A Cougar's Claim (Charmed in Vegas Book 7) (18 page)

Callum and Tristan took a half-step forward, a visual reminder of their status within the pack. “Don’t fuck with our wolves or our guests, demon, or we’ll make sure you’re obliterated from existence.”

“How many times do I have to rip your throat out to kill you?” Kit snarled, ready to dismember the abhorrent creature masquerading as a human female only a few feet away.

Tristan snapped his teeth at Kit, a censure from an alpha to a pack member. “Careful, cat. She was working a job before and most likely held her magic in check when fighting you. Rhiannon is alive as are you.”

“That’s right sweet cheeks, listen to your new friend there. Besides, a little thing like massive blood loss isn’t enough to kill me. Me, demon. You, shifter. There’s no comparison. But I’ll give you points for trying. An ‘A’ for effort.” Lilith flashed blood stained teeth at him. “I’m not here to bother you or your mate. What happened before was business, understand? Chaos and death without a payout doesn’t interest me. I’m here for this welsher’s head and his dick. Anyone want to try and stop me?”

“How did he welsh? Exactly?” Rhiannon glanced at the crowd around them. “Aren’t any of you curious? I thought she was supposed to find Jase and turn him in for a bounty. She didn’t.”

Lilith cackled and her hair stood on end around her head like it’d gotten caught in static electricity. “He died before I could complete my task. We had a contract. It’s not my fault if he didn’t read it.” She grinned, her face lit up with glee. “This whole thing worked out better than I could have ever hoped for.”

Kit tucked Rhiannon behind his back, hoping she realized it’d be better not to talk to the demon any more. Her soft hands edged up under the hem of his shirt, her palms flattened on his back, and a sense of calm enveloped him.

Controlling his cat’s urge to shred the demon with his claws, rip her into small tiny chunks until there was no way she’d rise again, was one of the most difficult trials he’d ever endured. However, the wolf was correct. Any conflict now was likely to draw in the pack and his mate as well, and he saw no reason to risk that kind of bloodshed. If the demon offered no overt violence, he would not attack her.

Tristan and Callum glanced at one another and both shrugged. Tristan said, “Don’t have any use for them. Please, help yourself.”

Lilith pointed at Kit. “See? If you’d have been reasonable with me, things would have gone so much easier.”

A wave of irritation, disbelief, and fear flooded the mate bond. Kit widened his stance and crossed his arms, drawing up tall and arrogant. Rhiannon needed a visual reminder of his sheer size and strength. She had no reason to fear the demon.

“Tristan, Callum, I’m assuming you have protections in place.” Kit slanted a look at the alpha brothers. Callum tipped his head and Tristan flicked one finger at him in affirmation.

Right. If the wolves felt safe enough to not attack and try to kill Lilith immediately, he could relax his guard a fraction. He retracted his claws and fangs, but kept his eye trained on the evil creature a few feet away.

“Stick, Flare, Trey, Bennie, and Allison, get to work on closing the hole in the wall,” Callum ordered, his unwavering gaze affixed on the dragon and demon in the center of the bar, confident his order would be obeyed. “Tourists are getting a whore’s eyeful in here.” Turning to Kit, he lowered his voice. “Anything goes to the fucking fan, and it’s on, until then....”

Right. Keep it cool.

“Jase, your father’s ready to step down.” Kit studied the petite, quiet beauty standing at his cousin’s side. Avrie smiled at him, confident and sure. Steadfast. Maybe she’d manage to find the man beneath the boy inside Jase.

Jase kissed Avrie on the forehead, hoisted her up into his arms, and shrugged. “I don’t want to be the alpha. Never have. Why do you think I haven’t been home in five years?”

“Jase, you can’t just shrug the responsibility off on your cousin. It’s not right. We should at least visit your father, see how things are going with your clan.” Avrie trapped his face in both hands. “And what about what Kit wants? What about his mate? She has a career here.”

“Oh, yeah, look at that. Rhiannon and Kit together. Wow. My plan worked.” Jase laughed, all boyish charm and irrepressible good humor. His brows drew down low and he pointed at Rhiannon. “I knew, you know. Even though you lied about your last name, I knew who you were this whole time. I was going to give you one more month before I tossed you on a plane to Kit. Don’t think I wouldn’t. I know I look like nothing but an irresponsible party hungry man whore, but there’s more to me than that.”

