Resisting the Cougar (Cascade Shifters #2)

by Jessie Donovan

  Yeah, right. I’m not buying it.

  A growl was his answer.

  Using his nineteen years’ experience as a soldier, he wrestled the cougar back into a mental cage. While the need to kiss the human was still present, it was dull enough to allow him to function.

  Moving his head back enough to look down at Claire, he murmured, “What am I doing? The sight of you in my clothes, as well as being covered in my scent, is driving my cougar crazy. When Chloe is around, I hardly notice. But we’re going to soon have a problem, Claire.”

  He could hear Claire’s heart beating double-time. “Why?”

  Placing a hand on either side of her head, the human’s pupils dilated a fraction. The sight only made his cock harder. “Chloe will have to leave for school in the morning.”

  After a second, Claire answered, “Oh.”

  “I may have a solution, however.”

  Fire returned to Claire’s gaze. “If you suggest a quickie, I will slap you. I won’t be your stud mare.”

  He blinked. “What the hell are you talking about?”

  “Never mind. You need to—”

  As soon as his finger made contact with her cheek, Claire stopped talking. Aidan’s cat liked how they could make the female speechless.

  Aidan stroked Claire’s skin, loving how soft it was. She wasn’t wearing any make-up, so there was nothing standing between his skin and hers.

  More than aware the female might turn her head away from his touch, Aidan moved his thumb to her lower lip. Running it back and forth, the human open her mouth slightly. She whispered, “Aidan…I can’t.”

  Placing his thumb beneath her lip, he murmured, “Can’t or won’t. One kiss, Claire. That should satisfy my cat long enough to allow me to think of another way to calm him.”

  “Somehow, I don’t believe you.”

  The corner of his mouth ticked up. “I won’t lie to you anymore, nor to myself. I want nothing more than to lick between your thighs and pound into you from behind. But…”

  The scent of Claire’s arousal instantly filled the room, which made his cat snarl and growl. The female wanted them. They should take her.

  The human swallowed. “But, what?”

  “I won’t hurt my clan’s chances of obtaining equal rights. DarkStalker needs your help, Claire, and fucking you and walking away might threaten that.”

  “Walking away, huh? You sure know how to charm a woman.”

  “You know what I mean. I have my sentry duties and my daughter. You have your organization and work. Nothing between us would ever work out long-term.”

  Since when have I thought about keeping her long-term?

  His cougar purred at the thought of keeping the human forever.

  Claire searched his eyes for a few seconds before finally saying, “You swear this isn’t just a ploy to get into my pants? Will it really help calm your cougar long enough to think of another plan?”

  Stroking the soft skin under her lip, he shook his head. “I won’t get into your pants, Claire. Not unless you ask me to.”

  Indecision flashed in her eyes. That gave both man and cat small hope she would say yes.

  Wait, what? Since when did Aidan the man want to kiss her?

  His cat hissed. They both wanted her.

