Fated Mate (Catamount Lion Shifters #3)

by J. H. Croix

  Noah’s eyes softened slightly. His shoulders rose and fell with his own deep breath. “It might not seem all new to me, but it is in a way. Maybe we don’t know each other that well in the usual way. All I know is I don’t really care because I know you the way I need to.” His words were rough and raw.

  His words cracked through the confusion in her mind. The knot of anxiety in her chest tightened and let loose at once, a flash of joy racing through her. Her heart clenched. Desire unfurled inside her. The air around them felt alive, shimmering in the intensity. His presence left her struggling to catch her breath. Heat spread through her limbs like wildfire.

  Lost in sensation and unable to put words to her feelings, she communicated the only way she knew how. She stepped closer to him. He carried the scent of snow and wood smoke. His jacket hung open, and she placed her palms on his chest, sliding them up, one pausing over the beat of his heart, before pushing his jacket off his shoulders and leaning up to kiss him. He didn’t hesitate, his mouth came against hers—open and hot. He kissed her fiercely, hungrily. She felt the tug of him from inside out and dove into the flames that swirled within and around them.

  Noah’s strong arms came around her, lifting her with ease. He settled her on the counter and slid his palms up her thighs, firmly pushing them apart as he stepped between them. The heat of his palms filtered through the denim encasing her legs. Wet heat pooled between her thighs. Her pulse skittered beyond control, her breath became ragged. His palms kept moving, curling around the edges of her hips, the soft flesh giving under the pressure. Goose bumps prickled on the surface of her skin when his hands slid under the soft cotton of her shirt, coasting up her sides, his thumbs flicking her nipples through the lace of her bra. He didn’t pause as his hands pushed her shirt up, the fabric bunching until he lifted it up and over her head. With a flick, it fell in a rumple on the kitchen floor.

  Desire pounded through her. All he’d done was take her shirt off, and she was near out of her mind. She glanced up to find his eyes on hers, waiting. Without a word, he slipped his thumb under the clasp between her breasts and snapped it open. Her breasts tumbled free—hot, heavy and aching for his touch. He stepped back, and she felt bereft at the absence. A small whimper fell from her lips. He abruptly tugged his shirt off. It joined hers on the floor before he stepped back between her legs. His hands cupped her bottom and pulled her close. The feel of his hard, heated length against the moist heat between her thighs sent a sharp spike of pleasure spinning through her.

  “Needed to feel your skin,” he said, his voice low and taut, as his hands coasted up her back.

  She arched, like the cat she was, into his touch, gasping at the feel of his hard muscles against her breasts. Need swept through her, its force overwhelming. She couldn’t get close enough fast enough. Noah’s lips met hers again in a hot, wet kiss. Her hands roamed over his body, her legs curled around his hips as she strained against him. After years and years of wondering what she might be missing, she suddenly couldn’t be without it. Her channel throbbed, desperate for the feel of him inside of her again. He tore his mouth from hers, lips, tongue and teeth tracing down her neck to her breasts. He teased her first with soft nips, circling her nipples with his tongue, before he finally took one and then the other in his mouth. She cried out at the sharp, sweet pain when he bit down. Pressure gathered, spinning her tighter and tighter inside.

  She stroked her hand along his hard length, savoring his groan when she unbuttoned his fly and slipped her hand inside. She shimmied out of his arms and slipped off the counter before he had a chance to stop her. Though she’d only been with him once, she sensed he was accustomed to being in control, to directing the action. He started to step away, but she grabbed his hips. “No! I want to do this.” This being to find out what it felt like to taste his cock.

  She moved too fast for him to stop her, kneeling before him and shoving his jeans down far enough to free him. Anticipation and anxiety thrummed through her. Her limited experience brought a slight pause, but she swatted it away. When she stroked up and down his length, he groaned, his head falling back.

  “Lily, you don’t need to…”

  She ignored him and swiftly stroked her tongue along the underside of his cock before taking him in her mouth. She explored the length of him, stroking up and down as deeply as she could. She tasted the subtle salty tang of his pre-cum. He pulsed inside of her and suddenly stepped back, lifting her smoothly. His strength was such he held her with one arm and tore at her jeans with the other. She kicked them off once they were loose.

