Cougar's Gift: Pacific Northwest Cougars: (Shifter Romance)

by Moxie North

  “Yeah,” he answered.

  “Congratulations, I’m really happy for you. Our whole family mated. I’d never thought I’d see the day.” Dax was happy for his brother but knew Stryker didn’t adjust to change very well. “What advice can I give you?”

  “She’s human,” Stryker answered.

  “Well, humans are a little different, but as you’ve seen with me it’s totally doable. You’ve made contact with her?”

  “Yeah, today. She’s young,” he started.

  “How young?” Dax asked.

  “Twenty-three looks about eighteen,” he admitted.

  “I bet she’s a looker,” Dax pushed.

  “Beautiful,” Stryker says.

  “Of course man, what’s her name?”

  “Libby, Liberty actually,” he said.

  “That’s interesting. Hell, I’m mated to an Ephrata. Thank goodness for nicknames,” Dax laughed.

  “Uh, I don’t know how to tell her about me,” Stryker said.

  “Which part?”

  “All of it. She thinks I’m a mechanic. That I’m a biker type, normal guy. She’s a librarian in a small town. I don’t want to scare her away.”

  Dax thought about it for a moment. He’d normally tell his brother to just be straight up and come out with the truth.

  Stryker wasn’t a big talker so there was a distinct possibility that he would grunt and growl his way through the explanation.

  Dax himself got lucky when he told his human mate. He’d blurted it all out, even shifted in front of her. Not his best moments. She’d rolled with the punches and it all ended up okay.

  “Well, take it slow, man. I know it’s not what you want to do. It’s not what your animal wants either, I get that. Just every time you want to rush ahead. Pause, think about it and look at your choices. What is going to be easiest for her, not you,” Dax suggested.

  “She’s a virgin,” Stryker blurted.

  There was silence again and Dax let out a slow whistle. “Man, you’ve got me there. I’ve never had that come up, but I’d guess that the same thing applies. Take it slow. Make choices in her best interests. But don’t lie to her, Stryker. You have to be straight with her. That’s not a wound you want to try and fix later.”

  Stryker thought about that and so far he hadn’t lied. Omission wasn’t lying, so hopefully he was still clear there.

  “I can tell you that you keep it quiet for as long as you can to the family. I won’t say anything until you do. I’d even wait to tell Everett. I know that goes against your instincts, but just give you and your mate time to settle in. Trust me on this.”

  Dax knew how getting family involved often backfired. Their crazy mom had already rubbed his and Everett’s mates wrong. He knew with the issues Stryker was facing he didn’t need family interference.

  “Can I call you again,” Stryker asked.

  “Man, you don’t even have to ask. I’m always here for you. I can’t always guarantee that I’ll get to the phone first. But if you call the office number during the day you have a better chance of getting me and not one of the girls,” Dax suggested.

  “Good idea,” Stryker mumbled. “Thanks, Dax. Sorry to bother you.”

  “No trouble, brother. And congratulations again, I can’t wait to meet her,” Dax said.

  “Thanks,” Stryker said gruffly.

  He hung up the phone and thought about what Dax said. Take it slow, think of what’s best for her first.

  Stryker felt like he was already behind for some reason. He logically knew that he’d just found her this morning. But he felt like he was wasting time being away from her. It was time they could be together talking, fucking, bonding.

  He needed to make some plans before he saw her again. Picking up the phone he started making some calls.

  Chapter 17

  Libby closed the door behind her and waited for the sound of his motorcycle to fade away before she continued. She could hear her parents whispering in the kitchen.

  She was surprised she didn’t find them poking their noses through the curtains to see what the commotion was about.

  Bracing herself she headed towards the kitchen. She found her mom at the sink. She wore some sort of polka dot romper that looked like it belonged on a three-year-old.

  Her dad sat at the kitchen table wearing his standard polo shirt with the name of his clinic embroidered on it, Blossoming Health. Both of them looked at her like they were surprised to see her.

