Page 32 of Wrong Number, Right Cougar

“Oh, you know.” He walked his fingers up my arm. “Lots of things.” He lifted my chin so we were staring into one another’s eyes. “To the success of the business.”

“Anything else?” I deadpanned.

“Hmmm.” He screwed up his face. “Now there was something else, but I can’t quite recall what it was.”

Gods, he was drawing this out, but he had to say it. I refused to do it for him.

Wilder drummed his fingers on the coffee table. “Right. I have a new home. Two, actually.”

Oh, he was keeping his old place. I understood that. Everyone needed a bolt hole.

“One is this building, bursting with memories, a place where we’re going to create more.” He patted my chest. “And here. That’s the second.” My mate took my hand and placed it over his heart. “And this is your home too.”

I couldn’t speak as my eyes blurred with tears, and I blinked them away. He was my home, even if the business failed and I had to work at the motel cleaning rooms.

“You still haven’t told me what Uncle did to celebrate.”

Wilder smirked. Oh gods, whatever it was he had to spit it out.

“He used to run through the woods naked, yelling at the top of his voice. But it had to be in the middle of the night. He didn’t want to scare any hikers.”

“What did he shout?”

“Anything that was relevant.”

It was dark outside, but it was still early. I wouldn’t last another hour. Not waiting for any more information from Wilder, I stripped off my clothes and raced out the door. I didn’t have Wilder’s shifter enhanced sight, but the moon was out as I made my way along the narrow path by the lake.

“We have our first guest,” I screeched at the top of my lungs.

My mate caught up to me. “And the love of my life asked me to move in with him.”

“How lucky am I?” I screamed.

“I’m the lucky one.”

A cloud passed over the moon and it was pitch-black. I skidded to a halt, and Wilder took my hand. I was panting from my run, and I bent over, but a streak of lightning zigzagged across the sky, followed by thunder booming, and I clung to my mate.

“Is that what I think it is?”

“You mean who it is.” Rain pitterpatted onto our heads, and we turned around and headed for home.

“Uncle.” I was certain he was up there having a beer and playing cards, telling everyone about us.

“Alexei usually ended his runs with a swim.”

But I didn’t intend to die when lightning struck the water.

“Not tonight. I need to sleep with you cuddled up beside me.”

“Every night, not just tonight.”

18

WILDER

There weren’t many cougars left in the area, but the ones that were had mentioned in passing how excited they were about the resort opening whenever I saw them running errands in town. They weren’t subtle about it either, probably since most of them had known me since I was a kid. The message was loud and clear that they were proud of me and my mate for not selling it.

Thorn and I decided it would be a good idea to invite them over before we opened. We also asked my cousin, who asked if he could bring his friends as well. Which, of course, he could. They were part of the reason we’d been ready on time.

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