Ouachita Mated(16)

But maybe not forever. That was the thing that fed his guilt. There was no way to know what mistakes Magic would have made if she’d lived. He’d come so close—too close—that rancid night at the bar.

With his thumb, he rubbed the tattoo emblazoned on his forearm. A purple and turquoise ribbon woven across the face of a cougar. The ribbon was a recent addition to the tribute to his former mate, and signified suicide prevention awareness.

It reminded him what he was fighting for. Why he risked alienating his clan. He never wanted to find another female cat had given up life to avoid the pain of mating.

It wasn’t even something that happened often. Females either fought back as a former member of their clan, Tana, had, years ago, or decided it was their duty to the race.

But one was enough for Magic.

Never again.

Scrubbing his hands over his face, he let out a frustrated growl.

The sound that pulled him from his dream played at his ears again, so faint he didn’t know how he’d heard it in sleep.

Tap, tap, tap. Tap, tap, tap. Tap, tap, taap-pa-tap.

Magic stood, letting his feline senses guide him closer to the source of the noise. A door in one wall separated his room from the one next to him. The sound seemed to be coming from there, but nobody was ever in that room. Layna left it empty unless they were booked full. That’s the only time visitors stayed in the employee wing.

The rapping continued, and Magic ground his molars together in irritation. It had to be one of the cats. Someone too horny to take their find to their cabin. Probably fucking Gash. He’d only been with their clan a year, and he was the biggest hunter of them all. A jaguar cougar mix who didn’t make many attempts to rein in his cat’s desires.

Magic unlocked his part of the adjoining door and slapped his palm against the thin wood of the remaining one. The tapping stopped mid-sequence.

“Gash, you bastard. That you? Take it somewhere else.”

The squeak of furniture moving eked through the crack in the door and then soft footsteps padded closer. Those didn’t belong to any six and a half foot shifter, that was for damn sure.

“Magic? Is that you?” The voice was soft and confused, and belonged to Josie.

All the anger bled from him as fast as it took his heart to beat its next beat. Jesus, fucking Layna. She could have warned him she was putting Josie next door so he didn’t scare the hell out of her at two in the morning.

“Yeah. Uh…” His brain was scrambled, but he searched for something to say.

With a twist of the knob, her door came open and she tentatively peeked around the side. When she was sure it was him, she opened it fully.

“You surprised me,” she murmured. “What’s wrong?”

But one look at her and his words stuck in his throat.

He’d never seen her like this. She was always so put together. Even in the gym, she’d seemed as though the sweat was just another accessory. Like a purse and shoes. Now, her face was clear of any makeup and he could see the freckles that dotted her nose. And that her eyes were bluer without the dark liner she usually wore. Her hair was down and flowing past her shoulders in soft waves. Dressed in only a t-shirt and tiny shorts, she took his fucking breath away.

When he didn’t answer, her gaze fell to his bare chest. Then a little lower to his low slung pants before flicking back to his face. She shuffled from sock-covered foot to sock-covered foot while he was helpless not to stare.

“Is… is everything all right?” she asked, breathless. He didn’t miss the way her words husked from the back of her throat. It was sexy as hell.

Every muscle in his body tensed, but this time, not out of frustration.

It was attraction, clear and undeniable. And not something he could easily shake. It made sense now, why he’d always wanted her gone as soon as she arrived. Why her teasing left him irritated. Why he blamed her for any trouble within a five mile radius when she was around.

But nothing was her fault. Not a single fucking bit of it.

It was all on him. His fault he wanted her. His fault he’d never have her. His fault he’d been an ass to her.

That was the heart of it all. He was an ass. A twelve ton, Jupiter sized ass to anyone he cared about. It didn’t even matter that his intentions were to keep all of them safe.

There had to be a better way to do this.

“I heard a noise,” Magic muttered.

Josie’s brow scrunched into a frown. “You did? I was just lying in bed. Couldn’t sleep.”

“A tapping.”

“Tapping. Yeah, I mean, I was tapping the mattress with my fingers. Like this.” She walked to the bed and fluttered her fingers against it, like she was playing piano. “It’s Jingle Bells,” she said. “It’s a nervous tick. Playing silent songs. I do it when I’m thinking. But… how did you hear that?”