You Had Me at Cougar

by Terry Spear

  Hell, they better not be hunters. He sprinted faster through the woods and thought all of them were heading toward Rainbow Falls. He figured if Ava was in trouble, she might have decided to hide behind the waterfall if hunters were after her and the bear. The she-bear might not know a safe place to hide like Ava did.

  And then he finally saw the tents—three of them. And one hunter sitting with a rifle on guard duty.

  So if the women were hiding behind the waterfall, they might not have been able to leave because of the hunter watching for them.

  Chet wanted to pace. He wanted to snarl and tell Ava he was here if she was there. He wanted to shred the tents and scare off the hunters into the darkness. He wanted to join her behind the waterfall and let her know he was there for her.

  But he needed to wait for the others to get here, to take these men into custody, while he remained here to protect Ava.

  That’s when she shot through the waterfall and headed up the face of the cliffs, leaping from one boulder to the next.

  At the same time, the bright full moon helped the hunter sitting beside his fire see her and he began firing at her. Chet slammed into him, taking him down, then leaped onto the cliffs, and headed Ava’s way. He thought she would have headed home, but she was sitting in a safe spot where the men couldn’t reach them, and she quickly greeted him.

  “I was worried about you,” he said, shifting in the darkness where the men couldn’t see them and giving her a hug.

  She shifted and shivered in the cool night air. “Ursula is still in the cave,” Ava whispered. “We need to stay here and get her out of there safely. But when the hunter shot at me, she’ll know she has to stay put.”

  “I notified Dan that you were missing. He’s getting a search party together and they’ll all follow our scents. They’ll deal with the hunters and we can take Ursula home with us.”

  Ava held onto Chet tight. “You are so my hero.”

  He smiled at her and kissed her. Then they shifted to stay warm in their cougar coats and laid down on the rocks, watching the one man leaving his tent, scrambling to get dressed, and readying his rifle.

  “Up there,” the one hunter serving on guard duty said as the last guy that was sleeping emerged from the tent, still pulling on his boots. “Two mountain lions. That’s the way they went up there. Shoot them.”

  Chapter 16

  Ava couldn't believe Chet would search for her after he got into town and realized she wasn’t in bed. She was afraid he would have just gone to sleep and not wanted to disturb her. She'd already decided Chet would sleep with her in the master bedroom, if Ursula stayed at Ava's place and she could use the guest room. Even if Ava hadn't found Ursula, Ava wanted Chet to stay with her in her bed anyway. If she had been waffling about it, which she hadn't been, his coming to rescue her cinched the deal.

  For now, they were waiting for the troops to arrive to ensure their safety. At least she had Chet to snuggle with on top of the cliffs. Though the men fired off the shots, they couldn't reach them. The rounds pinged off the rocks, clipping at them, but well below Chet and Ava. She didn't think they could even see her and Chet up so high on the cliffs with only the moonlight shining on the scene. She was certain she and Chet blended in with the dark shadows of the rocks. Unless the men tried to climb up here, the cougars were safe. Ursula was also safe where she was at for the moment. But Ursula didn't have the benefit of knowing that the law enforcement officers of Yuma Town were coming to their aid, or that Ava was all right after the shooting the hunters had done, or even that Ava hadn't abandoned her.

  "What the hell happened, man?" one hunter asked, looking up at the cliffs while Ava and Chet watched them move back to the safety of the campfire.

  "The cougar came out of nowhere and before I could get a shot off, another attacked me."

  "Did it bite you?"

  "No, it just pounced on me and knocked me down. By the time I was able to get to my feet and ready my rifle, he was halfway up the cliffs. I fired a bunch of shots, hoping to hit him."

  "So you're saying two of them are out here?" one of the other men asked.

  "Yeah. One came out of the pond, and then the other came at my back, like it was protecting the other from me shooting it. Even though we only saw one earlier, there are two now up on the cliffs. We shot up there, and I was hoping if we didn't kill them outright, we would chase them off."

  "Then a male and female? Or maybe a mother and a couple of kits that are still with her."

