By the Tail Read online

  “What?” She pushed open the door and stood with crossed arms over her unbound breasts. Which made him take a good hard look at what she was—or wasn’t—wearing. Talk about good timing. He’d caught her ready for bed in a pair of thin cotton boy shorts and a light blue tank. Even better, she smelled like soap, all clean and fresh. Ripe for the plucking.

  He swallowed and willed his dick to behave. “Look. This is pride business, and I can’t chance anyone seeing. This is important.” And it was. He needed her like crazy.

  She stared at him, and he prayed she couldn’t read the lie in his eyes. His cat chuckled at his female trying to out-think him, pleased she liked to keep him on his toes. But this time his prey was within reach, and he had no intention of letting her go tonight. Not until he made himself clear.

  “Well, okay.” She turned and headed toward the kitchen. “I’ll meet you in the garage.”

  He hurried back to his vehicle. The garage door opened and he pulled into the deep garage, next to her sleek coupe. The car fit Joy. Fast, tight and beautiful. He let himself out of the SUV and then closed the garage door. In one hand he held the restraints he knew he’d need to make this happen. He shoved them in his back pocket just as she entered, now unfortunately wearing a short robe.

  “It’s in the back,” he murmured.

  She looked from him to the SUV, her curiosity roused. As he’d hoped.

  She moved behind the SUV and opened the back hatch. As she rose on tiptoe to look in, Quince made his move. He jerked her arms behind her and put the slip tie around her wrists. Then he knelt and did the same to her ankles while she kicked and swore.

  Trussed up good and tight, she wouldn’t be able to shift and break free once he gave her a good taste of her own medicine.

  “You son of a—”

  He rose and gagged her before she could finish and tied the scarf behind her head. “Uh, uh. No talking. And relax. You know I’m not going to hurt you.” He pushed the robe aside to bare her left breast clad in thin cotton.

  Alarm widened her eyes.

  “That’s right. Time for a reminder of where you belong. Time to stop avoiding me.” He lifted her tank and sighed at her beautiful body. Then he kissed her breast, sucking on the nipple with a gentle hunger.

  When she moaned, he smiled and let her go. He pulled her tank back down and covered her up with her robe. Then he moved her aside to fully open the back door of the SUV. He gently positioned her on the blanket on the floor, curling her knees to her chest to make her fit. She didn’t fight him, but he was more than aware of the rage in her eyes.

  Then he withdrew another treat from his pocket. “See this? It’s the same dart you tagged me with in Montana. I had a friend give me a light sedative that won’t hurt you, but it will make you groggy for a few hours.”

  She tried to yell at him behind the gag and managed to flail in place. But when he just stood there staring down at her, waiting, she ceased.

  “Yeah. This isn’t the fun part. Well, it is for me. I mean, I was dying to get you back for what you did to me a week ago. Sorry. This might sting.” He inserted the tranq quickly, not wanting to hurt her. If the woman hadn’t been so stubborn, he might have cajoled her into accompanying him into the forest. But she seemed to want nothing to do with him, and he was tired of it.

  Her eyes started to droop, and he leaned down to kiss her cheek. “I’ll take care of you, baby. It’s time we had a real heart-to-heart anyway. Don’t worry. When you wake up, you’ll be free to claw and yell at me. But we’ll be away from everyone, just the two of us.”

  Then he straightened and moved with real purpose. After grabbing her garage remote from her car, he made sure to lock up her house. Then he opened the garage door, pulled the SUV out and down the driveway, and closed her garage again.

  He turned up the music and grinned as he shot out of the driveway. Part one accomplished. Now time to seduce a yes out of his mate, the fun way.

  Joy wanted to punch him. He’d let her avoid him for an entire week, making no real move to come after her. Apparently he’d wanted a fuck, had gotten it and no longer had any interest. He didn’t ask about Miles or her sisters, so she didn’t think he wanted an in with her family, at least. His moves must have been to bring her back home to help with the pride. Those brief references to dating or mating—bullshit. Even worse, according to rumor, Alissa Roberto was the leading contender to being Mrs. Castille. Sure. Why take Joy when he could have Stacey’s stand-in? Alissa was beautiful, rich and scheming. Perfect for a man who apparently wanted the best the pride’s females had to offer, now that Stacey, Amy and Melissa were unavailable.

