When An Alpha Purrs(30)

       
           



       

Kira enjoyed testing them, leaving smudges in odd places and putting  dirty dishes under the bed, in the vanity drawer. She even balled up  some underwear and stuffed it with other dirty laundry in the freezer.

Wiped clean, washed and put away, laundered and folded in her drawers.  It was unnatural how they always knew. Was it crazy to suspect Arik of  employing elves instead of real people? He denied it, but she had a  feeling. If she could only catch this mysterious cleanup crew at work …

Cleanliness wasn't his only adorable neurosis. Like many felines, Arik  liked to nap, in the sun on that giant pillow she'd noticed on her first  visit. The quirky part was he enjoyed napping as a man, in the nude.

While coming across a naked hunk, stretching tanned muscles warmed from  sunlight, was kind of delicious, it did kind of freak her out the first  time since she'd brought her aunt with her to show her that Arik was  indeed a real boyfriend with a real condo and that, no, she wasn't lying  to avoid a blind date with Auntie's friend Petunia's single, balding,  forty-year-old son.

The "oh my" her aunt uttered wasn't entirely due to shock, and the color  in her cheeks not just embarrassment. Arik, that naughty feline, just  grinned when Kira chastised him for traumatizing her aunt.

Then Kira mauled him for being too utterly delicious. But after that  naked incident, she made sure to peek inside before letting any visitors  in, and her family stopped all their matchmaking attempts.

As to her initial accusation that he would curtail her freedom and that  his misogynist attitude would have her tied to hearth and kitchen?  Wrong. He really had only initially kept her closeted out of concern for  her safety. With the danger eradicated, she had free rein to come and  go as she pleased. She had to make only one concession. If she wasn't  with him, then, given her position as his mate, she had to tolerate a  bodyguard shadowing her movements when she left the condo.

It was a small price to pay for the utter happiness life with Arik  brought her. And besides, she kind of enjoyed the rotating lionesses he  assigned to her-because, as it turned out, the pride was mostly women,  and they were the true hunters.

A mugger learned that the hard way when Reba made him cry for his mother and promise to do community service.

Life was different, but good. Real good.

I'm happy.

Truly and utterly. Happy with Arik, a man she spent all her spare time  with. A man she slept with every night. While they'd initially started  out taking turns at each other's apartment, her lack of space, a live-in  cook, and the most awesome shower soon put an end to that. But it  wasn't his splendid amenities and apartment that kept them together.  Kira just enjoyed being with him. The thought of going back to her  place, even for one night, without him, didn't appeal at all.

Because I love him.

Huh. I wonder when that happened. She couldn't pinpoint one particular event, but it had happened. She loved a lion.

Peeking at him where he sat perusing the stock market on his phone while  chewing on some crisp bacon, she blurted out the momentous news. "I  love you."

"I know." Smugly said.

She blinked. "What do you mean you know?"

"Because of the letter A."

"What does A have to do with anything other than being the first letter in your name?"

"Because it also stands for awesome."

"And arrogant."

"Are we back to alphabetizing my attributes? B is for brave."

She laughed. "Don't you dare start again. Besides, there's only one set of four letters that interest me."

"Oh?" he said, putting down his phone and ignoring his meal. "And what might those be?"

"M.I.N.E."

The only word she needed to have him drag her onto his lap for a scorching kiss.

A whispered, "I love you," vibrated against her lips, his softly growled admission fueling her passion.

And after they were done, panting, glowing, and cradled together,  ignoring the pounding at the door, she held still as she tried to figure  out what she heard.

It should have been impossible. Arik was a lion, and yet he was- "Purring?"

Indeed, he was. And when an alpha purrs, pleasure is sure to follow.



*



A few days later …

Babysitting duty. The indignity of it burned. Didn't Arik know that  Hayder had better things to do on a Saturday night than babysit Jeoff's  baby sister? Important stuff like washing his luxurious mane, or playing  the latest Call of Duty with his buds online.

But no, he was ordered-and yes he mentally finger quoted-to play bodyguard to some wolf chick as a favor to Jeoff.

He knocked but didn't wait for an answer at the condo door. Being the  pride's beta gave him certain liberties, such as access to all the units  in the building. He walked in, and stopped dead.                       
       
           



       

Literally, and with good reason, given a gun wavered in front of his face.

But the weapon wasn't the most shocking thing. It was the possessive  growl of his lion and the truth that gobsmacked him when he caught her  scent.

Mine.

Uh-oh.



The End …