Shelly Laurenston: Here Kitty, Kitty!

To Princess Cammy. Without your guidance through the frightening world of high fashion, this book could not have been made. And, yes! Those shoes DO look fabulous on you!

He didn’t actually see the wall until he walked into it.

“Dang, Nik. You okay?” His brothers could at least have the decency to hold off laughing at him until they made sure he hadn’t caused any real damage.

He rubbed his forehead. “Yeah. I’m fine.”

Better than fine. With a woman like that in his sights. He took control of himself. He had to. He suddenly had the overwhelming desire to shift and run her down like a red deer.

He walked toward her. She reeked of dog, but it wasn’t her. No, to his huge disappointment, he realized she was human. He thought for sure she had to be cat, with the way she moved and all. Leopard or cheetah. Something other than just another boring human female.

She leaned back in her chair, a martini in her hand, crossed her legs—and both his brothers groaned.

“Oh, man. Who the hell is that?”

His brother Bannik chuckled. “Mine, little brother.”

Nik ignored them both, instead letting them argue so he could focus his attention on the conversation between the woman and her itty-bitty friend.

“Fine,” she sighed. “You wanna live life alone and bitter, be my guest.”

“Trust me. Fucking the Viking isn’t going to change the living alone and bitter thing one bit.”

“Whatever.” A boarding announcement rolled through the terminal and the woman cocked her head to listen. “Come on, sassy girl. Let’s get your ass on a plane.”

She finished her drink and carefully placed the glass down on the table. Nik took two long steps toward her. She pushed back her chair and stood up, slamming right into his chest. Her hair slid across his hand and he immediately imagined that hair trailing across his body as she slipped her head between his thighs.

Nik shook his head, what in hell—he usually had more control of himself than this. But her scent…goddammit. Her scent slid around his throat, caressing his cheek. It was as erotic as a lover’s touch that effectively put him in a chokehold.

He swallowed and stared down at the top of her head, forcing himself to speak, “Sorry, darlin’.”

She finally looked up at him. He heard her sharp intake of breath and the increase in her heart rate. He could feel the change in her body temperature. Heat radiated off her in waves.

Funny thing was, the same thing happened to him. When he’d caught her scent, he didn’t think she’d be this beautiful. What a gorgeous face. Damn, but no one had a right to be that pretty. And the loveliest brown eyes he’d ever seen on a female. Dark, dark brown. Like the richest imported dark chocolate. Long, dark brown hair made those eyes even more devastating. Her light brown skin damn-near glowed and she possessed the cutest little nose.

She let out a shaky breath.

“You all right, sugar?”

“Uh…”

He waited for her to say more, but she appeared to be a bit slow-witted. Kind of like his Uncle Billy whose baby sister hit him in the head with a brick.

Her friend, who Nik had barely noticed she was so tiny, slung a bag over her shoulder. “Sorry about that. We need to get to my plane.”

“No problem.” Nik smiled down into that beautiful face. “Y’all can slam into me any time.” At least she could. He could care less about the midget. Although, as usual, his brothers took an immediate interest in anything with a pussy. They stared at the tiny woman like she was a Happy Meal.

“Hey, Ang. We need to go.” Her tiny friend grabbed her arm and tugged. Then she yanked.

The woman blinked, glancing around. “Uh…oh yeah. Yeah. We better get moving.” She gave him a soft smile. “Sorry.”

“Not at all.” He wanted to say something else but, really, what the hell was he supposed to do with a human?

Fuck her until the end of time?

No. He’d sworn off the full-humans. Like the dogs, they got mighty attached to a man. His kind happily lived alone. He didn’t need or want some female spending every night wrapped around him like an anaconda in a bed that could easily accommodate them both sleeping apart.

So, instead of bending her over the table, ripping her panties off, and fucking the hell out of her—Nik walked away.

“Well that was entertaining.” His youngest brother Aleksei winked at him and grinned.

“Shut up.”

“I thought for sure you’d do her right there, big brother.”

“I told ya both to shut the hell up.” Nik’s phone rang. He grabbed it off his belt and flicked it open. “This is Nik.”

“Mr. Vorislav, it’s Annie. Your father has asked that you return home.”

Nik stopped walking, afraid of losing the faulty connection in the terminal. “What? Why?”

“He needs you involved in a last minute deal. He didn’t give me any details.”

“What about the Kingsley Park deal?”

“He asks that you let your brothers handle that negotiation.”

Nik stared at his kin. Apart he had no doubt they could broker a deal with the old wolf they’d come to see. But together? Together the two of them could be the biggest idiots on the planet. Leaving them alone to handle this could be a huge disaster.

“Mr. Vorislav, I need your answer.”

As usual, his father didn’t leave him much choice. “Tell him I’ll be home in a few hours.”

“Yes, sir.”

Annie disconnected and Nik turned to his brothers. “I gotta go back.”

“What’s up?” Bannik asked.

“Some last minute deal of Daddy’s. He wants you two to handle this.”

His brothers shrugged nonchalantly. Not the response he wanted.

“We’ve only got a temporary pass on this territory, so don’t screw it up.”

Aleksei sneered. “What the hell does that mean?”

“It means keep your goddamn dicks in your pants and focus on the deal. Now go.”

His brothers moved around him and headed off toward the exit. “Y’all.” His brothers looked at him. “Stay outta trouble.”

They grinned at him. Then at each other.

Nik watched them walk away with a very bad feeling in the pit of his stomach.

Sighing, he headed back to where they’d left the jet. As he moved through the terminal—hoping to see that hot female one more time—he saw “them” coming down the hallway.

But even if he hadn’t seen them, he would have smelled them. He’d recognize their scent anywhere. He’d known quite a few over the years.

There were about fifteen of them, but they gave him a wide berth as they passed. Except the head female. She tried to stare him down. He knew her. Knew that pretty face. Dianne Leucrotta. Matriarch of the Leucrotta Clan.

She nodded at him and continued on down the hall.

Nik shook his head. Those hyenas were on a mission. He could see it in their beady little eyes. Thankfully, the hyenas were smart enough not to mess with his kind. Because all he really wanted to do was head home and think about a serious pair of long brown legs, instead of killing someone—even hyenas—on such a gorgeous Texas day.

Although , he wondered, who the hell was dumb enough to piss them off?

Six days later…

“I see now why they’re on The List.”

“Uh-oh. Is the rodeo clown still lurking?”

Angelina Santiago tightened the strap on her Chanel shoes, while trying not to fall on her ass. Not easy. Hopping became involved.

“I think he still can’t believe I turned down a cowboy.”