By the Tail (10 page)

“You know,” Quinn said, “when you sleep over at
my
place, I make a mean omelet and coffee, and I promise a full body massage at your leisure.”

“Oh?”

“Yeah. But that’s after I get to make love to you for hours the night before. Just sayin’, so you know what to expect tonight and tomorrow.” And the night after that, his satisfied smile told her.

She couldn’t find it in herself to argue what she wanted too. “Hmm. Well, as long as it’s full service, I guess I can agree to that.” She paused. “Only if I can rub it in Alissa’s face that I’m fucking you and she’s not.”

He choked and spattered coffee all over his chest, then stood to reach for a towel to dry himself off. “Damn, woman. Nice mouth.”

She smirked at his blatant erection, once again pleased to have the upper hand. “I know.”

He only groaned and sat back down. “I don’t suppose we have time for a little fun in your bed before my morning meeting?” At her look, he sighed. “I didn’t think so. But tonight, I promise, you’ll make it up to me.”

“Oh I will, will I?”

His leer should have annoyed her. Instead, his interest complimented her abilities as a woman.
As a mate
, her cat reminded her.

“Hell, yeah, you will.” He cleared his throat. “And uh, we haven’t exactly talked about it, but, well…”

“Spit it out, Quince.”

“You taking any birth control? Not that I wouldn’t mind having cubs with you, but this is kind of soon for it, you know?”

She grew warm and fuzzy thinking about kids with Quince. “You could always wear a condom.”

He groaned in misery. “If I could think past getting inside you, maybe. But I get near you and all I can think about is sucking those tits and shoving hard up into that fine pussy.” He grinned at her blush. “Yeah, you know it’s true.”

“Okay, okay. As a matter of fact, I already set up an appointment for today. By tonight, I’ll be good to go.” A pride doctor would alleviate her worries. Special birth control would protect her from conceiving right away.

“Good.” He blew out a breath. “Because if you don’t get that shot, I’m afraid I’m going to knock you up sooner than later. And I won’t be sorry about it at all.”

She didn’t know how to respond to that. “So you want bacon and eggs then?”

“Sure.” He ran a hand through his hair, and she turned so that she wouldn’t see that bunched strength in his arms and be tempted to give him a quickie for breakfast. “Make that a pound of bacon. Because it’s either I eat this, or I eat
you
. And I won’t stop until I fill you up again.”

She glanced over at him and saw his cat staring at her hungrily from Quince’s golden eyes. “Right.” She cleared her throat. “Dead pig coming right up.”

Not yet,
her cat corrected.
But soon.

Monday morning, Quince stared at the records Dana had handed him and turned to Rain. “Does this make sense to you?”

Rain, a tight-lipped male at the best of times, shook his dark head. “No. We should be square on resources. But according to those files, we’re invested in a shell corporation being funneled into one of Lex’s old accounts. Except with Lex dead, who the hell is collecting that money?”

A definite problem Quince’s brain couldn’t handle. “I need you and Oliver to work this out.” Between Oliver’s knowhow and Rain’s incredible mind, the pair should be able to smooth things over before the rest of the pride got wind of more financial problems. Damn it. He thought they’d taken care of these issues.

Rain paused, and his cautious demeanor alerted Quince to pay attention to what the man wasn’t saying.

“What, Rain?”

“Nothing.”

“Not nothing. Say what’s on your mind.”

Jace entered the office without asking. Rarely did he have to knock, because Quince trusted him and Ellis like he used to trust Miles. Like he believed in Joy. At the thought of her, his tension eased a bit.

“Bad time?” Jace asked.

Rain shook his head before Quince could. “No. Actually, you should hear this too.” Then, to Quince’s surprise, Rain moved to the door and locked it.

“Rain?” Jace frowned. “What’s up?”

“We have a problem.” Pulling answers out of Rain was normally like pulling teeth, so for the taciturn feline to speak willingly said volumes.

“Go on.” Quince leaned forward on his desk and watched with Jace as Rain paced back and forth.

“I’ve had my suspicions for a while, but this nails it.” He scowled. “Dana and Willow have been working hard with Joy to deal with the females. Jace and Ellis are too busy putting out fires in their divisions to handle the financials. Plus I just don’t think they have a head for numbers.”

“Thanks, I think,” Jace muttered.