  “My little Liberty Bell, you’re home,” her dad said smiling at her. It was a forced smile.

  “Yup, what’s for dinner?” she asked the room in general.

  “Oh sweetie, we already ate. I kept you a plate in case you were hungry when you got home. It’s tofu curry, your favorite,” her mother chimed.

  Tofu curry wasn’t a favorite, but it was one of the least offensive dishes her mother could make.

  “Thanks, mom.” Accepting the plate her mother held out to her, she took it to the table and sat down, waiting for the interrogation to start.

  “Sooo, late night at the library?” her mother asked, trying to sound nonchalant.

  “No, closed the usual time,” Libby said, keeping her eyes on her plate. She was torturing them a little, partly because she didn’t want to have this conversation. The other part, well it was kinda fun.

  “Oh, did you go to a movie?” her father asked.

  Their town had a decrepit old theater than ran classic movies. Mostly because the machine was ancient and still reel to reel. It would over-heat and they would have to take numerous intermissions to let the machine cool down to continue the movie.

  “Nope,” she said, a mouthful of spicy curry scorching her tongue.

  There was silence from her parents for a moment then her mother bravely forged ahead. “There was a loud noise outside, did someone give you a ride home?”

  “Yup,” she answered. Okay, now she was just being mean.

  “Friend brought me home,” she offered her parents.

  “A friend? Someone we know?” her dad asked.

  “No, just met him this morning,” Libby offered.

  “Him?” her mother said this with a bit of a screech.

  Libby looked up to see her father’s face in a state of shock. Like someone just told him his air was genetically modified.

  Her mother actually looked upset. She didn’t think her parents would be happy per se. But she was an adult. She could vote, legally sign contracts, and even buy alcohol, not that she’d ever. But she could if she wanted to, darn it.

  “Yes, he’s new in town. He works over at Bud’s garage.” She let them chew on that for a moment while she worked on her dinner. Best to shock her parents in stages.

  She heard her father clear his throat a few times and start to say something then stop himself. Her mother had turned her back and was furiously scrubbing an already clean plate. She hand washed their dishes so she could recycle the gray water and use it in the garden.

  “So, this young man, you were with him?” Her father finally managed to ask.

  “He’s not young, thirty-five. Yes, we went for a ride.”

  “A ride?” This was parroted by both of her parents and she almost laughed. Almost.

  “Motorcycle. I wore a helmet, don’t worry,” she added.

  Her mother was repeating what she’d said but was talking to the plates as she did it mumbling, “Motorcycle, helmet.” She thought she heard her mother tsk or snort, she wasn’t sure.

  “We went out to the river, it was nice. I’m going to see him again tomorrow. He’s meeting me for lunch. We may have dinner too,” she threw in at the end.

  She was snowballing her parents, but she was ready to head to her room and replay her day a few thousand times.

  There was silence in the room and Libby let it happen. Finally her father, in a surprisingly calm voice said, “Well, Liberty, we’d sure like to meet him.”

  That was her dad, ever the diplomat. Libby knew her moth
er was going to light into him the moment she left her room.

  She felt sorry for her dad. Her mom wasn’t a screamer, more of a hushed yeller. And she really wasn’t looking for discussion, she usually just wanted to vent and for her husband to nod and agree with her. Which her father had been doing for years and should be sainted for. His zen was so deeply rooted it took a lot to get him going.

  “He wants to meet you too,” she said, standing up and walking her plate to the sink.

  “Are you two dating?” her mother asked, not looking away from her scrubbing.

  Libby thought about it for a moment. Dating? Well, they’d shared a meal together. She climaxed in his lap. Sure, that was probably close enough for dating.

  “Yes,” she said, sounding oddly confident.

  Her mother stopped scrubbing. “Well, do we at least get to know his name?”

  “Stryker Hayes,” Libby said. Then she turned, patted her dad on his shoulder as she walked by him and headed up the two flights of stairs to her room.

