Cougar's Gift: Pacific Northwest Cougars: (Shifter Romance) (5 page)

L
ibby was
unsure how to respond. She was raised to be completely honest sometimes to a fault, but sitting with the man of her daydreams was out of her realm of possibilities. Except it was happening, and she was scared and thrilled at the same time.

“Honestly?” she figured she’d ask to make sure he could handle the truth.

“Of course, you can always be honest with me, Libby.” He leaned over putting his elbows on his knees. He held out his hand with the palm up and looked at her expectantly.

Libby should have refused, but she wanted to touch him again.

Settling her hand in his she watched his big strong fingers wrap around hers. She liked how small her hand felt in his. He was gentle, but the heat coming off of him made her toes curl.

“I’ve been watching you,” she whispered. She could feel her cheeks flare with heat.

It was a secret she should have taken to the grave, but his gaze had her offering up her thoughts on a platter. She’d never met anyone that kept such focused eye contact with her. Human nature said “look away”. Just a glance or eyes darting away, but not Stryker, he never looked away from her.

“I haven’t seen you,” he murmured. His mate had been watching him. He never felt her or came across her scent. She was in this town the whole time. His cougar was upset, that was wasted time they could have had together.

“I saw you on your motorcycle, then I could see you working,” she admitted.

Stryker glanced to where the front of the building was then thought about where the shop was located. “Not an easy view,” he said roughly.

“I got pretty creative. We don’t get a lot of new people in town. You intrigued me, and I was curious.”

Stryker thought about this for a moment then smiled. “You do like me,” he said, confirming what she was admitting.

“I thought you were handsome.” She glanced down looking embarrassed.

“Don’t look away from me, Libby.” He waited for her eyes to come back to him. “I like you too, I like you more than you can understand right now.”

He wanted her to see his sincerity. He couldn’t remember ever talking to a woman he wasn’t related to or wasn’t pack for this long. He wasn’t comfortable, mostly because he knew what was at stake.

“I could be the world’s most boring person,” she said with a small laugh.

“You are the youngest librarian I’ve ever met. That’s pretty interesting,” he offered.

He didn’t read much, and honestly it didn’t matter what she did, she was perfect for him. His cougar knew it and so did he. The absolute certainty was comforting to his shared soul.

How do you convince someone that wasn’t a shifter that fates matched you with your mate. The One meant for you forever.

“Would you believe it wasn’t my life goal to be a librarian? I just loved to read and this allowed me to do that.”

“What do you read?”

“I’ve read everything. But I love romances. Ever since I was a little girl I was always a sucker for knights in shining armor,” she said chagrined.

“Does your knight have to ride a horse? I don’t ride horses,” he asked seriously.

Libby imagined this guy on a horse and started laughing. Throwing her head back she clutched her tummy at the absurdity of the image in her head.

Stryker watched her laugh and felt his heart swell. He wanted to make her do that often. Her beauty shone like a beacon when she was laughing. It lit up the whole room and made him feel warm and happy.

“No, horses aren’t necessary. Chivalry though, that is something I think is a lost art,” she said, smiling at him.

Stryker was thinking he needed to Google chivalry. He got the general idea, but he wanted to research and make sure he was hitting all the key points for her.

“Do you want to go for a ride?” he asked abruptly.

Startled at the question it took Libby a minute to realize he wasn’t talking about horses, but his motorcycle.

“On your bicycle?” she squeaked. Yup, she said, bicycle. Such a dork.

“Motorcycle,” he corrected.

“I’ve never been on one before, is it safe?”

“It is with me. You’ll always be safe with me Libby,” he said low. It wasn’t just a statement for him, it was a vow.

Sliding off the stool, Stryker fell to his knees in front of her. He saw her eyes go wide but didn’t stop his progress towards his goal. His hand reached up to curl around her neck, pulling her towards him.

She didn’t resist he noted, his firm touch was immediately acknowledged by her. She was almost moving before he pulled. She wanted him too; he wasn’t going to lose this opportunity.