  What the hell did he think this kidnapping would prove? Fuming, because she’d known he shouldn’t be trusted, she gave in to the drug and fell into a deep sleep. When she woke, she found no trace of a headache. A little dry mouth, but when she moved, no other aches or pains.

  He’d removed her restraints, as well as her clothing, and watched her sleeping from a lazy pose on the floor. Once again fully cat, his glossy black fur shone under the spill of moonlight filtering through a skylight in a bedroom.

  She immediately recognized her surroundings. The pride’s central meeting area in the Everglades—what they called the House—was like a cabin gone horribly huge. Full of smaller rooms for privacy, the place had an expansive, open main area complete with a full kitchen, fireplace and entertainment area large enough to satisfy the pride.

  And speaking of the pride… A short moment of silence alerted her to the fact they were alone. No scents or sounds of anyone nearby.

  Good. When she tore him apart with her bare claws, there’d be no witnesses.

  She sat up and deliberately ignored the way he stared at her breasts. Ac-taw were casual about nudity. She never minded, unless it was Quince doing the looking.

  She drew in a deep breath, then exploded. “What the hell do you mean by kidnapping me? Isn’t it enough I came back to handle the female problems you stupid males started with the pride?”

  He grinned at her, showcasing sharp teeth.

  “Oh no. Don’t even try charming me.” She ignored his loud purr. “And quit staring at my breasts,” she snapped.

  To which he grinned wider and chirped his amusement.

  “I don’t think Alissa is going to appreciate you ogling me.”

  He cocked his head. “Alissa?”

  “You know, your fiancée? Alissa Roberto?” she said nastily, wishing the woman’s hair would fall out. She was a bitchy woman who’d done her best to create tension in the pride from the time she’d hit puberty. It didn’t help that Alissa’s beauty rivaled her ego.

  “I don’t know what the hell you’re talking about.”

  “You know. Your future ‘mate’. The one you need to secure your position as pride leader.” With Alissa by his side, no one would think to question him. Not even Lex’s supporters. Her family money nearly matched Bermin money for sheer power.

  He groaned and lowered his head to the floor, covering his nose with his paws. She hated that he looked so cute in his misery. A predatory cat she wanted to pet and hug and…hit hard. She told her inner cat to back off and let her handle this mess.

  “Yeah. Her. So if Alissa isn’t your new squeeze, did you bring me back here to mate, so that you can stem the doubters wondering about your ability to financially manage the pride? Or am I just back to fix the female problems you asshats created in the first place with all that, ‘Mine is bigger than yours’ posturing? Which is it?”

  He dropped his paws to the ground, rose and roared at her with such violence she took a step back, then scowled because she’d let him intimidate her.

  His tailed whipped back and forth. His whiskers twitched, and he glared at her. “You are the most difficult, annoying, aggravating woman I know.”

  “Aggravating and annoying mean the same thing.”

  “Fuck. I know that!” He snarled and scratched at the nearby wooden bedpost, gouging the wood with his lethal c
laws. “I’ve been trying to get you to spend time with me. To see I’m more than a dickhead who once helped Lex. But anytime I get close, you run away.”

  “Bull.” Okay, he had a point. She’d needed distance from the sexy male to build her resistance to his lethal charm. Her poor history with men wanting to use her had soured her on relationships. Especially considering her one-time crush on Quince had returned full-force since they’d had sex, when he’d looked at her with affection that made her think—hope—he might feel something more. So foolish to hope. You know he’s just playing you. She swallowed hard. “I’m here, aren’t I?”

  “Yeah, because I drugged you.” He hissed his irritation.

  “I meant in Miami. I came with you because I wanted to help the pride.”

  “But what about me?” He shifted back to six feet four inches of man, throwing her for a real loop. Quince was huge, angry and sporting a mouthwatering erection. “Why couldn’t you be here for me?”