  She flipped on her light, shucked off her clothes, grabbed her robe, and hit the bathroom across the hall. Turning on the faucet she let the shower heat up and thought about seeing him tomorrow.

  What would that be like? Uncomfortable? Would she be embarrassed about how she’d acted? She shouldn’t. Stryker didn’t seem to think anything they did was out of the norm. Maybe she should just stop over thinking it and go with her instincts.

  They were all jumpy and excited at the idea of seeing him again. They wanted to kiss him again, they wanted to do more.

  Her instincts said this man was the safest person in the world she could be with. Her mind was telling her that she was being rash and couldn’t possibly know if this guy was straight as an arrow or crooked as a maze.

  She knew she could look him up on the internet. Do a background check and what not. But she didn’t want to. Whether she didn’t want to know the truth, or she really didn’t think she’d find anything, she didn’t know.

  Libby knew the universe had them all connected. Not just the, hey we are all human, connection. But something deeper.

  Soul deep she always thought. Maybe it was all the romance stories she’d read over the years, but she believed in soul mates. People that were matched so well with each other that they were the perfect complement to the other person.

  She didn’t believe that there was only one person for everyone. The odds of finding that soul were too vast to consider. Libby figured people fell into types of sub-categories. Your chances of finding a partner in those smaller groups were more likely.

  Libby felt, truly felt that Stryker was in her sub-category. Their souls were matched, maybe on a DNA level, she wasn’t sure. But it felt right. It felt like he was hers.

  Wow, that sounded crazy when she thought it. But her heart told her to just deal with it.

  Stepping into the shower, she kept thinking about her day. It went from normal and boring to one of the best days of her life.

  The chance of having an another amazing day tomorrow had her wanting to rush through her shower and go to sleep just so she could wake up and see him again.

  Instead, she found her most favorite naughty book. Scanned through to find a particularly sexy scene and read with one hand while she made herself come with the other.

  Chapter 18

  Libby had a sleepless night. Her brain would just not turn off and she could even admit that she had to take care of business a few times before she passed out right before dawn. Luckily she’d found an almost silent vibrator and she lived on the third floor.

  Breakfast was a quiet affair. Her dad having already left for the day and her mother pretending last night didn’t happen.

  She ate her oatmeal and drank her kale smoothie then kissed her mom on the cheek and headed out to work.

  Her walk was a bit quicker than normal. The anticipation of seeing Stryker was putting a spring in her step. As she turned the corner and could see the library, her eyes looked down the street towards the garage. The front bay doors were down and there were no signs of life.

  Libby wasn’t sure what time he started work. In their town she probably wouldn’t guess they were early birds since most businesses had a soft opening time, basically whenever the owner or manager got up.

  Turning towards the library door with a small sigh of disappointment, she unlocked the door and walked in.

  She had just gotten the lights on and her purse dropped when the door behind her opened. Turning and expecting to see Stryker she was let down again when she saw a delivery man.

  “Delivery for a Ms. Berkowitz?” The man said, looking at his clipboard.

  “That’s me, but I didn’t order anything,” Libby replied. She wasn’t a big online shopper normally. She didn’t actually ever want for much. She kept things simple which kept her collection of things to a minimum.

  “I just deliver, ma’am.” He handed her the clipboard. Apparently he wasn’t about delivery with a smile.

  Libby took it and signed by her printed name. The man turned and walked back outside to push a hand truck in holding four boxes. He slid them off the end and gave her a nod. He was out the door before Libby could say goodbye.

  Approaching the boxes, she pulled the smallest box off the top and saw her name on it. Moving it to the floor the next box also had her name and the last one, yup that was her too.

  Grabbing a pair of scissors from her desk she cut the tape on the first big box. Pulling it open she stopped short when she spied the contents.

  She started laughing and immediately figured out where these had come from. The box contained what looked like hundreds of tiny packages of chocolate donuts.

