Outfoxed

Chapter Eight

Gabby wanted to spit she was so mad. She’d been through shit with Hunters a few months ago. From them she expected callous treatment. But from her own kind? And cats at that?

“This one’s a natural redhead, I’ll bet. Nice rack. And did you see that ass?” one of them said—the one with grabby hands.

Others laughed. Four males, from what she heard and sensed.

“She’ll do,” the leader, Ronnie, commented as if she were of no import. Just something to tide him over until something better came along. “But she’s not the one he wants. Stacey Bermin. You make sure everyone knows not to touch her. Lex is saving her for something special.”

“Sure thing, Ronnie.”

“Radio the others.” He paused. “But make sure they don’t dump Miles. Lex needs to teach the cat a lesson in front of the pride. Rebellion won’t be tolerated.”

“Right, boss.”

Please. If Ronnie was anyone’s boss, she was sleeping with Miles. The asshole had the weakest voice and scent she’d ever experienced. So…mousy.

The fox within twitched with amusement.

She stretched, intentionally arching her back to emphasize her breasts. For once, she thanked the Maker for being generous.

A few whistles told her she’d been noticed.

She couldn’t see much light beyond the blindfold. Considering she and Miles had spent an hour at the Fox’s Henhouse, she knew the sun must have set. Which would have been advantageous if she hadn’t been with Shifters who could scent her and hunted best at twilight.

If she waited much longer to escape, she’d be too far out from Cougar Falls to get any help. Not that she didn’t know the others would come for her, but she’d rather be found sooner than later, especially with these yahoos drooling over her.

Remembering what had once worked for her with Hunters, she used the same distraction now. Namely, her body.

“Look, I don’t know what’s going on, but I’m not a part of it.”

“You are now.” She recognized Ronnie’s voice.

“But I don’t want to be. Let me show you how uninteresting I really am. Once you see me, the real me, you’ll know you’re making a huge mistake. Let me convince you.” She awkwardly unfastened the top buttons of her blouse, her bound hands making it difficult to function.

“Fuck, yeah.” A few of them were loud in their agreement, but Ronnie remained mute.

Then he said, “Fine. But don’t try anything, sweetheart. Blow the boys and we’ll see if we can’t manage to lose you for a while. My brother doesn’t have to know.”

Like she really believed he’d let her go. But she smiled. “I knew you were smart.” She sat, docile, while every bone in her body demanded she tear into the creeps touching her all over.

The blindfold lifted, and she made note of two men behind her in the far back seat. One sat next to her, while Ronnie and the driver were in the front. Five cats, not four. Shit.

“Take it off, sweet thing.”

The dickhead next to her would be the first to feel her wrath. She held out her hands and let him cut the rope from her wrists. Then she removed her clothing, forcing herself not to flinch at the heavy weight of so many gazes on her body, of the rough hands stroking her shoulders, her breasts, her thighs.

Had she not been so angry, she might have feared the worst. But Gabby had too much fight in her not to go down swinging. She sidled closer to the Shifter next to her and crawled into his lap, getting closer to the door.

The driver had slowed, and when she bent lower to nuzzle the idiot’s cheek, she noted her whereabouts. Perfect.

With one hand, she braced against the door near the lock, while with the other she dug between her body and his, reaching for the iron bar beneath his pants.

“She feels good,” he narrated in a thick voice. “Lean back and let me suck your tits.”

“How about you lean back so I can let that monster out of your pants? I think he needs some attention, don’t you?”

The others hooted, and she swore to herself she’d never look at another online porn site as long as she lived if she made it out of here alive. Because this was as close as she ever wanted to get to group sex, real or virtual.

“Good idea.”

Yeah, I’m full of them.

He let go of her and fumbled with the snap of his jeans. The SUV slowed even more as the driver continued to look more in the rearview than at the road. Even Ronnie had turned around in his seat.

Anticipation filled her. The car door remained unlocked. Her hand had reached the handle.

