Night of the Cougar - ISBN #1-4199-0501-5
Maka Bradshaw, wildlife forensics expert, is drawn to Blue Gulch, a remote town surrounded by awesome, mysterious and deadly mountains, after the death of her friend at the hands of a cougar unlike any other. But something isn’t right in the small town and one look into the mysterious amber eyes of Tocho, the man who owns the timberland where the cougar roams, and she feels her reality shift.
Tocho is more than Native American, more than a tie to the wilderness. At once irresistibly drawn to and scared half to death by the lure of his “cougar eyes”, Maka takes the first step of a journey with Tocho that thrusts her into a world of primal urges and needs and forces her to question all she knows, to see the woman she is-or can be.
As she burrows deeper into the mystery surrounding her friend’s death, she discovers the enigmatic Tocho holds a link to her past-and a glimpse of a future she can either run from…or embrace…if she has the courage.
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Excerpt
Maka leaned back in the wooden deck chair she’d found at the edge of the lake and contemplated her surroundings. Growing up in the wild and wooly cattle and rodeo town of Pendleton in eastern Oregon had prepared her for a rural existence, but although she spotted lights from the campground across the lake, as far as she knew, she had this half to herself.
Being surrounded by trees and rocks and earth and brush with only mosquitoes, frogs, fish, owls and ducks to keep her company was a little disconcerting. Fortunately, the cabin had several outside lights which cast a silver glow on the water, and the moon was full. Besides, she was on her second glass of wine and the instrumental playing on the stereo had put her into a contemplative mood.
Contemplative or horny?
If she ever got her hands on the brassy broad who’d taken up residence in her mind, she’d wring her scrawny neck. In the meantime, said broad was right. Some of her condition came as a result of going down memory lane with regards to Cliff and the time they’d spent banging each other until they’d come to their senses. Then there was the matter of a green-eyed man who’d stroked various and sundry parts of her anatomy without so much as touching her.
Get your mind out from between your legs, Maka. There’s a cougar out there somewhere, remember? A killer. You might not have much meat on your bones, but maybe he’s not that picky.
He?
Straightening, she planted her reluctant mind fully on the cougar who’d apparently killed Cliff. There’d only been a handful of documented human cougar kills. Cliff had spent a lot of time in the wilderness and knew how to conduct himself around wildlife. He’d gotten unbelievably close to the massive male he’d sent her the video of and had survived. It’s possible he’d been brought down by a female protecting her cubs, but what if the large male he’d photographed had killed him?
What do you mean, if?
Cold fingers raced down her spine, bringing her to her feet. She was sitting on a nearly new wooden dock with the cabin about a hundred feet away. Even as a child, she hadn’t had nightmares, no monsters living under her bed or in her closet. Why then was she suddenly so damn nervous?
Because a cougar killed Cliff, you idiot! Ripped him apart.
Wine glass gripped in her fingers, she turned toward the well-lit cabin with its substantial door and dead bolt. She took two steps, three.
A figure stepped out from behind a mature pine.
Heart hammering so she thought she might be having a stroke, Maka gripped the glass. The slender stem broke, shattering any thoughts she had of using it as a weapon.
The figure-male-came closer. Despite the fight or flight response raging through her, all she could do was stare.
The man moved with impossible grace as if possessed of a single, well-trained and all-encompassing muscle, perhaps weightless. His boots made no sound.
“You’re here,” he said. It wasn’t a question.
Tocho. “Yes.” Her response sounded weak, feminine, small. “What are you…”
He was coming closer, still moving in that utterly beautiful way of his. Although enough space remained between them that she shouldn’t have felt his body’s full impact, she did. His skin seemed to be sliding along hers, his breath mingling with hers, their heartbeats coming together.
Angry at herself for having had so much wine that her perception of reality had been dulled, she nevertheless wrapped her reaction around her. This wasn’t the first time a man had turned her on. On rare and unsettling occasions, she’d look at a man and the need to fuck him would become so strong that it terrified her. Damn it, she should be used to this hot and carnal reaction. Hell, given her recent celibacy, she should have expected it.
But this…this felt like being in heat.
She’d rooted herself in place and become a prisoner of her needs, awaiting Tocho’s command, watching him swallow the distance between them, feeling him take over her space. When he held out his hand, she handed him the ruined glass. Not taking his gaze off her, he poured out what remained of the wine and tossed the glass into the lake. He took a single step.
He must have reached out again because her hands were now in his, and he was sliding them behind her, his grip handcuffing her.
His body blanketed hers, circled hers, demanded compliance. Barely breathing, she looked up and into his eyes, but the night had claimed them, leaving her with nothing except shadow. Nevertheless, she continued to stare, not thinking, feeling, reacting, acting.
Don’t fight me, he ordered.
Maka, who’d fought her way into her career and loved standing toe-to-toe with arrogant defense attorneys and their heartless clients and believed with all her heart that animals needed protection from the greatest predator of all, swayed in the grip of the man who held her.
He shifted position, widening his stance so his legs now blanketed hers. At the same time, he drew her closer so his pelvis pushed against her belly. His potent cock prodded, promised, insisted. Despite the fear nibbling at her nerves, her thoughts slid down until she was aware of nothing except that bulge and the message behind it. Her need to be fucked.
Do not fear me.
I’m beyond that. All that matters is you-the language of our bodies.
Night circled her. It was as if the lights had been turned out, leaving nothing except the moon and stars to ease the darkness. Even greater darkness existed in her mind. Only need defined her.
Although she would have fallen if not for his hold, he continued to bend her back. Instinct insisted that she yank her arms free and wrap them around his neck, but she didn’t. She didn’t trust him to bear her weight. In truth, she trusted nothing about him. But the alternative would have forced her to face the midnight hours alone, and she couldn’t do that.
Or maybe the truth was, hunger’s teeth were too sharp for anything except feeding.
He arched over her and made her feel small. Powerful arms supported her and she became weightless. His mouth was only inches away, and her lips burned with the need to crush them against his, but he hadn’t given her permission so she fought her agony, fought her will, fought everything except this extraordinary man.
Straightening, he locked her against him. Because she couldn’t use her hands, she explored his strength with her breasts, belly, and pelvis. His grip was so powerful that she couldn’t move, but she didn’t want to. If only he’d stripped them both naked!
“We’re going inside,” he whispered against her ear. “And once we’re in there, you will do everything I tell you to.”
“I-I am?”
“Last chance, Earth Woman. If you don’t want what’s going to happen, order me to leave. Otherwise…”
“Earth Woman? How did you-”
“How did I know what Maka means? Because I’m Native. Last chance. Do you want me to leave?”
Oh god. “N-no.”