  “Right back at you,” she yelled, more than irritated because she wanted to jump into bed with him all over again. Stupid, and Joy prided herself on her intelligence. “Why can’t you be here for me?”

  He closed the distance between them but stopped when she held up a hand. “What the fuck does that mean?”

  All her frustration with her position in her family, the pride, Alissa, Quince and men in general came rushing out. And it felt righteous. “It means where were you thirteen years ago? Why did it take you this long to realize you want me? Because I’m convenient?”

  “Convenient?” He snorted. “Please.”

  She talked over him. “Why did you never once ask me out before my family left the pride that first time? You show up, Lex’s right hand man, talking about how you want to save us. Well, where the hell were you when I was right here not even a year ago? I don’t remember you knocking on my door then.” She planted her hands on her hips, furious with him. “No, you were dating Linda. Then sleeping with Gloria. Or was it Karen?”

  He blinked. “I wasn’t—”

  “Save it. You want me to believe you all of a sudden want to date me? Hell, mate me? Do you love me?” she asked boldly.

  When he goggled at her, she hissed and stepped forward so she could smack him on the chest. “Of course you don’t. You just want another fuck. Couldn’t get Stacey or my sisters, so you chose me. I mean, I have the Bermin fortune at my back. That will surely help with the pride’s resources.”

  “Hell no. Don’t even think of accusing me of using—”

  “Miles hates you. You think dating me might soften him up? I hate to break it to you, but it won’t. And for you to think fucking me while you’re doing every other woman in heat is going to work, no matter how big that cock is, you’re out of your—”

  He dragged her into his arms and kissed the mad right out of her. Anger transformed to desire in a heartbeat, and she couldn’t think as he sucked the breath from her.

  The kiss turned hotter. His hands were everywhere. Over her breasts, pinching her nipples. Down her belly and between her legs. Rough and fierce and hot. Then he was backing her against the wall, lifting her up and over him. He speared her in one deep thrust, and she screamed her pleasure as he fucked her. His kiss returned, and as he hammered into her, he stabbed into her mouth with his tongue.

  She didn’t need any more stimulation than his huge cock and pelvis grazing her clit with every push. She stiffened as her body seized in an earth-shattering climax, more than satisfied when he pulled his mouth away and shouted while he slammed home one final time and came hard.

  After several moments of embarrassing panting, she squeezed around him and had the gratification of hearing him moan her name. He moved again, sliding easily in their shared passion.

  Shit. He’d come inside her again. Just what she’d been trying to avoid. But when he started to layer his scent over her, to renew that blasted mating call, she pulled her animal spirit back. Her cat hissed and spat its displeasure, but she wasn’t ready for anything more from the big fat liar, no matter how good he felt inside her.

  “Not again,” she complained as she tried to move away from him. Oh God, he’s still hard. She bit her lip, not wanting to move and stir her body into another ripple of pleasure.

  “Yeah, and again and again. What are you going to do to stop me? I want you, I’ll have you.” Quince had the audacity to grip her ass and squeeze as he rocked into her again. “You’re so easy.”

  Like that, he tripped her rage switch. But before she could do him serious harm, he withdrew, danced back from her, and shifted into his panther form. “You want a piece of me? Try and catch me.” He snorted. “Lightweight.” Then he darted out of the room with a scornful laugh.

  “Lightweight? Lightweight?” She shifted into her cat without thinking and yowled her fury. Time to hunt down a man needing gelding.

  She spotted the restraints he’d used on her and scooped them into her mouth. It was so on.

  Chapter Five

  Quince ran like hell into the woods, skirting a flock of egrets and an unhappy alligator. He’d finally had Joy again, and like before, she took him to heaven and back. Not an exaggeration that she’d lit up like a firecracker while he rode her hard. Fuck, but the woman fit him like a glove. He wanted her all over again. In any and every way.

  How the hell could the idiotic cat not sense how much he wanted her? He’d been infatuated in his youth and lost, head-over-heels in love, for years. He hadn’t had the time to pursue her seriously while helping stabilize the pride for Michael. And when he’d wanted to date her, she’d been with some other douche bags. First Colin, then Riley. The relationships never lasted, thankfully, or he’d have killed some cats despite the rules not to.

