Free FavoriteObsession by Nancy Corrigan Page A

of her words. All she
smelled was the woman’s wrath.
    “Don’t lie, little girl.”
    The redhead sucked in a rough breath as if she couldn’t
believe Mira didn’t trust her. “I’m not! Josh has been cheating on me. You’re
not the first whore he’s flaunted in front of me.”
    She lunged at the woman but the female was yanked out of the
way. Mira whirled, hands fisted to beat the truth out of her. A male with a
bushy red beard had the girl tucked behind his body.
    He inclined his head. “Sorry ’bout that, ma’am. My sis here
has had a wee bit too much to drink.” The male tugged the female toward the
parking lot. “Nice night, ma’am.”
    Her cats didn’t want to let the humans go. They posed a
threat. The same musty drug scent she’d smelled on the human who’d hurt Josh
clung to the male’s clothes. His signature, however, didn’t match Zeb’s. Mira
held her ground. She stared at their retreating backs until they climbed into a
lifted pickup and drove away.
    The female’s words bothered her but the anger boiling her
blood was better than the sadness. She turned away from the bar and headed into
the woods. She needed to run. Tonight had pushed her to the limit of her
control. Any more and she’d likely explode.

Chapter Seven
     
    Josh watched the last two waitresses pull out of the parking
lot. He pivoted on his heel, took two steps and stopped. Kade leaned against
the rear wall with his hands in his pockets and a troubled look on his face.
    “What do you want?”
    Kade shrugged. “Do I need a reason to visit my favorite
human?”
    Josh strode across the lot, flung the door open and waved
him inside. He wanted this talk over with. There was only one reason Kade would
be here.
    Mira.
    Only the beer signs’ faint glow brightened the interior.
Josh didn’t bother with the lights. He could see well enough and the shifter
following him would have no problem getting around. In the main room, he weaved
around the tables with chairs upturned on them. Once behind the bar, he grabbed
their beers, the usual for their late-night drink-fests. Normally, he looked
forward to them. With the shit that had gone down tonight, he didn’t want to
deal with anyone, let alone one of the men Mira might chose as her mate.
    Two longnecks in hand, he tipped his chin toward Kade. “Where
do you want to have this lecture? Here or in the office.”
    “Why do you assume I’m here to lecture you?”
    Josh shifted one bottle to his other hand and dropped two
chairs from the nearest table onto the floor. He placed the beers on the clean
surface and straddled the seat. “’Cause after what happened today, it’s a
given. Let’s get this over with. I’ve had a shitty week.”
    With a hard glare fixed on him, Kade took a swig of his
favorite lager, a local brew. He swallowed and slammed the amber glass to the
table. “I thought I’d made myself perfectly clear. It’s become apparent you
need a reminder of the rules.”
    “See. I was right. You came here to lecture.”
    “It’s not a lecture. I gave you an order. You disobeyed me.”
    Josh stood and the chair clanked to the floor. Palms on the
table, he locked gazes with the feline leader. “And I’m damn tired of being
held to rules nobody else in your family has to follow.”
    Kade mirrored his pose, a matching clunk echoing through the
room. “Do not challenge me.”
    Josh sneered. If he had fangs, he’d hiss at the bastard too.
“You know very well we’re past that. You’re the top cat. For Megan’s sake, I
acknowledge that.” He leaned close enough to smell the hint of beer on Kade’s
breath. “Spit it out. What did I do wrong this time?”
    “You kissed Mira.”
    Josh shoved away and picked up the chair. He needed a moment
to school his features. Just the mention of what he’d shared with Mira heated
his body. Their first damn kiss and everyone in the bar including the male
behind him had gotten to share in it. Because, yeah, he’d known Kade was