Fierce Protector (Sierra Pride Book 3) Read Online Free PDF

distribution of cougars. Um, real cougars. Not were-cougars.”
    He snort-laughed, but waved a hand that she should continue. She didn’t need to know that some crackpots actually were trying to find proof of what they were calling “were-cougars.” They wrote up papers and distributed them amongst a small set of academics. Most people laughed or rolled their eyes at the anecdotal proof these “scholars” had compiled, but the truth was, with every new report or book circulated, Gabriel and his people were in more danger.
    He didn’t want to think about that, though—he wanted to talk to Miranda.
    She rolled her eyes. “What do you want to be called?”
    “Shapeshifter, or shifter for short. Mountain lion shifter, or cougar shifter, or lion shifter…any of those things.”
    She nodded. “Okay. Well, my research is not on shifters. I’m curious about home ranges, primarily, but I also like looking at markings in the fur, and coloring, and whether certain areas are more or less likely to hold similar color markings. For the most part people think cougars all look the same, but once you really get to know one, in my case by studying pictures, you can see differences. It’s those differences I’m interested in.”
    Her bowl of oatmeal was empty. He held up the pot. “More?”
    “No, thanks.”
    “I’ll finish the rest, then.” He wolfed it down with her spoon while she watched. He watched her, too. It should have been awkward, and maybe with anyone else it would have been, but he studied her eyes, her nose, her lips. The hollow of her throat that seemed to be begging for kisses.
    He set aside the empty bowl and scooted toward her.
    “Miranda, I’m going to kiss you now.” Wait, shit, no, that wasn’t right. Consent. He needed consent. If there was one thing his Nan had brainwashed him and his brothers with, it was asking consent. “Is that okay?”
    She nodded.
    “Really, is it okay?”
    “Yes,” she said.
    And in the tiny shack in the middle of the wilderness, with nothing around them but trees and bushes and rocks and sky, he leaned down and plucked at her lips with his own.
    She tasted sweet—so sweet—and her lips were soft beneath his. He wanted nothing more than to ravish her mouth, but no, he’d hold himself back. He didn’t want to scare her. This kiss felt like the most important thing he’d ever done in his life.
    Cupping her face with his hands, he pressed his lips to hers a second and a third time, breathing in her air, smelling her, feeling her softness and tasting the sweet thimbleberries on her breath.
    He felt a rumbling deep in his chest. It was both a satisfaction and a yearning.
    He’d found his mate.
    Miranda was his mate.
    He was doing a good job of treasuring the moment until she leaned closer and mashed her mouth against his. Then it was all slipping tongues and searing lust, and he couldn’t hold himself back anymore. With a growl, he picked her up and carried her to the cot in the corner of the shack. He sucked and slurped kisses down her neck.
    He hesitated. Why take her inside the grimy shack on this cot that would probably collapse under their combined weight? They were out in nature, his temple. He would rather honor her, claim her as his, out there with the trees and sky and pure clean air to witness their love. He snagged a blanket from the cot, all the while keeping Miranda in his arms. She kissed him just as hungrily while he carried her outside.
    Tossing the blanket on the ground, he lifted her shirt, impatient to feel her against him, to see, to taste as much of her as possible. She nipped at his lips and he smiled against her. “Biting?” he asked. “I thought that was my job.”
    She bit him again, laughing. “I scratch, too.”
    A shiver ran through him, lust mixed with something else. Love. Commitment. He didn’t know what this coupling would mean to her, but to him, it meant everything.
    Her hands snaked under his shirt, gracing his stomach and pressing