“Yeah, uh.” He scrubbed the back of his neck. “People come here for activities and sometimes they… it’s that sort of risk… adventure. They, ah, like to challenge themselves, and sometimes they end up injured and it’s a long way to the nearest town.”
It was almost adorable the way he stumbled through making up an excuse as he went. Adventure? From where she was standing, challenge had been the better word to describe what people were doing at the creek.
“Of course I can stay and help.” If it meant getting to spend time with Ivy and getting to know Rath better to make sure he was worthy of her friend, then she could patch up a few who failed at their ‘challenges’.
“You can spend all the time you want with Ivy, but the area outside the creek is dangerous.” He settled his arm around Ivy’s shoulders, and her friend beamed up at him as she snuggled into his side. “Flint can show you around though, if you want?”
Yasmin had the feeling it wasn’t optional. She was being assigned a babysitter.
She looked at Flint, who was levelling a hard scowl at his brother, clearly as happy about the prospect of having to be her bodyguard as she was. She had thought he would relish the chance to spend time with her and try to charm his way into her underwear, or at least her white coat. If anyone should be scowling at Rath, it was her.
But still, she didn’t intend to spend more than a second away from Ivy.
“Sure.” It was easy to say that when she planned to stick to Ivy’s side like glue, enjoying her and Rath’s company while avoiding Flint and the other men at the creek.
Yasmin smiled as Ivy released her man, wrapped an arm around her shoulders, and led her away from the men, towards the cabin at the top of the sloping clearing.
Flint’s gaze landed on her, scalding her back, sending that hot achy shiver through her again.
She glanced at him as she settled on one of the wooden chairs on the deck of Ivy’s cabin, catching him staring at her, that heat flaring hot in his grey eyes again, making them shine gold.
Yasmin turned her cheek to him.
He could be gorgeous all he liked. He could charm her at every turn, flirt with her at every opportunity. He could pull out all the stops.
It wasn’t going to sway her.
She knew his breed and she wasn’t interested.
She was as easy going as the next woman, but she had never been one to enter into dead end flings and one night stands.
No matter how attracted she was to the man in question.
No matter how fiercely Flint made her burn.
CHAPTER 3
Flint didn’t need the added work of taking care of Yasmin, but as he looked at her where she sat on the deck of Rath’s cabin with her friend, he couldn’t bring himself to fight his brother on it.
“Shadow her wherever she goes,” Rath growled, a note in his deep voice that had Flint dragging his eyes away from the luscious beauty and settling them on his brother. “I have the feeling that the sensation I felt today was her arrival. Something about her… she makes me wary and I can’t put my finger on why.”
Flint wanted to tell his brother that it was probably purely because he feared Ivy would end up leaving with her friend, or Yasmin might attempt to drive a wedge between them, but the seriousness in Rath’s grey eyes as they finally landed on him had him holding his tongue and nodding in agreement.
He had no problem being her shadow.
Mostly because she was already drawing attention, a few of the pride milling around the green fascinated with her as they kept their distance, pretending to be occupied with each other when in reality they were keeping an eye on the newest addition to the creek.
One of them, a pretty petite blonde with curves that would inflame any male of breeding age, approached him and Rath, her golden eyes leaping between his brother and Yasmin.
When she reached them, she positioned herself so she had her side to the women outside Rath’s cabin, covering the fact she was watching them by making it appear her focus was on him and his brother.
“Who is that?” Her voice was low, soft, a caution she didn’t need to take considering the humans wouldn’t be able to hear her from this distance.
“Ivy’s friend who has come to stay for a short time.” Rath spoke at a normal volume, his tone smooth and intentionally calm.
Flint had seen his brother use the same trick to relax nervous cougars a thousand times and it never failed to impress him. Rath had a way of holding himself and speaking to others that instilled a sense of peace in them, as if his confidence bled over into them to give them strength or erase fears.
“Yasmin isn’t a danger to us,” he continued with a warm smile as he fixed all of his focus on the female who barely reached his chest. “She’s a medic, and we needed one, so I had Ivy invite her.”
A lie, but his brother did it with astounding ease and if Flint hadn’t known any better, even he would have believed him.
It certainly worked on the female.
She looked relieved to hear that Rath had been the one to bring the new human to the creek.
“If others are worried, could you tell them for me? It would help a great deal.” Rath’s smile held.
The young female nodded and walked away, heading back to the small group of females who had gathered outside of Ember’s cabin across the clearing near the river.
His brother was a sly bastard.
In a matter of minutes, she would have spread word around the creek that Yasmin was here at Rath’s request, and because it was coming from someone other than Rath, the pride would readily accept it and would feel more at ease around Yasmin.
Rath shifted his grey gaze to the two females sitting on his deck, chatting animatedly to each other, all smiles and laughter.
“Find out everything you can about her,” Rath said in a low voice without looking at him. “Whether that’s online or in person.”
Flint nodded.
When Rath moved towards his cabin, he followed, keeping an eye on Yasmin as she noticed his brother approaching. Her smile faltered a little, but it returned as Rath stepped up onto the deck and offered her a warm one.