  "They both looked like they were full grown to me," the hunter Chet had knocked down said.

  Ava owed her life to Chet. If he hadn’t thrown the hunter’s aim off when he heard her come out of the water and whipped around to shoot her, she would have been dead. Upon death, she would have shifted into a human. If Chet hadn't pounced on the hunter, she wouldn't have stood a prayer of a chance. In retrospect, she should have stayed put.

  But she'd worried someone running in their cougar coat would come along and then get shot—like Chet could have.

  Then she finally saw lights approaching from the direction she and Ursula and Chet had run. Good. Whoever the rescuers were had to be in their human forms and were using flashlights to let the hunters know they were coming and not sneaking up on them so they wouldn't get shot.

  "Hey, someone's coming," one of the hunters said.

  "I'm Sheriff Dan Steinacker," one of the men shouted. "Lower your weapons now."

  Yes!

  "Two mountain lions are out here, up on the cliffs and they damn near killed us," the one hunter said.

  "Did either of them bite you?"

  "Well, no, but the one knocked me down."

  "What are you doing out here? Illegally hunting?" Dan asked.

  "We have a right to protect ourselves from bears and mountain lions," one of the other hunters said.

  "Hand over your weapons. Pack up your stuff. You're coming with us," Dan said.

  "You can't prove we were hunting anything," the one man said.

  "We heard all the shooting from a mile away," Dan said.

  "Yeah, for protection."

  "We have really strict laws out here," Dan said. "And we have eyewitnesses who reported you were trying to kill a bear and a couple of cougars."

  "No way in hell," one of the hunters said.

  Ava figured Dan meant that she, Chet, and Ursula were the eyewitnesses. Not only was Dan there, but three of his deputy sheriffs, Nina, Addie, Stryker, and Chase, and the CSF special agents—Leyton, Jack, and Travis were also. All of them had to have smelled Ursula's scent and heard the shots fired.

  Then Stryker, Jack, Addie, and Travis hauled the hunters off while Dan, Nina, Leyton, and Chase stayed behind. Others would gather any evidence of the shooting—shell casings primarily, in the morning at dawn, but for now, they were looking for Ava and Chet.

  As soon as the hunters were out of earshot, Ava and Chet moved down the cliff, but that was when she smelled blood. Not her blood. Had Chet been hit?

  Nina called out, “Ava, are you and Chet okay?”

  Ava growled that she was.

  When they reached the bottom of the cliff, she dashed into the water and swam to the waterfall, hoping that the men would take care of Chet if he'd been injured. Ursula wouldn't know that these men were safe to be around.

  Ava went through the waterfall and she shifted. Ursula was still a bear. "Come on. You can go with us to my condo and stay with me and we'll talk after we get some sleep. My cougar friends in law enforcement came to our rescue."

  Ursula shifted. "Are you all right?"

  "Yeah, but my friend Chet, who came to my rescue, might have been hurt. He was the one who called the sheriff and alerted him I might be in trouble. Chet was supposed to come stay with me so he discovered I'd gone for a cougar run and hadn't returned home. The sheriff will charge the men with everything he can come up with and discourage them from coming here again."

  "It's a good thing for us that Chet came after you then
. I hope he’s okay, and I’m glad the hunters will get what they deserve. We've got to get my clothes first though."

  "Okay, you lead the way, and we'll get them and then go to my place. The guys will keep us safe."

  Then they both shifted and headed out of the cave, through the waterfall, and swam across the pond.

  Their rescuers probably wondered what Ava was doing, and they looked surprised to see Ursula. Nina gave Ava a big hug and Ava licked her cheek in greeting.

  Ava nuzzled Chet who was now wearing a bandage on his hind leg. She hoped he hadn’t suffered too bad of an injury, and it made her feel an even closer bond with him for putting his life at risk to rescue her. He nuzzled her back as if to say he was well. Though she didn’t trust him when it came to telling her the truth about his injuries and how he was truly feeling.

