For Your Paws Only (Supernatural Enforcers Agency #2) (15 page)

“Look I’ll be home as soon as I can.”

He pursed his lips. “Humph, just be careful. Has anyone asked about me?”

“A few people,” she admitted, reluctantly.

“I don’t like you being there alone.”

Lucie giggled indulgently. “I’m not alone; I’m surrounded by people.”

Cutter snorted. “Yeah, that’s what Erin thought right before she ended up being chased through the building by the last crazy medical examiner. You should stay away from the new medical examiner, just in case.”

“Umm hmmm, try to stay out of trouble, and call my cell phone if you need me.

“Ditto, sweetheart.”

They hung up. His wolf grouched at him for not broaching the topic of Xander. But Cutter decided he wasn’t going to. It was none of his business and Lucie didn’t have to explain herself to him. No, he had bigger things to worry about. He was going to take the high road and just delete the phone message. There – problem solved… for now.

At that moment, his whole future was in the balance. He worried that he wouldn’t be able to sort this mess out. He worried about what would happen to his son if he went to prison. He worried about Lucie being in danger.

He needed a distraction. He should shower and dress. But first, he needed to look through Lucie’s underwear drawer. For men’s underwear, naturally. He wasn’t looking through her underwear because he got a perverted pleasure out of imagining her wearing them –
no siree
. The fact that he always went commando seemed to have slipped his mind at that moment.

*

“Hey!”

Lucie screamed and spun around to find Avery leaning against the wall and Wayne smirking, sinewy arms folded over his chest. She cursed her hedgehog senses as she pressed the heel of her hand into her heart; why did she not sense they were there?

“Hey, guys.” She smiled weakly.

Avery looked around. “Whatcha doing out here?”

Lucie shrugged exaggeratedly, almost cracking her shoulders. “Just getting some fresh air. Ha ha ha.”

She took a deep breath and started choking as she inhaled two lungfuls of cigarette smoke. That probably wasn’t the best excuse given that she was standing next to the smoker zone.

Avery raised her eyebrow. “Really?”

“Actually I’m thinking of taking up smoking again. I used to smoke but then I quit. I gave up after my divorce because it was getting so expensive, and given that I couldn’t rely on my husband’s income anymore I had to choose between smoking and wine and I decided to give up smoking. But now that I’m in a new job, I have more money, so I’m thinking of starting again. So, I decided to come out here and inhale some cigarette smoke so that I could get acclimatized to it again.”

Phew, she may have just pulled this off
. Hard to believe that she hadn’t prepared that speech in advance, or that she hadn’t ever smoked.

“Wow, that was a weirdly detailed explanation,” mused Avery.

Wayne pulled a pack of cigarettes and a lighter out of his back pocket, tossing them both to Lucie. “Here, have one on me.”

She fumbled as she caught them. “Oh, umm, thanks.”

They both watched as she struggled to get the packet open. “Uh, don’t think that you have to keep me company.”

“We’re on break,” explained Wayne.

Finally freeing a cigarette, she tapped it against the packet –
she’d seen people do it in movies
. She placed the cigarette between her lips and started flicking the lighter.

After a few moments, Wayne pulled the cigarette from her lips. “Wrong end; I guess it’s been a long time since you had one.” Lucie blushed as he turned it around and put it in his own mouth, quickly lighting it and taking a drag.

“That your boyfriend on the phone?” asked Avery.

“Sort of.”

“Something’s going on with Cutter.”

“Oh?” she squeaked, feigning surprise.

“Yeah, you don’t happen to know what, do you?”

Both Avery and Wayne looked at her closely.

“Me?” Her voice sounded like she had inhaled a tank of helium.

“Nobody will tell us anything,” grumbled Wayne stamping out his cigarette with a little more force than necessary.

Avery scowled. “All we know is that Cutter isn’t here, and Diaz and some guy from II want to know where he is. He’s not answering his phone, and the Director told us to butt out of it.”

“I don’t know why you think I know anything.”

