Cat and Mouse

by Shelley Munro

  “Yeah, I’m clumsy. That’s all.” Lana competently swept up the shards of china and scraps of food.

  “Please, all I want is a chance to talk. Ten minutes, that’s all I ask, and after that if you still want me to leave, I will.”

  Lana refused to meet his gaze and gave a jerky nod instead. “Wait for me upstairs.”

  A good decision because he didn’t intend to leave until they’d talked. He studied her bent head for a little longer before standing to head for the stairs to her apartment. Duncan left because he thought she’d prefer to have their discussion away from customers and staff.

  Up in her apartment, he prowled from room to room, pausing to pick up a magazine only to toss it aside. His ears strained to hear what was happening in the restaurant. The murmur of voices. The slam of a door. He circled the room again, wondering how he could make Lana believe him. Maybe he needed to come clean and tell her how much he loved her. Something twisted in his chest, a sense of bitterness and raw, primitive grief. He’d missed out on his chance with Lana before because he’d stood aside for Jamie. He couldn’t—wouldn’t—do it again. God, if only she believed him. He wanted, craved her so much. When they weren’t together, he thought about her constantly. They were meant for each other. He didn’t want Jennifer and hadn’t looked at another woman since hooking up with Lana at the rodeo in Middlemarch.

  Halfway through another restless circuit of the room, he finally heard the creak of the stairs. Lana appeared seconds later, her expression guarded and her body drooping with exhaustion. An ache stirred in the region of his heart and he would have gone to her, but she raised her hands as if to ward him off.

  “No, don’t touch me,” she said, reinforcing her body language. “Tell me what you have to and leave. I’m tired and all I want is to go to bed.”

  “Would you like me to make you a cup of tea?” Duncan made the offer, expecting her to turn it down.

  “Yeah, that would be great. I’d like some chamomile tea to help me sleep.”

  Nodding, Duncan walked over to the kitchen area and plugged in the jug. Surprised she’d accepted his offer, he went through the motions of making the tea while surreptitiously observing Lana. Exhaustion weighed down her slender body, her shoulders slumped into the brown couch. He noted the purple shadows beneath her closed eyes and the pale face. Her clear vulnerability tore at his heart. The urge to close the distance between them and gather her into his arms almost got the better of him. He had to force himself to remain where he stood, hating the inactivity because he always fixed things. Something told him this wouldn’t be quite as easy.

  When the water boiled, he poured it over the tea bag, dunking it several times in the mug before discarding it. Under normal circumstances she’d chide him for not letting the tea steep long enough. Tonight he wondered if she’d even notice.

  “Here you go.” He handed the mug over, frowning at the tremor of her hands and the way she refused to meet his gaze. “Are you sure you’re okay?”

  “Yes.” Her voice cracked and the tremor spread to her lips. Duncan’s scowl intensified when she tried to hide it by taking a sip of her tea. What the hell was going on with her? He’d never seen her like this before.

  He waited for her to say more, expected it, except she seemed content to sip her tea. A deep inhalation did nothing to settle the disquiet flickering through him. Bugger, Jennifer. He’d never encouraged her, although he’d slept with her twice. Obviously where he’d made his mistake—allowing his cock to rule good sense. Luckily he’d wised up quickly. “It’s true I’ve slept with Jennifer before, not since we met again in Middlemarch though. I haven’t done anything except talk to her for the last six months.” His mouth tightened at her clear disbelief. “I’m not a bloody monk. I like sex, so shoot me.”

  “Jennifer says she’s pregnant. What are you going to do?”

  “Didn’t you hear me? If she’s pregnant, it’s not mine. If you want, I’m willing to take tests to prove it.”

  Lana glanced at him then, her face shrouded with pain, her beautiful eyes shiny with unshed tears. “I thought you’d be like every feline male—ecstatic at the idea of becoming a father.”