“Quiet,” Quince said, understanding without wanting to what Rain was getting at. “But…?”

“But Oliver fits the bill. To a T.” Rain stopped pacing and swore. “Fuck. I’ve been trying to ignore the obvious, but I can’t any longer. Dana might have been screwing with the numbers. She’s smart and she’s sly enough not to get caught. But she’s solid. She likes things better now. Hell, all the females do. But Oliver… You don’t realize it, but he was in thick with Ronnie.”

“Ronnie Gates?” Quince started. “Lex’s younger brother? He was a stooge.”

“Yeah, but he had access to pussy and drugs. I think Oliver is addicted to meth.”

“No way. I’d be able to tell. We’d be able to smell it on him,” Jace protested.

“Not if he used Hunter’s mist.” Quince had used the spray any number of times when trying to avoid detection.

“And where would he get that?” Jace quieted, then answered his own question. “From Lex and the Hunters he was consorting with. Shit.”

“Are you sure?” Quince had to know.

Rain looked miserable. “I don’t want to be, but it has to be Oliver. And this account isn’t the only one he’s fucking up. He’s started on our West Coast efforts. The joint account.” They had a few investments out West, but the joint account funneled money to their sister pride in California.

“Oh shit.”

“Yeah. I nailed down that one with Dana’s help, but it’s all I can do to plug the holes he’s creating. He’s good. Really good. And since we’ve been struggling to rebuild, I haven’t paid as much attention to online security.” Rain swore under his breath. “I’m sorry.”

“Fuck.” Quince stood.

Jace shook his head. “I hate to say this, but I told you so.”

“What?” Quince spun to face his lieutenant.

“You haven’t solidified your claim as pride leader. Until you do, or until you take out the opposition, you’re going to keep having these problems.”

“He’s right, Quince,” Rain agreed. “I can help with the security issues now that I know what to look for. But Oliver and the others aren’t going away. And the rumors…”

“What rumors?”

Jace answered, “Talk has it that you and Joy are planning to mate. Alissa’s been spreading lies about you blackmailing Joy into sleeping with you to grab Miles’s attention and support. You have to know she’s backing Ayers.”

“Great. That’s all I need. Miles Bermin up my ass again.” Miles had been surprisingly quiet the last few days, giving Quince and Joy more time to learn each other.

“Thing is, it’s not just Miles you need to worry about,” Rain told him. “Michael’s mate died, but he was already pride leader at the time. The truth is, there’s a clause in the mandate of rule. You have to be mated to officially take over. Lex ignored it, although he was planning to claim Stacey Bermin, so maybe he just thought he could take leadership then mate after the fact. But after what he did, the elders are sticking closer to the rules. Recent talk has it that you’re not fit to rule, because you’re both a cheat—thank Oliver—and a single male.”

Quince stared at Rain. “Are you serious?” He turned to Jace. “I thought that clause was just a maybe. But you were serious about me wanting to mate to get control. Not just for looks, but because on paper, I have to.”

Jace shrugged. “I know you’re planning to mate her, so I didn’t want to put more pressure on you. But the rumors are growing in strength. We’ve all been struggling to put a lid on them.”

“And it’s not working,” Rain said. “I heard a few females just today talking about Greg Ayers looking prime to mate Alissa Roberto. He’s going to make a play to rule. I can feel it.”

“Fuck.” Reduced to one word responses, because Quince didn’t know what else to say.

“Yeah, you’re fucked unless you step things up.” Jace moved to Quince and put a hand on his shoulder. “I’m with you man. You don’t want to rush the little lady, but if you don’t, we’re going to war again. I’ll be damned if I’ll let Lex’s cronies ruin the pride a second time.”

Rain nodded. “He’s right. The thing is, Quince, we can’t afford another civil war. The pride is barely recovering from before.” Quince knew the shit was getting serious when Rain suddenly turned into a chatterbox. He’d never heard the guy say so much in one sitting before.

Jace added, “If this keeps up, we’ll turn into a Cougar Falls pride. They have what, four or five cats, foxes, bears and a wolf? And I have to tell you, I’m not keen on sharing with other shifters. Miami is cat territory.”

“You’re damn right it is.” He hated to think he’d have to rush things with Joy, but maybe she might have some answers. It was time he relied on her intelligence to help them all. “Let me talk to her.” He paused in thought and asked his men, “Are we sure it’s just Oliver?”