Avery snorted as Lucie squirmed. “We’re not idiots. We can see that they think Cutter had something to do with the recent deaths.”

“There’re lots of rumblings around the building about II trying to arrest him,” said Wayne in disapproval.

“Do you two think he had something to do with the deaths?” Lucie asked, timidly. Her hedgehog grumbled; wasn’t it better not knowing?

Avery laughed in surprise. “Cutter? Nah. I can’t see him going to the effort of covering up a conspiracy.”

“He’s more likely to beat the person up and then grumble about how the guy had it coming,” agreed Wayne.

The lioness gave her a shrewd look. “But if I were Cutter, I’d go to the person who cared about me most if I wanted to stay hidden.”

Lucie flushed and looked at her feet. “I don’t know what to say.”

“Well, wherever Cutter is, I just hope he gets the message that he can count on us if he needs help.”

“Yeah, I hope he gets the message, too,” mumbled Lucie.

Avery bit her lip. “Be careful, Lucie, if things really are bad…”

“Just stay out of trouble,” intoned Wayne in a deep voice.

“I will.”

She left the two agents as quickly as possible, lest they change their minds and decide to grill her about Cutter’s activities. She spent the afternoon trying to avoid Rick and glancing at the clock every ten minutes. She almost cried with relief when the clock finally hit 5pm.

The SEA didn’t really close at 5pm, but most workers had the day shift and there were a nominal crew of nightshift workers – most of which tended to be vampires and nocturnal animal shifters who couldn’t get on with being awake during the day.

Lucie grabbed her purse and was almost out the exit when she was waylaid by Rick, dressed in jeans and sporting a genial smile.
It was such a shame that he really did nothing for her
.

“Hey, Lucie, you fancy getting a drink together?”

She flustered. “Oh, umm, I can’t. I have plans with a friend.”

He nodded, but she could tell he didn’t really believe her. Well, that was his problem. She moved past him.

“It’s not doing you any good to pine after someone who doesn’t want you,” he told her, harshly.

Lucie paused and looked back at him over her shoulder as her beast wailed in furious outrage.

The lion shifter softened a little. “You’re better off cutting ties with Cutter, considering the situation.”

“Situation?” she asked innocently, clutching the memory stick Jessie had given her in her palm.

“Haven’t you heard the rumors?”

“Only that people are looking for him,” she lied, surprisingly effectively.

“He’s wanted for questioning for two murders.”

Rick sneered as he said the words.
Apparently Cutter couldn’t count on Rick to be on his side
.

“Oh, my,” she muttered inching to the exit.

“I’m sorry to have to tell you.”

He really did look apologetic, and she felt a little guilty for lying to him, but she didn’t have time for this, but, perhaps, this was the time to nip Rick’s interest in the bud.

Lucie forced herself to look sad. “It’s fine. And I know you’re right, I shouldn’t pine for someone who doesn’t want me. I’m trying to get over that, but I wouldn’t want to rush into something with someone else either while I’m still in pine city.”

“I understand that I need to be patient.”

She faced him and bit her lip. “But, can you understand that even if you are patient, it still doesn’t mean that the result you want is the one you’ll get in the end?”

Rick looked at her as if she were an alien – one with six head, red skin and tentacles. “You mean, even if you weren’t in love with the wolf…”

“I don’t think I’d want to be with you either; I’m sorry,” she said softly, with as much regret as she could muster.

He raked his fingers through his hair. “Wow, I’ve never, ah…”

“Never been rejected by a woman?”
Why was she not surprised?

“No, not by a woman like you.”

“A woman like me?” she repeated incredulously.

“Well, uh,” he stammered, realizing he may have made a mistake, “one of your ilk.”

“Ilk?” she squeaked as her hedgehog growled.

The lion held up his hands in surrender. “I’m not saying this right. Pride lionesses can be cold and haughty, they really make lions work for them, and they reject men out of spite, but shifters like you…”

“Are usually grateful that handsome predators like you are interested in them?” she interrupted in a mixture of amusement and amazement.

“Quite frankly, yes.”

