She looked up; his eyes were laughing and sparkling.
"Why did you call me that?"
"Because you are you like this little general that just runs around telling people what to do and they do it."
"I do not." She swatted his arm.
He nodded. "Oh yes, you do. You even have the prince dancing to your tune; don't think we haven't noticed."
"I promise to use my powers for good."
He chuckled.
"So do you not want to?" she waggled her eyebrows at him.
He shook his head. "I'll always want you, but you got hurt today. The only reason I claimed you earlier, despite your injuries, is because my lion was frantic to do so after almost losing you. We can take the night off so your body can rest."
"So it is not that you did not enjoy..." He nipped her hard enough to almost draw blood and she squeaked.
"Don't even complete that sentence," he said in a deepened voice. "I'm being a gentleman."
Never before had a man put her needs-- even the ones that she was ignoring-- above his own.
"Thank you. Will you be a gentleman tomorrow?"
"I will be gentle, and I will be a man."
"Good." She turned back around and wiggled her butt.
Growling low in his throat, he gave her ass a gentle tap and stilled her hips with his hand.
"Careful, kitten." Laughing, she closed her eyes. She could get used to this growly lion.
CHAPTER TWELVE
When she woke up, she was alone. She stretched all four limbs, enjoying the feel of having the bed to herself. She looked around and saw a piece of paper on the nightstand. Declan had left. He had a workout meeting with the unit warriors, and he told her that he would meet her at the Council room for the trial. Kari stretched one last time and then hopped out of bed. She experienced a surreal moment seeing her suitcase against the wall. She lived here, but not really. She was still pulling clothes out of her suitcase to get dressed. She looked around; the man didn't even own a dresser.
She threw the suitcase up on the bed and dug out a change of clothes. She got ready and headed downstairs. When she got to the kitchen, she laughed. He had left a Post-it note on the espresso machine with a heart drawn on it with a little lion figure next to it. She opened the cabinets until she found what she was looking for, two reusable travel cups. She made two lattes, one for herself, and one for Avery.
With her portfolio bag slung over her shoulder and lattes in hand, she left the Unit Level and floated down to Level One. When she reached Magnus' office, she handed the latte to Avery. She noticed that Warrick was in the corner, his feet propped up on the desk, his eyes closed. When she walked up to the desk, Warrick opened his eyes. Even though he looked like he was relaxed, she knew he was on alert. Vin and Keegan were smirking at him, and Warrick winked at her. Avery grabbed the cup, inhaled, and his eyes practically rolled back in his head.
"Thank you!" he exclaimed.
He took a sip and then moaned. Warrick's gaze flew to his mate. She smiled at him, and he swallowed hard.
"One month," she announced.
"What?" he asked, never taking his eyes from Avery.
"His birthday is one month away. He was born late for shifter."
Avery sighed, blissfully happy, oblivious to his mate's discomfort. He was still dancing in his chair.
"Where did you find this?" he asked, opening his eyes.
"Declan has an espresso machine."
"I love your mate," Avery admitted, taking another sip. Warrick growled low at the declaration.
"On that note, bye darling, have fun."
"Oh, I will." Avery took another sip and then shuddered.
Chuckling to herself, Kari met up with Rex just past the transport tunnel on the way to the Council room. At the door, she saw Meryn standing with her hands on her hips, face turned up to the man at the door. Kari looked over at Rex who was now scowling. Rex and Kari walked up behind Meryn. Rex wrapped protective arm around Meryn's shoulders.
"What seems to be a problem here?" he asked.
The man looked up, eyed Rex quickly. "No one is to be admitted, especially shifters."
"On whose authority?" Rex demanded.
"The Founding Families have determined these will be closed-door proceedings."
The guard never even looked up as he was speaking to Rex.
"Son, do you know who I am?" he asked.
The guard scoffed. "I am a vampire and probably older than you, shifter. Watch who you call son."
Kari heard a distinctive sound and then looked at Rex. He was grinding his teeth, his jaw muscles clenched. Declan shared the same habit when he was aggravated.
Meryn pointed at him. "Aiden does that a lot too."
Kari looked at her. "With you, I am not surprised."