Rhiannon gasped and their bond surged with anxiety. Kit craned his neck to see her face, but she hid in his shirt. He reached behind his back and patted her. “Well, I guess this means I don’t have to punch your teeth in then for not telling me you knew where she was. Although it would have been nice to know when you first met her.”

Avrie cheeks turned bright red and she huffed. “Don’t threaten Jase. He was being a good friend. You just try and put one finger on him and see what it gets you.”

The little wolf had a temper under the cute, doll-like exterior. Good to know. Kit fought a laugh and held both hands up, palms out.

“Aw, thanks baby. You saw me, right from the start. I love that about you.” Jase rubbed his nose against Avrie’s. “Kit, Avrie just took a new teaching job. I’m not going to ask her to give up something she’s been busting her ass for to move to the middle of nowhere. Wolves aren’t like us cats. They need their pack. And, you know I’m not cut out to be the alpha of anything. Except the bedroom,” Jase nibbled on his mate’s ear. Avrie giggled and blushed. “Our clan won’t accept me as Alpha, not with my mate being a wolf.”

“People can change.” Kit had the oddest sense of relief and unease flood his system. “You wouldn’t be taking on the job alone.”

“We both know I would make a terrible alpha. Don’t want the job. Never have. Avrie’s my soul mate. If I was meant to be the alpha, wouldn’t my soul mate be a cat? Go home and take care of the clan like you always do. I’ll come visit you and your mate in a couple months.” Jase spun on his heel and strode away. “Oh, and Kit, you better take good care of Rhiannon this time or I’ll kick your ass.”

Kit would get the story behind this whole thing with Rhiannon and Jase later, in private. “Don’t worry about
my
mate.”

Jase paused and growled softly. “I’m not kidding man. She’s my best friend. She trusted me more than anyone in my life ever has. I love her like a little sister. I will beat your ass if you hurt her again.”

Callum cleared his throat. “You have the backing of the pack on that, Jase. Although, I would like to know what the fuck Rhiannon was thinking, taking a loan from Mancini instead of coming to us for help.”

A dark, commanding tone slid into Callum’s words, and Kit felt pack magic stirring again.

“Careful, wolf. She’s my mate, she’s not one of your wolves.” Conflicting emotions rattled Kit to his core. On one hand, he was slightly offended by the assumptions being made here, that he’d hurt Rhiannon again. He knew he’d fucked up, but he wasn’t a kid anymore. On the other, knowing his mate had earned a place for herself in this pack, as a human, and now as a cougar shifter, sent pride welling up in him.

His cougar snorted.
Our mate is superior. Of course they value her.

Rhiannon cleared her throat, turned her face to the side but kept her cheek in contact with his back. “I didn’t ask you or Tristan for help because I’m used to doing things on my own. And I know the pack isn’t swimming in extra funds. You’ve got wolves to take care of, families who depend on you. Like Falcon and her son. I couldn’t put my needs before theirs.”

A rumble of approval swept through the bar. Tight bands of emotion clamped down on Kit’s chest and he swelled up with even more pride.

“Rhiannon. Why did you lie to Jase about your last name? Why would you do that baby? You had to know he was my cousin as soon as you heard his last name.” Kit turned, forcing her to let go of his shirt. He cupped her cheek and waited.

It felt like everyone in the bar was staring, holding their breath and waiting for her response.

“You...you didn’t look for me. Not once. I put myself out there for you, and when things happened that night—” Her chest shook as she sucked in a deep breath. “I would ask questions about the clan. So I could find out what you were doing. I didn’t want him to tell you that I did that.”

Understanding dawned on him. She’d been embarrassed by her need for information about him. “Fuck, baby, I did look for you. You hadn’t been gone a week, and I was trying to find out where you lived. When I found that out, I went to your parent’s house. Your daddy wouldn’t tell me anything.”

“You went to my parent’s?” Tears trickled over her cheeks.

“Of course. Your father pulled a gun on me. Told me if I came back he’d shoot me and hang my corpse up for you to see if you ever showed your face there again.” He tucked her hair over her ears. “I went to that college you said you were going to go to, but you weren’t there. I ran out of money pretty quick trying to figure out where to look for you. You were a human, you could turn away from the mating bond and eventually you’d forget me. Everything I’ve done with my life, I’ve done with the hope that if I ever found you, you’d want me. That you’d be proud to call me mate. I didn’t want you to miss out on anything and resent me for taking you away from your life. You had so many dreams, all those crazy things you told me about and you were just waiting for your moment to get the hell away from your daddy. I was afraid you’d feel trapped with me.”

