Page 19 of Claiming Her Cougar (Shifting Pines #2)

“You have freckles!” I cry out with delight. Freckles are adorable. I hate it when women cover them up with layers of powder and goop.

Mallory’s cheeks flush a pretty pink, and she covers her face with her hands.

“You can see them? I hate them. It’s the curse of being a redhead.”

“Shut up. They’re adorable. Freckles have always been my weakness, ever since Amy Looper in fourth grade. Yours are cuter than hers, by the way.”

“Seriously? Freckles do it for you?” she asks skeptically.

“Well, I enjoy trying to discover all the spots, other than the face, there may be freckles.” I speak with a slow, suggestive drawl and give an eyebrow wiggle for good measure.

“Liam…” A warning.

“What?” I flash a wicked grin.

“No flirting.”

“It’s kinda my default setting.”

“Well, go back to the factory then. No flirting.”

I think about that. Can I interact with Mallory without flirting?

Yeah, I’m a naturally flirtatious man, but I don’t flirt with Teagan.

She doesn’t inspire those kinds of feelings in me.

She’d probably punch me or turn me into a toad if I did.

Not that I’m attracted to everyone I flirt with.

Sometimes I do it to be funny or to give them a boost. But I want to flirt with Mallory because I am attracted to her.

I don’t want to make her uncomfortable though. That’s an asshole thing to do.

“Okay, no flirting. So just normal friend-type stuff like I’d do with Teagan and Jake?”

“Yeah, or like with Daphne,” she suggests.

“Oh, I flirt with Daphne. Always have. It drives Logan crazy. I take credit for them finally getting together.” I take a sip of the bottle of water I grabbed from the mini fridge when I entered the room. “I’m going to be the godfather to their baby.”

“Baby?” Mallory gasps. “They’re having a baby? Oh, my goodness, that’s so exciting! Wow!”

“Whoa, cool your jets there, Red,” I caution. “No babies yet as far as I know, but when they have them, I called dibs on godfather for the first one.”

“Red? Really? That’s the best you could do?”

“I can’t call you sweetheart or honey, so had to think of something on the fly. I guess I should have gone with Sparky?”

She laughs. “Sparky? Where did that come from?”

I laugh too. “I don’t know. It just came to me. You’re kind of spunky. Made me think of a spark plug, so…Sparky.”

“I like that. I’ve never had a fun nickname. It’s either been Mal or something like Runt or Norm.”

“Norm? Like the guy from that old show Cheers ?”

“Norm, like normal. It wasn’t a compliment. Because I can’t shift, I’m normal. I hate that one especially.”

“I can’t believe your family treats you like that. That’s horrible.” I want to kick some asses on her behalf.

“It’s my extended family—cousins and their friends.

My immediate family isn’t intentionally cruel like that.

They’re insensitive sometimes, but it’s more from cluelessness than cruelty.

I imagine it’s like if a baby shifter was born into a human family.

They love them and care for them the best they can, but they don’t understand the shifter side because they haven’t experienced it.

” It’s her turn to take a sip from her mug.

It’s black and says “Perfectly Imperfect” in pink script on it.

It suits her. “Their humanness, for lack of a better word, has been filtered through the lens of being a shifter. I think if they weren’t all wolves, if it was a mixed family like yours, it wouldn’t be as bad.

If you were human and not a cougar shifter, it wouldn’t be considered something akin to a disability.

It’s something you got from your mom. Me being human is because something went wrong genetically. ”

Someone scores, and I’m not even sure which team because we haven’t been watching the game. We’ve been focused on each other in the waning seconds of the first period.

How to ask this tactfully… “Did they do tests, or is it just assumed that you can’t shift because you haven’t shifted?”

“Liam, I’m twenty-six years old. If I haven’t shifted yet, I’m not going to shift. I didn’t decide not to shift. I’ve tried! I can’t do it. There’s something wrong with me.”

My heart twists, seeing her knuckles whiten as she grips her mug. Her beautiful green eyes go distant. She’s hurting, and all I want to do is make it better for her.

“Mallory Carter, there isn’t a damn thing wrong with you. You are exactly how you are meant to be. Look at your mug, you aren’t perfectly imperfect, you’re perfectly perfect.”

