Prey & Prejudice: Cougar Falls, Book 7

by Marie Harte

  “What the hell was that?”

  Joy jumped and glanced over her shoulder at her annoyed brother. “Where did you come from?”

  “Heaven, or at least that’s what Mom used to say.”

  She snorted in derision.

  “What was that noise?”

  Still thinking on all Zoe had told her, Joy shook her head. “Nothing. Why?”

  “But—never mind.” He sighed.

  “Finally broke away from the office, hmm?”

  “Taking a break. I need to run. If anyone needs me, I’ll be at the House. Quince is aware and more than capable of handling any difficulties.”

  She loved Miles, though half the time he sounded as if he’d swallowed a dictionary. He and Stacey should have been twins, all that arrogance and haughty disdain mixed with such breathtaking beauty. Hmm…a lot like what she’d just experienced with Zoe, except Zoe didn’t seem to take herself too seriously. That was one cat who knew how to have fun.

  Zoe. Who would soon be at the House.

  “What’s that look?” Miles asked. “You okay?”

  When Zoe had mentioned her intention to take over the pride, Joy had been thrown for a loop. A female in charge? It was unheard of. Yet Joy more than liked the idea. Zoe made it sound as if she cared, and not that she wanted control because she was on some power trip. Time would tell if Zoe had what it took to take over, but Joy was more than happy to watch her try. Zoe’s real problem would lie in convincing Miles she could handle the pride and work in its best interest.

  More than her aspirations, though, Joy liked Zoe as a person. Granted, Zoe had been gone nearly two decades, but according to Quince, she was the same girl she’d been all those years ago. Intelligent, fun-loving and loyal to the core. Add arrogant and gorgeous to the description, and Joy could be describing her brother.

  Miles—a man in need of a mate. Zoe—a woman Joy actually liked.

  “Joy?” Miles frowned at her.

  “Ah, just thinking what good timing it is. You have hours to relax before tonight’s big meeting. And with the Castilles rolling into town at any minute, you really need to conserve your strength.”

  He groaned. “Don’t I know it.” He moved past her toward the garage, where several of the pride’s vehicles were parked. “Like I said, Quince is in charge.”

  “Only while you’re gone. No take-backs,” she reminded him. Neither she nor Quince wanted to lead the pride. They preferred supporting roles. The headache of dealing with so many personalities didn’t suit Quince or her that well. She could handle the females no problem. The males got on her last friggin’ nerve.

  Kind of like Miles.

  “Well, it’s probably for the best,” he said over his shoulder before turning around to face her again. “You two aren’t exactly leadership material. You’re both smart enough, but mouthy. Too much attitude.” He gave her a disdainful once-over, making a face at her Target shorts and tee-shirt. “And no style. Really, Joy. Next time ask me. I’ll help you find something not from the boys’ department.” He smirked at her scowl, then turned around and headed toward the garage once more.

  Nasty cat.

  She grinned through her teeth and waved at his back. “Have a good time, Miles. See you at dinner.” If Zoe doesn’t wipe the House with your face first.

  Chapter Two

  Zoe stretched out, rolling her shoulders and easing her joints as she dragged her claws down a thick Gumbo-limbo tree. Pleased to add her scent to the myriad smells of cat around the area, she yawned and trotted over the roots and vines crawling over the ground.

  God, it had been so long since she’d been home. Africa was wonderful—if you could overlook the snotty attitude of the bigger cats. Mountain lions weren’t the same as African lions, and the big bastards had been pretty clear on reminding her of their differences. The females in particular could be pretty haughty. But Zoe hadn’t cared, too busy learning how they interacted. Watching the females handle the males, seeing how they fought by using their claws and jaws to do maximum damage.

  As a Florida panther—not cougar, mountain lion or puma, thank you very much—she had powerful legs. She used bursts of speed and her natural strength to take down much larger prey. Though she couldn’t roar like the bigger cats, she could hiss, screech and growl. Sounds she found threatening enough in combination with her lethal brawling skills.

