Outfoxed (14 page)

“Oh no you don’t.” She planted her hands on her hips and stared down at him, like an avenging, flame-haired angel. “You don’t get off that easily. I claimed you, Grady Chastell. You’re mine. My cat, my mate. So you’re going to quit being a martyr and claim me right back.”

He tried to sound weak and did his best to look small in the bed. The bandages on his arms and legs and chest helped. “I told you I love you, Gabby,” he said quietly, beaming inside.

“Yeah, well…” She seemed to run out of steam.

“I want you to have a good man. Not me.” He looked away.
And the Oscar goes to…

“You
are
a good man. You’re handsome and charming. You treat me like a princess, when you’re not trying to lie your way into my pants. I heard you before, Grady.” She sat by his bedside and stroked his face. Her touch had never felt so good. “I see you now. Your anger, your passion, your love.” She blinked, and genuine tears filled her eyes. “I love you right back, Grady Chastell.”

He smiled and knew he’d made a mistake. Too much satisfaction and not enough humility.

“A-ha! I knew you were faking!” But instead of chastising him for it, she squealed with laughter and hugged him tight, bruising him all over again. But this bruising felt good. “You’re perfect for me, you big fat liar.”

“Shit. I do love you, you know.”

“I know.” She kissed him all over his face.

“But if you ever even think about getting near Miles any time soon, I’ll kill him. Then I’ll shave you bald. Every inch of that beautiful red hair will be mine. And I do know that you’re vain about that hair, missy. Julia told me.”

“Okay, okay.” She snickered. “Got you though, didn’t I?”

“Yeah, yeah.”

Her mouth found his, and he was lost to the overwhelming feelings inside him. Passion, lust, love. Everything about Gabby suited him, especially her clever little hands.

“Jesus, Gabby. How do you do that?” he rasped and ended on a groan.

Her hand found its way under the blanket and around his hard cock without him noticing. Then it was just there, priming him to lose his mind and his seed at the same time.

He groaned. “You got me, all right. You always do.” He pulled the blanket away and watched her masturbate him. “I’ve loved for you for a long time, Gabby Easton.”

“Good.” Her smile was full of well-placed confidence.

“Now how about you take off those nasty jeans and climb on? Let’s get to work making some kit-cats.” Grady eagerly awaited holding a few babies with her looks and his temperament. Fox or cat, they’d have some fun-loving, smart-ass kids.

“I can do that.” She left him to lock the door, dropped her clothes, then raced back to him. She straddled him and eased over his erection.

They sighed in pleasure as she slid down until he rested fully inside her.

“I want you, and only you, Gabby.” He helped her move, slowly, up and down, while he rubbed her clit with sure strokes. “Only you bring me…joy.”

She froze for a moment, then leaned down to pinch his nipple.

He sucked in a breath and nearly exploded inside her when she slammed down hard on top of him.

“Bad kitty.” She laughed. “So very bad. I’m thinking we should bring some whips and chains into the bedroom to tame you.” She kissed him until he couldn’t think, his overwhelming need to surge up and climax close at hand. “I guess we don’t have so many…
miles
to go before we find true happiness.”

“Oh hell. That was just wrong. Not when I’m about to come inside you.” He should have been turned off, but her scent and touch and taste saturated everything. Not even mention of Miles could stop his rushing orgasm when she ground over him once more.

He shouted her name as he poured himself into her. Then he finished her off, rubbing that clit and teasing her breasts until she squeezed him tight, setting off a startling, second climax.

“Grady,” Gabby said between breaths. “I’ll love for you forever.” She panted. “Just promise me one thing.”

“Anything.” And he meant it.

“Never, ever, wear a top hat and bow tie to bed. And lose the ‘Foxy Lady’ soundtrack.”

He grinned. “The song, yeah. My foxy mate? No way in hell.”

Epilogue

Gabby stared from Dean to Stacey, not sure why the two of them continued to argue with one another when it was clear to anyone with two X chromosomes that Dean had it bad for the haughty feline.

She glanced at Grady, who bit his lip to keep from laughing and focused on his cards. Thursday night poker had resumed a month after the incident with the Miami cats. The entire town council had caught wind of it and called a special meeting. Now anyone not already a resident of Cougar Falls had to check in with the council to get permission to visit.

Not a popular ruling with the majority of the town, but it kept Ty and Burke happy. Until their mates had their babies, the men were acting like possessive, protective idiots. Yet Gabby had never seen her sister as content as she was with Ty.

Gabby stood behind Grady and stared at his royal flush. He had a winning hand. Hell, he had her.

She grinned.

Monty scowled at her. “Quit distracting me. All that red hair, those flashy grins.” He grumbled to the others, “Shouldn’t she be in with the women watching that stupid movie?”

The Ac-taw at the table were too smart to answer. Miles said nothing. Burke wisely kept his eyes on his cards, though his lips quirked. Joel—the lone bear—still sulked because he’d been in Florida when all the action had gone down. A few of the raptors sitting in looked from wolf to cat and muttered under their breath about illogical land dwellers.

She ignored the wolf and his bad luck. “Good luck, sweetie.” She kissed Grady on the cheek and sauntered out of the room.

When Monty swore, she knew Grady had beaten him, finally. They’d been working on his game. Sadly, her honey could hunt, fish and track like a pro. He couldn’t cook, dance or—until Gabby—play cards worth squat. But she’d helped him, because Gabby liked a mate who wanted to win.

When the theme song for the old Scooby-Doo cartoon sounded, she dragged Sophie out of the living room to the poker table.

“What’s up, Gabby?” the pretty wolf asked. “Oh no. Not more Scooby-Doo?”