Leaning closer he watched her eyes dart from his eyes to his lips and back again. Yeah, she wanted him just as much.

Closing the distance, Stryker brushed his lips over hers once, feather light as a test. When her lips parted in a gasp he took advantage and sealed his mouth over hers. His tongue delved deep into her sweet mouth, tangling with her tongue.

She tasted like chocolate and sex to him. His cougar wanted more and Stryker obliged, bringing his other hand up to her head he tilted her head to kiss her deeper.

Libby was having an out of body experience. She knew he was going to kiss her, all the signs were there. But until the moment his lips touched hers, she really didn’t believe it.

Then his mouth was on hers his lips firm, his tongue sweeping her mouth. She’d had a few awkward kisses in college, but nothing like this toe curling, panty soaking kiss.

Not being skilled in making out she just copied what he did and earned a low deep sound from him that seemed to come from his chest, not his throat.

Assuming that meant he liked what she did she repeated her tongue swirl over his and his hands flexed on her neck. That felt awesome. He wanted her, he was kissing her like he needed her to live. It was straight out of one of her books.

That made her pause internally for a moment while her greedy mouth kept kissing.

Did he see her as a conquest? Small town librarian to check off in his little black book of skank?

Not that she considered herself a skank, she really didn’t think you could even qualify if you were still a virgin like she was.

He didn’t know that of course, or maybe now he did with her mediocre kissing skills. Shoot, why can’t she just enjoy this and not overanalyze it?

Stryker felt her hesitate and pulled away from her sweet mouth to assess her mood. He realized kissing after knowing her all of an hour was bold. But fuck it, he’d already wasted weeks, no years away from her. His need to keep her had his reason on the fritz.

“You okay?” he asked, licking his lips to get an extra taste of her. Damn it, he wanted more. He could smell the sweetness coming from between her legs. Could practically feel the goddamn heat pouring off her and he wanted to bury his face there. Live there, die there.

“Sorry, brain got in the way,” she admitted. Damn, she was telling the truth again. She had to be more sophisticated or coy or something feminine and wily.

“Shhh,” he whispered, stroking a hand over her face. “Whatever you’re thinking that made you stop wanting to kiss me is dead wrong.”

“How do you know?” she asked this as her brain was fuh-reaking out. How did he know that?!

“I can feel you. You hesitated because you paused to think about why I was kissing you. Don’t wonder, just ask,” he said looking her straight in the eye.

“Why?” she whispered.

“You’re mine. I’m keeping you. Not a one night stand, not even a fling. I don’t know how to smooth talk a woman. Never had to before,” he admitted.

“I’ll try for you if that’s what you need. Or I can be brutally honest. Libby, the only reason I’m kissing you is because I want to. I want to do so much more, but I want you to want me as much and to trust me first.”

L
ibby chewed
on her bottom lip thinking over his words. Truly, he just wanted to kiss her? Simple as that?

“I don’t know,” she said quietly. At least that was honestly what she was feeling.

“I get that, but you need to get that I
do
know. Until you figure it out I’ll know for the both of us, yeah?”

Wow, that sounded like an easy plan. Maybe too easy she thought. The urge to give over to him and let him guide her was overwhelming.

She was never a very forceful person. She hung back usually, went with the flow. Never a leader always a follower and her gut told her to follow her mystery man wherever he led her.

“I could get hurt,” she said, her heart saying out loud what it was screaming to her mind.

“Not with me, promise,” he returned quickly.

“You can’t know that. We just met! You could have to leave tomorrow. I let you in, I may regret it for the rest of my life,” she whispered.

“Don’t ever regret trusting me, Libby. I’ll prove to you every day, every second that you can trust me with whatever you’re willing to give me.”

He said that and Libby’s stomach dropped at the enormity of what he was saying. He was talking about feelings.

She was too, but she was also talking about her virginity. She’d held on this long to it, not that she thought if she slept with someone it was wrong.

Just that her first time would be a gift. Something she would share with one person forever. That one moment two people could never recreate. It was something that her parents had instilled in her and she’d also come to accept on her own.