  Of course, taunting males with her fine body and distracting them while she categorized weaknesses came in handy too. She snorted and ignored a gator that snapped at her before it slid back into the water. Men thought mostly with their dicks. Unfortunate, but true. While they stared at her breasts and her ass, she studied them, looking for vulnerabilities.

  Taking over for Quince wouldn’t be too much of a challenge, not from him at least. Like the South American and Asian cats she’d met, the Miami pride would balk at female leadership. But the African lions had proven that strong female rule could prevail. It helped that the male lions had been too lazy to do too much infighting. Typical.

  She trotted down a familiar path she hadn’t taken in years. The pride kept the trails out here cleared, then wove paths into the dirt by familiar panther feet.

  She yawned again, jet lag setting in, and decided to take a nap while the sun beat down on her and the wind kissed her fur. Trotting around the bend, she looked for the large fallen cypress that led to a larger mass of trees, only to find the dead tree gone. In its place, however, she noted a grassy plot overlooking part of the marsh.

  The sun illuminated the area, spotlighting perfection. She purred with pleasure and walked to the tiny clearing. After circling and testing the area with her paws and claws, she curled into a ball under the sun and basked in its warmth.

  She let herself go and felt more rested and at home than she’d been in a very long time. She dreamed about running with tigers, battling lions and making love to a jaguar who knew how to use his tongue for maximum pleasure. She sighed and rubbed her cheek against the grass, the blessed scent of earth calming her further.

  A cool breeze ruffled the warm September air, and she sniffed again, still more asleep than awake and trying to catch a tantalizing smell in the air. Warm, musky… Male?

  She blinked and raised her head, only to find herself staring at a huge golden panther. He was bigger than most, a good eight feet from the tip of his nose to his tail. And by the look of him, he had to weigh close to two hundred pounds. A mountain of a mountain lion, she thought with whimsy.

  “Who are you?” he asked, his question full of authority.

  “I might ask the same.” She rose slowly and stretched, conscious he had yet to blink. She sat and began grooming, not concerned in the slightest that he might make a move she couldn’t counter.

  “Not from around here. I’ve met everyone else. You’re new.” He walked right up to her, ignoring her subtle warnings—the swish of her tail and narrowing eyes. Then, to add insult to injury, he shoved his nose at her and sniffed.

  “Excuse me?” Rude, even for Miami cat standards.

  He rumbled from deep in his chest, and she was again taken by the beauty of his golden coat. Many panthers had shades of red or gray in their fur, but this cat looked impossibly blond. Very, very handsome, and he had the mien of a cat who knew it.

  “You smell good.” He licked her cheek…without asking. “Taste good too.”

  “Who the hell are you?” she growled, one heartbeat away from gouging some good manners into his forehead.

  The obnoxious male stepped back and sat on his haunches, resembling a sphinx with his knowing gaze and shit-eating grin. “Yeah, you smell sweet. Welcome home. Candace.”

  Only one cat had ever had the nerve to call her by her hated given name. She still had a bone to pick with her mother for giving her that moniker. “Miles Bermin. I should have known.”

  Trust Miles to walk right up to an unknown cat like he was king of the castle. But God. He sure had filled out in the last seventeen years. His animal spirit gl
owed in the gorgeous panther—the definition of strength and power wrapped up in a feline frame. His eyes could have been fragments of jade, so light and cool as they regarded her. So shiny and pretty.

  “Well, well. Little Candy’s come back. Welcome home.”

  “You call me Candy once more, and I’ll rip your tail off,” she said with a smile. To emphasize her point, she walked around him with her claws out, and grazed his flank with a sharp nail, hard enough to draw blood. It just figured the first cat to give her any crap would turn out to be Miles Bermin.

  He tensed but didn’t otherwise move. Nor did he turn his head to follow her. “Oh yeah. You still have bite. Well, Zoe, what the hell are you doing home? Back for a visit, I presume?”

  “Um, I live here?” She circled and sat facing him, nose to nose, assuming the same pose he did. It gave her a rush to see his intense focus on her, because she hadn’t mistaken his interest. He watched her the way a male studied a potential sexual partner. She recognized the scent of lust in the air.