Arrogant dillweed!
“So you assumed I’d just swallow the whole ‘looking for a mate’ schtick, and I’d be falling at your feet to let it be me?”

Rick chewed on his cheek. “You’re angry.”

Talk about Doctor Perceptron, she thought, snarkily.

“No, just flabbergasted, to be honest. The men I’ve dated could hardly be considered prince charmings, but they’ve never expected me to be grateful to be with them.”

“I didn’t really mean…”

She held up a hand. “I’m glad I could give you this new experience of being rejected by someone of my
ilk
.”

“Lucie, I’m sorry.”

“We can still be friends, Rick, but no more flirting,” she told him, firmly.

“You’re right. Lucie, really, I didn’t mean to offend you.”

“It’s fine,” she replied snippily.

Actually it was fine; while she was a little put out by his egotism, this whole confrontation actually solved her problem. She managed to rebuff Rick’s advances without even coming out of it as the bad guy.
Win-win situation
.

“Great, see you tomorrow?”

Lucie frowned. “Tomorrow?”

He smiled. “At the softball game.”

Right… sugar puffs! She’d forgotten, so much happening and all that… he stood watching for a reply.

“Yes, see you then,” she said absently.

*

He watched as the chubby little hedgehog shifter left the building. She looked around self-consciously to make sure no one was watching her. The dumb bitch didn’t even glance in his direction. Hedgehogs really were a lesser, pathetic species. How Cutter could even give her the time of day was mind-boggling. A wolf and a hedgehog together, was there anything more grotesque?

He knew Cutter was hiding underneath the hedgehog’s skirt. He’d run like a coward, straight into her waiting bosom. He could just burst into her house and kill them both, but no, he wanted Cutter to suffer.

Let the traitorous wolf have his fun with the hedgehog. It will be even more delicious when she’s dead. Three years is a long time to wait, but, finally, Cutter will get what is coming to him.

Chapter Fourteen

“Cutter! Cutter come on, baby, wake up.”

Lucie came home to find Cutter snoozing in her bed. At first pleased that he was taking some much-needed rest, she was soon horrified as he started violently yelling and lashing about on the bed. Her animal howled at her to help him.

She grasped his shoulders, clinging to the scorching, sweat-beaded skin as he thrashed underneath. Unable to control him, she straddled his waist, pushing her weight down on him.

“Baby, you’re having a bad dream, wake up,” she pleaded.

Lucie yelped as his fingers roughly clamped onto her ass and with a lurch toward her, his eyes snapped open. Violent amber eyes regarded her with confusion. He blinked, and slowly the amber tinges seeped away.

“Lucie?” he choked out.

She pushed his shoulders back down to the bed. “Hush, it’s okay, you were having a bad dream. You’re okay; you’re fine.”

“Lucie,” he groaned more forcibly.

Instead of removing his hands they were kneading her buttocks, manipulating her fleshy orbs. She licked her lips as she felt heat pooling between her legs. He rocked her over his stomach. The material of her panties rubbed against her sensitive folds, making her wet and needy. She needed to get out of there before she did something embarrassing like scream ‘take me now.’

“Do you need anything?” she whimpered, barely able to concentrate.

Cutter pushed her down his body until she pressed against his arousal. “You.”

Lucie squealed as he flipped her onto her back. With a flash of claw, he ripped through her clothes and pulled the tatters away from her body. Her hedgehog mewled in joy.

“What are you doing?” she asked breathlessly.

His lips curled into a feral grin. “Can’t you tell?.”

He snaked down the bed and parted her legs before she even roused the energy to pretend to protest. She almost darted off the bed as he swiped his tongue over her drenched slit, but she stayed grounded thanks to his fingers softly yet gently digging into the flesh of her thighs. He suckled on her clit, licking and biting it before burrowing his tongue in her channel.

Lucie’s fingers dug into the sheets as she cried out in ecstasy. It had been so long since she felt pleasure like this –
not that she had ever felt pleasure quite like this before
. Nothing could compare to the decadence a simple flick of his tongue afforded her. Her body started tightening as he plunged a finger inside her and teased her clit. She could feel it, the burning need for completion, growing, expanding, hurtling towards the stars, until…

The son of a nutcracker stopped.

