“I’m not your little woman,” Levi snapped. “I don’t need to be protected and I will
not
stand out here like a simpering, brainless idiot while you play the part of the hero. If that’s all you think of me…”
Lyndon shut his mouth against a lie claiming Levi had misunderstood. He could no more lie to this man than he could pull the moon down and hold it in his hands. “All right. I’m sorry. I just don’t know how to handle all this—all these emotions and instincts I feel when I’m with you.” Lyndon contemplated stopping there, but figured he might as well finish what he wanted to say and damn being coy. “Or when I think about you. And I don’t want you hurt, okay? I won’t apologise for that or try to stop wanting you safe.” Any amusement he felt withered as he tipped his head towards the room. “This, it’s a threat, a promise. I’ve been followed for months and I don’t know why or by whom.”
Levi was looking, slowly moving his eyes across the area, and Lyndon wondered if his vision was sharper than a human’s, just like his sense of smell was obviously greater than Lyndon’s.
Lyndon retained only a hint of his cougar’s senses while in human form. This didn’t seem to be the case for Levi, and Lyndon wondered again if there was something wrong with him. Maybe that was why his father had run him off, why another cougar was after him. If his mother had been a cougar, would she have killed him at birth or left him to die because he wasn’t as right as nature had intended? Then again, is was also possible he was just whining too much, even if he was keeping it to an internal—
“Stop it,” Levi said, touching Lyndon’s hip. “You’re giving me a headache from all the worrying about whatever it is that’s on your mind. I don’t see anyone watching, and I’m fairly certain the other shifter isn’t in your room. The scent isn’t fresh, though it’s only a couple of hours old. Shall we check it out?”
“Yeah,” Lyndon muttered, a little stunned because he could still only detect the other cougar’s scent faintly, much less put it down to a time and level of ‘freshness’. He started towards the room again and once they reached the door, he couldn’t stop himself from placing a hand on Levi’s shoulder. “I know you aren’t a wuss or whatever, but can you let me go in first? I can’t shake this instinct that says I have to protect you. It—” He pressed his other hand to his stomach, pushed hard enough to make himself grunt. “It’s like a knot here, burning and I just can’t ignore it.”
Levi’s expression remained blank, but something in his eyes softened, looked less chilled. He touched Lyndon’s stomach and it Lyndon’s knees weak. “Okay, but I am going to be right on your heels.” He stroked Lyndon’s belly through his shirt, distracting him for a second as want spiralled down to his groin. Levi smiled crookedly and pulled his hand back. “After you.”
Lyndon willed back the cloud of need and turned to the door. The odour was stronger, burning his nostrils as he pushed the door open and surveyed the small room. “At least he didn’t wreck it,” he murmured. Except for the dresser drawers being open and his clothes piled onto the bed, nothing was out of place. Lyndon sighed and walked in, Levi so close behind him he smacked against Lyndon’s back when he stopped.
Now Lyndon could detect the pungent aroma, could pick out the hours it had taken to saturate the air. “He’s gone,” he said, craning his neck to get a glimpse into the bathroom. He pushed the door open and flinched when he saw a hint of his reflection in the mirror above the bathroom sink.
A little jumpy, dumbass?
The shower curtain was pulled back. There was nowhere else someone could have been hiding in there. It was also obvious to his senses that he and Levi were the only two people in the place.
Levi exhaled, his breath wafting over the back of Lyndon’s neck and drawing goose bumps up on his skin. Lyndon started to reach for him but Levi moved around to the bed and poked at the pile of clothes. He wrinkled his nose in away Lyndon found endearing. “This stuff is rank. What kind of jerk s
prays
like a wild cat? It’s just a nasty thing to do.”
“At least that’s all he did this time,” Lyndon muttered, thinking of the other ways the cougar shifter had made his presence known before. “Let’s just say this guy lets his cat have its way when it comes to marking his territory.”
Levi glanced up at him and frowned. “This isn’t his territory, though. You’re the first cougar shifter I’ve ever met—the first of any other kind of shifter I’ve ever met—and I’ve lived here all my life. If anything, this would be your territory, except,” Levi shot him a wicked smile, “it already belongs to a family of snow leopards.”