  “You used to live here. Last we heard, you and Esmie were floating around the world, decimating clans and prides one continent at a time.”

  She grinned. “There is that. Mama is a real hell-raiser.”

  “And then there’s you.” He opened his mouth, taking her scent deeper as he tasted her on the air. She found the gesture incredibly arousing.

  “What about me?”

  “You liked to stir things even as a kid. And you’re no longer a juvenile.”

  “Nope.” She studied him, wondering how he’d take the truth. “I’m back for good.”

  “Oh?”

  “Yep. Me and Mama would have come back sooner, but we had work to do. Then Quince warned us to keep away until he dealt with Lex. Now we’re back, and I’m ready to take over.”

  “Take over?” He cocked his head. “You?”

  So cute, that big-ass panther looking confused and condescending. She’d never seen anyone able to put down another with such class. “Yes, sweet cheeks. I’m back to take over the pride. Quince doesn’t want to lead, and from what I gather, there’s no one else to take the job. I’ve spent years traveling the world, learning. And I’m here to help.”

  He stilled. “Oh?”

  “You said that already,” she teased. “Don’t worry. I promise not to kick you out of the pride for being an obnoxious jerk. You are Quince’s friend, after all.”

  Miles just stared at her.

  “Nothing to say?”

  “You can’t take over for Quince.”

  Bring it, GQ. “Why? Because I’m female? Let me tell you something. We women are more dangerous than you idiot men. We think with more than our dicks—and thank God we don’t have those. Besides, I’ve been planning this for some time.” Especially after hearing how you guys have been more concerned with wealth than appreciating life and embracing your felines.

  “That’s wonderful, honey.” So condescending. “But Quince isn’t pride leader.” His smirk warned her she wasn’t going to like hearing this.

  “Who is?”

  “I am.”

  Miles hadn’t wanted the job. He’d been tricked into assuming control of the haughty Miami pride, and since he’d taken over, he’d been trying to find a way out of leading without further scarring the pride in the process. But this almost made his ordeal worthwhile. Seeing Zoe Castille with nothing to say.

  He continued to watch her, his cat in lust with the healthy feline sitting so close. He’d been fascinated with the sultry scent in the woods and had followed it, determined to see who’d captivated him. Only to find a beautiful, large, cinnamon-and-sand-colored panther he didn’t recognize.

  For the first time in months, he desired a female. And an Ac-taw at that. Excitement soon turned to chagrin at finding out that the object of his lust was Quince’s little sister. Then again, she’d never exactly been little. She had a tall frame and an even bigger mouth.

  But she sure had turned into a beautiful cat. The human part of him wondered what she’d look like as a woman. He was dying to know.

  “You’re in charge?” she asked, sounding stiff.

  “Yep. Miles Bermin to the rescue.” He tried to sniff her again, subtly. What was it about her scent that called to the cat and man in him? He caught anger, annoyance and mutual attraction. Ah, so her cat liked the look of him.

  As well she should, his cat agreed.

  “You?” She snorted, seemingly no longer put off by his news. Zoe always had recovered quickly. “From what I heard, my brother saved the day. Figures you’d step in at the last minute to take all the credit.”

  Oh yeah. Beautiful but annoying.

  He shrugged, stood, then turned on his heel and walked away.

  “Hey, I’m talking to you.”

  He ignored her, knowing how much it would piss her off, and jogged back to the House. He passed a few cats on his way and nodded, wishing he’d had the place to himself. But for a good two hours that morning, at least, he’d had his wish. Solitude out in the woods, enjoying the crisp fall air, the humid blanket of home he found only in Everglades, a place that would always be his home, no matter where he went.

  His time spent in Cougar Falls, Montana had been surprisingly pleasant. The pride leader there, Burke Chastell, was a good guy, although his brothers and the non-felines he lived with could grow irritating. Cougar Falls catered solely to Ac-taw. Only those with Shifter blood or Shifter mates could even see the town, courtesy of a magical totem.