  “He’ll be okay,” Nina said, and Ava was relieved to hear it.

  When they reached Ursula's clothes, Ursula shifted and dressed.

  "Thanks for coming to our rescue," Ursula said, while Dan made introductions. "Ava told me you've been concerned about me. I just have to say that I appreciate your help. Both Jonathon and Blue are interested in dating me, but I'm looking for something else."

  Then they all headed in the direction of Ava’s condo.

  Once they finally arrived at her home, the men said good night to them, and Chet and Ava headed into the house through the cougar door.

  Ava shifted and she unlocked the back door for Ursula. Chet had shifted and was already pulling on his boxer briefs. Ava pulled her shirt on over her head and then slipped her shorts on. She wasn’t bothering to dress in more than that because she would be removing her clothes shortly before she showered.

  "Would you like something to eat or drink?" Ava asked Ursula. "What about you, Chet?"

  "Just some water for me, thanks," Ursula said. "If you don't mind, I would love to take a shower and get some sleep."

  "Yes, of course," Ava said and got all of them iced water.

  "I'm with Ursula. I just need some sleep," Chet said.

  Ava figured she’d change his mind about that in a hurry. "Okay, then. I'll show you to your room, Ursula." Ava led her upstairs and showed her the guest room. "And in there is the bathroom."

  "Thanks so much for taking me in for the night," Ursula said. "And thanks again, Chet, for the rescue." Then she disappeared into the bathroom and started the shower.

  Ava figured his injury couldn’t have been too bad or Nina would have insisted he went to the clinic. Ava took hold of Chet's hand and hauled him to her bedroom. "Shower first?"

  "Yeah. Are you going to join me?" Chet asked, looking hopeful.

  "Unless you're shy."

  He laughed and yanked off his boxer briefs.

  She glanced down at his bandaged leg. "You were shot. How bad is it?"

  "Just a bullet that ricocheted off some of the rocks and grazed me."

  "It's bleeding."

  "Yeah, so we wash up and you can bandage me again."

  She frowned at it. "Maybe you need to see the doctor."

  "No way. They would have just bandaged me, nothing more. I swear it."

  She sighed. "Okay. But if you start running a fever…" She pulled him into the shower and started the water. And then she began kissing him. "You are my hero, you know."

  "As soon as I saw you were gone and at the hour you were out running as a cougar, I worried about you."

  “Well, I’m glad you did.”

  They began soaping each other up, their mouths kissing each other, their tongues licking and stroking each other's as the hot shower water caressed their skin.

  "You are delectable," he said.

  "You are too. I'm so glad you caught your man and returned here with him to incarcerate him in the jailhouse. And to see me.”

  “Yeah, I told Chuck that's where I was taking him when I found him. He accused me of wanting to return here and work with Leyton and his team."

  Ava smiled up at him. "Was he right?"

  "Yeah. I developed this real need to be with the old team."

  She smiled.

  "But mostly, I wanted to be near where you are."

  "We only dated for a weekend."

  "Yeah, but I want a hell of a lot more weekends like that with you. And evenings during the week, you name it. Taco Tuesdays. Monday Movie Nights. Friday Free-for-Alls."

  She laughed and began kissing him again. "I wanted the same thing, but I didn't think a long-distance relationship would work out."

  "I agree. That's why I needed to make a change. And Chuck has hired three new special agents."

  "Oh, that’s great news. But are you sure you want to be here?"

  "Hell yeah. This is the happening place. I want to be with you and working with Leyton and the others."

  "I heard they had a new female agent in Cheyenne."

  "They do. But I want to be with you."

  "Okay, well, if you're sure." She kissed him again. "I want the same." She hadn't had anyone like him to date ever. There was a possibility they wouldn't succeed as a couple, but if he was living and working here, they had a much better chance at it.

  Then she was soaping him up further, his arousal already full blown and she wanted to take this to bed and feel the pressure of his erection filling her.

