A Matter of Pride

Chapter Nine

Three days later, Dean still couldn’t believe it. Stacey had defeated Lex Gates. And she’d been vicious about it. She’d impressed the pride, Quince’s cats and everyone around town—or so he’d been told by Grady, who added to tales about her bravado with every visit to the sickroom Dean had been forbidden to leave.

With a wince, he dragged his legs over the side of the bed. Nurse Ratched, as Ty called the bird who’d healed the fox from his own brush with Hunters, had done her best to stitch Dean up. But even she’d needed help and called in crotchety old Doc Stanley, whose sage advice of rest and more rest Dean could have done without. He didn’t need to sleep, he needed Stacey’s warm thighs and sweet kisses to heal him. Unfortunately the princess needed to tend to her fans instead of the man who’d nearly died trying to save her sexy ass.

His brothers didn’t seem too worried about him either, which peeved him more than a little. Neither of them had offered him any sympathy. Instead they stuck him with Rachel and Julia—torture at best. The mothers-to-be had been practicing all that nurturing crap on him, which wouldn’t have been too bad if that had involved soft caresses, comments about his bravery and red meat. But they insisted on chastising him for nearly getting himself killed in between force-feeding him broth and vegetables. Christ, if they kept it up, his cat might shrivel up and die.

To make matters worse, they were pleasant about it. He didn’t need nice. He needed someone tough, arrogant and a bit mean. Someone so fucking beautiful he couldn’t take his eyes from her, even when she frowned at him or made fun of him for being too far beneath her to notice.

Where the hell was she? It had been three days now. Anytime he brought up her name, the idiots around him changed the subject.

He heard footsteps on the stairs, and his heart raced. But the footsteps sounded too heavy to be Stacey’s. And then the door opened.

“Oh hell.” He groaned when Miles walked in. The cat’s hair was still blue, which would have been funny if Dean wasn’t aching, frustrated and pissed off that Stacey hadn’t visited him.

Miles glared. “I just wanted to thank you.”

“While growling?”

“For saving my sister’s life.”

Dean squirmed in discomfort. He could lie to himself all he wanted, but at the end of the day, she’d killed Lex while he’d been unconscious. “She saved herself.”

“That’s bullshit. You nearly died keeping them away from her. She knows it, and I know it. We owe you.”

“Fuck that. She doesn’t owe me shit.” How the hell could the woman think she owed him anything? Mates cared for one another. They didn’t bargain or charge each other for help.

“Wait. She doesn’t owe you, but I do?”

“Tell you what, Blue.” He took a perverse sense of pleasure seeing Miles clamp his jaw tight. “You forget about the hair and we’ll call it even.”

“Hard to forget when the dye won’t wash out.”

“Just use the counteragent under my sink. Grady or Burke could have told you it’s there.” Let them deal with Miles. It was the least they could do for their poor, unloved little brother. “I’ve used the same dye on them a time or two growing up.”

“Yeah?” Miles narrowed his eyes.

“Monty too. He knew about it.” Not really, but the wolf laughed every time he saw Dean, and Dean didn’t like it.

“I’ll deal with Monty too. If I can find him. The wolf is hard to pin down.”

But not too gone to send Dean a bouquet of flowers and a note that read, To Mr. Stacey Bermin: Congratulations on winning sucker of the year award. The bastard.

Dean hadn’t claimed Stacey yet. And he needed to in the worst way. He felt her inside him, as if a part of her had bonded to him already. He hoped she’d started the process, but he couldn’t tell. He needed to see her again to know, but the blasted woman remained incommunicado.

“Where the hell is your sister?” he blurted, unable to hold back.

Miles smirked. “Which one?”

“Stacey. Where is Stacey?”

“Probably packing. With the threat gone, we’re going home. Lex is dead and his traitors rounded up—well, except for Quince.” Miles frowned.

“But the others are okay, right?” While he and Stacey had been dealing with cats and Hunters, Monty and Quince’s guys had fought their own battle. A few dickheads from Miami had tried to tangle with Burke, but he’d made short work of them. Grady and Gabby, apparently, were one hell of a team. And Joel, thankfully, had gotten to knock some heads together too, which made the bear happy.

So everyone was cheerful except for Dean. “Wait a minute. Packing? Going home?” His heart raced. Panic hit him from head to toe. “She hasn’t come to see me once!”