“Suck it, bitch.”

Oh that was it. The B word.

“You bet.”

She started her shift and raked claws over his erection at the same time she yanked open the door and flew out. She fell onto a furry body, a nimble fox that could take a beating and run like lightning. “Suck this, bitch,” she yapped back at the SUV, aware she didn’t have time to dawdle.

The vehicle jerked to a stop, and the door flew open to show four furious Shifters in various states of undress while the fifth howled like a damn dog, crying in pain as he fell out onto the ground. Not too far behind, another vehicle came barreling down after them. Hell, more Miami cats?

“She’s a fucking fox?” Ronnie sneered. “I thought she was a cat. Dumbass. You grabbed the wrong woman!” He smacked the injured man and kicked him in the crotch, adding to his pain.

She only wished she’d smashed his testicles too on the way out. Turning, she raced back toward Cougar Falls, dodging her way in and out of the forest to leave a fox’s scent. She couldn’t wait to shift into her cat. Between the cat, the fox and the woman, she planned to run rings around them. Which would give her rescuers enough time to find her and get her the hell out of Dodge.

She hoped.

Cats screamed, and she ran faster. Grady Chastell, move your ass!

Grady followed the eagle in the sky, thankful for Sean Whitefeather’s direction. The bird turned after circling and landed on the hood of his truck. “She’s about three miles west. I spotted around ten cats, but there could be more. You want help?”

Having known and been reluctant friends with Sean for years, Grady had no problem hearing him. “You bet your ass. Go back and let Burke know what you found. We’re worried there might be more trying to make a move on the pride.”

“Outstanding. Time to clean up a few naughty pussies. I’ll grab my brothers.” Sean screeched with glee and took off again, his seven-foot wingspan impressive in the extreme.

Not to be outdone, Grady whipped the vehicle back on the road and onto a dirt path that would cut a good mile off the distance.

“Hurry up,” Dean urged from the passenger side and embraced his animal spirit.

Behind him, Ty and Monty sat already shifted, a silver fox and a gray wolf, ready to race to Gabby’s rescue. At times like these, Grady loved the pride more than anything. His family, his blood. Cat or not, all the men in this truck were loyal to the bone. Not to discount the females, who’d stayed on the ranch to protect the more vulnerable, pregnant members of the pride. Grady would have liked them to come along, but they couldn’t afford the distraction. They’d suspected there might be more than the four or five cats Miles had seen. With Burke and Rachel in charge at home, he had no fear Lex’s pride would get their claws into anyone without losing a few limbs.

He hurried to a stop when he came to the point where the SUV could go no farther, at the base of a large hill covered in trees. Already naked, he leaped out of the car, shifting faster than he’d ever shifted before. Then he inhaled and followed his nose—he’d know Gabby anywhere. He yowled for her to let her know he was on his way.

The urge to kill overwhelmed, to protect his mate and warn others never to even think of harming her again.

He vaguely heard the others behind him, his focus intent on the feline scent entangled with his own. It stopped and started in odd places, and he realized he’d crossed her tracks several times. The woods here were thick, but if he ran a mile east, he’d be on flat, visible ground again, away from the trees and hills.

She had to be in here somewhere. Then he realized his intelligent mate was playing with her enemy. Vulpine spoor hit him, a fox’s scent, then a cat’s. The woman’s too, he noted as he saw smaller human footprints near a tree.

He grinned, impressed, though he knew her well enough to expect Gabby to exceed his expectations. A few low rumbles and coughs signaled cats nearby. Without waiting for the others to catch up, he raced forward.

He attacked without warning and ripped out the back tendon of the first cougar. When another jumped at him, a barking fox dove on top of his opponent and nipped through his ear. She jumped away before the cat turned on her. Then Grady was there, screaming and hissing and tearing with claws and teeth.