  Duncan’s mouth dropped open in shock. The accusation, the pain and acres of hurt in her voice made him silently curse his cousin Jamie. Damn the man for messing with Lana’s head. It was pretty obvious to him that Jamie had stuffed up big time, causing a few mental scars in his wife. “Of course I want kids,” he said, striving to give her honesty and wanting to ease her mind as well. “That doesn’t mean I fuck indiscriminatingly with the intention of populating the world with my feline offspring. I always use condoms.” Usually. Except with Lana. “As for Jennifer, I’m not about to bring her into the feline world when it’s obvious she’s lying. Lies are no foundation for a relationship.”

  “You didn’t use condoms with me.”

  “No.” Shit, he could hardly tell her he’d wanted to get her pregnant, subconsciously at least.

  A tear overflowed, swiftly followed by another. She squeezed her eyes shut. The tears didn’t stop. Her chest rose in a sob, the sound escaping despite her effort to retain it.

  To hell with this. Duncan moved swiftly, taking the tea from her hands and setting it aside. He sat beside her and hauled her against his chest. “I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to hurt you.” He smoothed his hand over her back, relieved to have her close enough to touch and take into his arms.

  For a long time she sobbed, and he held her, murmuring nonsense and stroking her back. Finally the tears stopped coming and she quieted.

  “Jamie wanted children. He wanted children before we were married. I wanted to wait because of my restaurant. I loved him heaps, although toward the end things were bad. He wanted me to sell the restaurant and stay home. We argued the day of the accident.”

  “I knew it had to be something like that.” Which was the reason he’d taken a cautious approach even though everything in him had chafed at the delay.

  “Are you going to marry Jennifer?”

  “For the last time, no. If she’s pregnant, it’s not my child. I don’t love her and this stunt of hers has dropped her in my estimation. I’ll be steering well clear of the woman.” Duncan said it with feeling, meaning every single word.

  “Oh.” Lana started crying again, and he finally reached the end of his patience.

  “What the fuck is wrong? Spit it out and I’ll fix it,” he snarled, putting her away from him and standing.

  “You can’t fix it.”

  “Tell me.”

  “I’m pregnant,” Lana said, glaring at him with belligerent eyes.

  Shock rippled through Duncan and he dropped to the couch again, his knees suddenly too weak to hold his weight. “How?”

  Lana gave him a mocking smile and didn’t quite pull it off. “The usual way. I had the flu and forgot to take my pills.”

  “Who—”

  Lana leapt to her feet. “The only man I’ve had sex with is you. I’m not like you. I don’t sleep around. That makes you the father,” she ended on a screech.

  Slowly shock turned to acceptance and acceptance to excitement. A baby with Lana. Hell, he couldn’t have planned better. “Good. Marry me,” he said.

  Chapter Ten

  It was happening already—the feline genes exerting themselves in bossy orders. Next would come the demand she give up work and become a good housewife and mother.

  “I don’t want to talk about it. I’ve told you and now you can leave. I’m tired and I need to sleep.” Lana dragged her weary body over to the door and opened it, standing to the side while waiting for him to depart.

  Duncan strode to her side and shut the door firmly. “I’m not going. I can see you’re tired so we’ll talk later. I’m not leaving you like this, thinking I’m going to walk away.”

  “I don’t need you,” Lana snapped.

  “You can’t do it on your own. Dammit, I’m not Jamie. He was my cousin and I loved him like a brother. He
had his faults and could be a stubborn son of a bitch. Come on. Let’s go to bed.” He took her arm and Lana found herself propelled toward the bedroom. She was too tired to fight him.

  “You can sleep on the couch.”

  Duncan ignored her and started unfastening the buttons of her blouse.

  “I’m not having sex with you.”

  “What kind of man do you think I am? You’re tired and almost falling on your face. Stop arguing and get in bed.”

  He helped her remove her clothes and pulled back the sheets for her to slide into bed. Physical exhaustion tugged at her and she drifted toward sleep. She was vaguely aware of the mattress depressing beside her and Duncan wrapping an arm around her waist. A protest formed and faded because she felt too tired to fight.

  * * * * *

  Lana woke slowly, her eyes opening cautiously as they had since she’d started suffering from morning sickness. Then she realized she wasn’t alone. A masculine body cuddled up to hers. Duncan. Memories of the previous evening rushed back to her. She’d told him everything.

