“You don’t care about before? About where I was before, I mean?” she asked, and she sounded so hopeful his heart hurt for her.
“No, baby. I don’t care about your past, only our present and future. Marry me, Sophie. I can’t promise you Paris in a Learjet, but I can promise I’ll love you.” He let out a breath, realizing he’d never said it before. And neither had she. “I love you,” he repeated.
She didn’t say anything. And then she plastered herself to his chest and kissed the breath out of him. “I love you so much.” She was laughing and crying and planting kisses all over his face. And before he knew it, they were somehow naked in his bed, his necklace around her throat, making love like two halves of a whole.
He pushed while she pulled. Their lips and bodies met, magnets of affection connected in the deepest of places. His animal spirit curled around hers and protected, offering everything for her to take. When her spirit accepted his gift, he sighed into her and gave his essence, his soul, to his other half.
She arched into his touch and sighed his name, and as he poured his seed into her with a moan and a plea, she took him in her arms and gave him the haven he’d needed for far too long.
The next two weeks passed in bliss. They’d decided to move her out of Theo’s old house and into his cabin. She had no furniture, only clothing and a few odds and ends to take with her, which he found distressing. Sophie needed girlie things, and he set about trying to fill his house with stuff she liked. Flowers, fancy tea pots and lingerie to suit his bride-to-be. So okay, the lacey crap was more for him than her, but it made her happy.
And hel-lo, but his woman had the sweetest pussy he’d ever had the pleasure of licking, sucking and eating. She wanted sex as much, if not more, than he did. He was in heaven.
She made no more mention of whatever troubled her, and he refused to pry. He wanted nothing to mar his bright future. He tried to put Norris out of his mind, satisfied the order could do its damn job and protect the town. Even Rafe’s brief talk hadn’t elicited any anger. The gray wolf had bumped into him on the street, warned him to protect Sophie and treat her right, then moved on as if he’d never tried to take the woman for his own. Not the actions of a man pining for a lost mate.
Satisfied Sheridan had never intended more than a physical joining, Monty’s wolf eased, especially since the bastard had never and would never lay a paw on Sophie Tanner, soon to be Sophie GrayClaw.
Just the thought of marrying his girl made him smile.
“Oh hell. Another dopey dog fantasy? Did I come at a bad time?” Miles Bermin, a cat Monty had prayed he’d seen the last of, had apparently returned from Florida. He walked into Chastell Tours like he owned it and took a seat across from the desk Monty currently worked behind.
“Well, well. The Sunshine state’s big bad kitty’s come back. What’s wrong, Miles? They mean to you down South? Need to come back so we can save your ass yet again?” Monty put just enough sneer in the insult to be effective, and the annoyance in the other male’s face pleased the hell out of him.
“As a matter of fact, yes.” The admission came as a hiss.
Monty was floored. “Come again?” It hadn’t escaped him that he’d deliberately steered clear of Hunter talk while courting Sophie. This new together time with her had to be cherished, and he refused to consider death and killing while cementing his ties to his mate.
“Look, wolf. I’ve looked everywhere I possibly can. She’s got to be here.”
“What?” Monty glanced around. Dean and Grady had to be setting him up. No way Miles there’s a permanent stick up my designer ass Bermin was actually asking him for help. Voluntarily.
“It’s Joy. Ever since we left a month ago, she’s been here and gone. And by here, I mean in Miami, and by gone, I mean she checks in by phone, but that’s it. She says she’s finding herself, but after that mess with Stacey and not capturing all the Hunters involved in the kidnapping, I’m worried she’s in danger.”
“And Quince?” The Florida cat had purportedly been working with rogue Ac-taw and maybe Hunters. Yet evidence had proven he’d been trying to take down the rogues all along. Maybe.
Miles’s lips thinned. “He’s gone too. I don’t know what the fuck is going on, and you’re the best tracker I know. Hell, everyone I asked for help recommended you. When it comes to Hunters, you’re the expert.”
A fact he hated. “Yeah, well, I’m mated now. I’m hanging it up.” He didn’t like the look on Miles’s face. As much as the cat plain irritated him, Monty felt for the guy. “Shit. You sure Joy is in trouble and not fucking with you? This is Joy we’re talking about.” He paused. “You see Burke yet?”
“Yes and no. I know Joy can be a handful.”
Monty snorted. The she-devil caused trouble like Dean on a bad day. And she was pretty, so she got out of it as much as she was in it.
Miles continued, “Last she and I spoke, she told me she was coming back to Cougar Falls to sort things out. That was three days ago. I haven’t heard from her since. I haven’t been to town yet to see Burke, but I’ve kept in touch on the phone. He has no idea where she is either, and he mentioned I should talk to you. That you were looking into the Hunter problem.” Miles met his gaze, and the worry there touched a chord in Monty. “Look. I know you and I don’t exactly get along. I’m not asking you to involve yourself in this for me. But for Joy. She’s innocent beneath all that trickery. And Hunters—”
“You don’t have to tell me about Hunters,” he interrupted. He felt sick to his stomach, imagining her in the hands of someone like Norris. Letting someone else deal with the prick wouldn’t work anyway. Before long, Sophie would want to leave town for one reason or another, and Monty would freak out that she might be in danger, that Norris was still looking for him. Might as well face it head-on.
“Hell. I’ve put this off anyway. We’ve been looking for the Hunters that got away that day, after they grabbed Stacey and Dean. The order took out five of them since you left. The last one went down a few days ago. No word of their ringleader yet.” No Ted Norris. “But that doesn’t mean he’s involved in Joy’s disappearance.”
“And it doesn’t mean he’s not. Miami is in a shit sandwich, everyone jockeying to be pride leader. Joy’s better off up here in town. But I can’t find her, Quince is suddenly missing and there are stirrings in Tennessee that some big Hunter’s Folly is going down.”
Monty paled. Hunter’s Folly was what those murderous dickheads called their main fighting event. The ultimate challenge where Hunter owners pitted their enslaved Ac-taw against one another, a death match to end all death matches. He rubbed his wrist, fingering the silvery scar left by a cougar’s sharp teeth.
“Look. I’ll dig into it. Tennessee, you said?”
Miles shook his head. “That’s where I heard the rumor, but the Folly is supposedly going down outside of Kalispell real soon. Funny thing, them having the festivities in Montana so close, don’t you think?”
Ted Norris sat at the center of this Hunter’s Folly. Monty could feel it in his bones.
“You told anyone else about this?” He stood, already planning what to do and say to Sophie to explain his coming absence. He didn’t want to leave her, but if Norris was indeed up to his old tricks, he’d take down Sophie, the pride and anyone else Monty deemed important in his life. Monty needed to take the fight to him.
Miles stood with him. “Not yet. After meeting with you, I’m going to see Burke and the town council. They need to be informed about this possible threat.”
“Good.” Monty moved to the door then stopped. He turned and stared Miles in the eye. “I’m going to settle this. Don’t worry. I’ll take care of the Hunters for good this time.” Norris had to die. “I’m not sure they’re behind Joy being missing, but if they are, I’ll find her.”