He still had a hard time believing his friend would have turned on them. But knowing Oliver’s penchant for women and a good time, he could see how the guy might falter. Yet he knew how it felt to be falsely accused. Fucking Miles and his never-ending mistrust…

“Hey guys. I have a few ideas that might help us. But I need to know
we’re
good—the three of us.”

“Four,” Jace corrected. “I’d bet my life on Ellis.”

“Six,” Rain said. “Count Dana and Willow in too. Dana helped me with Oliver’s missteps. And she and Willow want nothing more than to fix what’s broken. They know Ayers is a bad play. Watson too.”

“Okay.” Quince had to trust someone. He couldn’t do it all alone. “So how many do you think we need to deal with, all in all?”

Jace and Rain looked at each other before Jace answered, “Just shy of two dozen. Ayers and Watson are the big names. And Alissa. Her push is going to be hard to beat. A lot of the females like her, and her money definitely puts her in a power position in the pride.”

“Unless you had, say, the Bermins backing you,” Rain suggested.

“Yeah, I get that.” Quince made up his mind. “I need to talk to Miles.”

“Not Joy?” Jace sounded worried.

“Her too. But this needs to happen fast, and Miles has a finger on the company. She doesn’t.” And she was his woman, not someone to be used. Now Miles on the other hand… He intended to use Miles’s animosity to further his gain. “Tell me, Rain, does that old provision about the Pride Fight still stand?”

Both males gaped at him before Jace rasped, “Oh, hell no.”

“Yeah, it does.” Rain narrowed his eyes at Quince in what looked like understanding. “Think about it, Jace. Quince can take Ayers and Watson out without a problem if we do it officially. This might be our answer.”

“No, you idiot,” Jace snarled. “He’s planning on fighting Bermin, not Ayers. We talked about this before. He won’t do it.” Meaning Miles didn’t want to take over the pride. But Quince didn’t much care what Miles wanted. The more he thought about it, the more he thought Miles was the answer to his problems.

“You’re going to get Miles to fight you, aren’t you?” Jace prodded.

Rain paled. “What?”

“Yeah.” Jace huffed. “As if Ayers and Watson weren’t bad enough. I know you can beat them. But Miles wants your blood, man. Don’t do it. He wants to kill you. And unlike the others, he’s the one guy who might have a shot at it.”

Quince smiled through his teeth. “That’s just what I’m hoping. Keep this quiet, get Ellis and the others up to speed, and Jace, be ready to move when and where I tell you once this starts speeding up.”

“Fuck. Don’t listen to me or anything. Fine.”

Quince had known Jace wouldn’t like the idea. “Rain?”

Rain rubbed his neck. “I don’t like it either, but I think I see where you’re going with this.”

“I’m glad one of us does,” Jace said nastily as Quince left the office in a hurry. He had to get to Miles before those rumors did. The cat was smart enough to see through a ruse if Quince couldn’t suppress some information while making up the rest.

He’d just made it to his SUV when he noticed Greg Ayers, Alissa Roberto and a half dozen scraggly looking cats waiting for him.

“Are you kidding me? In broad daylight?” On pride property? He crossed his arms over his chest, prepared to beat them all to a pulp. The glare he shot Alissa had her scowling back even as she stepped behind Scott and Bill, two of Ayers’s buddies.

Ayers grinned. The smug bastard. “I’m here with a word of warning. And a little tussle to remind you that you’re not as strong as you think you are.”

The men moved closer, none of them smiling anymore. Ayers, the dickhead, remained some distance back.

Quince refused to make this easy. He relished the idea of bashing some heads in. “I can’t thank you guys enough.” He uncrossed his arms and cracked his knuckles. The morons. He’d been bare-knuckle fighting for years while these pussies had been licking their daddy’s asses for trust fund money. Yeah, he recognized the spoiled bullies rallying behind Ayers. And he couldn’t wait to show them what they could expect from the new regime in town.

Joy stared glumly at her brother, wishing she’d delayed their meeting another few days. The weekend spent with Quince had been more than she’d hoped she might enjoy. The sex kept getting better. They’d played miniature golf, sunbathed on their private stretch of beach and had beaten a score of others in a volleyball tournament that guaranteed her bragging rights among the overly tanned Miami cats.