  But Miles preferred the gritty reality of Miami. He liked mingling with pure humans as well as cats. He could do without all the other Ac-taw who traipsed through his city though. The wolves and foxes in particular. And this new threat of northern raptors looking to expand. Hell. He found the lot of them thuggish, puckish and downright peckish.

  Something swatted his tail—a large paw—and his cat wanted to turn and engage the female behind him. She smelled good, and she seemed like a fitting female to rut with. He would pounce, then position himself behind her, ready to mount—

  Oh hell no. Miles immediately rejected that notion. He didn’t have the time or patience to deal with Zoe in the middle of the mess that was now his life. Yet even as he denied her, his arousal continued to grow. Damn it.

  He quickened his step. She smacked his tail again. Then she nipped him.

  He turned and growled at her to stop.

  She grinned back at him. “Sorry, mighty pride leader. I thought we might play.” Her nostrils flared, and her smile widened. “Something tells me you wouldn’t mind rolling around with me.”

  His cat would like nothing more than to mount her, possibly even impregnate her. A strong cat, she’d make a worthy mother for his offspring. Not going to happen. Miles wanted a mate, but not at this point in his life. So much upheaval around him made it that much harder to focus on any one thing.

  Miles disliked chaos. So he needed to find some order in his life before he lost his damn mind. Adding Zoe into the combustible mix was asking for trouble he didn’t want.

  “While I’d enjoy a quick fuck, I’m sure you’d complicate it with emotion. Clingy, needy females really aren’t my type,” he said with as much disdain and ice in his tone as he could manage.

  She blinked at him, and he waited for her outrage.

  She surprised him by laughing. “You know, I think I did miss you after all, Miles. That cocky attitude is just so freakin’ cute.”

  He snarled at her and turned on his heel once more. She didn’t bother him on his way back into the House and seemed to have disappeared. Knowing he’d taken more time from work than he could afford, he reluctantly let go of his cat and flowed back into the form of a man. After taking a quick shower, he dried off and started to dress.

  He’d just stepped into his boxer briefs when she walked into his bedroom as if she owned it. He scented her before he saw her, so that he’d already started to growl a warning. “This room is off-limits. Pride leader privileges only, so don’t…you—
Shit.”

  Zoe Castille stood in his doorway wearing a black lace bra and panties that barely held her in place. And good Christ, but she was the best put-together woman he’d ever seen in his life. She had a few tattoos on her shoulders and stomach, cats in various stages of hunting, it seemed. But her skin practically glowed. A healthy caramel cover over toned, slender thighs, a flat belly and bountiful breasts. He stared harder, unable to help himself, when she shifted and a nipple peered at him.

  “Like what you see, handsome?” she practically purred. Aggressive females normally weren’t his type, but fuck if he could stop his cat’s growl of approval.

  He didn’t feel himself moving yet had her backed against the wall of his bedroom in seconds. Her skin radiated heat, and when she put a hand over his shoulder and pulled him closer, he went without protest.

  “Oh my. You are a pretty one,” she whispered and stroked his chest. She ran her nails over his muscles and flicked his nipples. Then she leaned closer and tantalized him with the heady scent of ripe woman. Her fingers trailed up his arms to his neck and smoothed through his hair. “I’ve decided to have you. For a while, if you prove as interesting in bed as you are out of it.”

  He stood there frozen, unable to move, caught in a lust so extreme he didn’t know what to do. He’d never before felt the like, so when his animal spirit overruled his caution, he couldn’t protest.

  Content to remain as a man, for now, he lowered his head to hers and kissed her, needing to taste as much as smell. Her smooth lips beckoned a deeper kiss, and he pulled her closer, rubbing his chest against her breasts, feeling her hard nipples poke him through the scratchy lace she wore.

  She moaned and gripped his head. Then she raised a leg and wrapped it around his waist. He thrust his tongue into her mouth, lapping at her arousal as he fit his pelvis against the hot core of her. Rocking into her wet heat, cursing her panties to hell, he ground and rubbed, seeking ease from the frustrating need plaguing him.