And a cold beer.
“Crack me one open too.” Flint parked his ass against the railing to the left of the door of the one and a half storey log cabin and shot Yasmin a charming smile. “So, a doctor, huh?”
Her chocolate eyes lost all warmth as she leaned back in her chair beside Ivy and folded her arms across her chest. “If you’re dreaming up scenarios where I’m wearing my white coat, I recommend you stop now, before you end up disappointed, and possibly sexually frustrated.”
He rolled his shoulders in an easy shrug. “Wouldn’t be the first time I’ve been sexually frustrated. I’ll take the risk.”
He was frustrated ninety-nine percent of the time he was at a gathering. He didn’t even find any respite in sleep. The damned females haunted his dreams too, his cougar side so wound up by the urge to mate that he dreamed about what he couldn’t have in reality.
She rolled her eyes at him and turned her cheek, glancing Ivy’s way. “Is he always like this?”
Ivy regarded him with cool hazel eyes, ones that didn’t give away what she was thinking.
He waited, not with bated breath, because whatever opinion she had, he could sway it. Just as he was sure he could sway Yasmin into spending a night or two warming his bed. She wasn’t part of the gathering, which meant she was fair game.
Beautiful fair game at that.
With her olive skin, and lush glossy black waves tumbling down from her loose bun, and those rich earthy eyes that held just a hint of spice, flecks of gold that seemed to shimmer whenever she smiled, or burn hot whenever he pressed a button and her temper flared, she was every inch a goddess before he even took into account her killer curves and breasts that could more than fill his hands.
“I think he’s salivating,” Yasmin muttered nonchalantly to someone, a teasing note of warmth in her gentle voice that convin
ced him that she was speaking to Ivy. “Does he often drool over women?”
Firm fingers pressing under his chin to snap his mouth closed had him frowning at Rath where he stood in the door of the cabin to his left.
That frown verged on becoming a growl when he realised Yasmin had been speaking with his brother in that warm, light tone.
Rath stared him down, a hint of gold colouring his irises around his pupils that had Flint growing aware of the change in his own irises and the pure undiluted anger that flowed through his veins, pushing him to challenge his brother.
Over Yasmin.
He shook off the urge to fight and snagged the brown tall-neck bottle from his brother.
“Perhaps he’s hormonal? Pent up?” Yasmin cast another teasing glance at him before looking to Ivy and then Rath. “It’s my official diagnosis as a doctor that this is a case of blue balls.”
He shot Rath daggers, warning him not to rise to the bait as he so clearly wanted.
“There are plenty of women in the area. You could run along to take care of business. I’m sure we won’t miss you.” Yasmin unfolded her arms, and if she was going to shoo him away, he was going to make her regret it.
“Not interested.” He crossed his left arm over his chest, gripped his side and frowned as he swigged his beer. It was still early, the sun not close to setting yet, but damn, he needed the drink, craved the crisp coldness and the hot slide of it down his throat.
She chuckled at that, and he turned his glare on her.
She instantly fell silent.
He couldn’t tell whether it was because she regretted her words, or because his eyes were gold now, a flare of emerald emerging around his pupils as his cougar side got the better of him, his temper stoked by the irritating way she seemed to see straight through him.
Or maybe it was the way their eyes locked.
He couldn’t look away, fell into the deep, soulful brown pools of hers, drawn into them in a way he had never experienced before.
As if she had cast a spell on him.
He had seen plenty of beautiful women, had bedded most of them, but something about Yasmin had him losing himself whenever his eyes found hers, or entranced by her whenever she moved. Gods, she was graceful. Every action she made was fluid and serene, made somehow beautiful by her.
Even when she broke eye contact and lifted her beer to her rosy full lips. The way she brought her arm up, the tilt of her head, the delicate movement of her throat as she swallowed.
Damn, she was grace embodied.
A fucking goddess.
Rath cleared his throat, jolting Flint back to the world.
“I should thank you for teaching Ivy how to handle any problems that might arise when she’s alone on an expedition,” his older brother said, capturing Yasmin’s focus. Even the way she swung her gaze around and up to Rath’s face was full of grace. Rath saluted her with his beer. “It certainly helped me.”
“Ivy is resourceful. I’m sure she would have been able to help you without my training.” Yasmin glanced at her friend.
Was she graceful in everything she did? She wouldn’t even take the praise Rath had offered, had deflected it back on Ivy, as if she didn’t want his brother’s gratitude.
“I know a little about field medicine, but I wouldn’t say no to learning more.” Flint felt her gaze landing on his as a hot shiver that tripped down his spine, sending warmth spreading through him.
“You wouldn’t say no to much, I think,” she retorted and he frowned at that.
She had been off with him since the woods, had changed markedly from one moment to the next, and he wasn’t sure what he had done to deserve it. He racked his brain, trying to recall everything he had said to her so she could find out what had caused her to lose all the warmth she had shown him when he had been trying to get her to leave.
And what had made her think he was some sort of pent up, sex starved male on the prowl to get his hands on her fine ass.
Which he was, but she didn’t need to paint him with that brush for all to see.
