Prey & Prejudice: Cougar Falls, Book 7 (13 page)

He swallowed a groan, her bathing suit ingrained in his mind’s eye.

Miles had more important things to worry about. He still had an itch about those raptors. That they’d been quiet this long, and not one of his people had seen or heard from them since the altercation in the Coconut Lounge. That absence hinted at trouble to come.

He checked the time and stood. “Another stellar Wednesday afternoon.” He glared at Quince, who smiled at him.

“Doing a great job with things, boss.”

“Shut up.”

Quince chuckled.

“I’ll be in my office for the next hour or two if anyone needs me. Don’t wait dinner on me.” He paused to look again at Zoe. She stared at him with golden eyes, and to his dismay, he felt a shiver. A combination of arousal, affection and oddly enough, wariness. She seemed to have her sights fixed on him, the way a panther stared down a tasty rabbit.

He frowned at her, feeling no better when she gave him a toothy grin. Muttering under his breath about sly felines and their obnoxious brothers, he left to discuss business with his sister in Montana and their new West Coast friends.

The discussion went better than he might have hoped, and he signed off for the day feeling a return to his appetite. It helped to have accomplished something more than adding worry to his plate. With Stacey firmly in place to deal with any issues that might arise before he could fly back out there to check on their new warehouse, he contented himself with a job well done. He deserved the dinner his stomach demanded he find. Preferably a nice juicy steak. He was tired of chicken, because every time he thought about birds, those aggravating raptors came to mind.

When he entered the kitchen, he found a plate waiting for him in the microwave.

“Ah, June.” He smiled, loving the housekeeper—a bonus for having to temporarily give up his private residence. He didn’t see anyone in the main living area, for once, and after reheating his porterhouse steak complete with sweet-potato fries and a nice salad, he sat in the living room, turned on the stereo for some smooth jazz, and started to eat.

He’d just about finished his meal when he smelled her. High-end perfume and sultry cat.

“I hope I’m not intruding,” Alissa Roberto said as she entered the room, her heels clicking along the tile. She wore a rose-colored halter dress that clung to her curves, accented by strappy heels that only emphasized her sleek calves and the lean muscle in her shapely body. No two ways about it, Alissa was all woman. She batted her eyes and gave him a shy smile.

A month ago, he would have pegged her as sincere. Tonight he simply stared at her, unspeaking.

She huffed and skirted the couch to sit adjacent to him in a plush leather chair. “Not you too.”

He raised a brow and continued to finish his meal.

“I thought you of all people would understand.” The sly mask of innocence slid off her face to be replaced by the real Alissa. An intelligent, hard woman with something to prove. “I’m truly sorry about before, Miles. Harming Quince or you was never my intent.”

She didn’t smell of lies, but then her perfume made it difficult to detect the subtle nuances of emotion. Miles had a keener nose than most, but he’d already been fooled by Alissa once. He had no intention of making that same mistake again.

“Then what did you have planned, Alissa? Because Lex nearly ruined the pride. Then Greg Ayers tried to do the same, splitting us down the middle while you played power games.”

She flushed. “I’m a poor judge of character, I admit.” She sighed. “All I ever wanted was to help the pride.”

“You expect me to believe that after all your lies?”

“You’ll believe what you want. It’s the truth.”

To his surprise, she seemed not to be lying. “How is killing Quince and staging a coup helping anyone but yourself?”

“A good question,” she said wryly, showing a sense of humor about herself he never would have credited her. “Before Lex arrived, I wanted to do more with our people. But Michael had things in hand, and you know how the elders are about change.”

He nodded.

“My family is rich. But my father scuttled me off to PR work looking pretty and not much else. I wanted to do more, to have a real impact. I could do that with the pride if I had a chance. But we’re still pretty patriarchal.”

“And you thought Lex would be a better change?”

“Lex was an asshole.”

“On that we agree.” Lex Gates had been a psychotic dickhead out for number one. He ran over and destroyed those who stood in the way of his pleasures.

