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What he needed to do was get the fuck out of the kitchen before Jerry saw his goddamn erection. Without waiting for a reply, he left the kitchen and practically sprinted for his bedroom.
Christ, he’d just been cockblocked by his grandmother’s seventy-eight-year-old boyfriend.
CHAPTER 7
Hedra was still awake when he scratched at her bedroom door. She stayed in bed and stared at the ceiling, the moonlight shining in her window casting strange shadows.
She wasn’t surprised he was here. Despite her agreement to accompany him to the party, she knew he was still worried. And more than a little freaked out by his nan dating. He’d been perfectly polite to Jerry tonight, but she had no doubt he would do a full background check on the leopard shifter as soon as he got to the office tomorrow.
He scratched at the door again, and she told herself to ignore it. Boone was her employer, not her boyfriend. She couldn’t be responsible for his emotions. In another few weeks, Althea would be living independently again, and Hedra’s job would be over. She’d never see Boone again.
He scratched again, harder this time, and she pressed her lips together and gripped the quilt to stop from getting out of bed.
Stay where you are, Hedra. He’ll give up and go back to his own bed.
A perfectly acceptable plan until he made the most mournful-sounding cry she’d ever heard. The sound shot her out of bed like a bullet, and she hurried across the room to open the door.
Boone’s tiger chuffed and pressed his heavy head against her hip. She stroked his head and down his back before patting his hip. “Fifteen minutes only, and then you return to your bed.”
Leaving the door open, she walked to the bed with the massive tiger following closely. She climbed into her side of the bed and pulled up the quilt as the tiger jumped onto the bed. It creaked and groaned as he settled beside her and rested his head on her chest.
She scratched his throat and ears, smiling when his purring started with a heavy rumble. “We’ll probably break the bed, and then how will I explain that to Boone?”
He chuffed and repeatedly swiped his face across hers until she pushed him back. “Enough, big guy. I’m sufficiently marked.”
He rubbed his head against her chest and shoulders and along both her arms, and she sighed and stopped trying to push him away. He needed this. Besides, it would work in their favour to smell like his tiger when she showed up at the party in two days.
He marked her for nearly five minutes before growling with satisfaction and resting his head on her stomach. She smoothed his long whiskers and rubbed his forehead as he purred loudly.
She yawned, and the tiger yawned too, his open mouth big enough for her to stick her entire head into if she wanted. She grinned to herself and pressed one finger against the tiger’s pink tongue, making him chuff in surprise.
She smiled at him and stuck both hands into the thick fur around his neck, giving him a good scratch. His purring was deafening, and she patted his shoulder. “Shh, big guy.”
He let his head drop on her chest as he draped one heavy paw across her stomach. She rested her hand on his paw, tracing the top with small circles.
“Fifteen minutes,” she said drowsily.
The tiger chuffed softly, and her hand still resting on his paw, she drifted into sleep.
* * *
“Are you sure this is appropriate for a celebrity party?” Hedra asked. She studied herself in the full-length mirror on the wall.
“It’s perfect,” Shay said. “Did you get it at Antonia’s downtown?”
“Yes, have you been there?” Hedra asked.
“A few times with Ryan when she needs an outfit for one of her grandmother’s many parties,” Shay said. “The dark blue looks fantastic with your hair.”
“Thanks,” Hedra said. Her dress had a double deep V neckline, three-quarter sleeves, and a flowy A-line skirt. Sequin stripes covered the top, and she ran her finger over them. “You don’t think these are too… glittery.”
“Not too glittery,” Shay said with a laugh as she lounged on Hedra’s bed. Alfie sat on the bed beside her, and he rolled over so Shay could pet his stomach.
“Unbelievable,” Hedra said. “That dog hates everyone but Althea and doesn’t usually leave her side when she’s having a nap.”
Shay grinned. “Dogs love me. I’ve been a dog whisperer since I was a kid. When I was four, we lived beside a woman with a Chow named Colonel Fritz. He was the meanest dog on the block and had bit numerous people, including a few neighbourhood kids. One afternoon, my mom found me in the neighbour’s backyard, sitting on Colonel Fritz with my hands in his mouth while he lay there, panting happily. I told her I was playing dentist.”
“Do you have a dog?” Hedra asked.
