Resisting the Cougar (Cascade Shifters #2) (9 page)

Well aware she was on dangerous ground, Claire was careful with her answer. “I think he laughed because you were here, Chloe. He didn’t laugh with me when we were alone.”

She frowned. “Well, if he was hugging you, then he wouldn’t be laughing.”

The child was closer to the truth than Claire liked. Time to steer the conversation away from her and Aidan. It was hard enough not reliving his kiss from earlier. “Your daddy seems nice, but his job is to protect me. I don’t think he wants to be my friend.”

Chloe studied her with amber eyes. Finally, she replied, “At least, try. Then maybe he will worry less about me. I love my daddy, but he’s sad too often. He misses my mom.”

The pain in Chloe’s voice squeezed Claire’s heart. She needed to lighten the mood, both for her sake and Chloe’s.

An idea struck Claire, and she reached for some blank paper and pencils. Moving them in front of Chloe, she asked, “I know you want to ask me questions, but can I ask you one, too?”

Chloe tilted her head. “What?”

“I’m new here. What dangers should I look out for? I think we should make a list. That will help keep me out of trouble and make your job easier.”

Nodding, Chloe picked up her pencil. “Good idea. Poachers are really bad people. Make sure to stay away from them.”

She’d heard of illegal poachers, but had never bothered to look into the details. “Are there many?”

“Sometimes. But they killed my mom and baby brothers, so Daddy always wants me to be careful and not wander off.”

Claire’s heart skipped a beat. She forced her voice to remain light. “I didn’t know you had any brothers.”

“They were waiting to be born. I sometimes wish they were here so I could meet them.”

Her idea to change the topic wasn’t going well. Still, finding out Aidan had lost not only his mate, but his unborn children made her better understand Chloe’s comments about his loneliness.

She would absolutely change the topic, but Claire had one more question. “How long ago were they taken?”

“I was really little, so I don’t remember. But Daddy says five years. I know, because he always brings home flowers on that day.”

“The day they died?” Chloe nodded and Claire continued. “Well, flowers should be enjoyed every day. How about we make some origami flowers for your dad? Do you think he’d like that?”

Chloe’s eyes brightened. “My friend Jeff can make the cranes, but he’s older. Can I really do it?”

Claire nodded. “I’ll help you, but we need to hurry or your dad will walk in on the surprise.”

“Okay, then show me.”

As Claire helped Chloe make an origami flower, her mind wandered to all the little girl had revealed. Losing a mate was bad enough, but Aidan had also lost his unborn children. Her curiosity burned to know how, but she wasn’t about to bring up the topic again with Chloe. The little girl was finally smiling again as she attempted to make a flower on her own.

Chloe’s flower might look like a ball of crumpled paper, but if she were as stubborn at her father, she would get it right eventually.

Still, Claire wanted to help her finish the flowers on time, so she focused on folding and creasing the paper in just the right way. The rhythm and concentration helped her forget about Aidan and Chloe’s tragic past.

They had six decent flowers made by the time Aidan returned. As soon he stepped inside, Chloe raced to her dad and jumped up and down in front of him. “Come see, Daddy. Me and Claire made you a surprise.”

Aidan raised an eyebrow. “A surprise, eh?”

He met her eyes and Claire was careful not to let her features reflect her thoughts. “Yes, a surprise. Chloe, tell him to close his eyes and you can give it to him.”

Chloe looked up at her dad. “Close your eyes and hold out your hands, Daddy, and hurry.”

Setting down his bag of groceries, he smiled and closed his eyes. “Okay, what’s my surprise?”

Racing back to the table, Chloe scooped up the flowers and went back to her dad. Gingerly, she placed the origami flowers into his hand. “Okay, open them!”

Aidan looked down at the paper flowers in his hand. “What are these?”

Chloe answered, “Paper flowers. Claire said we should have flowers every day not just once a year, so we made some.”

Aidan met her eyes, but his expression was unreadable. He knew she knew about the death of his mate and unborn children.

Part of her want to demand more information, but she wouldn’t do that to him or Chloe. At least, not at this time.

Still, Chloe was looking expectantly at her father, who was still silent. Claire raised her brows. “What do you think of the flowers, Aidan? Your daughter worked really hard on them.”

Looking at his daughter, he crouched down and gave her a half-hug. “I love them, Chloe. You should teach me how to make them later.”

Chloe nodded. “Of course.” She pointed to the groceries. “But now you need to make dinner. I’m hungry and Claire wants your enchiladas, too.”

Smiling, Claire added, “Chloe, dear, how about we make some more flowers while your dad makes dinner? Then we can decorate the table for dinner and make it special.”

Aidan’s daughter ran back to the table and sat next to Claire. Taking a sheet of paper, she asked sheepishly, “Can you help me again?”