Miles sighed and sat on the edge of the bed. He patted Dean’s knee, right over a tender bruise that was taking forever to heal.

“Fuck. Cut it out.” Dean grimaced. “What do you mean she’s packing? You can’t go!”

“Oh?” Miles blinked. “You want me to stay? I knew this enmity had to be of my own making. Dean, I feel so close to you right now. How about a hug?”

“Damn it. Get off me, you moron.” He shoved Miles away, annoyed to see the blue-haired idiot laughing at him. “I’m talking about Stacey. She’s mine.”

“Yours?”

He should have been having this discussion with Miss Priss, but maybe he could enlist Miles to stop her from leaving. “I mated her.”

“You don’t smell like her.”

“We had sex. A lot. We have to get married.”

“Not in this day and age. I want my sister happy, not stuck with some bumpkin because she enjoyed herself once.”

“More than once,” Dean muttered. “You don’t understand. She’s inside me.”

“My sister lives inside her designs, so it stands to reason she’d live inside her friends and family as well. She’s a part of all of us, Dean,” Miles said kindly. And Miles was never kind.

“Look, you sorry ass. She’s mine. I love her, I’m mating her, and that damn shrew better get her ass in here or she’s going to be sorry!”

He’d never yelled so loudly in his life, but Dean was a man on the edge. In pain, horny, missing Stacey like crazy and worried to death she’d slip out of his grasp before he could make that final connection bonding them permanently.

“Stacey Bermin. My sister. You think you love my sister?”

“Unfortunately, yeah.” Dean lay back against the bed, feeling dizzy. He’d strained something when he sat up too fast. Fuck. He needed out of this bed, to get to her before she disappeared again.

“But why?”

“Because she’s bitchy, uppity, kind of mean and pretty. She loves with her whole heart, and she’s the biggest liar I know.” How could he not love a woman who conned people with every breath? A conceited princess with no heart? Hell no. She was just a woman afraid of being alone, who didn’t know how to connect with people without saying the wrong thing.

“A liar? My sister?” Miles looked confused. “We are talking about Stacey and not Joy, right?”

“Joy came to see me. I’m talking about the obnoxious one, the blond bimbo who should have been taking care of me, like a proper mate.” He tried to get up again, but this time Miles held him down.

“Easy there, Tex.”

“This is Montana, dickhead. Who the hell are you calling Tex?”

Miles sighed. “Okay, Mr. Literal. Where do you think you’re going?”

“To find Stacey.”

“To do what, exactly?”

Dean just grinned.

“For God’s sake, you can barely walk.” Miles rubbed his eyes. “Let’s say you find her. What do you think is going to happen once you declare yourself? Do you expect her to move in here and have a litter of kittens to go with the pride’s growing brood?”

Dean scowled. “She loves me back, you know. She’s just too damn scared to handle me. Knows I won’t bend to her every whim, and she’s not sure what to do about it. But I know her. We’ll check out Miami together and do what she needs to. I’m flexible. I can tolerate a lot for the right woman.” And it was her.

Stacey Bermin, the only female he hadn’t been bored with after a few dates. The sole feline he wanted with his last breath, whom he considered more important than all the pranks, camp outs and women in the world. He couldn’t believe she’d been right under his nose all this time. For her he’d do anything. But he had to find her first.

“You truly amaze me, Chastell.” Miles shook his head. The bastard looked good in blue, go figure. “Stacey is currently packing in her cabin. We have plane tickets. Our departure is in two more days. So I suggest you heal as quickly as possible and get yourself packed. We’ll be ready to roll.” He frowned. “When did you see Joy last, anyway?”

“Yesterday. She poked her head in, saw I was fine, then darted out of here before I could say boo.”

“Shit.”

“Miles?”

“I have to go. If you see her again, sit on her and yell for me. That girl has some explaining to do.”

Dean could barely handle thinking about one Bermin female. Now Joy was in trouble? He shouldn’t have been surprised. But what to do about Stacey? She had a right to be upset that he hadn’t done more to protect her. She’d saved herself, made her own money and had her own life down in Miami. What the hell did Dean think he could give her that she couldn’t get from someone else, somewhere else?

As he sat, a subtle scent invaded. Stacey had been on his mind and in his heart for so long, he’d completely ignored the fact that she’d stayed with him in other places. And if she had, that could only mean she’d given herself to him—in no small way.