Obviously Lyndon’s cougar wasn’t as territorial as Lyndon had feared, because Levi’s proclamation didn’t make his cat protest. Instead his cougar purred and pushed to touch, so Lyndon did, reaching out to trace the smile on Levi’s lips, first using a finger followed by the tip of his tongue as Lyndon cupped Levi’s nape.
Levi opened for him beautifully, his lips parting and his tongue following Lyndon’s lead. A soft mewling sound bled from Levi and Lyndon swallowed the sound then pulled Levi closer. Levi rested his hands on Lyndon’s hips, not holding, just touching, and writhed against him in a way that threatened to demolish Lyndon’s restraint. The urge to push Levi down and take him here, to fill the room with the scent of their mating instead of the offensive odour of the other cougar was so overwhelming it caused Lyndon to jerk back and stumble. He caught himself by grabbing onto the bed and glanced at Levi as they both panted.
“Come back to my place,” Levi rasped, looking a little stunned as soon as he said it. Then he forged on before Lyndon could figure out a response. “This room is vile, and even if Oscar comes and helps us clean it, you at least will still be able to detect the other cougar’s scent. And he knows where you are—”
That snapped Lyndon to and he straightened up while anger set a pounding off in his temple. “Which means he will only find me again. I don’t think you’d want Oscar endangered, or yourself.”
Levi tilted his head to the side, his auburn hair brushing over his shoulder as he slowly grinned. “It’s sweet, you being worried, but you misunderstand. It’s not just Oscar there. Four of my five siblings live on the property as well, as do my parents and grandparents. Trust me when I say that anyone who fucks with Grandma Marybeth is going to end up in bloody pieces on the ground. She’s the reason my family is here. Originally Marybeth lived in the Himalayas…” Levi trailed off, a rosy colour tinting his cheeks.
Lyndon didn’t know what to say. He suspected he wanted Levi more than just physically, and the idea of a home, a family, caused the yearning Lyndon tried to keep buried to rise to the surface and throb like a living, breathing thing. Levi seemed to take his silence for acquiescence, and Lyndon couldn’t find it in himself to protest when Levi kept talking.
“Chances are, anyway, whoever this is will have seen us together, or will catch my scent if he returns. He could be watching the room now. I’d think he would be, even though I didn’t see anyone. There are lots of places to hide. My point is, he’d find me anyway, and wouldn’t you rather us be together if he did find me?”
Lyndon wasn’t sure if Levi was trying to convince him or both of them, but the point sunk in and hit its intended target. “All right, I’ll come.”
Levi’s relief was palpable, and those pale eyes crinkled around the edges as he smiled. “Okay, okay that’s good. You can tell me more about yourself and whatever you know about the weirdo who did this. Maybe we can figure out what’s going on—and we can ask Oscar. He’s really smart.” Levi grimaced and looked around the room. “And good at cleaning. Mind if I call him and ask him to come lend a hand?”
“As long as he doesn’t attack me and have me stuffed,” Lyndon groused. This wasn’t going to endear him to Oscar, and Lyndon knew Levi and Oscar were close. He’d rather not get any further on Oscar’s bad side. He really thought Oscar was okay. Kind of cute in a possessed crazy terrier way, at least when it came to his brother. Lyndon thought they’d get along just fine, eventually, if he worked hard at getting Oscar to like him—and if he didn’t run again.
Chapter Nine
Levi wasn’t surprised at all when Lyndon kicked the cabin door shut with his heel before pinning Levi against the wall. The tension in the truck on the drive home had been so thick it had practically weighted the air, and despite both men’s claim that they would talk, this was exactly what Levi had been hoping would happen. He didn’t think he could concentrate on a conversation when he was burning up with desire.
His back hit the wall hard enough to knock the breath from his lungs, then Lyndon was on him, pressed so tightly to him Levi could feel Lyndon’s heart beating a rapid staccato.
“We’ll talk later, much later,” Lyndon growled right before crushing Levi’s lips under his.
