"I am hearing sarcasm pussycat," Griffin growled, glaring balefully at Eli while Maggie struggled to hide her own humor. "And I don't appreciate it."
"Well," Maggie said soothingly. "I assume she only wants to go to the hotel and work from her office there. The new one she shares with you, Link and Jacob now?"
Griffin narrowed his eyes at her. "And?"
Maggie cleared her throat while Eli snorted his amusement. "There are no guests so all of her work is on the computer, or the phone. If she gets tired she can grab a hotel room, and if she is there you can look out for her together. As opposed to keeping her at home and isolated with just one of you at a time." Maggie cleared her throat again. "I think it has more to do with wanting to be with all of her mates than any piddly work she has to do. At least," she added in a hurry. "That was the impression I got when we talked."
Griffin let out a long sigh and rubbed his chin. "Fine," he finally said. "I'll have to make it clear to the pack that she is still resting but she can come to the office with us." He gave Maggie a rueful look when he caught the look on her face. "She was going to come anyway wasn't she?"
"I would be surprised if she was not already there somewhere," Maggie said letting her humor peak out just a little. "In fact, if you want to tell her your decision, you might check my old office. When you have a moment."
Griffin cursed a blue streak and the line went dead. Eli chuckled and pulled her closer to nuzzle her neck. "How long has she been working there."
"She decided weeks ago that today would be her start back date no matter what anyone else said." She shook her head. "Poor Griffin really should know better by now."
She pushed his head back so she could look in his eyes. Ignoring the heat tingles his touch always started. "What did you do to Stephen?"
His lip curled up in disgust and she knew it was an automatic reaction to her ex’s name. "I uncovered every underhanded business deal he has ever had and made him carrion for the crows."
Maggie blinked. "That was...graphic."
Eli smiled and there was nothing happy in that smile. It was a showing of teeth. "His business is a sinking ship. His associates are dropping him like flies, and I have taken every cent of the money he has sequestered in off shore accounts. Right now, he is facing criminal charges and the end of his business empire. By the time all my dominoes have fallen he will be a penniless, broke beggar doing time in federal prison. He does not have the time or resources to play with you anymore, and I am making sure he never does again."
Maggie opened her mouth a few times then finally closed it with a click.
The look on Eli's face was pure ruthless feline. She had wondered how much of the cat he kept while he was human and vice versa. She knew he was playful and could move like his bones were liquid in both forms, but the rest? Well, now she knew. At the moment her funny, sexy Eli looked like the panther who stalked his prey until he could crush them from above and rip out their throats with one bite.
She looked away uncomfortable, mostly because her nipples were tingling, and she was having a hard time hiding how turned on he was making her
Something else occurred to her. "My parents do business with Stephen. I take it that they are also feeling the pinch in this?"
He kept those steady predatory eyes on her. "They were warned Duchess. If they did not finally get it after what he said to you in front of them they deserve what they get."
"They didn't see though, did they?" She asked quietly, her eyes on his.
"No," the one word was ruthless and told her exactly what was happening to her parents. Stephen was not the only one struggling right now.
She sighed out a breath and looked away. "I cannot deny that a part of me is glad that they are suffering a little for taking his side, but I don't want them penniless and homeless and in federal prison alongside Stephen." She turned back to give him solemn eyes. "I want that very clear." She forced a smile at him while she gave him the facts he might not have realized. "Because if that happens, then I will be a position to have to save my parents, and if I must deal with my parents because you failed to listen to me, I'll be moving them in here. With us."
Eli blinked, and then laughed the tension leaving him. "Fuck," he muttered. "You play dirty."
"Just so we are clear."
"Your parents have taken all the hits they are going to take. Which was a drop in the bucket for them financially along with a whole lot of embarrassment and notoriety for their connection with Baxter and their treatment of you. They don't need to be saved."
She smiled. "That's a relief." She licked her lips, her eyes going to the open collar of his shirt. "Shame about Stephen though." She nuzzled him a bit under the chin and met his eyes, letting him see the heat in hers. "Tell me again all the terrible ways you are making Stephen pay?"
Eli swallowed, and she could see the humor in his eyes turn to heat, only this time it was passion and not ruthless vengeance she saw there. He growled just a little when she licked her lips.
"I kind of liked it," she whispered against his lips as her eyes met his.
"Yeah," he said his voice too low to be fully human. "I got that." Then he was kissing her, and she found herself on her back on the floor.
There was a yelp and she looked over to see Loki had been displaced from where he had made himself comfortable beneath Eli's chair. She laughed when the puppy bounced back and tried to join in their play going for both Eli and her face since they were on his level now. Eli cursed a blue streak, picked up the dog and shoved him out the door, before coming back to her.
Maggie was laughing so hard he had to wrestle her back into position beneath him. Then she forgot all about the puppy scratching at the door and moaned, his lips on her neck, his hands trapping hers above her head as heat spiraled over her. She wrapped her legs around his waist to bring him closer and forgot all about everything but the touch of Eli's hands on her. His lips on her skin.
Yes, Maggie had to admit. She liked it all. Eli pulled back and gave her that wicked half smile that never failed to make her want to bite him. With Eli, she did not have to be perfect, or presentable, or pretend. She could be anyone she wanted to be, and he always looked at her the same way. As if she was the sexiest most beautiful thing he had ever seen. That, she liked most of all.
A honk of a horn had Eli lifting is head with a vicious snarl. "Who the fuck is that?"
Maggie might have taken issue with the sentiment but now she was in full agreement. Then she remembered what day it was.
"Oops," she said, apparently out loud because Eli looked down at her with a suspicious look.
"What do you mean oops?"
She cleared her throat. "You want to let me up?"
"No," he said. "What 'Oops'?"