“Listen, Doc,” he started, but Ivy spoke over him.
“Yasmin, I’d love to learn more while you’re here. I know you, and you probably desperately need a vacation that you pretend you don’t, but I’d really appreciate it. Please?” Ivy clutched her friend’s hand, her smile bright and dazzling, and if Yasmin said no to that little angel, she was a cold-hearted bitch.
“Of course.” Yasmin’s smile lit up the world, sent a pleasant light sort of heat spiralling through him and had him losing grip on reality again as he slipped back under her spell.
She had a smile that could fell the hardest of males.
The Devil himself wouldn’t stand a chance against her.
“Can I get in on those lessons?” Rath piped up and Flint barely bit back the growl that rumbled up his throat.
There his brother went again, trying to get close to Yasmin.
Wasn’t that his job?
His brother had asked him to do the recon work on her, and now he was trying to butt in and Flint wasn’t going to take it.
“We could do a group thing.” He regretted it the moment he said it.
Yasmin turned wide eyes on him, her horror clear in them, and Ivy looked unsure whether to be as horrified as her friend or laugh at his plight as he scrubbed a hand over his unruly black hair and frantically back-peddled.
“Not an orgy… because that would be really wrong… I mean… Rath is my brother for a start.” He glanced at Rath and caught the flare of aggression he had sensed in him shining in his eyes too. Rath curled his hands into tight fists at his sides, and Flint held his up, palms facing him as he leaned back. “Ivy is all yours, Man. I’m not interested… I meant like a group lesson… I really do want to learn more about field medicine.”
Yasmin looked as if she was going to deny him again.
So he played his ace.
“I run a tour guide company up north, in a very remote area. It would be useful for me to know how to handle any incidents that might occur. I mean, bears can be dangerous and while I haven’t had anyone attacked yet, who knows when it might happen?” He grinned inside as her face softened. If playing on the compassionate side of her that had probably led to her choosing a career in medicine, and had led to her teaching her close friend how to take care of any wounds she might end up with in the wild, made him a bastard, then he was a bastard of the highest order. He could practically see her will crumbling as he continued, “I’ve had to treat a few sprains and stings, but what if someone is attacked by a bear? I don’t know how to handle that. If I can’t do all I can to help them, the person would probably die before the air ambulance could reach us.”
“Fine, I’ll teach you.” She tilted her chin up, her tone losing its softness as she held his gaze. “But the second you try flirting with me over a suture kit or making an innuendo about… well… anything… you’re out.”
Harsh, and not fair.
No way he could stop himself from flirting with her, not over a suture kit and not over anything. He wanted her, and she knew it. What she was asking of him, it was impossible. He couldn’t just switch off this attraction he felt to her, the burning she had ignited the moment she had stood up to him in the woods, revealing a fiery side of her that had made his instincts label her as a challenge.
He liked a good challenge.
Something told him that Yasmin would be the most difficult, most rewarding challenge he had ever known.
That only made him want her even more.
So he crossed his heart like a good boy, just so he could get closer to her.
Not because he wanted to spy on her for his brother.
But because he needed to be close to her, needed to do everything in his power, pulling out all the stops, until she gave in to him.
“So… did you bring your white coat?” He eyed the bag Rath had set down inside his cabin, close to the log burner that stood against the left wall of it.
When he looked back at Yasmin, ready to waggle his eyebrows at her, she was scowling and he thought the better of it.
“Do you want a lesson or not?” Her tone lacked warmth, was positively glacial.
Hit him like a bucket of ice down his crotch.
“Yes, Doctor…?” He gave her a hopeful smile, one she couldn’t possibly interpret as flirtatious.
“Dubois,” she supplied and he grinned inside.
Doctor Yasmin Dubois.
The last name explained that slight French lilt she had, the one that became more pronounced whenever she was angry with him.
It didn’t explain the rich bronze of her skin though. There was more than French in her blood. Something more exotic.
“In fact, I think you should call me Doctor Dubois from here on out.” She settled back in her chair with a smile that faltered as he looked at her and their eyes locked.
“I’ll call you Doctor Dubois all you want,” he purred and the way all the warmth drained from her eyes and she hit him with another cold front had him remembering what he had said to her back in the woods, when she had changed on him.
He had said he had his reasons for thinking highly of himself, a cocky confession that had seemed playful at the time, in the spirit of the moment since she had been acting playful around him and asking whether he thought he could take her.
Of course he had said that he could take her. She was a little thing, so delicate and graceful.
Although, she had pinned him to that tree pretty good.
Just remembering that had his blood running hot again.
But the way she stared at him, not a trace of heat in her eyes, had it turning cold in his veins.
Her remarks made sense now. She didn’t like men who played the field and had figured him out as being one of that crowd, the sort who wanted to spend a night of uncomplicated carnal delight with her.
He was starting to feel he needed to question Ivy more than he needed to question Yasmin if he was going to discover everything about the exotic beauty.
Starting with what sort of man she preferred.
If she wanted a solid, dependable type, he could play that for her.
Courted by her Cougar (Cougar Creek Mates Shifter Romance Series Book 3) Page 3