It didn’t take him but a minute. The answer was so clear, it slapped him in the face when he looked at that handsome man staring back at him in the mirror. He knew what he could give her.

“Me. I’ve got me.” Dean grinned, confident that Stacey might actually be better than him in a lot of ways, but he’d burrowed under her skin and refused to leave. Now to show her he had staying power.

With just an hour before she had to go to the airport, Stacey rearranged the clothes in her bag for the twelfth time. She had no urge to pack again but couldn’t help herself, not when she’d be leaving part of herself with Dean in Cougar Falls. The people here were far from sophisticated, and hell, their obsession with denim and flannel gave her hives, but she’d seen more truth, honesty and integrity in the pride in the short time she’d hidden out here at the ranch than in her many years in Miami.

Yet her business was there. Her life showing off her designs, her skills. Without that, she’d lose money. And without money, she’d… What? She had her looks, but those would fade in time. Money gave her a sense of power, and as long as she kept making it, she’d be okay.

Her sisters thought she was making a mistake. Melissa and Amy planned to stay in Cougar Falls. Miles was coming, of course. Joy… Stacey frowned. Her hotheaded sister had gone ahead to meet them in Miami. But she’d been acting funny. Stacey really should talk to Miles about it, but she couldn’t stop missing Dean, and she hadn’t left yet. It annoyed her to feel so connected to him when he hadn’t once asked about her.

Grady and Burke had shaken their heads sadly when she’d asked about him, and not wanting to be a source of pity, she’d pretended it didn’t matter. But it did. That jackass had his life thanks to her. But did he even want to know how she’d fared?

A knock at the door startled her. She hadn’t heard anyone near. “Yes?”

No one answered. Irritated at having her pity party interrupted, she flung the door open and stared at nothing. But she scented Dean close by.

Her body quivered with recognition, and the cat inside her started to purr. Her animal spirit wanted to lick him up, to see for herself that her mate had survived and was ready to procreate once more.

That slutty cat would be the death of her.

She turned and slammed the door behind her, except it didn’t shut. Something—someone—shoved her toward the bed.

The door shut and locked before she caught her balance. And then Dean was crowding behind her, not giving her time for breath before he slammed her face down onto a quilt comforter.

“Oomph.”

“Sorry, baby. My balance is a little off.”

“Get off me, you oaf,” came out muffled against the bed sheets.

“What?” He moved back and sat on her.

Stunned that anyone would confuse her with a chair, she tried to buck him off the small of her back. “Get off!”

“Not until you unpack, princess.”

“You— Unpack?”A jolt of warmth shook her.

“Yep. You heard me.” He groaned. “Man, my body is killing me. A good mate would see to her man’s comfort. So unpack and get me naked. I need some lovin’.”

She couldn’t have heard correctly. “I’m sorry?”

“About time you apologized.” He sighed. “I figure you’re scared now that we’ve committed to each other. But that’s okay. We can go to Miami or wherever you need to be to do your fashion stuff. But I’d like to visit on holidays at least. Winters here are beautiful, and my cat likes the snow.”

“But—I—you—”

“Still, it would have been nice if you’d come to see me. I asked about you constantly, but my brothers told me you didn’t give a crap. I know better.”

“Your brothers are assholes.” She glared up at him over her shoulder, wishing he’d move those dense bones of his. Dean had asked about her constantly? Warmth unfurled through the cold spots in her heart. “I’ve visited you more than once since you were injured. Hell, I stayed with you through several nights. I was told you never asked about me. Not once.”

“Is that so?” He got that look in his eyes that promised payback, and she was glad not to be on the receiving end. “So now you know. I was waiting for you.” His expression sobered. “I’m sorry I wasn’t there to save you.”

“What?”

“That I passed out in that nasty ski lodge and you had to fight Lex yourself. I didn’t doubt you could kick his ass, but you shouldn’t have had to.”

“It was a pleasure.” But it meant the world to her he’d believed she could beat Lex. He seemed more upset that he hadn’t helped her, not that she’d taken Lex out.

“I remember biting Jeremy’s ankle, but not much else.”

She chuckled. “You gnawed on him a bit. Then Grady crushed his larynx.”

“Good man.” Dean nodded. “For that at least.”

Silence filled the room.

“Dean?”

“Yeah?”

“Could you move your ass?”