  “Lana. You’re awake,” he murmured, his fingers trailing up and down her bare arm.

  She rolled away and her stomach lurched. Lana jumped from bed and sprinted for the bathroom, barely making it in time. When she finally felt well enough to leave, she found Duncan waiting for her.

  “Can I get you something?”

  “Some crackers from the pantry.” Lana watched him walk away, torn by conflicting emotions. Why was he still here? Oh yeah. He probably wanted to claim their child, which landed her in the same trouble yet again. She would not allow him to bulldoze her into mating. No way. No how. Although she had no idea how things would play out, anything would be better than repeating the mess with Jamie.

  “Here you go. Do you want tea?”

  “Not yet,” she said. What was with all the domestic stuff? It didn’t impress her much. She nibbled on the crackers.

  “Have you visited a doctor?” His gaze dipped to linger on her stomach.

  Realizing she wore not a stitch, Lana grabbed a wrap from behind the door and yanked it on to cover her body. “Yes. When are you leaving?”

  “I’m not.”

  “There’s nothing to discuss,” Lana said, her tone snippy. She turned away and walked to the kitchen. Luckily her stomach seemed to have settled after the crackers. All going well she might get down to the restaurant earlier than usual.

  Duncan padded up behind her, grasping her forearm firmly and propelling her into the lounge area. “This isn’t settled.”

  Lana lifted her chin, her eyes narrowing. Definitely settled as far as she was concerned. “Duncan just leave. It’s been nice, but it’s over. We both knew it wouldn’t last.” She wrenched from his touch and walked across to the couch, sitting and nibbling on a cracker while pretending disinterest. Inside she cried at the situation she found herself in with Duncan.

  “Bullshit,” Duncan growled. “Dammit, woman. I love you. I’ve loved you for a long time and damned if I’m going to walk away. Did you hear me?” he roared. “I love you.”

  “I suspect they heard you in Middlemarch,” she said dryly after a long pause where they stared at each other. He loved her? She felt her anger softening.

  “Aren’t you going to say something?”

  “Like what? It doesn’t change anything.” And it didn’t. The same problems remained.

  Duncan cursed. “Bloody Jamie. If he were here, I’d smack him one.” He prowled across the room and sat at her side, taking her hand in his. “I love you. That doesn’t mean I expect you to follow my every order or give up your restaurant. We’re adults. We can plan something that works for both of us.” He traced his fingers over the back of her hands, bringing a shiver. “There’s no reason why we couldn’t hire a housekeeper or nanny or combination of the two. If you can think of something else that would make things easier, we’ll do it. I refuse to walk away from you again.”

  “Again?”

  “I’ve loved you for a long time, Lana, since before you mated with Jamie.”

  “You never said anything,” she said, surprised.

  “I’m saying it now. I love you, we’re going to mate and that’s final.” His scowl dared her to disagree.

  Lana melted inside. She wanted to say yes, but instinct long ingrained held her back.

  “Do you love me?” he demanded.

  “Yeah.”

  “Don’t sound so happy about it.”

  A laugh escaped Lana and his glower dissolved into a grin. “What if we tried a compromise?”

  “I’m listening.”

  “How about we live together for a while first?”

  “You want to ease into it to make sure I keep my word,” Duncan said shrewdly. “Make sure I don’t change and start ordering you to stay home and have babies.”

  Said like that it made her feel terrible. “Jamie changed.”

  Duncan laughed. “No need to get defensive. We can live together and take things slow. I’m fine with that as long as you’ll consider mating.” He caressed her cheek and traced his fingers across her lips. “I know what I want. I want you.”

  Something inside her cracked, emotions pouring through her both cleansing and empowering. Lana melted into his arms, realizing she’d been fighting something she wanted since the weekend of the rodeo. Maybe this could work after all. Their lips met, moving slowly together in a kiss of promise, of giving and taking and intimacy. When they pulled apart, his expression held open love, stealing her breath with the sweetness and sheer need.

  Duncan cupped her cheek with his hand. “Walk into the future with me?”

  “One day at a time, right?”

  “Anyway you want, babe. We’ll make this work.”

