Free Convincing the Cougar by Jessie Donovan Page A

recluse. Wild cougars thrived alone, but cougar-shifters had adapted to clans in order to survive and fend off humans.
    The fight with the bear had left Kian with a lame right leg. She had never thought any less of him for it. He'd earned his injury protecting a group of cubs playing in the forest. The bear-shifter had lost any signs of humanity and had been a hairbreadth away from insanity. Kian had injured the bear enough to allow his clan members to deliver the killing bite to the back of the bear's head. The clan thought of him as a hero. Unfortunately, her mate only saw himself as a liability.
    Trinity was at a loss of what to do. She had tried being supportive and patient, but that had only pushed Kian away further. Then she'd resorted to trying to provoke him to argue with her—one of the trademarks of their relationship before the fight with the bear—and all she'd received in return were a few frowns. Her latest attempt had been to leave him alone, hoping he would notice her absence. That, too, had failed.
    There was only one card she had left to play.
    She adjusted the lacy bra cupping her breasts before she sat down on a rock about ten feet behind her mate. The rock was cold on her bare ass and she shivered, her nipples tightening and poking proudly through the lace. She pinched them a few times, and the slight pain sent a rush of wetness between her thighs.
    Her mate had a keen sense of smell, but he showed no sign of noticing her arousal. She decided to fix that.
    She spread her legs wide, allowing the single, long strip of fabric she had brought to hang down and cover her pussy. Her hand itched to go lower and wrestle out an orgasm, but Trinity resisted. She was tired of taking care of herself. Kian hadn't fucked her in the last four months, and she wanted more than her fingers—she wanted his cock pounding into her.
    Trying not to think about what she would do if her latest idea failed, she picked up a branch next to the rock and threw it at her mate. The branch landed to his left as she'd intended, and Kian turned around. His eyes widened before he frowned and said, "What the hell are you doing? You're mostly naked, and my brother will be stopping by any minute."
    Trinity spread her legs as wide as she could and used one hand to caress and fondle her breasts. She'd never had to be direct with her lusty mate before—he'd simply taken what he wanted—but the hungry look in his eyes gave her the courage to say, "I'm going to sit out here until someone fucks me. I want it to be you, but if not, Sylas or his second-in-command can do it when they arrive."
    She expected him to argue with her, but Kian simply moved his gaze from her face to her breasts. "Maybe you should go to them." He looked back up to her eyes. "I can no longer give you what you need, Trin."
    Her heart plummeted. Kian was deeper into his self-pitying victim mentality than she'd realized, but she refused to give up. The strong, alpha male she'd mated was inside of Kian. She was determined to bring him out again.
    Their sex life had always been fire and passion, each of them taking turns to fight for control. There had never been a need to seduce or convince Kian in the past—a heated look was all it had taken to get him naked above her. But she would do whatever it took to get him to feel whole again. It was going to take everything in her arsenal to convince him to fight for both himself and her. And to fight for their clan.
    "Well, in that case, I'd better ready myself for Sy and the others. I've never had more than one man at a time before."
    Even at this distance, she could see Kian's jaw clench. Good. That was the biggest reaction she'd gotten out of him in weeks.
    She gave her right nipple a twist and let out a moan. Even from ten feet away, she could hear Kian draw in a breath.
    Okay, Trinity, time to take it up a notch. She stopped playing with her nipples and moved her hands to the material between her thighs. Inch by inch, she raised