  The granite of the kitchen counter was cool on her bottom. His eyes met hers. The sight of his arousal, so blatant, made her channel throb with need. Held within his amber gaze, a hot shiver raced through her when he slid a finger into her folds and commenced to notch her higher and higher. He stroked inside, his fingers sliding in and out, his thumb coasting across her clit, the touch just enough to drive her wild, but not enough to give her release. Everything narrowed to sensation, to the feel of Noah’s hard body, his fingers driving her wilder and wilder, tightening the screws of desire until she was writhing and pleading. Only then did he lean down and bring his mouth against her, swiftly sucking her clit inside, his tongue swirling around it. Her climax came in a noisy burst as she shuddered against his mouth.

  Anchored only by the feel of one of his hands curled around her hip, she opened her eyes. He fumbled in his pocket, his jeans low on his hips. The sight of his cock and knowing what it felt like to have him inside her made her ache. He rolled a condom on, his eyes never leaving hers. He stepped between her thighs and curled his hands under her bottom, bringing her to the edge of the counter. He nudged into her folds. She gasped at the sensation. Yet again, he didn’t rush though she was near desperate for him. Holding her hips close with one hand, he used the other to drag the head of his cock back and forth through her folds—so sensitized from her orgasm that pleasure echoed and built again—until she was mad with need.

  “Noah…please…”

  “Yes…” he whispered, his voice almost reverent, as he surged inside of her.

  She sensed he was trying to hold back, to be gentle. She didn’t want gentle. She shimmied closer, plastering herself to him, glorying in the feel of his muscled body against her, and curled her legs around his hips. She tugged him closer, sliding her hands up his back and down, her nails scoring him. He growled, his mouth at her ear, the gust of his breath sending a hot shiver through her. His strokes deepened, his hips drummed into her. The ache inside was eased by the flex and stretch of him within her, the push and pull. His muscles were tight under her touch, power vibrating from him with every stroke. He slipped a hand where they were joined, his thumb circling her clit. Once and then twice, and she cried out, as another orgasm crashed over her, rippling through her in waves.

  Noah’s head fell into her shoulder and then flew back as he thrust a final time. She felt the pulse of him inside as he shuddered against her. The sound of their broken breathing surrounded them. She nestled into his embrace, listening to the beat of his heart against her ear.

  This—this space where her mind didn’t try to crowd out what her senses and her soul knew—was where she felt more at home, more at peace than she’d ever been. She didn’t know how much time passed. Noah lifted his head. Cool air slipped into the spaces between them, and she shivered.

  ***

  Noah stood at the counter in Roxanne’s Country Store and waited while Roxanne poured a cup of coffee for him. She turned back to him, immediately sliding a hot cup of coffee across the counter. Tucking a pen in her hair, she put a hand on her hip and arched a brow.

  “What?” he finally asked.

  “Ran into your mom this morning. I was up at the hospital taking my mom for some routine tests, and she was in the waiting room. She thinks you’re in love with Lily. Were you planning to mention anything else about Lily to me?” Her blue eyes held a challenging glint.

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nbsp; Noah flushed and shifted on his feet. “Damn, what’s this with the third degree? Must have missed the memo where I need to report back to you.” He was annoyed at the questions because he was used to keeping his private life private.

  Roxanne glared at him. “You don’t have to report back to me, but maybe you could clue me in. I told you, she’s one of my best friends. If your mom’s right, then I’m thrilled.” She paused and the glare left her eyes, worry replacing it. “Look, I already told you I’m kind of protective of Lily. She’s a pretty private person, and she doesn’t do things lightly. Her family can be an oversized presence around here, so she gets lost in the shuffle. I don’t mean to seem nosy, but I don’t want to see her hurt. I don’t think you’d set out to hurt her…”

  Noah realized he was annoyed with Roxanne for trying to protect Lily from him when he’d never even think of hurting Lily. He cut her off. “You don’t need to worry. My mom’s right about Lily. I love her.” His heart sped as he said the words aloud and wondered if he’d completely lost his mind. In the span of weeks, the pendulum in his heart had swung wildly in the direction of Lily. Irrational though it may seem, he knew he loved her. He considered Lily’s words last night when she commented she didn’t know him that well. What he knew of her relied more on the ephemeral, primal instincts of his lion—and he didn’t doubt those instincts for a second. Yet, he had only the broad strokes of her life beyond that. Her family held a position of power and prestige in Catamount. They were one of the founding families of shifters, but they didn’t throw their weight around like the Peyton’s did, thus garnering more respect and goodwill as a result.