  Fuck, he was done lying. If he didn’t kiss the human soon, not even his daughter in the room would be able to stop him from trying to steal one soon. She had better say yes.

  ~~~

  Claire’s heart thundered inside her chest. Aidan’s tall, muscled body surrounded hers and she struggled not to lift a hand and pull him closer. She was wet and aching. Never before in her life had she felt as if she would combust if she didn’t kiss a man.

  Kiss? Hell, she might die if she didn’t feel his hard, warm skin under her hands. Then maybe she could explore his skin with her lips before taking his cock into her mouth.

  “Claire?”

  Aidan’s deep voice broke through her sex fantasies. Looking into his eyes, they were glowing again. To an average human, it would be a little terrifying. To Claire, it only emphasized his alpha maleness; Aidan was part animal, and she could never forget that.

  Animals acted on instinct, though, so she needed to answer his request, and quickly.

  Rationally, she should run across the hall, grab Dani, and have the female shifter take her to Kian. One word and Kian would probably grant her request for a new guard.

  Yet her mind screamed at the thought of never having a chance to kiss Aidan.

  Dani’s words from earlier echoed inside her head. There’s no one here who would tell your secrets. As long as it was just one kiss when they were alone, no one would find out, let alone ruin her reputation.

  For the first time in her life, Claire was going to be bold with a man.

  Placing a hand on Aidan’s chest, she leaned toward him. His growl shot straight to her pussy. She was fast becoming addicted to his animal side.

  Aidan’s tone was low and husky when he stated, “I’m going to kiss you, Claire.”

  Tilting her head up, she whispered, “Then do it.”

  Lowering his head, Aidan’s lips touched hers. After a gentle brush, he seamed her lips. On instinct, she opened and he plunged his tongue into her mouth.

  As he stroked and sucked, filling her mouth with the delicious taste of Aidan, fire raced through her body, ending between her legs. Before she could do more than stroke back, he grabbed her ass and hauled her up against his body. Her nipples brushed his chest and she moaned.

  The sound only made Aidan thread one hand through her hair and take the kiss deeper. All reason gone, she acted on instinct and rubbed against his hard cock poking against her stomach.

  Aidan broke the kiss with a hiss. Before she could blink, he took her lower lip between his teeth and nibbled. The slight sting only made her moan louder.

  When Aidan moved a hand to her breast and squeezed her sensitive nipple, she sucked in a breath. Why was she wearing such thick clothes? All she could think about was his rough hands on her skin.

  Claire was on the verge of asking him to do exactly that when the door pounded behind her and she squealed.

  Gathering her against his chest in a protective hold, he snarled at the door, “What?”

  “Sorry to cut short your make-out session, but I need to leave,” Dani answered in an amused tone.

  She waited to see if Aidan would deny Dani’s words, but he didn’t. Claire was simultaneously happy and worried at his silence.

  “Give me a moment.”

  “Okay, two minutes and then I’m sending Chloe over.”

  At the sound of the little girl’s name, some of the fog lifted from Claire’s brain and she waited to see how Aidan would react.

  After about ten seconds, he released her. The loss of his heat almost seemed wrong.

  Aidan pierced her with a stare. “She’s gone.”

  She found her voice. “That’s all well and good, but what now?”

  “That is entirely up to you, Claire Davis. I only asked for a kiss, and while that was just a taste of what it would be like to be naked with a shifter, I won’t touch you again until you ask me.”

  She opened her mouth and then promptly closed it. She really should tell him it would never happen, but that would be too final. A small part of her wanted more.

  Aidan smoothed his hair. “Think about it. For now, I’ll go over first. Come over once you’ve washed your face or Chloe will guess what happened here.”

  She narrowed her eyes. “Why, are you ashamed to kiss a human?”

  “An hour ago, yes, I would’ve been. But now, shame is the furthest thing from my mind. I could lose myself in your mouth, Claire. Just imagine what would happen if I could taste your pussy, too.”

  With that, Aidan left.

  Standing in the empty room, Claire lifted her fingers to her lips. No man had ever devoured her mouth as if he were starving. She would really need to think about what she wanted. More importantly,
she’d have to decide if she could resist a particular cougar for an entire month.

  If her pussy had anything to say about it, then the answer was no.

  Shit. She had some serious thinking to do.

  Chapter Seven

  Only when Aidan sat down with his daughter to listen to what Dani had told her did both man and cougar cool down.

  Kissing Claire had made his body burn in all the right places. Hell, he’d been close to coming just from her rubbing her belly against his cock.

  He should feel guilty, but he couldn’t. He’d been half dead for five years, yet tasting Claire’s mouth made him feel alive again. While it made his cat happy, it scared the shit out of Aidan.

  Chloe poked his arm with a finger. “Are you listening, Daddy?”

  “Yes, baby, but I don’t think sleeping outside Claire’s door in cougar form is necessary. I know you’re still learning, but I can shift quickly and then you can follow if I need your help.”