Levi’s mind shorted out and hot spikes of need shot to his dick. Lyndon wedged a hand between them and cupped Levi’s balls, giving them a squeeze that had Levi’s ass clenching. He looped his arms around Lyndon’s shoulders, grabbing his shirt and rending seams. His mouth was plundered, Lyndon claiming every bit of it using forceful sweeps of his tongue.
“
He’ll
talk now, before he mauls my grandson anymore. There are just some things a grandma shouldn’t see.”
Levi yelped and banged his head on the wall. Lyndon cursed and stumbled back, swinging around to where Grandma Marybeth stood in the kitchen doorway. Levi couldn’t look away from Lyndon’s mouth, his lips rosy and wet from their kiss, parted while he panted, much like Levi was doing.
“Who are you?” Lyndon asked then closed his eyes and snorted. “Stupid question. Marybeth, right?”
Levi had filled Lyndon in on who was who in his family during the time they were working on cleaning the hotel room, which still stank to high heaven in his opinion. If he had his way, Lyndon wouldn’t be returning there. Wouldn’t be leaving, either.
Marybeth, all five-foot-two of her, gave Lyndon a look that should have scorched the skin right off him. “And you’re Lyndon Hines. At least you aren’t stupid. Oscar had his doubts. Oscar’s a good boy. He told me what happened as soon as he and Drake got back.”
And a bit of tattling was what Levi got for not insisting Oscar hang around and wait for them to finish up the room. Instead, Levi had agreed it would be best to let Oscar ride with Drake since their other brother was in town.
“Oscar.” Levi closed his eyes as he slumped against the wall. Right now it was all that was holding him up. The sudden switch from being wildly aroused to not, courtesy of his grandmother’s appearance, had sapped the strength from his body. He slid down the wall anyway, grunting as he landed on his butt. “I’m going to strangle Oscar.”
Lyndon’s sharp laughter had Levi snapping his eyes open and glaring at him. Lyndon shook his head and casually leaned on the back of the couch. “He’s just watching out for you.”
“As am I,” Marybeth said, walking over to stand beside Levi. “Get up. You’re not some wilting flower type.”
Cheeks burning, Levi did as he was told, averting his face from Lyndon.
Marybeth patted his back then nudged him. “Have a seat. You too,” she added to Lyndon.
Both men sat on the couch, Lyndon unhesitatingly placing his hand on Levi’s knee as he watched Marybeth. She had greying hair and soft features, and should have appeared grandmotherly. Instead she reminded Levi of a leopardess protecting her young. Her grey eyes glowed, a fierceness in their depths that was almost tangible, and her rounded, wrinkled face seemed to sharpen, giving her the look of a huntress after prey. She studied Lyndon for a full minute then sat back in her chair gracefully, like a queen reclining on her throne.
“Cougar, Oscar said.” She cut her eyes at Levi and let him know in one quick glance she wasn’t happy with him “Since Levi didn’t seem to think it important to inform me about his…encounter you two had a week ago, you get to answer all the questions.”
Lyndon settled into the cushions, leaning back and pulling Levi closer to his side. It was weird to be cuddling in front of his grandma, but Levi wasn’t about to protest. Not when Lyndon felt so right beside him.
“I would think Levi had a good reason for not telling you about our ‘encounter’. Most grandkids wouldn’t run to their grandmothers and tell them about their sex life, would they? Especially not if it involved a nameless stranger and a down and dirty roll in the woods.”
If he’d said it to shock Marybeth, he hadn’t succeeded. Levi didn’t think that was the case, anyway. He’d realised he could kind of pick up Lyndon’s moods, little flashes of what he felt though not exactly thoughts. More like impressions, maybe. All he was getting from Lyndon now was the desire to get this conversation over with. And to get Levi under him.
“Jesus,” Levi whispered, nestling closer to Lyndon.
Lyndon tightened his arm around Levi and cupped the back of his head, burying his fingers in Levi’s hair—which shouldn’t have turned him on, but damn it, everything about Lyndon turned him on! Levi shifted on the couch, hoping his erection wouldn’t be evident, but one glance at Marybeth and he knew better. She would easily scent every odour in the air, including his arousal. And Lyndon’s, which hadn’t faded much at all.