Freakn' Cougar Read Free Page B

think it’s time I learned how to diss the law.”
    “Diss?” She snorted. “Yeah, more and more, I’m beginning to think you’re the wrong guy for the job.”
    What?
    Before he could ask her why, she spun on her heel and walked away. It took him only a few strides to catch her. He gripped her arm to halt her.
    Awareness slammed into him. Shocked blue eyes met his, and they engaged in a staring match. He leaned in. She didn’t move away. He shuffled closer. Her lips parted.
    “Stu! Get your hairy ass back in here and bring the kitty too!” Naomi shouted.
    The moment shattered.
    Stu sighed as Patricia moved away. “You really should have stuck to just arresting me and saying nothing. In case you hadn’t noticed, my family tends to get involved in each other’s business.”
    “Trust me. I’m kicking myself,” she muttered.
    She might already regret her actions, but he didn’t. On the contrary, Stu found himself the most excited he ever recalled. Even more so than when he’d spent thirty-six hours outside Best Buy waiting for the release of the newest Black Ops game.
    Forget a gaming mission. He was about to live a mission. Be the hero. And, if lucky, get the girl.
    “Stu! Don’t make me drag you in by your long hair,” Naomi screeched.
    He sighed. Yeah, I’ll be a hero and get my cougar only if I can get away from my family.

Chapter Two
    It took another hour of explaining, more pie, a few cookies, and promises to keep them in the loop before Stu’s family let her leave with him. He, on the other hand, didn’t say much. He just sat back and watched Patricia. It should have creeped her out. Instead, Patricia found herself all too aware of him, and she didn’t like it one bit. Only once before had she felt that level of awareness, that electric shock of recognition. That hadn’t turned out well for her in the end. So this time, despite the urging of her cougar, she ignored it.
    Not an easy task. Once she got Stu alone, she’d hoped to regain her equilibrium, but failed. Heck, she had to fight the urge to roll down all the windows and stick her head out the open space to suck in fresh air. It wasn’t that the guy in the backseat of her cruiser stank. On the contrary, Stu smelled good. Really good. Tempting. He also smelled like trouble. Because if my nose is not mistaken and my cougar can be believed, then he’s my freakn’ mate.
    Which was impossible. I have a mate. Make that had one. She’d buried him years ago after a motorcycle accident. She’d loved and lost and mourned Ryker. She’d gotten on with life, more or less, like any shifter did who lost the other half of their soul. She’d resigned herself to a future of dating and being the spinster at functions because everyone knew shifters only got one mate.
    One.
    No second chances.
    So what did her racing heart, boiling blood, nose twitching, nipple tingling sensations for a guy young enough for her to have babysat while he was still in diapers mean? Okay, maybe not that much younger than her, probably only about ten years, but still. He is not my mate.
    Explain that, though, to her pacing cat, who prowled her mind insisting otherwise.
    Tell that to the teasing scent of him that enveloped her and taunted her senses.
    Point that out to her body, which roused with erotic interest, insidiously whispering to her that she should pull over and run her fingers through his hair, rub her lips along his, and ride him to a screaming climax the likes she’d not experienced since Ryker.
    She gritted her teeth and kept her focus on the road and the task at hand. Get him to RCMP headquarters to book him. Then go home for a long, icy-cold shower.
    “Run the plan by me again,” Stu asked from the backseat, the partition between them not enough to block his disturbing presence. “Maybe, this time, I can grasp all the finer details without my family adding its two cents and threats of violence every other sentence.”
    “Speaking of which, what’s up with