  “Yes.” Lana smiled and leaned over to kiss him again. Somehow, she thought they would make their relationship work.

  * * * * *

  Three Months Later

  Lana prowled into the sunny room they used as an office. “Duncan, I need sex. Now.”

  “Isn’t that what got you into trouble in the first place?” His green eyes twinkled, his gaze running over her so intimately it felt as if he glided his hand down her bare arm. Duncan liked to touch, to stroke.

  The thought of his calloused fingers trailing over her naked body brought a rash of chill bumps to her skin and the steady thrum of desire. She backed up two steps and rapidly unfastened the plain cotton blouse she wore, following that with her bra. Her clothes whispered to the ground and a soft groan escaped when her heavy breasts spilled free. With her pregnancy they were much bigger and more sensitive. Lana tugged the loose black skirt down her legs and stepped out of it, leaving herself totally naked.

  Duncan leaned back in his chair, making it squeak a protest. Traces of a smile played on his mouth. “No panties?”

  “I thought it might save time.”

  “It’s getting colder,” he observed, a possessive expression on his face when his eyes skimmed her swollen belly.

  Lana took pleasure in his scrutiny, even if she didn’t let it show. She was his, just as he belonged to her. It was time. “I’m not cold.” No, inside she burned with desperate need. This pregnancy had done more than swell her belly and breasts. It had made her distinctly horny. “If you’re just going to sit there, I’m going to need to do the job myself.”

  “I’m not sure what you have in mind, babe. You’re going to need to spell it out for me.”

  She could do that. In fact, Lana knew the perfect way to spell it out for him. “You should take off your shirt,” she said. “It’s going to get hot in here.”

  His brows rose and she caught a flash of teeth when he grinned. “I guess I could do that.” Seconds later his denim shirt hit the floor.

  Lana skimmed her fingers across the plump curve of one breast and lightly pinched a nipple. A ribbon of sensation sped straight to her clit and she moaned. It felt so good she repeated the move before widening her stance. This time her hand smoothed over he
r belly and slipped between her legs. She grazed her clit, taking the teasing a notch higher. Her folds were damp with her arousal and the buzz of pleasure told her it wouldn’t take long to get off. She didn’t want that.

  “Is there a reason I needed to take off my shirt?”

  “Yeah, to improve the scenery,” she said, stroking herself again for the sheer pleasure of it.

  “Maybe I should ring for Leo Mitchell. He’s the pretty one according to the gossip I heard last time I visited the vineyard.”

  “Nah, I don’t need Leo. Besides, Isabella might object.” Leo might look fine, but it was Duncan she lusted after. Without dropping her gaze, she sauntered toward him, hips swaying. Unable to resist, she leaned over, rubbed her breasts against his chest and stole a kiss.

  “Hmm, maybe I don’t need to finish this bookwork immediately.” His hands spanned her waist and in one easy move, he lifted her onto his lap, arranging her body so they faced each other. Her legs splayed, leaving her wide open.

  “Good decision.” Lana nuzzled his neck, nipping him lightly before soothing the spot with a moist kiss.

  “I love you,” Duncan whispered.

  His words gave her a thrill as they always did. “I love you too. Touch me.”

  “With pleasure.” He cupped a breast and dipped his head, taking her nipple into his mouth. The hard draw of his mouth made her groan. The gentle massage of his hand on her other breast sent currents of desire through her. Arching into him, she silently encouraged greater pressure.

  “Duncan, more. I need more.”

  Duncan let her nipple go to grin at her. “Woman, you’re wearing me out. I’m still recovering from this morning.”

  Lana snorted. “You got me in this situation, you deal with the consequences.”

  “Are you going to let me take my jeans off?”

  “Not yet. I thought I’d get you as hot and needy as I am first.”

  He leaned back a fraction, still grinning at her. “Do your worst.”

  Lana couldn’t restrain her own smile. If she did this right, she’d bet she wouldn’t even need to walk to the bedroom. He’d go all alpha on her and stride down the passage to their bedroom carrying her. Even thinking about it, her feline exerted its will. Claws started to grow beneath her fingernails and her teeth began their change. A growl sounded. Her growl.