AllFreeNovel
Share Us
What was I thinking? I started a game of aggression with a male who outweighs me, is more than a head taller than me, and who has the reflexes of… well, the reflexes of a cat.
“You. Tricked. Me.” His voice is so low it rumbles. “You. Will. Pay.”
Fear slices through me for the swiftest moment, then the caked flour creases on his face as his expression morphs into a wide smile.
“Game on!” By his tone of voice, it’s clear this will be anything but a game.
His meaty fist dips into the flour canister, grabs a handful of flour, and poofs it at me. By the trajectory of his toss, I imagine my hair and face have a generous dusting. Looking down, I see a swath dotting my breasts and stomach.
He scoops another handful and comes after me with both his hands up in a threat. My body reacts as if he’s the apex predator he was bred to be, while my brain reminds me this is Noble, the male with whom I shared a blazing kiss.
Soon we’re playing cat and mouse around the kitchen, him stalking me, sprinkling me with flour when he gets close enough, and chuffing with good humor when I escape him. I make a pass around the island, going so fast I barely grab a pinch of flour which I proceed to throw at him with such terrible aim I don’t get a speck on him.
My ineptitude pulls a chuckle from both of us as I continue to run. He pursues me, always letting me evade him.
I quit running, turn to look at him, and am struck by the happy look on his flour-covered feline face. How did this happen? How did we manage to overcome all our obvious differences and connect like this?
The humor evaporates in an instant. All that’s left between us is his look of raw desire, which I imagine is mirrored by my own.
Chapter Sixteen
Noble
Sex has always been a singular affair for me. There were no opportunities in captivity and no desire to mount the other males after we were freed. It’s been just me and my hand since I’ve been old enough to sprout an erection.
Perhaps it’s because I never met a female, never saw one in person, neversmelledone.
That’s different now. The scent of twenty females wafts into my nostrils every day, but I don’t wantallof them. It’s only Jenna that I want.
She’s happy and laughing and playful. I can’t think of a time in my life when I played. But everything changed a few minutes ago. It transformed from fun to deadly serious for a brief moment when she sprinted away from me.
Every time I forget my origins, forget what’s knitted into my very DNA, something reminds me who—and what—I am. I’m not a man. I’m a splicer with a generous helping of lion DNA.
When Jenna ran away from me, her hair tipped in white flour flying behind her like a flag, it triggered an instinct buried deep inside me. It awakened my inner predator. My retracted claws sprang to life as I raced to get close enough to take a swipe at her.
For the swiftest moment, I almost forgot who she was. But then a deep belly laugh bubbled out of her and she turned to smile at me. I could never be so deeply submerged in my animal nature to hurt this female. She’s too precious, too full of life, for me to ever want to harm her.
And now, look at her. Those honey-brown eyes are searching my face, her lips parted as her happiness evaporates. It’s replaced with… what? Is that desire? Desire for me?
All it takes is a flick of her gaze to one of the corners of the ceiling to remind us both that we’re being surveilled.
She clears her throat and tosses back her long, brown hair in an unsuccessful effort to get the dusting of flour off of it.
“We should… I doubt we’re going to get any baking done today. It’s going to take all afternoon to clear the flour out of every nook and cranny of this kitchen. And…” She flicks her fingers toward my face. “You’re a mess, and so am I.”
For the briefest moment, she flashes me a smile, then we turn in opposite directions and commence to clean.
We give each other a wide berth as we wipe the counters, sweep, and mop. I can still feel the fine gritty powder beneath the soles of my shoes, so I mop the floor again.
“Tomorrow. Tomorrow I’m going to give you a proper baking lesson. And I’ll make it fun… but not too fun,” she says when all the ingredients have been stowed in their proper places and the kitchen looks as good as when we arrived.
The two military cooks showed up a while ago and have been grumbling while they waited for us to finish cleaning.
One of them says, “Finally” with a heavenward glance as we leave the room.
The moment our flurry of activity is over, my desire for Jenna sparks back to life. She smells so good and with all the running and cleaning, her cheeks are pink from exertion. It’s sexy.
“Want to walk to the lake with me?” I don’t know why I try so hard to keep my voice nonchalant. Even the most casual observer would know I can’t take my eyes off her.