She wailed. “Why did you stop?”

Cutter bared his fangs and crawled up her body, settling his large frame between her thighs. His hot erection teased her entrance as his lips descended on hers. He scorched her with his kiss, plundering her mouth and dueling with her tongue. She wrapped her arms around his neck, deepening the kiss, wanting to inflame him the same way he did her.

Their first kiss
. She almost giggled into his mouth as she realized he had kissed her down
there
before he had kissed her mouth. Well, no one could accuse them of being boring.

She whimpered as he pulled away from her swollen lips. They’d never been used in such a brutal yet sensual way. That was who he was – harsh but passionate. He kept her away from him for a year, fearing that she couldn’t handle his rough nature, but he was so wrong. Without it, he wouldn’t be him, and she loved every lip-smacking, yummy, perfectly unperfect inch of him. She wouldn’t want him any other way.

“Do you want me?” he demanded, throatily.

“Yes,” she moaned trying to lower her hips towards his straining manhood.

“I want us to come together during our first time,” he rumbled.

And with that declaration, he drove himself inside her. With a slow yet determined motion, he didn’t stop until he buried himself to the hilt. She gasped at the satisfying feeling of fullness. She hitched her legs around his waist and nodded at him that she was okay, and he started stroking inside her with hard, fast thrusts.

Neither of them would last long; they were both too worked up, too desperate to unleash the release that had been bubbling for the past year. He pounded and crashed against her body, mercilessly filling her over and over. He was so big he hit every sweet spot, every nerve ending. She loved how tight she was around him, how her muscles stretched and strained to contain him.

His breathing grew harsher, and his movements became even more ferocious. They raced toward their mutual climax. With a bellow, Cutter drove inside her one final time and exploded, triggering her release.

She screamed his name as her hedgehog howled in happiness. She shook her head from side to side, ignoring the urge to sink her sharpened teeth into his neck. She wanted to claim him, to take him as hers, but she resisted – for the moment. Instead, she lay back on the bed, panting and shivering in orgasm.

With a groan, Cutter collapsed onto her waiting body, pillowing his head on her breasts. She clutched him to her and whispered the word ‘mine.’

*

“No regrets?” Lucie asked, uncertain as to whether she would like the answer.

She lay atop him, listening to the steady beat of his heart. His hands skimmed up and down her back, massaging her skin. She felt exhausted, satiated and thrilled all at once. After their first coupling, they made love two more times. Their second time, he flipped her onto her front and entered her behind as his fingers wormed their way under her body and stroked her clit. The last time was less frantic and more sensual; he had her ride him as his hands and mouth caressed her breasts.

“Fuck no,” he answered firmly. “You?”

“Jinkies no.”

His big body shook with laughter. “Don’t start with that dirty talk or I will have to have you again.”

“Hmmm, haven’t I worn you out yet?”

“Not even close,” he growled at the suspected challenge.

“Your bullet wounds didn’t affect you, did they?”

She couldn’t hide the worry from her voice. Silver bullets were not to be sniffed at. She would advise anyone else to wait at least a week before even attempting intercourse. She was desperately thankful that Cutter didn’t need that long.

“What do you think?” he replied cockily.

“Mmmm, I don’t think so, but then I have nothing to compare it to.”

“Perhaps we should keep having sex and you can rate my performance,” he suggested.

Lucie pretended to ponder his generous offer. “It could be like a study of how long it takes for a shifter’s sexual prowess to return after getting shot by silver bullets. Alright, in the interest of science, I will make this sacrifice and have lots and lots of sex with you.”

Cutter chuckled. “You’re so selfless, sweetheart.”

“Darn tootin’.” She traced the scars on his chest with her index finger. “What was your dream about?”

He tensed under her slightly. “About being in the cage; the torture.”

“Do you have nightmares often?”

“Most nights,” he admitted. “It’s why I sleep alone.”