Grady’s laughter reached her before the others. “Quick, Dean,” he shouted. “Grab the top hat and tie and put it on the wolf. Monty, I believe the phrase is,
Sophie, to go with your personal theme song, a magnificent serenade
. Hit it, wolf.”

Sophie looked perplexed as she watched a wolf with rhythm, wearing a top hat and bow tie, jamming to Scooby-Doo’s theme song. Grady looked so happy she thought he’d burst. He winked at her and mouthed, “I love you.”

She had a smug mate. She was surrounded by friends and family. Gabby patted her belly—in another eight months, they’d have a baby. Yep. She could more than handle this life…so long as Grady didn’t dance.

About the Author

Marie Harte is an avid reader who loves all things paranormal and futuristic. Reading romances since she was twelve, she fell in love with happy endings and knew writing was her calling.

Twenty-plus years later, the Marine Corps, a foray through Information Technology, and children, her dream has finally come true. Marie lives in Oregon with her family and loves hearing from readers.

To read more about Marie, visit
www.marieharte.com
.

Look for these titles by Marie Harte

Coming Soon:

Cougar Falls

A Matter of Pride

Right Wolf, Right Time

Now Available:

Cougar Falls

Rachel’s Totem

In Plain Sight

Feral Attraction

Foxy Lady

Outfoxed

Westlake Enterprises

To Hunt a Sainte

Storming His Heart

A Scorching Seduction

Enjoying the Show

Sins of Summer

Closing the Deal

There’s more than one way to outsmart a fox...

Foxy Lady

© 2010 Marie Harte

A
Cougar Falls
Story

Trust Julia Easton to screw up Sheriff Ty Roderick’s March Madness plans. The pixie-faced vixen might be the picture of feminine perfection, but she tests his innate sense of order to its limits. Weeks ago, he let his conscience turn down a proposition his body still burns to accept—then she vanished. Now he’s in the middle of Nowhere, Washington, racing to rescue her from danger.

There’s risk in leaving Cougar Falls, but it’s the only way Julia can hope to save her sister from making the same mistake she almost made with Ty. Settling down and having kits is one thing, but it can’t be done with a human, especially one from a hunting family. Unfortunately, her sister isn’t budging, and the fiancé’s brother won’t take Julia’s no for an answer, either.

When Ty comes riding to their rescue, Julia plans to use him and lose him. No way is she throwing herself at that alpha jerk’s feet in gratitude. Then Ty gives her the answer her heart still longs for: he wants to spend the rest of his life making things right. Now if only she can find the courage to say yes.

Warning: Beware a foxy sheriff, a backwoods bad guy, a cunning vixen, sexy escapades in and out of the bedroom, and the return of stubborn male shifters who think they know everything.

Enjoy the following excerpt for
Foxy Lady:

Ty swore under his breath as he dodged yet another pothole in what passed for a paved road in this crappy little town. For all that folks complained about Cougar Falls, the town council would have been caught dead before letting their streets look like this.

On either side of Main Street people parked pickup trucks and four-wheel drives next to the occasional sedan—all American-made. A diner, grocery store and pharmacy sat on the east side of Main, while the local hardware, sheriff’s office, hunting lodge and bar took up the west. On the few side streets in this less-than-picturesque small town, eclectic shops attempted to capitalize on the area. But from what Ty had seen, the surrounding lake, forest and mountains gave Nowhere, Washington its real grandeur.

His stomach grumbled again, his high metabolism making it nearly impossible to go too long without food. Unfortunately, instinct told him if he didn’t find Julia soon, the damned woman would find herself in more trouble than she could handle. Hunters. God almighty. Thoughts of the stubborn redhead awakened his libido from the hibernation he’d endured in her absence.
So
not what he wanted right now, not with his family’s constant pressure to procreate. As if that wasn’t bad enough, he was missing the game tonight at Burke’s place.

“Trust Julia to screw up March Madness for me,” he muttered as he left the main town behind and turned into a neat little convenience store. Thank God this place had a paved lot. After filling up the fuel tank on his truck, he hurried through the bitter wind.

Inside the store, Ty grabbed packets of jerky, some trail mix and a water.

“That it for ya?” an older man asked and rubbed his grizzled cheeks. He wore a plaid flannel shirt with a nametag pinned to the pocket—
Bart, owner and operator.

“And the gas.” After Ty paid, he took out a picture of Julia and shoved it across the counter. “You seen this woman?”

He stared down at the same feminine perfection the old man studied. Thick, auburn hair covered her shoulders and framed a pixie-like face. Her light brown eyes flashed with humor in the picture, and he remembered her laughing at something Gerald had said. Of course, that was several months ago, back when the blasted woman had a sense of humor. Now he was lucky to get even a glare, and all because he’d done the right thing.

Fuming about a night he wished he could redo, he asked again, “You seen her or not?”

The old man smiled. “Yeah.” He said nothing more.

“Where is she?”

“Why do you want to know?”

“She’s a friend of mine.”

“Then shouldn’t you know where she is?”

Ty gritted his teeth. The wily old coot might as well have been Ac-taw. He danced around words as fine as any shapeshifting silver fox Ty had encountered.

Ty wanted to flash his badge and demand answers, but he had no jurisdiction here. And explaining Cougar Falls and its citizens to any outsider without council permission would not only bring danger to the people Ty had sworn to protect, but it would get him kicked out of his clan in a heartbeat. A Shifter without a clan had no place in Cougar Falls. Ty couldn’t imagine living anywhere else. Ever.

He could force the old man to answer, but Ty didn’t believe in bullying when a cagey fox could handle a challenge in a far better way. Nothing satisfied him so much as matching wits and coming out the winner. Especially since he couldn’t afford to lose.

Ty rubbed his throat, feeling the press of responsibility tightening around his neck. He glanced at Julia’s picture again, worry for the slight woman increasing his urgency to find her and make sure of her safety.