  Roxanne’s comment made him realize why he may have overlooked Lily before. Her parents and Jake were in the thick of the social world of Catamount, while Lily was quieter and more introspective. He thought back to the day he’d given her a ride into town. She was so sexy and cute, she set his body afire. But he hadn’t really noticed her before. His encounters with her when they were growing up had been mostly from a distance, so her tendency to withdraw would have kept her off his radar. He was so focused on avoiding his father’s wrath, worrying about his mother, and generally trying to make no waves that his attention was scattered anyway.

  Roxanne cleared her throat. “Yoo hoo. Anyone home?”

  Noah glanced up to find her warm blue eyes on him. He shrugged.

  “You zoned out right after you said you loved Lily, so you didn’t even give me a chance…” She paused and leaned across the counter, cupping his face in her hands. “…to do this.” She gave him a smacking kiss on the cheek and leaned back, her smile wide.

  Noah was so startled he spilled his coffee. Roxanne didn’t miss a beat and immediately wiped the counter and refilled his cup.

  Her eyes sobered as she slid the fresh cup of coffee across the counter to him. “So, what’s Lily got to say about you two?”

  “Good question. This kinda came out of the blue. I haven’t exactly had much experience with relationships.”

  Roxanne smiled softly and shrugged. “Lily’s pretty straightforward. Maybe you should just tell her how you feel.”

  He rolled his eyes. “You make it sound so easy.”

  Roxanne nudged her chin up. “Well, maybe you should ask her brother about it.”

  Noah swore and turned to look over his shoulder. Jake strode into the deli area of the store, aiming straight for Noah. Noah was nowhere near wanting to discuss his feelings about Lily with Jake. He could only guess at it, but he imagined Jake was on the high end of the scale when it came to protecting his sister.

  Jake came to a stop at his side. He nodded at Roxanne and turned to Noah. “Saw your truck outside. Thought you might want to know it looks like your mom’s hunch about Wallace was right. Between Hank and I, we managed to dig up the digital trail for him. He’s in as deep as Callen was. Hank’s working with the DA to draw up an arrest warrant for him. I thought maybe we could stop by Derek Miller’s place and see if he’s heard anymore from Kirk. It’s a loose end I’d like to tie up while we wait.”

  Roxanne’s eyes darted between them. “Holy shit. Should’ve known Wallace was behind this. He’s always been a tad too high and mighty for me, but he loves money and power.” She looked to Jake. “Any idea on how long it’ll take to get him behind bars?”

  Jake shrugged. “As long as it takes Hank and the DA to feel confident they have a solid case. Wallace will fight like hell, so they want to be sure.”

  Noah nodded. “If you wanna head out to Derek’s place, anytime works for me.”

  Jake nodded sharply. “Let me get a coffee, and then let’s go.”

  Chapter 9

  “But Dad, you promised I could go to the movies tonight!” Jasmine Miller exclaimed before stomping out of her father’s office. She left the door open behind her, brisk winter air gusting inside.

  Derek rolled his eyes and strode to the door. “The deal was homework done first. You still have plenty of time,” he called out before swinging the door shut.

  Noah and Jake stood inside Derek’s office at the main quarry. Jasmine could be seen striding to another building and slamming inside.

  Derek chuckled. “She’ll get the homework done.” He shook his head. “I thought I’d be an expert at the whole teen thing. Man, it’s way worse when it’s your daughter.” He ran a hand through his hair and stepped back to his desk, sitting down in the chair and gesturing to the chairs on the other side. “What’s up guys? I have a pretty obvious guess with what’s been going down lately, but fill me in.”

  After a quick summary, Derek’s eyes widened at the mention of Wallace. “Hot damn. Kirk bragged about being in with some heavies around Catamount. With Callen and Randall’s involvement and seeing Kirk with Brad, I shoulda guessed. So what now?”

