Captivated by the Cougar Read online

  A throat clearing was the only warning I got before Reese sauntered into the kitchen and headed to the coffeepot as if he hadn’t noticed that I was kneeling on the floor fondling his sister’s ankle. He poured himself a cup, then turned and leaned against the counter. “Morning. Is everything okay?” He blew on the hot brew before taking a sip.

  “Fine, I stubbed my toe and...” Berkley glared at me, then jerked her foot out of my hand. She eased herself to the floor and slipped on her shoe.

  “Okay, then,” was all Reese said before pushing away from the counter and leaving.

  I was too shocked to speak. My brother grinning as he left the room was not what I’d expected. There’d been no outburst. I hadn’t been fired, or at the very least, given a warning to stay away from his sister. Did his action, or rather non-action, mean he knew we were mates and by not saying anything was giving us his approval?

  Berkley’s jaw dropped, and she appeared to be more baffled than me. Her gaze slowly strayed from the doorway and locked with mine. She must have been entertaining the same thoughts because after a few seconds, she held up her hand, palm out. “Do not say a word.”

  BERKLEY

  “Do not say a word.” I enunciated each syllable in my warning to Preston. If he made a single comment about Reese’s odd behavior, I was going to punch him and knock that cocky grin off his face.

  I couldn’t believe Reese, who was usually more overprotective than Nick, hadn’t said a word when he found Preston massaging my foot. Granted, what Preston was doing with his hands practically had me moaning, but that wasn’t the issue. The issue was Preston’s interpretation of my brother’s reaction.

  Before I got a chance to say anything further, Nick walked into the room.

  “Mornin’,” he mumbled, barely glancing in my direction as he headed toward the refrigerator.

  “Good morning,” I replied, glaring at him suspiciously and wondering if the males in my life were somehow conspiring against me. Preston shrugged, snatched his cup, and topped off his now-cooled coffee with some hotter liquid from the pot.

  After watching Nick shuffle through almost every container on the shelves, I asked, “Is there something I can help you with?”

  “There’s nothing in here.” He closed the door none too gently, then frowned at me. “What happened to all the blueberry Danishes?” His gaze swept to Preston as if he suspected him as being the culprit.

  I crossed my arms. “Gee, Nick, I don’t know. Could they be gone because you took the last one yesterday?”

  “Oh.” He scratched his jaw. “When are you going to make some more?”

  “You do know there’s a kitchen in your cabin, right? And Mandy does know how to bake.” I’d given his mate several of my recipes, not to mention she’d been helping me out in the kitchen since we were in our teens.

  “Yeah, but it’s more fun to surprise her with one of yours. It leads to all kinds of fun. You do remember lecturing me about learning to have fun, right?” Nick asked.

  Unfortunately, I did remember, but I didn’t think encouraging him to enjoy life a little was going to come back and bite me in the backside.

  “It’s your icing that does it.” He winked and grinned.

  I held up my hand. “Stop right there. I don’t want to hear how you’re using my creations to score sex with my best friend.”

  “Speak for yourself. I’d be interested in hearing the wicked details.” Preston ran a fingertip down my bare arm. “Never know when something like that might come in handy.”

  I wanted them both out of my kitchen, the sooner the better. “Don’t you two have somewhere else you need to be?” I asked, swiping at his hand.

  “Aww, sweetness, give me a chance. I’ll bet I could change your mind.” Preston chuckled, quickly setting his cup on the counter, then dancing out of my way before I could smack him.

  “Come on, Nick.” Preston hooked his thumb at the doorway. “You can share all the wicked details on our way over to meet with the crew.”

  “Love to.” Nick smirked at me, then exited the room ahead of Preston.

  Preston stopped in the doorway, turned, and gave me one of his sexiest smiles. “You’ll let me know if you change your mind, won’t you?”

  That. Was. It.

  I’d reached the end of my patience with the males in my life and picked up the egg he’d left sitting on the counter.