“At first I thought he wanted me.” She flushed a becoming rose, yet Miles didn’t trust her humility. “But he was using me to get into the inner workings, using my connections and money to get closer to Michael, then
Stacey
.” No love lost between Alissa and his sister. She paused. “It hurt my pride that he’d choose her over me.”

He again sensed honesty in her quietly spoken words.

“I made a bad judgment call. I thought Lex would shake things up and give us an edge over those who would encroach on our territory. Michael always wanted to deal peaceably with everyone else, but I thought a heavier hand was needed. Make an example of those gray wolves just once, and everyone would get the message.”

She had a point. Too many pride wars around the country had decimated cat numbers. Hell, in Cougar Falls, they’d only had three felines in the pride before Miles’s sisters had moved in. “Michael didn’t agree, I take it?”

She shook her head. “He smiled at me and encouraged me to help financially, even socially with our females. But he never took me seriously, not like Lex appeared to.”

“Lex fooled a lot of people until it was too late. But Ayers?” Just a few weeks ago she’d thrown her lot in with the fool, thinking to take the pride from Quince.

“Ayers didn’t have the strength to rule. I knew that. I was using him to test Quince. I thought Quince could beat him, but he needed others to see he wasn’t weak.” She stared at him with cold dark eyes, her beauty as much a mask as her demureness.

Alissa craved purpose and power in equal amounts, and he started to understand how everyone had been so wrong about her. This woman rarely let others see her as more than a vain man-eater. “You’re not weak. Everyone knows you can and will do what’s necessary to better the pride. I’ve heard you don’t want to rule, but you will to help. That’s why everyone loves you, Miles. Because you’ll sacrifice your needs to do what’s best for the good of all.”

“Am I supposed to thank you for the compliment?”

“Not at all.” She ran a hand through her hair, the black stuff gleaming in the soft light from a nearby lamp. Darkness had fallen hours ago, and the household staff had departed just after dinner, leaving him in a mostly empty house while his lieutenants made their rounds.

Alissa stared at him, and he stared back, waiting.

“I’m here to apologize. I know no one trusts me, and I only have myself to blame.” When he said nothing more, she blew out a breath. “You’re not making this easy.”

“What do you want, exactly?”

“I want what I’ve always wanted. To do more than sit around smiling, the pretty face of Roberto Towers. I’d like nothing more than to help rule the pride. I have a lot to offer besides my money and my looks. I’m smart, I know people, and I have no problem doing whatever you need to help you.”

He hadn’t expected her to offer herself to him on a silver platter. Yet he sensed honesty in her words and knew he should tread warily in his reply. For all that she’d done to hurt his friends, she wasn’t an evil woman. Petty, yes, and spiteful at times. But her parents loved her, and she did have her share of friends.

It had never set well with Miles to be deliberately cruel, especially to a female. “Alissa…I’m not looking for a mate.”

She nodded. “I know that. But to rule you need one.” She bit her lip. “I, well, I know Zoe Castille is back. And there are rumors she plans to claim you, but I didn’t think you’d made up your mind yet.”

He frowned. “Claim
me
?”

Alissa nodded, her eyes clear. “She’s pretty aggressive, but I don’t hold that against her. I’m aggressive too. I think women should have a more equal say in the pride than we’ve had.”

“Something my sister agrees with.” He needed to look into exactly what Joy and the others were complaining about. He’d never sensed any issues, and they had females in the senior council. Even a judge or two. Yet here another woman complained about not having equality.

Still, Miles had no intention of being claimed. Ever. He was a man, damn it. When he decided to take a mate,
he’d
do the asking.

Alissa sat straighter in her seat. “I didn’t mean to offend you. If you’ve accepted the mating, I apologize. I didn’t scent it, but maybe because it’s so new. I don’t want to stir more trouble—”

“
No.
No claiming. When I’m ready to take a mate, I will. But no matter what the council says, I won’t be rushed.” He speared her with a look. “Not by them or anyone else.”