Furious anyone would try to harm his mate, he sent her a plea to take cover and set to work obliterating the enemy. He annihilated two mountain lions and suffered a few gashes and scratches down his flank, but he had no intention of losing to some flea-bitten losers from Miami. Fucking Everglade felines.

He wondered where the others had gotten to when he heard Monty’s bark and Ty’s yip echoing in the woods, accompanied by throaty roars. They’d encountered more cats. Figured. Dean would be sure to add a few well-needed licks—he was a great asset in any fight.

He continued to battle, annoyed as fuck when a smaller, more cinnamon-colored cat joined him. He turned to yell at her to leave when three cats came out of nowhere and jumped him. One ripped a hunk out of his shoulder while he sliced into the other’s belly. It went down hard when he pulled out a claw full of intestines.

Gabby pulled the third cat off him, suffocating him with teeth around his throat while Grady fought the other. After some time, his foe dropped, severely injured. He turned to see Gabby releasing dead prey. She gracefully walked over the body to Grady, who felt such pride it humbled him.

“God, you’re beautiful.” He let her rub under his chin and against his flank, but stumbled when sudden weakness shook his legs.

Another screech, the high pitch of a baby’s cry—a cat’s warning—sounded close. In the distance, Grady heard Monty, Ty and Dean rounding up the others. But two more cats stalked him and Gabby. How many had come with Ronnie, that scared little runt? And just where had he gone? He blinked away the dizziness when he saw how the two flanked him, ignoring Gabby for the moment.

Which was what he wanted.

He wavered on his feet, and she nudged him to stand up. “Gabby, go up the tree and get to safety while I—”

“I’ve been playing with these idiots for hours, Mr. Macho. So don’t even think about telling me to back away. These creeps were feeling me up while you took your time coming to get me.”

He saw red. The weakness that had almost taken over vanished as raw fury consumed him. He screamed and threw himself at the cat closest to him. With claws and fangs, he did a hell of a lot of damage. Yet when he’d finished, he noted Gabby sitting by the other cat, her large forepaw on his chest as he lay panting on his side, bloodied and scratched. His conquering heroine put the concept of smugness to shame.

He smiled at her. Then he laughed through the pain, thinking his mate looked terrific for a bloodied feline who should never have been this close to danger…again.

“Oh hell. Now I have to rescue you too, I suppose.” She sighed and walked over to him with a sway in her hips. Her tail flickered. Her whiskers twitched and her eyes gleamed like golden coins. Such a pretty kitty.

He told her so, then passed out cold, the sight of her bright eyes the last thing he took with him.

Something wasn’t right. She could feel it.

Joy Bermin crept near the barn, aware of the itch at her back. While Amy and Melissa helped Burke watch over the breeders in the main house—and boy, did those women not like that term— she and Stacey had agreed to take a last look outside. Though the ranch had way too much land to patrol, they figured the barn and the cabin closest to the house made the most sense to check.

Her sister hadn’t listened when Joy had ordered her to stay close. Instead, Stacey had given Joy her own orders in that haughty tone she’d perfected at age six. For a younger sibling, Stacey could be annoyingly bossy. A lot like Miles.

Joy frowned. The last update they’d had about her brother hadn’t been good. He’d been shot twice and was unconscious, even though the raptor who’d brought the news insisted he’d recover.

God, she hated Lex and Ronnie. Michael Gates had been the best thing to happen to the pride. Life under his rule had been harmonious. His lieutenants kept things running smoothly, and Quince… She stopped that line of thinking and shoved the handsome traitor out of her mind.

Now instead of sunning on the beach with her sisters or hunting wildlife in the Everglades with the pride, she’d been forced to flee her home. It grated on her last nerve not to attack first. Sitting still while predators circled sucked ass.

She inched into the barn and closed the door behind her. As her eyes adjusted to the darkness, strong hands yanked her off her feet and covered her mouth before she could yell a warning. The giant holding her projected no scent, and he dragged her back with ease. Her struggles didn’t make a dent in the steel frame holding her tight.