“Oh.” He shifted off her and groaned, but at least she could breathe comfortably again.

Until she noted his bare upper torso and the low-riding sweatpants. She worked hard to swallow. “You look like hell.”

“Back at you, sugar.”

“Please. I look divine.”

He grimaced. “Yeah, you do. But you don’t look happy. Why the fuck are you packing?”

“I have a life to get back to. I don’t belong here.” So why did she suddenly wish she did?

“You could if you wanted. You could help all the pathetic women in Cougar Falls, the ones needing fashion advice. Then they wouldn’t have to shop online.” He cleared his throat. “I could build you a house. A big one that you could design any way you wanted. And I’d tell you every day how beautiful you are.”

Her heart raced. “I know I’m beautiful.”

“No you don’t.”

She frowned. “I’m gorgeous. People love me.”

“No. People love the blond hair, the blue eyes and those delectable tits and ass. I love that too, sure, but for me, it’s the woman on the inside who counts.” Dean lay back on the bed and put his hands behind his head, looking like he meant to take a nap. “I’m in love with the woman and that mean cat behind the façade.”

This was how he told her the most important words she’d ever heard in her life? How he declared that he loved her?

She rolled to her knees and loomed over him on the bed, her hands planted on her hips so she wouldn’t wrap them around his throat. “You tell me you love me while half asleep?”

“I’m injured,” he whined and looked up at her through half-shuttered lids. “And I’m aching.”

“You big baby.” She melted inside, remembering how much abuse he’d taken for her. He loves me. Oh my God. “You probably say this to all your dates.”

He opened his eyes wide, and the honest love there said what words never could. “No. Never said that to anyone. Just you.”

As they absorbed what that meant, Stacey knew now was the time. She either took a chance on Dean, or she went back to the lonely beaches in Florida, where empty, shallow and handsome men hung on her every word. None of them wore Levis, and none of them had ever seen beyond the blond veneer. And she would never claim any of them, not since she’d already given her heart to the sneaky cat watching her like prey.

She bit her lip. “You’re probably making it sound worse than it is.”

“I’m not. I really, really hurt.” He shifted on the bed and brought her attention to the growing bulge in his sweatpants.

“Oh?” Interested, she leaned closer.

“Yeah. If I remember right, you’re supposed to make me all better.” He crooked his finger.

Bemused, she leaned down, and he whispered in her ear, “You claimed me, baby. You can’t take it back.”

Hell. He knew.

The overjoyed grin on his face was her undoing. He didn’t leer. He didn’t smirk or laugh. He purred with happiness.

“And you’re glad about that?”

“Hell yeah. I’ve lusted after you for years, but you’re such a pain in my ass.”

“Dean.”

“Man-whore this, bastard that. But you always seemed like another person under all your bluster. I think you like me—you always liked me. And you claimed me, princess.” He crooked his finger again, and when she leaned close, he kissed her. “Let me claim you back.”

“But I’m leaving.”

“With me.”

“You love Cougar Falls. Your family is here.” He’d actually leave his home for her?

“Yep. And they’ll always be my family. You’re my mate, Stacey. We both know it. The question is, are you brave enough to keep me?”

“Explain that.”

He shrugged. “Women love me. That’s a fact. But I’m a one-woman cat. I might have dated a lot, but only one woman at a time while I’ve been looking for that special girl. I found her. It’s you.”

“Me.” That’s right. Me. Her cat preened.

“But you’re going to have to be able to handle the fact that I’m hot, sexy and a chick magnet. I figure if I can handle all the Romeos wanting your attention, you can deal with my fan club.”

What he said made sense. Kind of. “A little arrogant, aren’t you?”

“Then I’m the perfect man for you, aren’t I?” He pulled her closer to lie next to him on the bed. “I’ve kept my distance for years, but once I tasted you, once you got inside my cat, I was a goner. Put me out of my misery and say yes.”

She felt out of sorts, simultaneously elated and terrified. Dean mattered. What if she screwed up and he left? What if he saw the real her and ran the other way? Even she knew beauty was only skin deep.

“You just want me for my money,” she accused, her mind racing. If he wanted her money, at least she had something to keep him interested.

“And your body, don’t forget that.” He nodded, smirking. “Yep. I found me a rich woman with nice breasts. I’m golden.”

