. Then again, all of Jaxon’s Protectors and Commanders were all intimidating Alpha-types, so the man clearly had a great deal of self-confidence.
Lying here beside A.J., Andie could feel the heat coming off his big body, even in the chill of the night air and through their heavy fur coats. Winter was closing in fast, and these mountains would be covered by snow soon. She resisted the insane urge to lean into him, absorb his warmth and this strength, and purr.
At the slight rustle in the underbrush below, once again signaling the passing mobile guard, A.J. gave a low chuff. Irritation, Andie knew immediately. After the sentry passed, A.J. looked over and caught her watching him. He tipped his chin out toward the view, telling her to stay vigilant, so she turned her total attention back to her job. Or tried to at least. If he wanted to keep tabs on her, that was his problem.
He stayed there with her for over an hour.
At first, she was completely conscious of him beside her. But then she got used to him, and his presence became almost soothing - maybe comfortable was a better word for it - as if they’d been doing sentry duty together for ages. He didn’t distract her from her job. With a small shock of surprise, Andie realized that she liked having him there. Strange, given how much she enjoyed the alone time that watch shifts granted her and how agitated she often felt when he was around. But no less true.
The telltale rustle sounded for the third time since A.J. had been lying there. Suddenly he gave a low whistle, and the movement below them stopped. Very slowly, a cougar’s head poked up above a bush. A.J. whistled again, and the cougar caught sight of them and headed in their direction. A.J. rose to stand beside her and gave her a long look that Andie took to mean that he wanted her to stay where she was while he talked to his patrolman. She nodded her understanding and looked back out over her vista.
A.J. was only gone ten minutes or so. He returned with the other cougar, who likely had just gotten an earful. The third cat moved to take up a position on the rocks beside Andie. A.J. jerked his head at her to follow him. In complete and utter silence, they padded through the trees and rocks back to the compound. Various guards nodded them through when they recognized A.J. and the new female cougar beside him. They’d yet to see her in her human form, as the introductions, such as they were in cat form, had all been performed in the field. Each cat gave Andie a curious look as she passed.
Together she and A.J. entered the compound through the guards’ locker room. A.J. hadn’t been there when Andie had come through earlier on her way out. Charlie had been the one to meet her and give her the rundown on her responsibilities. He’d left her to undress alone and then met her outside in cougar form to walk her around.
Once they hit the light of the room, she got her first really good look at A.J. as a cougar. His coat was a dark golden color. His mouth was white, but distinctive black markings traced the edge and then slashed back over his cheekbones, giving his face a chiseled, hard look. The same black fur darkened the length of his long tail. He was a menacing… and gorgeous… cat. But what was most striking was that his markings and coloring matched hers almost exactly. If she could have gasped, she would have.