  They rinsed off then and he and she grabbed towels and dried each other off. Lots more fun than just drying themselves. Then she removed his wet bandage and checked to see that his injury wasn’t more than a bloodied scratch. There was no need for stitches, so she applied a new bandage over the wound.

  He kissed her again, but before they got carried away, they headed into the bedroom and climbed into bed. She was tired, sure, but she felt revived now, just wanting to make love with Chet.

  "You're so hot," she said to him and began to kiss him again.

  “Oh, man, you make me feverish, all in a good way.”

  This was what she had needed in her life. Him, a hot cougar, who needed her as much as she needed him. He caressed her breasts, massaging, making her feel like she was in heaven, hot and passionate and needy. He was kissing her throat and mouth and cheeks all the while. And then she was kissing his jaw, neck, and mouth, their tongues tangling.

  She ran her hands over his hard body and loved the muscled feel of him, remembering him dripping wet at the lake and all hers now in the moment. He was just perfect for her.

  She surrendered to him completely, unlike how she’d ever been with any man before him—which was a rare thing for her anyway.

  His five-o’clock shadow made him appear roguish, the bristle chafing her cheeks, intriguing her, totally cougar sexy. She could sure get used to this. To loving him, to having special nights together. Their nights. And shared nights with others where he was in her court all the way.

  Besides making love to each other. Yeah, she could absolutely get used to this.

  The ache between her legs intensified before he even began to stroke her there. She felt tense, eager for his stroking her as she rubbed her body against his, instinctively, like a big cat would her mate.

  His dark brown eyes were filled with desire as he studied her for a moment and then he began to kiss her again. He swept his hand down her tummy to her short, curly hairs and then he began the incredible seduction, his finger finding her nub and stroking, fully arousing her. She was so ready for taking this all the way.

  He kissed her again, his mouth lingering on hers, slowly, measured, and she savored his kisses, but he was continuing to stroke her between her legs the whole time, working her up.

  Her heart was drumming in her ears, pounding with fervor.

  “So hot,” she mouthed against his lips. She was burning up and had an unquenchable thirst for him. Every bit of him.

  He kissed her ear and pulled on the lobe with his lips and then began kissing her breasts.

  She was feeling the end coming. The beginning. The climax building. The flow of emotions overwhelmed her as he pulled hi
s mouth from her nipple and he whispered in a ragged voice, “Let it go.”

  She realized how tense she was, drawing on the passion of his touching her until her drew her over the top and she released, shattering, ready for him to take the plunge next.

  He began kissing her again, readying himself to dive between her hot, slick folds. Then he was centered, pushing in, and she was ready for him, accepting him as he started to thrust deeper inside her.

  She lifted her pelvis and met his thrusts, sweeping her tongue over his lips, his hips moving against her. She straddled his hips, wanting him deeper still.

  She loved how much power she had over him, just as much as she loved how he made her think of nothing else but being with him like this. His passion fueled her need to come again and without a word, he moved her around him and continued to thrust between her legs, but now he was at her back. He reached over her hip and began wickedly stroking her nubbin again. Ohmigod, she was in heaven. He nuzzled her neck with his mouth, and then nibbled her earlobe.

  But he was still thrusting into her, and she felt as though she was turning to mush, but at the same time, tensing with the wild expectation of coming again, feeling the high approaching. Oh, man, Chet was a godsend.

  He started to hold back, and she was certain he was trying to suppress the need to finish before she could. He stroked her until she was about to come.

  “I can’t hold back, hon,” Chet said.

  “Oh,” she moaned, “I can’t either. Keep going.”

  He kissed her shoulder and climaxed, continuing to stroke her until she cried out. “Oh, man, you are a girl’s best friend.” She couldn’t have been any more ecstatic than she was now.

  He chuckled and pulled out of her, then she turned to face him and he took her into his arms. “You are amazing. And this is equally nice.”

  She licked his lips and he kissed her again, deepening the kiss.

  Then she rested her head on his chest, her leg draped over his. “I’ll say.” And she was thinking how much she wanted to keep him and never let him go. She couldn’t believe how much he affected her in a good way.