If she gave him twenty bucks, he’d probably spend it on beers for his friends. The man needed her money like he needed a hole in his head. Dear God, he really loved her. She swallowed hard. “Yeah, well, what do I get if I take you on?”

“My wonderful family,” he deadpanned.

She laughed, then remembered she was supposed to be freaking out about her future.

“And my fine body. Come on, Stace. You have to admit I have a stellar tongue.”

“Hmm. There is that. But how do I know you won’t throw me over for some other woman?”

He snorted. “I’ve already been through the ladies out here. Hello? Still single.” His eyes darkened as he looked her over. “Or I was single, until you.”

She teetered on decision’s edge, ready to change her life forever. “So maybe if we stayed here, I’d be more comfortable. I mean, there’s less competition for me. You’ve already slept with most of the town,” she added to be nasty.

His breath hitched. “Yeah. That’s true. No one else for me here to work my wiles on.”

“I guess your family will keep you busy enough that you’re not always clinging to me while I’m working. I’ll have my hands full trying to bring style to this poor little town.”

“Yep. Think about Cougar Falls, baby. They need you. Miami doesn’t need you as much.”

“Hmm. But how do I know I’ll be happy here?”

He shook his head. “That was my line. Seems to me you still owe me for not trusting me from the beginning. Lying about Quince. About Lex. Getting me all beat up.”

“You’re healed.” But she choked up, remembering him so helpless, so hurt while Hunters and rogues surrounded them.

His expression softened. He caught a tear from her eyelash. “Uh-uh. You’re not getting off so easy.”

“What?”

“I’m not buying the tears. I’m the walking wounded. I’ll carry scars on my fine body for life.”

“You mean until you shift back and forth a few times and heal.”

“Well, yeah, but it will feel like forever.” He shook his head. “I think you should take at least one pain away.”

“Oh?”

He glanced down at his erection.

The schemer. God, she loved him. Dean used jokes and laughter to work through his problems. She’d seen him joke his way out of bigger trouble, and right now, the love she felt vibrating through their tied spirits radiated joy.

Only a moron would walk away from a future with Dean, and Stacey refused to be led by fear. If Dean tried cheating or messing her over, she’d make him pay. The thought encouraged her.

“So wounded,” he said again and tugged his pants down to free himself. He didn’t wear underwear. “I bet a few kisses would make everything better.”

“I’ll just bet.” Stacey scooted down the bed and gently pried his legs apart, aware of his real injuries still healing. “Throbbing, is it?”

“You have no idea,” he answered, his voice gravelly.

She didn’t give him any warning and took him to the back of her throat.

He groaned her name and arched off the bed, his hands in her hair, his cock hot and wet. She sucked and licked, teasing his balls while she loved him with her body, mind and spirit.

“God I love you,” he moaned as she stroked the underside of his shaft and scraped his inner thighs with sharp nails.

She flicked her tongue along his slit, lapping up his cream, and she purred when his animal spirit crept through her, petting her cat.

“Christ, I’m coming. So hard, baby. Oh God. Stacey. Take me.” He pumped and filled her mouth with seed. And while she absorbed his essence, his cat entwined with hers, scent layering over them both and settling into a connection that would never fade, never end.

She finished swallowing and let him fall from her mouth. Rising to her knees, she stared at the puckered flesh of claw and bite marks. Saw the play of strong muscle there beneath her thighs and gaze. Dean Chastell—all hers and only hers. The way it should have been all along.

“You’re looking at me like you’re going to eat me again,” Dean teased in a thick voice. “I like it.”

“You should, Jethro. Not just any man can handle me in all my glory.”

He grinned, and his smile made him absolutely beautiful. “You’re going to want a really big house, aren’t you?”

“And an even bigger ring.”

He chuckled. “You’re paying for it, moneybags.”

“I know. But we’ll pretend you hocked your life savings just for me.”

“I will if you want me to.”

And she knew he would. Money didn’t mean much to Dean. Family, love, a mate. Those were his riches. And now hers too.

“I just want you, Dean.” She paused. “There’s just one thing.”

“What?”

She liked that he looked wary. He might play dumb, but the man had an uncanny way about him. “No jeans and no flannel at our wedding. And when we have date nights twice a month, you wear the clothes I set out for you.”

“Hell. You’re going to be a pain in my ass about this, aren’t you?”

“Every damn day for the rest of your life, Gomer. Count on it.”