CougarHeat by Marisa Chenery

forward. “You found
your mate.” Then a shocked expression formed on his face. “Aspen?”
    “Yes, Aspen,” Taylor said. “It just
happened. She also told me it’s been warming against her while we sleep
together. Plus, she has an almost overwhelming urge to take it from me and wear
it herself.”
    Blaise whistled. “She’s your mate.”
    Taylor nodded. “Have any of you
ever heard of a cougar shifter having a human as a mate before?”
    The three other men shook their
heads. “I would have to say you’re the first,” Grady said. “And since she got
your pendant glowing, there’s nothing anyone can say about it. No one can
dispute the magic in it.”
    That was true. Only a male’s mate
could set off the magic in the pendant. His father was going to blow his lid
when he found out, but Taylor really didn’t give a shit. Aspen was his. He’d
already started to fall in love with her, but hadn’t picked up on what his
feelings for her actually meant until now.
    The sound of Aspen shouting his
name in fear had Taylor shoving back his chair and running at no speed a human
could ever achieve toward the restrooms. Blaise, Jase and Grady quickly
followed behind him.

Chapter Seven
     
    Aspen walked out of one of the
stalls in the ladies’ room and went to the sink to wash her hands. The door
opened and Nikki walked in. Seeing the unpleasant look on the other woman’s
face, Aspen decided it would be best on her part to ignore her.
    She finished at the sink and dried
her hands before she turned to head out of the restroom, but found her path
blocked by Nikki. Aspen stepped to the side to go around her only to have Nikki
move with her.
    “What do you think you’re doing,
human, being with Taylor? We don’t want your kind around here.”
    “Human?” Aspen asked, wondering if
Nikki wasn’t all there.
    “Do yourself a favor and stay away
from Taylor. He’s mine. Stay the hell away from him.”
    Aspen instantly stood up for
herself. It was obvious Nikki was jealous, but that didn’t give her the right
to try to intimidate her. She gave the other woman a hard look. “Since Taylor
is with me, I have to see he never was yours in the first place. And I won’t be
breaking up with him just because you’re threatening me.”
    “Then I guess we’ll have to see how
much Taylor will want you once I get my claws into your face.”
    What happened next had Aspen’s
heart jumping into her throat. Nikki’s body shimmered and blurred. An instant
later, a very pissed-off cougar took her place. It snarled and growled as it
bunched its back legs under it as if to spring. As it did, Aspen held her arms
in front of her face and shouted Taylor’s name as loud as she could.
    The restroom door slammed open and
Taylor, Blaise, Jase and Grady ran in. Taylor caught the cougar around the
middle before it reached Aspen and threw it into one of the open stalls. The
large cat quickly recovered and shot out like a bullet.
    Aspen found herself frozen to the
spot as Taylor’s body blurred and shimmered as Nikki’s had and a larger cougar
stood where he’d been. The male cat blocked the female’s charge, his large paw
coming out and swiping her across the face, but that didn’t stop her from
attempting to get at Aspen again. It took the male grappling her to the floor,
standing over her with his sharp teeth bared above her throat, to have her
backing down.
    The female cougar’s form shifted to
human and she was Nikki once more. “I’ll leave your precious human alone for
now, but don’t ever bring her here again.” She gained her feet and stomped out
of the restroom.
    The sound of harsh breathing filled
Aspen’s ears. It took her a few seconds to realize it was her making the sound.
Her heart raced as the male cougar’s body blurred and shimmered and Taylor was
himself again. He turned and took a step toward her, but she stopped him by
holding her hands out in front of her.
    “Stop,” she said. “How could you…
What are…