“I understand. Believe me.” She stood and shook her head. “I really am sorry about the past. I know I can’t make it right. Only with time will the others see I’m not such a bad person. Just a misunderstood one.”

He stood as well and escorted her to the door. He put his hand on her lower back out of courtesy, and to his bemusement, his cat didn’t like her perfume. Nor did the feline like him rubbing against her.

Not rubbing, just being courteous,
he told it.

Rubbing, touching.
The cat hissed.
Wrong.

Alissa didn’t do anything unseemly. She didn’t try to get closer, turn and stumble into him for a kiss. She simply walked to the door, opened it, then paused. “I know you don’t trust me. Hell, I wouldn’t in your shoes. But maybe we could get together just for coffee or a drink. I’d actually like to talk about putting some of your designs in the stores in our hotels. But I don’t want you to think this is a play for anything. Despite what you might think, I take my business seriously. I don’t want to muddy up our association with an impression that I’m buying you. Besides, we both know you’re worth more than I am.”

Perhaps, but it was by a close margin. Miles kept on top of the pride’s finances, and he knew exactly how much the Robertos contributed and pulled in from their hotels.

“I appreciate your candor.”

“Thank you. And I appreciate you not throwing me out on my ass the moment you saw me.” She smiled, and he found her not unattractive. Just not as beautiful as he once had. Her eyes weren’t the right shade of gold, her hair not the blue-black he preferred.

He smiled back at her. “No problem. Everyone deserves a second chance.” He closed the door after her, lost in thought. Alissa Roberto could be valuable. She wanted a larger role in the pride, but he’d have to trust her to give her any responsibilities. Did he dare?

Unfortunately, he couldn’t stay focused on Alissa, because he couldn’t forget that nonsense about Zoe claiming him. He should have been flattered, but even his cat disliked the notion of a female making the moves. Miles would do the claiming and the choosing. He didn’t think of himself necessarily as dominant, but he sure the hell wouldn’t just roll over for a sexy feline, no matter how good she smelled.

Miles took advantage of his alone time to catch up on some mindless paperwork while he indulged in a forty-six-year-old bottle of Glen Garioch he’d been saving for the right occasion. After his day, he figured he deserved it.

Sometime later, when his eyes grew bleary, he heard Jace and Ellis arguing in muted whispers from the direction of the kitchen. June would no doubt have returned by now as well. If there’d been any trouble, someone would have alerted him. It came as no surprise that neither Quince nor Joy had shown up that evening, since they’d finished their move into their own home. With a smile, he readied for bed, glad his sister had a mate worthy of her.

He forced himself not to wonder what trouble Zoe might have gotten into as he undressed and slid between the sheets of his bed. Brain dead and exhausted, he fell into a dreamless sleep, comforted by the imagined scent of Zoe Castille nearby. “Sweet as candy,” he muttered and rolled over, hugging his pillow.

Zoe stared at him from a corner of his room, not surprised the big oaf hadn’t sensed her near. A small dose of Hunter mist had camouflaged her scent, allowing her to hunt for the raptors without giving herself away. She’d found them, as she’d suspected, holed up in the city just waiting to make their move.

Lisette wasn’t happy with how things had gone down last week. Her mate was less than pleased, but he’d wanted to return home. Good old Oscar. More comfortable with spreadsheets and databases than usurping anyone’s throne.

Lisette’s brother, however, would prove the real threat. Brian had an aggressive streak a mile wide, and having gained a foothold in Philadelphia recently, he sought to further his empire. She’d never liked the lecherous jerk, and the way he used his people sickened her. Before this thing with those damn birds ended, she had a feeling Bill and others she knew and liked might be hurt.

Bad enough she’d had to spy on the birds while Jace and Ellis policed some unruly cats tonight. Then she’d returned to make her play for Miles, only to find him cozied up with
that
woman.