“Bad dreams are hardly…”

“After it first happened, I woke up screaming one night. I was, uh, married at the time. My wife tried to wake me, and I almost strangled her. I came to my senses and stopped, but the damage was already done.”

Lucie already knew about his marriage and divorce, vaguely; she wasn’t privy to any of the finer details, however. “She left you?”

“Not at first. We had separate rooms. But, when it became clear that I wasn’t getting better, she found someone else.”

“Bitch.” Lucie’s hand flew to her mouth as Cutter started roaring with laughter, almost dislodging her from her perch on his body. “Cheese and rice! I can’t believe I just said that!”

“I appreciate the sentiment,” he guffawed as he actually wiped away a tear and rearranged her on top of him. “But, don’t think badly of her. We shouldn’t have gotten married in the first place – we never really loved each other. She wasn’t just thinking about herself. She did what she had to, and I don’t blame her for leaving.”

“Humph.” Yet he married
that
woman, and Lucie struggled to get him to go on a date with her.

“Last night was the first time in over three years that I hadn’t slept alone.”

“I’m sorry about that,” she murmured, flushing.

“Why are you sorry?”

“I shouldn’t have gotten in bed with you like it; I was very… presumptuous.”
Honestly, she didn’t just go crawling into any man’s bed!

“You didn’t. I woke up and carried you to the bed.”

Lucie sat up to look at him. She straddled his waist, and he rested his hands on her hips. “You did?”

Cutter grinned. “Yeah.”

“Why?”

“Maybe I wanted the company. Besides, I seem to sleep really well with you beside me.”

Not that she wanted to discourage this, but… “How do you know? It’s only been one night.”

“You’re right; maybe I should do a study of my own. I should sleep next to you as much as possible to see the effects it has on me – you know, for science.”

“Mmmm, I love science,” she cooed.

“Who do those men’s clothes belong to?” he asked unexpectedly, nodding his head in the direction of her closet.

“Oh, they’re just my ex-husband’s,” she replied dismissively before leaning down and flourishing butterfly kisses on his neck.

Cutter sighed in distracted contentment for a moment before coming to his senses. “Why the fuck do you have your ex-husband’s clothes?”

“He stays over when his partner is away on business. He doesn’t like to be alone.”

She sped up her kisses, hoping to get away from the obvious questions that were about to blast in her direction.
No such luck.

“Your spare bedroom doesn’t have a bed,” he hissed. “Tell me he sleeps on the couch.”

“Ummm…”

“He sleeps in your bed?!” roared Cutter.

Lucie yelped as he shot up, wrapping his arms around her as they sat nose to nose.

“He’s gay!” she blurted.

“Are you just saying that to make me feel better?” he asked suspiciously.

“No, he really is gay. It’s why we got divorced. By that time, we were more like roommates anyway.”
Not that they were ever really passionate at the start of their relationship.
“But, when he finally realized and then clued me in on something everyone else had already noticed,”
all their friends had seen the signs months ago apparently!
“We got a divorce. We’re still close friends. Maybe it’s a little weird that he shares my bed…”

“A little?!”

“But given that we have zero sexual attraction to one another, we don’t see it as a big deal, and neither does his partner.”

“I still don’t like it,” he muttered grumpily.

“Then I’ll tell him he can’t stay here again.”

Cutter actually appeared surprised. “Just like that?”

“Just like that.” Maybe the arrangement was a little weird, and she wasn’t about to argue over such a small matter. Her ex hardly ever slept over; it wasn’t worth getting riled up. Besides, giving into this would work in her favor if she wanted him to do something for like... like get married. Hmmm, maybe that was asking a bit much.

“Well, good. Uh, thank you.”

Lucie sighed and leaned her forehead against his. As much as she had enjoyed their passionate lovemaking and unusual pillow talk, they couldn’t put off what needed to be done forever.

“What’s wrong?”

“Apart from you technically being on the run for murder?”

Cutter groaned. “Right. Yeah, no more enjoying ourselves. We need to get down to business.”