A sob wrenched from her chest and she launched herself off the floor, arms circling his neck and her legs wrapped around his waist. He had to take a step back to regain his balance, but then her lips were on his, kissing him so deep he couldn’t breathe. Hell, he didn’t want to breathe, because he didn’t ever want to stop feeling her in his arms.

Whistles, howls, and cat calls rose from the crowd around them.

“I could never forget you Kit, no matter how hard I tried,” she kissed his cheeks, his jaw, his chin. “I am so glad Jase threw his phone in that aquarium.”

“Why?”

“Because when neither one of us could find him, we found each other instead.” Impish glee glittered in her eyes, her smile so wide it was breathtaking.

“I guess we owe him, huh?” Lowering his head to her throat, he bit down on her creamy, unmarred skin hard enough to leave a mark.

“Hey now, I do still have some shows I’m supposed to do you know.”

“It’ll heal before then.” Kit rubbed his cheek against her. He wanted to coat himself in her scent.

Inila stomped over, tapping the toe of her high heeled boot. “I took care of your shows this week, but you still owe me the one you’re headlining at my club next month.”

“What do you mean, you took care of them?” Rhiannon extricated herself from his grasp and slid to the floor.

The dragon crossed her arms over her stomach. “I got some other dancers to cover the performances. The girls that Mancini had trapped in that filthy cave were more than happy to do it. Plus, they needed jobs, so—”

“Aren’t you worried about the rest of the mob coming after you?” Rhiannon looked like her eyes were about to bug out of her head. Kit hugged her from behind. He just had to touch her.

“Hell no.” Inila barked out a laugh and smoke leaked from her nostrils. “I’m a mother fucking dragon. The ones who didn’t want to die work for me now.”

“Oh. My. God.” Rhiannon shook her head. “You’re kinda scary sometimes.”

Kit loved the idea of Inila clearing out the mob boss and his cronies. “Good work. Saves me from having to go in and take care of that shit myself.”

A predatory half-smile curled Inila’s mouth up in one corner and her eyes swirled with colored lights. “Are you saying you owe me, kitty cat?”

“Fuck no.” Kit held his ground, refusing to back down. “I can appreciate your business acumen without indebting myself to you.”

Inila winked at him.“Be back in Vegas next month for a week. I’ll have everything ready for you, all your costumes and a hotel room will be provided.”

“My show with you was a one night only thing, Inila.” Rhiannon leaned back against his chest, her voice cool and calculating. “You’ll send me an updated contract and I’ll sign after we’ve come to an agreement on the terms.”

Kit had never seen this side of his mate before. He liked it. His cock hardened as he listened to the women banter back and forth over percentages, merchandising, and things like distribution rights.

Tristan approached him and stood on his left. “I’ve always found smart women incredibly sexy.”

“Hmm.” What was this wolf getting at?

“When you come back to Vegas, make sure you and Rhiannon visit us. We’re going to miss her.”

“Who said we’re not going to stay in town?” Kit would go where ever his mate desired. Colton wasn’t so old he couldn’t continue on as alpha, and West, the clan’s third, could step in to help fill Kit’s role.

“Me. I say. I am so done with Vegas. I can travel back here for shows.” Rhiannon deliberately moved so her ass rubbed across his erection. “When are you supposed to be back home with your clan?”

“A few days from now, but there’s no reason I can’t stay longer. Don’t forget, it’s our clan.” Rhiannon did have a career here, and he didn’t want her to give up her life just to please him. He would not force his mate to leave her work behind. “You’re a cougar now.”

“It’s so weird to have her running around in my head. The cougar. She doesn’t think the same way I do.” Rhiannon leaned her head on his bicep. “Right now she’s making a lot of noise about finding a cave and going to sleep. Wanna go home with me and crawl into bed?”

Blood pooled in his groin. “Mmm...the last time we were in bed together, we didn’t sleep much.”

Lust sizzled along their bond. “I can’t think of a better way to help me fall asleep besides four or five or ten huge, screaming orgasms.” His very sexy, very tempting mate grabbed his ass with one hand. “When we wake up we can start packing my apartment. I can’t wait to move.”