  Not that he ever planned to request his seven-year-old daughter’s help against an intruder.

  Chloe sighed, crumpled up her drawing of a cougar cub in front of a door, and tossed it aside. “Maybe I should use some of Dani’s ideas instead.”

  “And what, exactly, did Dani tell you to try?”

  His daughter shrugged. “Just to watch things. If I can’t pay attention and focus, I’ll never be as good as her or you.”

  Somehow, he guessed Dani had said more to his daughter. Before he could grill her, the door opened and Claire walked in. Her hair was smoothed, her clothes righted, and the flush gone from her cheeks. No one, apart from maybe Kian or Dani, would ever guess what had transpired across the hallway.

  A small part of him didn’t like that.

  Smiling, Claire walked over to the table and sat on the other side of Chloe, putting her opposite of Aidan. She never looked at him, but instead focused on Chloe. “So, do you have any ideas to help me?”

  Chloe sighed again. “No. I keep trying, but Daddy says they aren’t good ideas.”

  Claire glanced to him and back to Chloe. “Oh, he did, did he? Well, how about we take a break from planning and you ask me some questions while your father finds us something to eat.”

  Chloe looked to Aidan. “Oh, Daddy, can you make your specialty? It’s been so long since we had enchiladas. Claire would like them.”

  He smiled. “Oh, Claire would like them, huh?” He tickled his daughter’s side a second and she laughed. “I think you want them. If it were up to you, we’d have them every day.”

  Bright with laughter, Chloe looked to Claire. “You like them, don’t you? Daddy really does make the best.”

  Claire smiled and looked at him with amusement in her eyes. The sight made his stomach flip. “I think it sounds like a great idea. I eat almost anything, except raw meat. I’m human, after all.”

  Aidan grinned. “Too bad, because they taste best with raw meat.”

  Chloe frowned. “Stop lying, Daddy. Enchiladas need cooked meat.”

  Both he and Claire laughed at the affront in Chloe’s voice. As he met the human’s gaze, a sense of rightness settled over him. It was almost as if they were acting like a family.

  The thought made him pause. He barely knew the human, and she had important work to do. She wouldn’t give it all up to live with him and be a stepmother to his daughter.

  Claire must’ve noticed the change in his expression, because her smile disappeared, replaced with curiosity in her eyes. “Enchiladas sound great. I can look after Chloe if you need to retrieve ingredients.” Claire looked to Chloe and winked. “I have my secondary bodyguard to protect me.”

  As Chloe beamed, some of the earlier ease returned to Aidan, although he was still hesitant to leave his daughter with a near stranger.

  His cat, however, sent him thoughts of calm and trust. The human would look after their cub. If they asked one of the neighbors to keep an ear out, everything would be fine.

  Only because Aidan lived in the heart of the soldiers’ wing did he consider it.

  Claire tapped her foot against his under the table. Meeting her gaze, her voice was soft. “I’ll take good care of her, Aidan. I love working with children. However, if you would feel safer with another guard, you can send one if you like.”

  The human’s tone was sincere and he didn’t scent any deceit. He had no fucking idea what would happen between them in the future, if anything, but in this, both man and cat sensed she would do a good job.

  Looking to Chloe, he asked, “Does that sound like a good plan, Chloe? Would you like to stay with Claire while I get the ingredients?”

  She bobbed her head, her curls bouncing. “Yes. Then I can ask her most of my questions and you won’t get bored.”

  He doubted he’d be bored at anything Claire Davis had to say since he then could maybe use it to persuade the human to give him another kiss. That wouldn’t violate his declaration of her needing to ask him for more. It would still only be a kiss.

  He tried not to think about why he wanted to kiss the human again.

  Before his mind could relive the kiss from earlier, Aidan stood. “My cell number is on the fridge. We may be inside a mountain, but our techs installed something so we could use them. I’m going to have some of the neighboring soldiers listen for trouble, but call me the instant anything happens. Understood?”

  The corner of Claire’s mouth ticked up and she gave a mock salute. “Yes, captain.”

  Chloe whispered, “He’s not a captain. Daddy’s a head sentry.”

  Claire whispered back, “Thank you.” She looked up at Aidan, humor dancing in her eyes. “Yes, head sentry.”

  He couldn’t help but smile. “I’ll be back in twenty minutes at the most.” Glancing at his daughter, he laid a hand on her head. “Be good, baby, okay?”

  “Of course, Daddy. Now, go so I can ask some questions. Claire might be shy and I don’t want you to scare her.”

  To her credit, Claire merely bit her lip and remained silent.

  “Okay, okay, I’m leaving.”

  As he turned toward the door, Aidan took one last glance at Chloe and Claire. Their heads were together, Chloe whispering about how her daddy sometimes was too protective. Truth was his daughter was right. But his gut told him Claire would be good for his daughter. In what respect, he didn’t know, but good for her somehow.

  With that thought, he raced out the door and toward his neighbor’s apartment. Even with his gut telling him Claire would take care of Chloe, both man and cat wanted to hear more of her voice. Maybe even breathe in more of her scent.

  Yes, Aidan was in big fucking trouble.