She looks away from her camera, blinking rapidly and sniffling. Crap, I didn’t want to make her cry.

“Shit, I’m sorry, Mallory.”

“Don’t apologize! Liam, that was the sweetest thing anyone has ever said to me. You’re great at not flirting. Thank you.”

Huh, that’s not something I’ve heard before.

“Well, there’s a first time for everything,” I say with a laugh.

“Seriously, thank you, Liam. I need a friend.”

Ah, crap, I’m getting friend-zoned. I don’t want to be the creepy guy that pretends to be friends with a woman in hopes she’ll eventually sleep with him.

If I do this, then I’m going to be her friend.

That’s what I’d want someone to do for Kennie.

Mallory is someone’s sister, so I need to treat her how I want Kennie treated.

Not that it matters what Mallory’s relation to someone is.

She’s a person and worthy of friendship and respect solely based on that.

Okay, reset my brain to be friends. Hope my heart follows suit.

“Wow, this got heavy. I’m sorry,” Mallory says. “Do you want to keep watching the game, or do you want to go get drunk and cheer up?”

I chuckle. “I’m fine to watch the game if you are. You don’t need to entertain me or be fake cheerful. If we’re going to be friends, we have to be who we are, right?”

“You’re okay being my friend?”

“Mallory, I’m going to be honest with you.

I like you. I think you’re gorgeous. You’re funny, you’re smart, and you get along with my friends and family.

We know we’re compatible sexually. You’re the type of woman I’d love to date.

But you don’t want to date me, and that’s your prerogative.

You not wanting to date me doesn’t negate that you’re funny, smart, a good person, and someone I’d want to be friends with, even if you weren’t someone I was attracted to.

I’m a grown-up. I can handle rejection.”

“I’m sorry, Liam,” Mallory says. “It’s not that I don’t like you, it’s?—”

“You don’t have to explain anything, Mallory. It’s fine. Let’s just leave it as it is and move on. Okay?” I really don’t want to hear all the reasons I’m good enough to fuck in Vegas and be a friend with in New Jersey, but not good enough to date. I’m a decent man, but I’m not a saint.

“Okay. So keep watching the game?” There’s a tentativeness to her question that I hate. She should never be tentative.

“Yeah, I’d like that. It’s intermission. I need to get out of my suit and get comfortable. Do you want me to call you back after I change, or can I point the laptop out the window? You can catch the view of whatever town I’m in now.”

“Ooh, let me see you in your suit first!” Mallory requests.

“I already took off my tie, but I’ll throw my jacket back on.”

I put on my dark gray suit jacket and angle my laptop’s camera to show me full length.

“You clean up good, Morgan! Very nice,” Mallory says approvingly, a smile gracing her lips.

“Thanks. Mom would be proud. I prefer jeans and flannel, but I’m here to represent the company and need to present the proper image.

” I pick up my laptop and walk over to the window.

I set it on the air- conditioning unit facing a park that has some holiday light displays set up, so there’s something to look at.

“Okay, you can enjoy the view while I change. It’s some sort of walkthrough holiday light display in a local park.”

“Ooh, pretty. Thanks.”

I get my clothes out of my bag and unbutton my shirt. It’s weird to get changed and not talk, so I continue our conversation.

“How was work? Are you guys all settled upstairs?” There’s no response. Did we lose our connection? “Still there, Sparky?”

Mallory coughs to clear her throat. “Um…yeah, we’re good.

I’ve been closing out as many files as I can.

I normally get an hour or two a day. We have lots to do with regular year-end work.

Plus there’s the wrapping things up and preparing the open files for whoever the management companies go with for their next counsel. ”

I drape my suit pants over the desk chair and pull on a T-shirt and a pair of shorts over my boxer briefs. I sleep naked, but I can’t get that comfortable while on FaceTime.

“Be right back. Need to brush my teeth,” I call out.

“No problem!”

This room’s vanity and sink are outside the bathroom proper, so she can probably hear me brush, but big whoop. At least she knows I have good oral hygiene.

“All done.” I pick her up from where she was facing out the window. I reach up to close the drapes and notice my reflection in the glass. Could she see me change in the reflection? Judging by the pink flush in her cheeks, I bet she could. I hope she liked what she saw.