  The next box she ripped open and found boxes and boxes of microwavable mac-n-cheese. The final box she tore open and was glad she hadn’t moved it, it was heavy. This box had a small microwave presumably for the noodles.

  The last smaller box had a leather jacket and black motorcycle helmet. This wasn’t a skull cap style helmet like Stryker wore. No, this was a full on wrap around, face shield and about six inches of padding helmet. Clearly more heavy duty than what he wore.

  She noted that the helmet also had tiny white daisies on it. It was just what she would pick out if she had to choose one. She also appreciated the visor that pulled down, avoiding bugs in your teeth was important.

  The jacket wasn’t just practical, it was beautiful. All black with intricate stitching on the front and back. The design was a complicated swirl that was elegant but still tough looking.

  Libby pulled it to her nose, it smelled like new leather. Not like his jacket that was worn leather with lots of Stryker mixed in.

  She let herself sit on the floor as she took in the enormity of the gift. It wasn’t like it was diamonds or pearls. It was a gift given from the information he had on hand. He must have paid a fortune to have it all shipped overnight.

  The door opened again and Libby looked up from her seat on the floor to see Stryker. He was wearing a black shirt this time, same ratty blue jeans, and motorcycle boots. He spotted her on the floor and his lips quirked up.

  “Morning, mouse,” he said, his voice rough like he hadn’t spoke since he woke up. He sounded sexy and Libby felt her body react. She was like Pavlov’s dog, he spoke and she whimpered.

  “Morning,” she said in a hushed voice.

  “I see my orders came,” he said, walking towards her. He held out a hand and offered her help up off the floor.

  “What is all this?” She asked, as her arms immediately wrapped around his waist as she stood.

  Stryker took the opportunity with her head tipped back to look at him. He brought his mouth down on hers and got his first taste of minty toothpaste Libby. He’d had chocolate Libby. He liked both.

  Libby melted into his arm soaking in his sexy smell. It was soap and the essence of wind from riding his motorcycle added to his natural sexy fragrance. It made her nipples pucker. She blamed the pheromones.

  “I
didn’t know what kind of flowers you liked,” he finally said, breaking their kiss.

  “So you send donuts?” she said with a laugh.

  “Now you will always have a supply if you ever get trapped in the library,” he explained.

  “Oh what, like the zombie apocalypse?” Looking at him like he was the sweetest man, but still a little crazy.

  “Sure,” he grunted.

  “And the microwave?”

  “Do you have one here?” he asked.

  “No,” she said, still smiling at him. It seemed to be permanently plastered on her face.

  “Now you do.” He gave her another squeeze.

  “Okay then, the jacket and helmet?”

  “Babe, you have to be safe on my bike. Wearing my jacket and helmet is not safe. I’ll have to think of something else soon. It’s going to get too cold to ride,” he said, almost to himself.

  “Well, I should refuse all of this and go on and on about how it’s too much, you don’t know me, etc. But it was such a sweet surprise this morning, I’m not going to do that. I’m going to graciously accept and say thank you,” she said sweetly.

  “I’d rather have a thank you kiss,” he grunted, leaning down to take her mouth with his.

  He kissed her hard this morning, his cougar wanting closer. They’d dreamed about her all night. He’d jacked off a number of times just to get to sleep.

  Finally pulling away so she could catch a breath, Stryker murmured, “I’ve got a job coming in. I promised I’d get to it today, but I’ll be back for lunch.”

  “Okay, I’ll cook,” she said jokingly.

  “Where do you want this stuff before I go?” he asked, gesturing to the boxes.

  “There is a storage room on the second floor I use sometimes; we can take it all up there.”

  “I got it.” He bent down and easily picked up the box with the microwave first. Glancing around he looked at the stairs and asked, “Do you always carry shit up these stairs?”

  “Usually,” she remarked. “There is an elevator in the back if someone needs it. But it’s a one person affair and it makes me claustrophobic. I’m afraid of getting stuck in it.”