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Tiger shifters were his people, though, so he thought he had an advantage in seeking out the culprit. It could really have been anyone, as the scent of all of his kind was stuck to the insides of his nostrils, like all of the other family members.
He went on for nearly two hours, walking and sniffing the air, nearby fallen trees, and piles of dead leaves. The scent had faded into the crisp autumn air, and Henry grunted, reluctantly turning to go back to Kirsten with empty hands.
When he arrived, Kirsten was bathing Zara in the sink. She was still far too small and too young to have a tub bath, so Kirsten had placed a small bin inside the sink in the kitchen and was holding her up by the back of her neck as she ran warm water up and down her tummy and back.
Henry had gotten dressed quickly in sweats, not wanting to miss a single second of the precious moment.
Kirsten was holding his delicate baby daughter in the water and was humming a sweet tune as she moved the warm water over the baby’s thin skin. Henry stood there in the doorway, watching, listening to the soothing sound of the new nanny’s voice, all while admiring the tantalizing curve of her ass in those slacks.
“Okay honey, it’s time to get you all wrapped up,” Kirsten crooned to Zara.
Zara’s eyes were barely open. She had been lying still against Kirsten’s palm, lost in the bliss of the sensation of the warm water and her caregiver’s soft, loving voice. Henry wondered if it had all reminded her of being in the womb, and it made his stomach ache.
Zara’s little limbs flailed slightly as she was removed from the divinity of the sink but soon enough drifted into a slumber as Kirsten expertly wrapped her in a cuddly blanket. Kirsten continued speaking to her, sweetly kissing her nose and rocking her back and forth in her arms.
“You really are something else.”
Kirsten turned to him, eyes wide, but she didn’t dare make a sound.
“I didn’t know you were there,” she said, half a smirk lighting up her striking features.
“I didn’t want to ruin the moment.”
Henry walked over to them, placing a kiss on Zara’s fragile little head, then planted one on Kirsten. Her lips were so luscious and tasty. He couldn’t believe how weak she made him.
“Let me put her to bed, and you can tell me what happened,” Kirsten whispered.
Henry nodded, and Kirsten did just that. He made them both a cup of tea to take in the living room, the place where Kirsten had first seen the strange shifter. When she returned from putting Zara to bed, she was wearing comfortable pajama pants and a loose t-shirt.
Henry realized that he didn’t care what the woman was wearing, or not wearing, for that matter. Her long black hair was tied up in a braid, flung over one side of her shoulders, her tasty nape exposed for him to explore later.
To him, she would always look immaculate and, thus, desirable.
She plopped down beside him and propped her elbow up on the couch. She sighed, her eyelids looking heavy from her long day.
“Tell me,” she murmured.
So he told her all about chasing the tiger, knowing that it was a shifter and a woman, but nothing else. Kirsten listened closely the entire time but kept intermittently yawning, trying to cover her mouth and wave him along so as not to distract him.
He placed a hand on her thighs, squeezing them for emphasis.
“You should sleep soon, honey,” he said tenderly. “You’ve had an exciting day.”
She giggled at him, then scoffed.
“I’m not the one who just chased a tiger halfway through this massive property,” she said, suppressing yet another yawn.
Henry lifted a finger and stroked her cheek, running it along the bottom of her chin and all the way up the side of her opposing jawline. She closed her eyes, sighing into his touch, a tiny grin growing on her face.
“Let’s go to bed,” he whispered.
Kirsten did not argue. He held her hand as they walked upstairs together, cuddling in bed and talking about what Henry thought the next steps would be to find the perpetrator. In her daze, Kirsten suggested putting out raw meat to lure the tiger back to his property and capture it in a giant cage.
As she spoke, her head was on his shoulder, and he couldn’t help but chuckle. He ran his fingers through her lovely hair and kissed her supple neck. She groaned lightly, then settled back into him.
Henry didn’t know what he had been doing before her, but he knew exactly what he was going to be doing with her for the rest of his life. He would work to make her happy, to worship her, and to remind her every single day that she was the light in his dark sea voyage.
EIGHTEEN