  “Berkley, you don’t want to do that.” Preston was no longer grinning. He waved his hands and slowly backed toward the exit.

  “Yeah, I really do.” I would have gotten more pleasure out of the throw if I’d actually hit my target, but unfortunately, Preston ducked at the last second. The egg hit the frame with a dull splat, then dropped to the floor, leaving a slimy trail on the wall in its wake.

  Preston’s chuckling didn’t fade until he reached the other end of the hall. I was tempted to grab the carton and chase after him to finish what I’d started. On the other hand, I’d learned through years of Reese and me playing pranks on each other that there were better ways to get even.

  Chapter Two

  PRESTON

  With one phone call, my day went from playful to serious.

  Shortly after Bryson, the second-in-command on my security team, relieved the night guard, he called to tell me he’d found something I needed to see. Reese had hired Bryson when he’d first inherited the resort to provide security while the place was under renovation. After the incident with Desmond Bishop, the male had proven himself to be good at his job, reliable, and able to handle issues with the rest of the crew when I wasn’t available.

  Bryson wasn’t much of a conversationalist, so I’d refrained from asking questions. Since coaxing details from the male tended to be a difficult task, I’d learned it was better for him to show me what he wanted me to see. If he was dealing with a life-threatening emergency, Bryson would have shared the information the minute I answered my phone.

  The drive to the area we’d set aside for our shifter guests to let their animals run didn’t take long. The four-wheel drive in my truck made manipulating the worn, rutted road much easier.

  After parking and exiting my vehicle, I paused to inhale the fresh mountain air, taking note of the heavy pine scent laced with a hint of wildflowers. A thin layer of moisture from the light rain we’d received the evening before coated the parts of the ground the sun’s rays couldn’t reach.

  According to Reese, it wouldn’t be much longer—a few days, maybe a week—before the cooler temperatures dropped and the area would be covered in snow.

  Along with the natural forest smells, I was able to scent Bryson’s unique bear scent. If I hadn’t been gifted with enhanced senses from my animal, he could have used his stealthy prowess to approach me without making a sound. Out of courtesy, he was purposely crunching twigs and pine needles with his boots to alert me to his presence.

  Bryson wasn’t big on formality either. His greeting consisted of a head bob and a grunt. “Over here.” He motioned me to follow him through a thin copse of trees. Since guest hiking had been moved to another part of the property and was no longer allowed in this area, the narrow dirt path Bryson chose was slowly fading from infrequent use.

  After walking about twenty feet, Bryson held up his hand for me to stop. “This is it.” He pointed at a pile of dead leaves partially disguising a bear trap. The steel bands comprising the jaw had been separated and were sitting flat on the ground, ready to slam shut on the next unsuspecting victim who stepped on the spring.

  “What the hell?” I fisted my hands, forcing back the wave of anger pulsing through me. Some of our shifter guests had children, took them along on runs. It was hard not to image what kind of damage this contraption could cause to a small child in its animal form. I bent over, grabbed a broken branch off the ground, and jabbed the end into the center of the trap. A loud, teeth-jarring snap echoed through the air. “How did you find it?” And how many more of these things are out here?

  “Picke
d up a human scent and followed it here...found the trap...called you.”

  I understood what Bryson meant without him having to give me an in-depth explanation. Shifters didn’t advertise their existence to humans. It was the one rule my parents had strictly adhered to and constantly grilled my sister and me to make sure we never broke. Other than Nick’s mate, Mandy, the handful of human employees working at the resort had no idea the owners were shifters, a secret they preferred to keep and one I did my best to protect.

  The resort wasn’t exclusive to human guests. In fact, it attracted quite a few shifters from various breeds. Thanks to Berkley and her impressive marketing skills, one of the place’s selling attractions was this secluded area designated for running. This private stretch of land was located far enough from the cabins, the hiking area, and the main lodge. Those who utilized it could experience the freedom they wouldn’t usually find if they lived in or near a city.