Joy’s idiot younger sister outside wouldn’t realize another dozen cats waited for her to make a mistake. Joy still didn’t smell them, so they must have been using Hunter spray to camouflage their presence. But how had no one seen mountain lions hiding in the goddamn barn?

“Stop moving.” A low growl accompanied the warning.

She stilled. Oh God, anyone but him.

Quince, that giant asshole, held onto her like glue as he carried her away from the cats lying in wait in the middle of the barn, behind the stacks of hay. It just figured that in the chaos brewing all around, she’d run into him. The man was harder to shake than hair frizz on a rainy day.

“Cut it out,” he said on a breath and drew her into the tack room, away from the others. He had an iron forearm around her waist and a hand over her mouth. To her shock, she couldn’t break free. Talk about strong. In a voice too soft to be heard by the others, he breathed, “You need to warn your sister that Lex doesn’t just want her, he wants her broken and begging. She needs to stay far away from Miami.”

No shit. Joy tried to tell him she wasn’t stupid when he did something unexpected. The black-haired bully pulled her hair aside and licked the crook of her neck. The smooth feel of his tongue turned her entire world upside-down.

“Mated to Chastell, eh?” He chuckled. “I don’t think so.”

She wanted to turn and look him right in the eye. He was the only black cougar she’d ever met, and the one man whom she’d never thought would turn on Michael, their pride leader. Had she ever been wrong. She wanted to tell him what she thought about him, but then a bunch of eagles burst into the barn and startled the cats. On the other end, the barn doors opened, and her sisters hissed behind Burke, who tore apart their opponents’ leader in seconds.

The rest of the rival cats didn’t seem to know what to do. And then her sisters got really pissed. Fur and feathers flew.

She wanted to join in, but Quince wouldn’t let her. “Remember. Warn Stacey. And don’t go getting mated yet, kitten. We have some things we need to talk about.”

He released her mouth, but before she could lambaste him, he stole her breath with a kiss. A hot, melt-your-panties kind of kiss she’d been dreaming about since she’d first learned what men were good for. How unfair for Quince, of all people, to be so incredibly skilled.

“Oh yeah. You’re going to be so sweet.” He held her tightly against his very alive, very erect, lower body.

“In your dreams,” she whispered, not sure why she didn’t just yell for help. But she couldn’t get her lips—or her other parts—to stop tingling.

“Stubborn cat. I like that.” He kissed her again, leaving her dazed and dizzy when he broke it off. “Time to go. See you soon, Joy.”

He faded into the shadows and disappeared, sliding into a crack in the wall that hadn’t been there that morning.

“Well, you planning on daydreaming or kicking some ass?” Stacey asked from the doorway and yawned, licking the blood from her lips. By her feet rested the feline body of what smelled like Ronnie Gates. Oh hell. Had Quince seen that?

“Shut up. I’m coming already.” Joy stripped to her skin and turned, but the fight she’d longed for no longer existed in the whipped cats begging for mercy. The desire to do harm faded under the desire for something else, from a cat she had no right thinking about. The smart thing would be to turn him in to her brother and see Quince pay for his crimes against the pride. But when had Joy ever been accused of being smart?

She sighed. At least she no longer had Dean to worry about. With all this shit going down, no one would care anymore about her stunt with Mr. Trouble. Or as she and Stacey liked to call him, the man-whore. She grinned and slapped one of the aggravating Lex followers on the rump, slowing him down in a hurry when it looked like he planned to escape through a hole in the action. She might have missed all the fun and fighting, but she knew something the others didn’t. They weren’t out of danger yet. She could only hope Grady and Gabby had fared okay.

Twenty-five stitches and some god-awful mewling later—he was embarrassed to admit—Grady lay in a spare bed in the main house surrounded by friends, family and a doctor who should have been drafted by the CIA for her work in torture. She rolled her eyes at him and left after looking down her nose at Ty. Haughty bird.