  “We wait for the police and the DA’s office to do the legwork on a solid case. Meanwhile, we wanted to see if you’d heard anything else from Kirk,” Jake replied.

  Derek nodded. “The usual. He keeps asking about the damn quarry, but since it was reported to the police, we haven’t seen Brad’s truck out there anymore.” He sighed. “Kirk’s desperate. He can’t hold a job, he’s using too much of I don’t even know what. Far as I can tell, he thinks this smuggling thing is easy money and no risk as long as they can convince everyone else to ignore it.”

  As Noah and Jake walked outside a while later, Kirk pulled up. Derek had followed them outside, intending to head over to check on the status of Jasmine’s homework. He paused beside them instead. Kirk leapt out of his truck, slamming the door. He strode to Derek and leaned right into his face.

  “You just couldn’t keep your damn mouth shut? All you had to do was let us use the old quarry sometimes. Now I’ve got Brad calling me telling me the deal is off. I’m losing serious money here!” Kirk swung away, his eyes bouncing to Noah and Jake.

  “Fuck you.” He spit his words out.

  Derek’s eyes looked past him at another truck turning into the gravel drive to the quarry. “What the hell is Brad doing out here again?” he asked, his eyes swinging back to Kirk.

  Kirk sneered. “He’s fuckin’ pissed, that’s what.”

  Brad Peyton skidded to a stop and slammed out of his truck. As he strode toward them, he shifted, leaping forward with a roar. In seconds, Noah, Jake and Kirk shifted. Derek didn’t. He shook his head firmly and stepped back. Kirk swiped at him, but backed down when Jake snarled and stepped between them. Noah flexed into his lion, his fur rippling in the cold winter air. He circled back away from the cluster. He sensed Brad’s only intention was to intimidate, but he watched and waited. Jake growled at Kirk, bodily shoving him away from Derek. Brad swiped at Jake, but Jake dodged quickly. In a flash, Brad bolted with Kirk following. Jake and Noah bounded behind them. Jake’s lion met Noah’s eyes. Again, communication was seamless between them. They’d hang back to see where Brad and Kirk were trying to lead them and assess their options then.

  Noah savored the feel of his
lion. Strength and power surged in waves of heat. Snow flew up around them as they crossed the field behind the quarry and dashed into the woods. Brad was headed toward his father’s property. Another glance with Jake, and they kept holding back. This time, they followed the path onto Wallace’s property. A clearing opened, and another mountain lion stood on a small rise. The lion couldn’t be anyone other than Wallace. Noah couldn’t recall if he’d ever seen Wallace in lion form, but this lion was tall, regal and aged. Another glance with Jake, and they lunged forward, swiftly catching up to Brad and Kirk. Noah didn’t hesitate. With a roar, he leapt on Brad’s back, sinking his claws in and tossing him to the ground. Whatever Wallace wanted, he would have to negotiate with his son on the edge of danger.

  Brad lashed out, catching Noah in the shoulder. Kirk turned and attempted to join the tussle, but Jake dashed in front of him and engaged him in a fight. Claws and fur flew. Growls and snarls dominated until Noah had Brad firmly pinned under his paw. Noah had sustained multiple scratches, but Brad never succeeded in escaping from Noah’s grip. Noah held his throat in his teeth and snarled. Kirk had given up the fight much more quickly. Jake stood above him, his breath bellowing in the icy winter air.

  The bite of iron seeped into Noah’s mouth as he held firm on Brad’s throat. Wallace shifted in the distance. He casually stood in his human form and stretched before gathering clothing dropped on the ground around him and walking over. When he reached them, his eyes traveled over them all. Noah and Jake exchanged another glance. In silent agreement, they didn’t shift back into human form.

  Wallace’s eyes landed on Brad, his anger evident. “I should have known better than to involve you in this. You’re too impulsive, too pushy.” Wallace’s gaze traveled to Jake and Noah. His lips curled in a sneer. “Wouldn’t have guessed you’d be on their side,” he commented, gesturing to Noah. “Your father was nothing more than a thief and a wife beater.” Noah ignored Wallace and fought against the urge to claw at him. Mountain lions fought among each other, but within the shifter community, it was unheard of for a shifter to attack a human, even if the human in question was a shifter in their human form.