  It was my team’s job to patrol the property regularly and keep the non-shifter populace away from this area. If Bryson or one of the staff happened upon a human wandering around out here, they were ordered to redirect them to the designated hiking area.

  “Hunting is illegal in most of the areas bordering the falls, correct?” I asked, speculating why this was the first time we’d found a trap and what the person who’d set it was trying to catch. Bryson might be the only bear I’d met since I’d arrived, but I remembered Reese mentioning that he had family living somewhere in the area. If anyone would know about the hunting laws, it would be him.

  “Yep.” Bryson frowned and shook his head, tensing the muscles in his shoulders. “Maybe a poacher or someone who doesn’t like shifters.” His voice came out more guttural than normal, and I wondered if there was a personal story related to his statement.

  “Have any of our animal-inclined guests reported seeing any of these yet?”

  “Nope.”

  “Good, let’s keep it that way.” I crouched next to the trap and inhaled deeply. The male scent was unfamiliar, but there was enough of it left on the metal for me to get a good impression. It would help me recognize the person later if our paths happened to cross.

  “When you first noticed the scent, was it coming from the resort or somewhere else?” Though I hated to think that someone at the lodge was responsible. It would make finding them and dealing with them a lot easier.

  “Picked up the scent coming from the direction of old man Thompson’s place, south of here.” Bryson jerked his thumb over his shoulder.

  There were a few smaller, inhabited properties bordering the resort. I’d met some of the neighbors when I’d helped rescue Mandy by acting as a decoy at the security gate of Desmond Bishop’s secluded estate several miles from Hanford. This Thompson person wasn’t one of them.

  I stood and glanced around, checking to see if I could spot any more traps. When nothing caught my attention, I turned back to Bryson. “Why don’t you pull Cody off his patrol and have him help you do a thorough search, make sure there aren’t any more traps or anything else we need to worry about. I’ll give Reese a call and see if he wants to pay his neighbor a visit.”

  BERKLEY

  Cleaning up the mess I’d made with the egg included spouting a few mumbled curses about infuriating males, my focus on the one with the irritating smile and intense green gaze. Though I had to admit my ranting didn’t hold its usual steam since I couldn’t stop thinking about the glimmer of concern I’d seen in Preston’s eyes when he thought I’d seriously hurt my foot after kicking him. Couple that with remembering how my body had responded when he massaged my ankle with his big, warm hands and it wasn’t long before I was experiencing an achy sense of longing. A longing that had my wolf whimpering and urging me to go find him.

  Since I’d been deserted and no longer had anyone around to cook for, I finished whipping together the pancake batter, then dropped it off in the restaurant kitchen with our new full-time lead cook Abigail, or Abby as she preferred to be called, to use in her breakfast orders. The woman was in her early fifties and ran the kitchen with the finesse of a drill sergeant.

  When it came to running the resort, Reese was all about organization. It was probably one of the reasons he’d insisted we hire her. I liked her because she was a fabulous cook, doted on my abilities, and reminded me a lot of my late grandfather—tough exterior, with the heart of a marshmallow.

  After Abby chased me out of the kitchen with reassurances that she could handle the morning rush, I’d headed back to my office, where I spent most of my late mornings doing bookwork. I would have preferred to stay in the kitchen. It was busy work and would have kept me from staring out the window, like I was doing now, and daydreaming about Preston. The mating call between us was growing stronger with each passing day, making my resolve to resist him even harder. No matter how smug or irritating he got, I would never openly admit—to anyone, especially him—that I looked forward to our daily bouts of bantering.

  I returned my attention to the small stack of files on the edge of my desk, no longer the huge, disorganized pile I’d tackled months ago. It still amazed me how much Reese, Nick, and I had accomplished in the short period that had passed since we’d first inherited the property from James Reynolds. Our grandfather had done his best to maintain the place, but time, wear and tear, and the harsh weather during the Colorado winter months had left the place in need of repairs and renovations.