“Well, at least you’re not afraid of needles,” Dean commented. They all turned to look at Ty, his phobia well-known and always cause for ribbing.

“Fu—screw you.” Ty glared but cast a surreptitious glance at his mate.

Dean, Monty, Julia and Gabby grinned. Grady never tired of seeing her smile. But when she saw him looking at her, her humor fled.

Hell. He was back in the doghouse.

Over her shoulder, he saw Dean pointing to his injuries and making faces. He mouthed, “Use it. You need the help.”

“I don’t even want to know what you’re telling him, Dean.” Gabby slowly turned her head to pin him in place.

He froze. “Oh uh. Nothing. Just wishing him well, Gabs.”

Monty sighed. “Been there, done that. Come on, junior. Let’s see how Burke is doing. With Rachel and the pride so close to danger, I’m sure he about lost his mind.”

“Burke? Nah. Never had one to begin with,” Dean said as they left the room.

Ty stood firm with Julia beside him. “Get to it.”

Grady frowned. “Huh?”

Ty glanced from Grady to Gabby and back again, his brows raised in question.

“Oh uh, right.” Grady cleared his throat, wishing he didn’t have to do this in front of an audience…and that Gabby didn’t look so smug waiting to hear him. But he knew Ty and Julia were showing their support for a reason.

He decided to have a little fun with her. “I’m so sorry, Gabby. For everything.”

“Oh?”

The little witch was going to make this hard. God, he loved her. “I should have told you about Joy and Dean. It honestly wasn’t my idea to make up that stupid story, and I was pissed when I found out. But I never regretted getting to know you, to be with you.”

He saw the love she tried to hide.

“But Gabby, I learned something else after all this. Watching you, seeing how smart you are, how courageous, it taught me something.” Damn. He wished Ty and Julia weren’t staring holes through his forehead. He probably looked like death warmed over. Now he sounded like a grade-A sap and not what his spitfire needed in her life.

“That’s sweet, Grady.” Gabby smiled, her gaze soft and loving. But she still hadn’t told him she loved him, had she?

“Do you accept my apology for misleading you, sweetheart?”

“See, that’s all Grady,” Ty said in an overloud whisper. “Dean could never use a word like misleading without sounding wrong.”

Grady glared at him.

Julia muffled her mirth by pretending to cough into her hand.

Gabby looked completely unmoved. “Did you mean what you said before?”

So the woman remembered. “Yes. I love you.”

She beamed. And still she said nothing.

“So that’s why I have to leave.”

Her face froze.

Ty and Julia stared wide-eyed.

“I don’t deserve you, Gabby. You’re beautiful and strong. You saved yourself, and you saved me.” Bullshit. He’d taken out more than a few cats, but he’d degrade himself to get even. “I lied. I took advantage of your kindness.” He considered shedding a few tears but thought that might be overdoing things.

“What?” Gabby shook her head. “You love me, and you’re leaving?”

“I’m no good for you. I want you to have the best, what you truly deserve.” He made his hand shake as he reached for her cheek and thought he’d done a damn good job when he saw panic in her eyes. “You and Miles, you look good together.” He swallowed hard. Hell. He wanted to wash his mouth out with soap for saying that. “It kills me to think of you with someone else, but I truly love you. You deserve to be happy.”

He turned his head away, wondering what the silence meant. When he turned back, he saw Julia and Ty had left and closed the door behind them.

Gabby remained. She paced back and forth, flailing her hands as she muttered to herself. She stopped and scowled at him. “Where the hell do you get off telling me what I deserve?”

“Gabby?”

Her red hair fanned her face as she turned, and he remembered the feel of such silk over his lap when she’d taken him in her mouth. So fucking good…

“…right? I can’t believe you’d say that to my face.”

Uh-oh. “I’m sorry.” When in doubt, apologize.

“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.”