After giving Aidan one last glance, she nodded at Chloe. As they made more origami flowers and Aidan started dinner, Claire decided she would ask Aidan about his mate and children the following day when Chloe was at school. Since she had a breakfast meeting with Kian, she’d have to do it beforehand. Bringing up the topic would be the hard part, but Claire needed to know the truth. Poachers had never been the focus of her organization, but if she could help raise awareness, she needed knowledge. Aidan could give it to her.

~~~

Thankfully, Chloe occupied Claire while Aidan made his open enchiladas. He was in no mood to laugh or smile.

Judging by the flowers Chloe had made him and her comment about needing them every day, Claire knew about how Aidan brought home flowers on the anniversary of his mate and unborn children’s death.

It wasn’t as if he could blame Chloe. The cub was a child, and for whatever reason, had taken a shine to Claire and didn’t hold back.

Still, Claire knowing the full extent of his loss irked him. Emily’s death was private and he rarely shared it with anyone.

The only saving grace was that the human hadn’t looked at him with pity or sadness. Actually, her look of understanding had been much worse. She didn’t know shit, but thought she did.

Chopping the tomatoes briskly eased some of his irritation. He at least had something to cool his cock if it started getting ideas again. To avoid Claire asking him questions, he was going to put distance back between them.

His cat didn’t like that idea and pressed him to reconsider, but Aidan was the one in charge. The cougar would just have to deal with it.

A snarl reverberated inside his head. The female could help their pain. Telling her the truth would help them to heal. Maybe then she would allow them to kiss her again.

No more kissing, cougar.

“Look, Daddy. I made one all by myself.”

Aidan turned toward his daughter, who held up a slightly crumpled flower. Her grin was infectious and all thoughts of putting distance between him and Claire vanished for the moment. “How many flowers do you have now?”

Chloe counted. “Seven.”

“You have about thirty minutes until dinner is ready. Let’s see how many you can make, okay?”

Nodding, Chloe reached for another piece of paper. Claire tried to catch his eye, but Aidan turned back around to finish making dinner.

Once the enchiladas were in the oven, he picked up his cell phone. “I’m going to check on Claire’s clothes. I’ll be in the bedroom if you need me.”

Before either of the females could say a word, Aidan rushed into the bedroom and shut the door. Since Claire had yet to sleep in the room, it smelled only of laundry detergent and a little dust.

Dialing Dani’s number, he let it ring. His sentry partner answered. “Hey Aidan, is something wrong?”

“No, but do you have a second?”

“Make it quick.”

“Okay, I need to check on the status of clothes for Claire.”

Dani paused before replying, “That anxious to get her out of yours, Aidan?”

He growled. “I still don’t appreciate you doing that behind my back.”

“Hey, it worked out for the best. You got to kiss her, after all.”

Pushing aside the memory of Claire’s soft lips, he answered, “It’s not going to happen again, Dani, so just drop the teasing and stay out of my business.”

“Listen, Aidan—”

Even though Dani couldn’t see him, Aidan shook his head. “No, don’t ‘Listen, Aidan’ me, Danika.”

Dani growled, “Shut up, Aidan, and listen. It’s about much more than you and you know it. Chloe needs a mother and she already adores Claire. That should convince you to at least give her a chance.”

“Do I want to fuck Claire? Yes. Do I want to mate her? No. Chloe is happy and doesn’t need to grow attached only to have someone else ripped from her side. She’s been through enough.”

“As have you. Think about it, Aidan. Claire will be safe on DarkStalker’s land for a month, without the prying eyes of human law enforcement to try to arrest either one of you. That’s plenty of time to see if she’s maybe your second chance.”

For a long time, Aidan had believed he would never have a second chance. Yet just hearing one of his clan members mentioning it put the idea into his head. While he’d never search out a mate just for himself, Dani had a point about Chloe needing a mother. Surely, Emily would’ve wanted him to find another for their daughter.

Aidan had no hopes of ever falling in love again. Lust was easy enough; hell, one whiff of Claire’s female and lavender scent and he went hard as stone. But would lust be enough for someone like Claire?

Without realizing it, he said aloud, “I can’t give any female love, Dani.”

His friend was quiet for a second before she answered, “We all miss Emily, but she’s gone, Aidan. She, more than anyone, would’ve told you to go after something you want. It’s okay to want another female. Your heart is big enough for more than one shot at love.”

Maybe, but he didn’t want to talk about it anymore. Instead, he changed the subject. “I need to go, so just tell me when Claire will have some new clothes? She has a meeting with Kian tomorrow morning and she probably doesn’t want to show up in my sweatpants.”

“Someone is driving back from the nearest town with a few things and more will be delivered tomorrow. I’ll have things sent as soon as they arrive. I need to go, but just think about it, Aidan. Claire has dedicated most of her adult life to helping shifters. She’s nothing like the human poachers. She won’t betray you.”

The phone went dead and Aidan stared at the screen, hoping his dead mate would magically appear and tell him what to do.

His cougar knew what he wanted, though. A new mate wasn’t a betrayal. A new mate would be a fresh start.

With a million thoughts racing through his head, a sudden knock on the door startled him. “Yes?”

“The kitchen timer beeped.”

It was Claire. Exactly how long had she been standing there? Even with her paltry human hearing, the doors weren’t soundproofed.

Since he wasn’t about to drill her through the door, or at all about his phone conversation with Dani, Aidan crossed the room and opened the door. As Claire searched his eyes, he waited to see what she’d say. A small part of him was ashamed to think she heard about him wanting to fuck her but not mate her.

Why the hell am I worrying about it? All I’ve done is kiss her.
With all the doubting and questioning, Aidan was starting to feel like a goddamn teenager again. He missed the days of knowing exactly where he stood with regards to females.

Claire raised an eyebrow. “Are you just going to stand here, stare at me, and let dinner burn? Some women may dance around the issue, but I’m hungry. I want the enchiladas I’ve heard so much about.”

The human acting the same as before eased his worries. “If you would move out of the way, I could check on them.”

Raising her chin, Claire moved aside and flourished her arm. “Excuse my human non-slenderness for blocking your path.”

He moved his head toward her ear and whispered, “I don’t mind your non-slenderness. I rather like it, but I was merely keeping my promise not to touch you unless you asked.”

Claire blinked and his ego ticked up a notch. Quickly regaining her wits, she pointed toward the kitchen. “Just go check on dinner. I’m too hungry to keep arguing with you.”

Grinning at his small win, Aidan moved past the human and went to check on the enchiladas. His doubts with Dani on the phone were nearly forgotten. He had no idea what the next day would bring, but for now, he was going to enjoy dinner with his daughter and a human who was fun to tease.

Chapter Eight

The next morning, Claire sipped her second cup of coffee and willed the fog to lift from her brain.