A White Cougar Christmas by Eliza Gayle

 
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
    Chapter One
     
     
    “What’s a woman like you doing in a bar like this all alone on Christmas Eve?”
    Niki rolled her eyes. That lame pick up line wasn’t even enough to interest her in turning to face the drunk who dared to hit on her. Feeling surly enough to rip someone’s head off, she growled low in her throat. A warning she hoped the idiot would heed. This had not been her week and with the prospect of spending another holiday alone looming in front of her, she’d grown restless and edgy. A dangerous combination in any shifter.
    “What was that?”
    So much for a warning. He was either too stupid or too drunk to realize how close he was to death. It might not be his fault she’d arrived in a foul mood but that wouldn’t stop her from taking it out on him. She sniffed the air hoping to catch the scent that would give her permission to put him down. Unfortunately, he appeared to be one hundred percent human, which meant she wasn’t allowed to touch him. The less they interacted with his kind, the less chance of them being discovered.
    “Hey, honey. I’m talking to you.”
    Niki narrowed her eyes and compressed her jaw. Rules be damned she needed an outlet for her frustrations and a little violence was certainly one way to get it. Niki Harris deserved some fun for one night even if that meant unauthorized bloodshed.
    She eased herself from the stool, straightening the leather halter she’d chosen for the night, making sure the optimal amount of distracting cleavage showed. Heat surged through her system as she prepared for a fight. It took a few seconds to control the urge to shift before she turned and faced the annoying stranger.
    When he got a good look at her, his eyes widened and his gaze locked on her breasts like she’d expected. He licked his lips and she half expected drool to begin dripping from his mouth within seconds. Spying the glazed over look in his eyes from too much consumption of alcohol and the soft fleshy musculature of his arms, not to mention the beer belly, she knew this would be far too easy. She’d have him on the ground and broken to her will in less than a minute. It wasn’t even worth the trouble. No satisfaction would come from a man like this. She needed a fight or a fuck but it needed to be fair.
    “I suggest you move on before I lose what little patience I have left.”
    “Want to play hard to get, huh?” His words slurred together in one nearly incoherent jumble, causing her stomach to roll in disgust. This idiot had no idea who or what he was toying with.
    Concentrating inward, she nudged at the cougar inside her. The slow pulse of blood in her veins picked up its pace and warmed her from the inside out. Niki closed her eyes and imagined the ice blue glow of her own eyes when she shifted. Not gold like most of her cougar brethren. Her eyeteeth elongated and poked at the side of her lip. Satisfied that she’d controlled the change just enough, she lifted her lids and bared her fangs at the helpless stranger. He might not be much sport but beating the hell out of him would still feel good nonetheless.
    Her hand shot out to grasp his neck but was grabbed instead by someone crazy enough to step between her and her prey. The touch sizzled and burned straight to her core.
    “I wouldn’t do that if I were you. We don’t need that kind of trouble,” the stranger warned.
    Her snarl of frustration cut through the din of conversation in the bar, garnering the attention of more than a few patrons. But the warmth of the hand encircling her wrist distracted her, reminding her why she’d come this far from home in the first place. She didn’t want to spend Christmas alone this year. She raised her eyes to the newcomer to discover sex on legs standing next to her. At least six feet of broad, muscular male stood less than a foot away from her and just ripe for the picking.
    “Hey pal, this lady is mine, no poaching