“I know,” she whispered. If there was one thing she’d learned about Gash, it was that he’d go to battle for what he loved. He was a fighter. It was in his blood, and he’d always fight for Ouachita.
So why did his confession leave her feeling more alone than before?
She knew this was a big step for Gash. He wasn’t the type to spill his guts all willy-nilly. He was telling her she mattered to him. At least in the way a male cat feels for their female. Territorial. Protective. Instinctually, he needed to keep her safe and that’s what he’d been trying to do all this time.
She got it, she did.
But there was one thing he didn’t say in all those words he’d spilled. One thing she needed to hear if they were ever going to be anything more than friends. The only thing that would make mating acceptable in her eyes.
That he wanted her.
Not because she needed his protection. Not because it was his duty to see she was cared for. But because he wanted her, and only her, for the extent of their lives. Like Renner and Beth. Like Eagan and Clara. Magic and Josie, Ryan and Layna, Doc and Owyn. So many perfect matings for their clan. She’d say it was a miracle, but it wasn’t. It was just people loving people and deciding to remain committed no matter what.
Now she wanted her own perfect union . Settling for anything less would be an insult to all their clan had worked for. An insult to Gash. And definitely an insult to herself.
She wouldn’t be anyone’s needy female. She was a tigress.
“Thank you for telling me,” she forced past her lips. Gash still held her face but when she tried to pull away, he let go, his brow crumpling in a frown.
He cleared his throat as she turned to busy her hands wiping down the counter.
“You deserved to know.”
He watched, big arms crossed over his chest, as she finished putting things away. Bailey felt the heat of his gaze following her the whole time, and when she hit the switch on the lights and pushed through the kitchen door to the dining room, Gash was hot on her heels.
The walk from the lodge to her cabin was longer since her place was the farthest away. There were plenty of other empty cabins closer to the main building, but she’d chosen one farther out on purpose. And she rarely ever took a four-wheeler to work because she liked the exercise. Now, she was wishing she’d made an exception.
The trail was dark aside from the light of the half full moon and the accompanying stars. Gash was silent as he followed her. It was just how it needed to be. Quiet so her mind could sort through things.
Tomorrow was a new day. New faces to meet. New feelings to deal with. New problems that would need solving. For tonight, there was her comfy bed and a pint of pecan turtle fudge ice cream waiting for her at home.
Chapter Three
Gash climbed the steps to Bailey’s cabin, giving her as much space as his cat would allow. Which was none to speak of.
She fumbled with the lock on her door, and finally got it open before turning to face him. He wanted to touch her again. How would he ever be able to keep from it now? It was easier when he didn’t know how soft her dark skin was or how powerful her emotions felt through their tiny bond. Ignorance was bliss, because now, knowing what he knew, he wanted to wrap himself around her and stay that way forever. He wanted to fuse them together and feed off her hope like a goddamn emotional leech.
His Bailey wanted a future with him. She didn’t want to take him for a test drive. It wasn’t just a simple musing as he’d assumed. Like, hey, I wonder if Gash would make a good mate. No, she’d already chosen him. Her tiger wanted him badly and so did the woman. Even with all the distance he’d placed between them, even with the cold shoulder, she chose him.
It made his throat burn with tears he’d never let fall.
It changed everything.
He swallowed the lump in his throat as Bailey’s guarded gaze met his.
“I’ll see you at breakfast?” she asked.
Gash nodded. “For sure.”
“Goodnight.”
“Yeah.”
Gritting his teeth against his jag’s complaints, he watched Bailey go inside and close the door behind her. When her living room light clicked off and the one in the bedroom came on, he forced himself away. She was safe. There was no reason for him to be here.
He stalked down the porch, giving Mason’s cabin a glance. It stood across the trail from Bailey’s and that fact had given Gash a lot of grief over the past year. Mason was known for his sexcapades. He was the Suavio of the clan. The cougar shifter made a lot of females googlie-eyed and sweaty. And even though all his charm didn’t appear to work on Bailey, Gash hated the virile male being in such close proximity to his female.