  Then she’d gone out with human guys, and he figured he’d let her sow her oats. But this nonsense about him wanting her sisters? How could she be so glaringly oblivious to the truth? Hell, he’d just fucked her silly against the wall in like two seconds. He obviously desired her. Stubborn female.

  He startled a bear and made a wide detour around him. He needed to slow down and think. But he couldn’t get over the woman’s pique. Was she really mad that he hadn’t declared himself years ago? That question about where he’d been thirteen years ago… Hell, she’d been all of sixteen and his best friend’s little sister. Of course he’d ignored her.

  But she wasn’t too young now. Not at all. Twenty-nine to his thirty-three. He purred, wanting inside her again. Twice now he’d filled her up. But he hadn’t smelled a change in her body chemistry since the first time. Not pregnant yet. His cat might be disappointed, but Quince was relieved. Honestly, he wanted to mate her without the complication of young. Hell yeah he wanted cubs with her. But he needed her to be comfortable with him before welcoming children into their lives.

  He heard a screech not far off and grinned as he raced across a bed of sawgrass and back into the woods. The full moon didn’t help him go incognito, but being black definitely helped blend into the shadows.

  After losing his mind earlier, unable to keep himself from touching the hot, spitting-mad woman, he’d known she’d be upset about the unprotected sex. Hell, he wasn’t that happy about it either. He didn’t want to see her withdraw again, but truly his cat was to blame about the desire to impregnate his mate. Especially since the hard-headed female kept rejecting the mate scent.

  So he’d decided to use her weakness against her. The woman couldn’t resist a challenge. Daring to call her a lightweight—as if she could ever be less than Quince—had nailed it. She would want payback. Now how to turn that into another roll in the hay?

  He crisscrossed his tracks, listening and watching. Panthers had amazing eyesight. He could track anything that moved, though he did his best work during dawn and dusk. He wasn’t a normal cougar shifter, though. Mountain lions couldn’t roar, but he could. And he had better stamina. While cougars could sprint with those powerful hind legs, great distances drained them.

  Not Quince. Not
usually one to boast, he agreed with his animal spirit that they were no doubt genetically superior to the typical feline Ac-taw. Hell, his sister was one of the best hunters he knew. But like their mother, her cat was golden, not black.

  He stopped for a breather under a large tree providing a nice shadow over soft grass, rejecting the moonlight. As his cat reminded him of their supremacy again, he thought of his sister and wondered when she planned to come back. Would their mother be far behind—

  He hissed as a solid weight hit him hard in the side, shoving him down. “Shit.”

  He would have struggled when he caught her scent, ripe with rage, lust and challenge. Giving a feigned fight, he let her clamp her sharp teeth over his throat, then stilled. Actually she’d moved a lot quicker than he’d thought she might, nearly overwhelming him on her own.

  “Don’t move, asshole, you got that?” To emphasize her point, she dug a sharp-clawed foot perilously near his precious family jewels.

  He didn’t breathe. She’d scored the perfect threat. “I’m still as a stone.”

  “A blockhead, more like,” she muttered. “Now shift back, slowly.”

  He did and soon found himself lying under an irritated feline. She had to be close to a hundred and forty pounds, a large female, but all muscle.

  She squeezed her jaw and he choked.

  He heard her laugh. Then she shifted to human and flipped him onto his belly. Before he knew it, she’d tied his wrists together, then shoved him onto his bound hands on his back.

  “Ow. Shit.” Fortunately, the uncomfortable position did nothing to stem his arousal.

  She knelt by his side, sneering at him. “How does it feel now, lightweight?”

  “Fine, you caught me. So what?” He tried to act like he didn’t care, but his dick gave him away. She’d caught him and tied him up. A personal fantasy that involved her tongue, breasts and definite oral action.

  The temptress didn’t miss a beat. Seeing his arousal, she wrapped her hand around him, and he hissed out a breath.