  With the onset of fall, we had finally reached a point where we could open for business. Currently, half the rooms in the lodge and two of the ten cabins were booked. Actually, only nine of the cabins were available since Nick and Mandy currently lived in one of them.

  I smiled remembering how antisocial my half brother had been, and how much he’d changed since I’d first discovered his existence. It still irritated me every time I thought about how my asshole of a father had cheated on my mother, then neglected to acknowledge his other child.

  Even though I had some new marketing ideas I wanted to address and some updates I needed to make to the resort’s website, I still wasn’t ready to get back to work. I convinced myself that taking a run and working off some of my wolf’s pent-up anxiety was a much better idea. So what if I lost an hour out of my workday? It would be worth it if I was more productive and could focus when I returned.

  With a determined goal in my mind, I headed to my room, where I could easily strip naked and slip out through my patio door and into the forest without being noticed. I’d made it halfway into my room when my cell phone rang. After fishing it out of my pocket, I read the all-capped text message I’d received from Nina, one of our human employees.

  PROBLEM AT THE RESERVATION DESK. NEED HELP!!!!

  So much for my run. Groaning, I grabbed the white suit jacket, a complementary addition to my black dress, off the chair by the door, slipping my arms into the sleeves as I headed out the door. On my way to the main lobby of the lodge, I gulped several breaths and straightened my shoulders in preparation for whatever problem I’d be facing.

  At the top of my list of expectations was Brenda Radcliff, a guest who’d done nothing but complain since she’d arrived the day before with a few of her friends. The women in the group were either widowed or divorced, and from the same small town I’d never heard of somewhere in the Midwest. Surprisingly, even the spectacular view she had from her room didn’t make the old woman happy.

  Personally, I believed her disagreeable nature stemmed from being lonely. A situation I planned to change as soon as possible by introducing her to Gabe Miller. He was a wolf shifter, an old friend of my grandfather’s, and I’d known him for years. He was a widower and lived with two of his sons in a secluded area not far from our property.

  He also owned horses and made a living by taking tourists on trail rides around the area and past the falls. Not one of the many vacations Reese and I’d spent at the resort passed without us pestering Gabe for at least one horse ride.

  Shortly after we started renovation
s, I contacted Gabe and convinced him to let me add his trail rides to the resort’s website as one of our attractions. It was a decision that was paying off well for all of us. When I spoke to him a week ago, his business was doing so well that he was checking into hiring another guide.

  Gabe might be in his late fifties, but he stayed in shape and was all kinds of handsome and charming. His finely honed gift for flirting could put even the youngest and shyest female at ease. They were skills I planned to utilize and hoped would help stop Brenda’s incessant complaining.

  With my new resolution in mind, I smiled and walked through the doorway leading to the spacious lobby. I made it two steps, got one look at “the problem,” and froze. My determination, my short-lived elation shriveled, forming a knot that anchored itself in the pit of my stomach. I was too dumbfounded to speak, think, or keep my jaw from gaping like the Grand Canyon. What I saw was not Brenda or even one of her friends. What I saw was way, way worse.

  PRESTON

  After informing Reese about the trap Bryson found and who might be the suspected owner, he decided it would be best not to inform Nick or ask him to ride along until we had more information. A decision I readily agreed with.

  Genetically, the wild half of Nick’s wolf was unpredictable. He’d been on his own after his mother passed away when Nick was sixteen. He hadn’t known what it was truly like to be a part of something special until Berkley had dragged him here and made him part of the family.

  Nick had gone from having nothing to gaining everything, including happiness. To say he was overprotective of his mate, his siblings, and their home was an understatement. He might have demonstrated his ability to control his wolf’s wild nature on more than one occasion, but the last thing we needed was for him to go feral and attack someone if he thought they posed a threat.

  The trip from the lodge to Al Thompson’s property was made in under thirty minutes. Reese drove his truck onto a narrow drive, sparsely covered with gravel that hadn’t seen the sharp edge of a grate in quite a few years.