Marie Harte - By the Tail

“You know about that?” Her eyes widened.

“Honey, I know everything about everything.” He smirked, pleased when she scowled at him. He loved that fierce look in her eyes. The one she leveled on him right now that made him hard and aching.

“You wish. You…” she trailed off with a sniff and gazed at his lap. “Are you kidding me?”

He squirmed, uncomfortable with jeans too tight around his crotch. “I wish. Just being around you gets me this way,” he admitted and leaned closer to scent at the light marker he’d left earlier. He still smelled himself there. That she hadn’t tried to mask his scent with another perfume or soap pleased him considerably. Then he caught her desire and nipped her neck, licking the sting away. He whispered into her ear, “You know, we could see how big the bathrooms are in first class. I bet we could fit you over my cock in no time and—”

“Shut up,” she hissed, her eyes bright with arousal. “You’ve shared enough. No more talking until we touch down.”

He grinned but kept hold of her hand.

The trip home didn’t last long enough.

One more connection and four hours later, standing outside the Miami terminal in the humid light of day, Joy couldn’t wait to slide under the covers of her bed again. The plane ride had seemed to last an eternity. She’d been taunted by Quince’s delicious scent the whole way. It didn’t help that Mr. Sexy had picked up the attention of first a flirty flight attendant and then a pretty passenger at the baggage terminal.

Ellis Minor picked them up in a large blue SUV. After stowing their luggage, he slid behind the driver’s seat. A decent enough guy who’d always treated her with respect, he cast Quince a sidelong glance and grinned. Pleading exhaustion, she decided to let them talk up front while she did her best to crash in the backseat. But she wasn’t so tired that she missed the shock on Ellis’s face before she entered the vehicle.

Quince let out a growl.

She shut the door behind her and buckled in. “Something wrong?” she asked as Ellis pulled away from the curb.

“N-nothing.” He coughed and wouldn’t meet her gaze in the rearview mirror. “Just happy to see you both back in one piece. I thought for sure Quince would have come back a broken shell of a man. Everyone knows better than to screw with the Bermins.”

Silence descended, and she caught Ellis’s innocent remark about screwing, realizing the double entendre. Quince would no doubt pick up on it. She didn’t have to see him to know he’d be smiling right about now.

“Shut up, Quince.”

He snorted. Ellis coughed again but couldn’t smother the grin caught by the rearview.

Ignoring the flush on her cheeks, she closed her eyes and feigned sleep. But she couldn’t stop thinking about all she’d heard since leaving Cougar Falls.

What she’d learned on the plane had surprised her, though it shouldn’t have. Lex had been a devious jerk, but she hadn’t realized why he’d been so firmly entrenched in the pride. For a long time, she’d thought Quince’s claim that he’d done his best to stop the egomaniac a half-assed excuse for not trying harder. Kill Lex, save the pride. Miles wanted to take Lex out himself, but he’d had his sisters to protect, and he took his role as head of the household seriously.

But if Lex had seized control of the pride’s finances…

The pride lived as individual families scattered around the Everglades, though most had settled in and around Miami. Like their animal namesakes, the Florida cats liked their space. To a degree. Their social structure kept them tight, spending weekends, holidays, and usually their free time partying together, either at the pride estate or in the swamps at the House. Running on all fours, seeing the world through a panther’s perspective, absorbing the unique scents of the world as a cat—nothing beat it.

She could understand the group in Cougar Falls. They lived among their own kind, protected by that magical totem that kept non-Shifters out. They could shift whenever they wanted and run free without fear of capture. But they were so closed off.

Joy loved the sun and the sand, and living out in the real world. She had to keep sharp, constantly aware of the true humans and possible Hunters around her. The attention to detail and need to play pretend-human appeased her cat, though. It was like playing with prey. She considered anyone not her friend or her kind a potential enemy. It kept her instincts sharp. Sharper than the Chastells’, at any rate.

Smug in her confidence as a feline, she wished she had as much assurance about her feminine traits. Oh, she knew she was cute. But in a family of gorgeous and talented people, cute didn’t cut it. Stacey was a knockout. Amy and Melissa could do anything with poise and perfection and had their share of admirers. Heck, before she’d left, she’d caught a few wolves talking about dying for a date with one of the Bermin twins. And Miles, of course, could do no wrong. Or so everyone else seemed to think. Personally, she thought her rich, handsome, charming brother needed to unwind. His beef with Quince was starting to look a lot less based on fact and more on emotion.

They’d been so close once. Growing up, he and Quince had been inseparable. Bad news for Joy, because she’d been crushing on Quince something fierce, and he’d never noticed her—just one of Miles’s little sisters. She’d done her best to ignore the attraction until it faded to a gentle admiration. Miles had become so busy with business the last few years, he was at home as much as he was gone. And Quince had become integral to the workings in the pride. It made sense they’d drifted apart.

Then Michael had disappeared, his two previously unknown sons had arrived to take over the pride, and everything had gone to hell. Factions of bullies rose up out of nowhere. The money started to disappear into limos for Lex, all-night orgies and expensive properties they didn’t need. Females’ rights disappeared, and “might makes right” became the pride’s new motto.

Fast forward five months, and she was supposed to believe life had changed because Quince, with Michael’s blessing, had assumed command.

She wanted badly to trust what he’d told her. All the rumors, the beatings and the thievery she’d heard that Quince had been a part of—all a ruse? Yet she couldn’t deny that her recent time spent at home, while dodging Quince in between trips back to Cougar Falls, had shown her that life indeed had returned to a normal state. Kind of.

The females still bristled if told to do anything. The males still wandered around on guard, snarling at each other while expecting the women to roll over and do whatever they wanted. No, come to think of it, they’d always been like that. Miami cats tended to be very good looking, and they took grooming to an all new level.

She sighed against the seat, wishing she could understand why her cat had never seen Quince as a threat. Because he wanted her? Because he had a fortitude her feline could respect?

And could she really forget that amazing sex with the big guy? Good Lord, but she’d seen stars with him. So generous, so wonderful. Even now she might be pregnant… Her cat purred with satisfaction, but Joy panicked. She was too young to have babies, not when she hadn’t yet made her mark as a Bermin.

So she didn’t have terrific design ideas. She couldn’t sew that well, and she had no head for business. She did like to have fun, and she’d been toying with some concepts for the junior market. Young women who wanted to be sexy, not slutty. A concept Stacey wouldn’t understand, she thought with a sneer.

Her sister had nothing to complain about. She was beautiful, with a great guy at her side, and had the admiration of everyone around her. No one had ever tried to single her out to get at one of her sisters. Or asked where her coloring came from in a family full of blondes. Or what exactly she contributed to the design business. But Joy had dealt with men using her to get at Stacey and even Miles for years. She was the only black-haired girl among golden siblings. And though she wanted to be a part of the family business, she didn’t think she had it in her to be great, merely good.