She really wanted to be in a less vulnerable position for this talk, but she was the one who had put it off too long. "It's probably Tera from the shelter."
"And why," Eli asked his eyes narrowing on her carefully blank face. "Would Tera from the shelter be here with a truckload of bears?" he lifted his nose and sniffed. "And a ...mountain lion?"
"I was actually going to tell you about that earlier and then you distracted me, and I forgot all about it. Though," she said her brow furrowing in thought. "Not sure what the bears are doing here."
"Duchess," he growled. "The mountain Lion?"
"Was wounded, but he’s almost healed now and reacting badly to the town scents and sounds," she said quickly and in her lady of the manor voice. "They needed a place out of town to keep him, and since we are going to be gone for a few weeks, if not longer, I thought that it would work out fine for them to take care of him here and release him where there are no other predators coming around."
"You want to release another cat into my territory?"
"Is that a bad thing?" She asked carefully. "I mean he won't stick around and we won't be here when it happens."
Eli's lip curled, and she could plainly see how he felt about that idea. She bit her li
p to keep from smiling.
Eli pulled her up with another growl and hauled her to the front door, where all five of Dutch's randy bear sons waited with Dutch, and the full human who ran the only animal shelter for hundreds of miles. She was a retired park ranger and still worked with the forest service regularly to handle damaged wild life for return to the wild. Eli had a bad feeling this was going to set up a precedent he was not going like.
"Tera," Maggie called with a smile. She had been making regular visits with the woman since she had found the website for the shelter last week. It was a small operation. Tera and a few volunteers.
Eli had the distinct impression Maggie was going to change that. Then the sixty something Tera with her no-nonsense grey bun and dirty farm jeans hugged his Maggie in her designer jeans that cupped her fine ass like a dream, and fancy silk top. Her boots had a short heel and ended just below her knee. She reeked of money and class did his mate, and the difference between the two women could not have been more pronounced. And his Maggie did not give one fuck about that. He would have smiled at that but all five of Dutch's sons were ogling said ass and growling with appreciation.
He hissed at them, and Tera caught him doing it and widened her eyes in shock. She cleared her throat and patted Maggie's shoulder. "You sure this is alright?"
"Of course," Maggie said warmly. Then turned a hundred-watt smile on Eli. "Isn't it Eli?"
From the look in her eyes he guessed it had better be and he gave her a smile that was all teeth and no sincerity.
"Why would I have a problem with some cat coming onto my territory and pissing everywhere while I’m gone?" he asked making her clear her throat and look away. Then he saw she was biting her lip trying not to smile and he really wanted to spank that perfect ass. She winked at him, the little tease, before she turned to the bastard bears.
"Did you bring every sexy muscled man the town offered to help you unload?"
Eli growled while the fucking bears preened.
Tera laughed. "They volunteered. I usually get one or two of them willing to help me out, but all five was something of a surprise." She looked from the bears to Maggie and laughed. "Well, maybe not. Since you have shown an interest in my little shelter I have had a great many new volunteers, all of them between the ages of twelve and twenty-five. And all male." She looked around at the bevy of muscled hunks surrounding them, not least of all was the blue eyed sexy Eli. "Expect that will change soon enough when the girls catch on." She patted Maggie's arm again and laughed.
Eli was not seeing the humor.
***
Once they had finally gotten the extremely helpful bears off with Tera, Eli turned and glared fully at her. She was looking out the window of the back porch where she could just see the shelter and fencing that had been erected for the mountain lion. But she felt the heat of his gaze just the same.
A large female, the mountain lion was too heavily sedated for the trip for her to feel anything but pity and worry for her. Would she have enough shelter out there on her own? Tera was going to be coming up daily while they were gone to check on her but still.
"I'm going to need to build a shelter and fence in a few acres, aren't I?" Eli said behind her. "Otherwise you'll insist on bringing the beast into our home. And there will be more,” He sighed, the complete picture of a put-upon male when she turned to catch the resigned look on his face.
Maggie bit her lip, between laughter at his expense and the relief she was feeling at his reaction, not to mention how much the words 'our home’ felt right. With all of that she went a little light headed. Her heart just melting at every word out of his mouth, and Eli was still talking.
"Maybe I can bribe the pack to come up and help me build it. They won't shut up about wanting to come see how you are doing in the backwoods. Probably time to show them I don't live in a cave." He flashed her a grin. "Course they'll have to work for it."
"Eli," she called before he could go and start putting his plan into action. Building her a shelter for animals, and fencing in a few of his acres.
"Yep?" he called back absentmindedly.
"You are the best man I have ever known and I'm crazy in love with you."
Eli stopped in his tracks and turned slowly in her direction. His golden cat eyes met hers telling her of the cascading emotions she could not see on his suddenly harsh face. Then he practically leaped across the space and lifted her into his arms. His eyes flashed gold fire as he spoke right into her eyes. "Bout fucking time." Then he was stalking her out of the study toward the bedroom.
Maggie wrapped her arms around his neck and snuggled in. The curve of her smile against the hot line of his neck. She ran her nose up until she could nip at his ear. On a growl Eli started moving faster.
"Duchess." Strangely enough his warning growl did nothing but egg her on.
"You're supposed to say it back, not haul me off and have your wicked way with me," she teased.
He flashed her a wicked look of brutal intent, his eyes full of so much smoldering heat it was a wonder she did not catch fire under that look. "I’m hell on wheels at multitasking. I’ll get around to both."
Between the growled words and that look on his face, Maggie suddenly was having a hard time breathing. She struggled for a minute to think of something sexy and smart to say back to that, but then gave up with an inner sigh and just tucked her head back into his neck.
The soft claiming bite she placed there was answer enough.
Shielding Her Page 17