  ~~~

  A few minutes after Aidan left, Claire finished her answer about what humans did in school all day. With a mischievous look in her eyes, Chloe leaned closer. “Now that Daddy shouldn’t be able to hear us, I have a very important question.”

  Claire wasn’t sure she liked the sound of that. “What’s your question, Chloe?”

  “Well, I think my Daddy likes you. He’s lonely. Will you be his friend?”

  She blinked. “Why do you think he likes me?”

  Chloe tapped her chin. “Well, he usually doesn’t laugh with strangers. He also smells a little like you when usually he only smells of me and him. I think he hugged you earlier. He gives good hugs, and only to people he likes.”

  Well aware she was on dangerous ground, Claire was careful with her answer. “I think he laughed because you were here, Chloe. He didn’t laugh with me when we were alone.”

  She frowned. “Well, if he was hugging you, then he wouldn’t be laughing.”

  The child was closer to the truth than Claire liked. Time to steer the conversation away from her and Aidan. It was hard enough not reliving his kiss from earlier. “Your daddy seems nice, but his job is to protect me. I don’t think he wants to be my friend.”

  Chloe studied her with amber eyes. Finally, she replied, “At least, try. Then maybe he will worry less about me. I l
ove my daddy, but he’s sad too often. He misses my mom.”

  The pain in Chloe’s voice squeezed Claire’s heart. She needed to lighten the mood, both for her sake and Chloe’s.

  An idea struck Claire, and she reached for some blank paper and pencils. Moving them in front of Chloe, she asked, “I know you want to ask me questions, but can I ask you one, too?”

  Chloe tilted her head. “What?”

  “I’m new here. What dangers should I look out for? I think we should make a list. That will help keep me out of trouble and make your job easier.”

  Nodding, Chloe picked up her pencil. “Good idea. Poachers are really bad people. Make sure to stay away from them.”

  She’d heard of illegal poachers, but had never bothered to look into the details. “Are there many?”

  “Sometimes. But they killed my mom and baby brothers, so Daddy always wants me to be careful and not wander off.”

  Claire’s heart skipped a beat. She forced her voice to remain light. “I didn’t know you had any brothers.”

  “They were waiting to be born. I sometimes wish they were here so I could meet them.”

  Her idea to change the topic wasn’t going well. Still, finding out Aidan had lost not only his mate, but his unborn children made her better understand Chloe’s comments about his loneliness.

  She would absolutely change the topic, but Claire had one more question. “How long ago were they taken?”

  “I was really little, so I don’t remember. But Daddy says five years. I know, because he always brings home flowers on that day.”

  “The day they died?” Chloe nodded and Claire continued. “Well, flowers should be enjoyed every day. How about we make some origami flowers for your dad? Do you think he’d like that?”

  Chloe’s eyes brightened. “My friend Jeff can make the cranes, but he’s older. Can I really do it?”

  Claire nodded. “I’ll help you, but we need to hurry or your dad will walk in on the surprise.”

  “Okay, then show me.”

  As Claire helped Chloe make an origami flower, her mind wandered to all the little girl had revealed. Losing a mate was bad enough, but Aidan had also lost his unborn children. Her curiosity burned to know how, but she wasn’t about to bring up the topic again with Chloe. The little girl was finally smiling again as she attempted to make a flower on her own.