She was waiting for true love. It didn’t have to be forever true love, but she never wanted to think back on her first time with any sense of regret.

It had to be perfect.

She continued chewing her lower lip thinking about what he offered. A stranger, that didn’t look at her like he just met her. He looked at her like she was the rarest of gems. Priceless, treasured and he did all of that with just a look.

“You scare me,” she said, then amended, “You’re overwhelming.”

Stryker’s gut dropped when she said those words, then thought about it for a second from her perspective.

Yeah, he was moving fast, but when something or someone already belonged to you, you wanted immediate possession.

Taking a deep breath he tried to project a calm tone which he wasn’t feeling, but wanted her to relax and at least listen to him.

“I understand, but you need to get that I can’t wait for you. I need you now, I need you with me. I’m not saying this to frighten you or warn you. This is just me. I’ve never met anyone that I wanted as much as you. I’m overwhelmed myself. I wish I could explain to you what I’m feeling. It’s not all in my pants, although that’s certainly part of it.” He watched a blush move over her cheeks. He liked making her blush.

“Can you imagine starving, having nothing but bread and water for months. Then someone hands you your favorite dessert. Would you be cautious and wait? Make sure they weren’t going to offer something better? Or would you dive right in and devour it before anyone else could have it?”

Stryker realized the more he talked to her the easier it was getting. He wouldn’t be caught dead saying anything like this to any woman he just met. This was his mate. He’d embarrass himself, sing her praises, literally, and woo her any way he had to.

“I always like dessert first,” she admitted. Liking his analogy as it was one her and her hips understood.

“I’ve been starving, Libby. You’re so fucking delicious and I won’t deny myself,” he growled.

He grabbed her before she could speak again and sealed her mouth to his. He ate at her mouth, sucked and bit on her lips. He knew it was aggressive, but fuck him, it was all he could do not to take more.

Libby let her mouth open to his, not for a second did she think of denying him. Those first kisses were unlike anything she’d ever had. She wanted more and she wanted to practice with him. She was getting the hang of it. She also realized quickly if she just let him do the work he was more than happy to keep her busy.

Pulling back slowly from him, Libby tried to recreate what he did to her earlier and sucked on his lower lip. He let her and it was thrilling for her to snatch a tiny bit of control.

“I think we need to slow down a bit, not stop mind you. Just, um… take a breather,” she said, hoping he wouldn’t be offended.

Stryker let his head drop to her neck. Breathing in her sweet scent he couldn’t resist dragging his tongue up her neck to her ear.

“I’ll give you a moment, but just that,” he purred. He let his tongue trace the shell of her ear and felt her shiver. Fuck him, that was sexy. So he did it again.

She shivered again and Stryker filed that move away too.

“Come ride with me,” he said into her ear. Reminding her he wanted her on his motorcycle.

“M’kay,” she said, sounding drunk and sleepy.

Yeah, that was the spot he thought.

Placing kisses along her jaw line until he reached her mouth, he kissed her and then stood, pulling her up with him. She fell against him and let her head rest on his chest.

Why did she feel so safe cuddled up to this man? Libby believed in her instincts. She believed that everyone was instilled with a voice that should be trusted. Her voice was telling her to let go, fall free and fall fast, straight into Stryker’s arms.

The minute her head hit his chest Stryker felt his heart get heavy. His arms came around her and he pulled her tight to him. He let one arm wrap around her shoulders and the other came up to cup her head.

He wanted to encircle her, make sure she was covered and protected. She fit just right, her arms wrapping around his back and spreading her hands across his back. He could feel her locking them at the base of his spine. She squeezed him tightly.

They both sighed at the same time, like two puzzle pieces locking together for the first time. Neither wanted to let go.

Stryker was damned if he let go first, he could stand there all day like that with Libby’s sweet curves pressed against him. His cougar was content as he was gonna get without getting her naked. Her scent was washing over them, soaking into his skin. Stryker knew she’d smell like him too, any shifter that came across her would know she was taken.