“Get back here!”
Stacey swore as the car door slammed, barely missing her pricey skirt. She stared out the front window and gasped. “Oh my God. Is Miles’s hair blue?”
Miles had made one too many comments about Dean’s love life at dinner last night. It was one thing for the rest of the pride to joke about him being the last standing Chastell without a mate, but when Miles said it, he sounded insulting. A lot like his sister. Dean regarded Stacey out of the corner of his eye, wishing he could turn off his attraction to her.
Whipping the wheel to turn the truck around, Dean jumped on the gas and tore down the dirt driveway. He kept his gaze half on the drive and half on the rearview, making sure Miles didn’t decide to go for broke and hunt him down. But all the while he remained painfully aware of the woman next to him.
He’d dated his share of women. Had never hurt for girlfriends or a companion on a Saturday night. But none of them held a candle to Stacey Bermin. Part of the Miami pride temporarily staying at the Catamount Ranch, Stacey represented every fantasy of feline perfection he’d ever had.
Long golden hair—not blond or brown, but white spun with gold—lay in soft waves over her shoulders. A strand curled above her breast, drawing his attention to the generous swell cupped by what was no doubt an expensive lacy bra under her blouse. The woman designed clothes for a living and looked like a professional model. Today she wore spiked heels with some kind of leopard print—which he hoped to hell was fake—a short khaki skirt and a silky shirt that brought out the blue of her eyes. Like her brother, she had looks that attracted attention no matter where she went. And when she dressed like that, people stopped to stare. She was that hot.
“Problem, Jethro?” she asked in that haughty voice that set him on edge and got him hard in a heartbeat.
He thickened a hick accent to annoy her. “It’s Gomer, darlin’. Just wondering why you’re out of the house without protection.”
“It’s been a month. If Lex was going to pull something, he’d have done so by now.”
“Maybe.” Then again, with what they’d heard about the Ac-taw down South, the shapeshifting scum might be lying in wait, just itching for a chance to kidnap and torture the Bermins one at a time.
“Besides, I’m with you.” Stacey sniffed. “No doubt if there’s a problem, you can call Burke or Grady for help.”
As if Dean couldn’t handle a few scraggly Florida cats by himself. He forced himself to ignore yet another insult. “So here’s another question for ya. Why are you dressing like a hooker on a Friday morning? Got a hot date over eggs and bacon at the Fox’s Henhouse? ’Cause that’s where we’re headed.”
“Not that I agree with you, but really, hooker? If anything, I’d go with high-class call girl.” She frowned. And even that turned him on, the way her light-colored brows furrowed, wrinkling the baby-fine skin of her siren face. “I thought you were going into Whitefish.”
“Nah. Grady’s got that covered.” His older brother had this morning’s tour group because he’d switched with Dean for the weekend. Now that Grady had mated his own spirited cat, he’d turned into a real homebody. Of course, if Dean found someone as nice and pretty as Gabby Easton, he’d have done the same.
He gave Stacey another discreet once-over, wondering what she might be like if she could keep her mouth closed, or at the least go for ten seconds at a time without saying something mean. He counted silently to eight before she parted her lips. He sighed.
“Any reason you can think of that my brother—who has a meeting in another three hours with an investment firm interested in expanding our designs out West—would have dyed his hair blue today?”
Inwardly, Dean cringed. Okay, so it hadn’t been the best time for a little revenge on the snot staying with them. Temporarily, he kept reminding himself. Although Stacey’s sisters seemed to have settled in right nice, Stacey and Miles acted like they’d rather be anywhere but Cougar Falls.
“No idea. Maybe he wants to impress Juneau Jacobs? Heard he has a date tonight.” Juneau was a sweet bear who could do so much better than Miles.
Stacey’s lips thinned.
“What? Hell, if something as stupid as blue hair will kill the deal, then do you really want these investors in the first place?” Great. Now he was feeling guilty about giving Miles what he deserved. Trust Stacey to ruin a great prank.
“I thought you and Juneau were an item. Or is it Reggie you’re catting around with lately?”
At least she wasn’t worried about Miles, which meant he hadn’t screwed up their chance to nab investors. He frowned. “Juneau and I dated over a year ago. Reggie’s a nice girl. A friend. You have a problem with her?” He left the dirt road leading to the ranch and headed into town.
“Not at all. It’s not the poor girl’s fault she’s been tempted by the town slut. The women around here have pitifully little to work with.”
He gritted his teeth and clenched the wheel. He reminded himself she was under the pride’s protection, that the skirmish in Miami wasn’t quite over, and that danger could be stalking her just around the corner. But damn, it was hard to remember all that with her smug expression daring him to give her a taste of her own medicine.
At the word taste, he immediately wondered what her lips would feel like under his. Oh hell. Not going there. Not with this one. He just wished he didn’t always have to remind himself of that fact.
He pulled into the parking lot of the crowding diner, turned off the engine and faced her with a forced smile. “Sweetheart, if I’d known how interested you were in my love life, I’d have made sure to save you a night.” He leaned closer, entranced by the lingering smell of her perfume and by the heady scent of anger roiling from her pores. “I can pencil you in on a Sunday afternoon if you’d like.” He trailed a finger down her forearm to her hand and did his best to ignore the heat licking through his body.
He thought for a moment her pupils dilated, that he caught the spike of arousal in the air. Until she gave him one of her trademark sneers, which annoyed him to no end, because even her disgust turned him on.
“You could only be so lucky.” Stacey left the truck with the grace of a feline in her prime. After shutting the door, she leaned in through the window and gave him a tantalizing glimpse of cleavage framed by a blue lace bra. “Sorry, sweetheart, but my tastes run higher than the five ’n dime.”
Who’s afraid of the big bad hybrid?
A Love Worth Biting For
© 2013 Roxy Mews
Hart Clan Hybrids, Book 1
Amber Paulson’s wolf has chosen a mate for her, but Amber is not amused with its pick. Jake Meyers might look amazing in a wet T-shirt and have the cheekbones and strong jaw that artists drool over. Too bad he is missing a pulse.
Jake is a vampire, well, mostly. Then a tall, curvy redhead pops up on his radar and something awakens in him. Even though he tries to stay away, Amber gets under his skin, and his vampire/werewolf heritage starts to become more bark and less bite. For the first time, he feels the call of the moon, and he knows it’s all because of Amber Paulson.
Amber’s trying to stay away, and Jake’s trying to not turn furry. They both fail miserably—and with a lot of sweaty and enjoyable property destruction.
By giving in to her mating call, Amber finds out more than she ever wanted to know about herself, her family, and the rogue wolf who took so much from her so long ago. As her past comes back to bite her, she’ll have to decide what she’s willing to give up for her mate. Her home? Her pack? Her…heartbeat?