Total pages in book: 40
Estimated words: 37782 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 189(@200wpm)___ 151(@250wpm)___ 126(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 37782 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 189(@200wpm)___ 151(@250wpm)___ 126(@300wpm)
Is that…?
I bang a fist on the door, far too satisfied when the male in question jumps in surprise. “Is that you, Jrrru?”
His head lifts, and sure enough, it’s Jrrru, just barely discernible in the darkness. His eyes glow like a cat’s as he gazes up at the vid feed, and it looks like he’s shoving something back into his clothing. Something below the belt.
Something he had his hand around and was jerking reflexively.
What. the. fuck.
“Tabitha?” There’s a little growl to his voice, as if he’s surprised to hear me. “What are you doing up?”
“Why are you breaking into my house?” I yell back through the door.
“I’m-I’m not breaking in!” He rubs a hand down his face, his glowing gaze momentarily disappearing. “What are you doing awake? You’re supposed to be asleep.”
“You’d like that, wouldn’t you?” I bellow back.
“It’d sure make this moment a lot less keffing embarrassing.”
“Why is it whenever you show up by surprise, your hand is in your pants?” I yell through the door.
“An excellent question,” he retorts. “And it’s hard to explain.”
“Try!”
There’s a pause and then I see him slump against the door on the vid screen. I hear his heavy body lean against it, and then a sigh. “Because you’re having some strange male come over tomorrow and I don’t like it, because I haven’t claimed you as mine.”
Now I’m the one that’s pausing. He hasn’t claimed me as his? I flick the locks open and crack the door, peering at him. “Explain.”
Jrrru leans against the door jamb, arms crossed over his chest. He looks disheveled, the front of his bodysuit gaping open down to the waist, and below the waist…everything is still hard and prominent and mouthwateringly large. “It’s a praxiian thing.”
“I would hope so.”
He lifts one hand to his face, scrubbing at the side of his whiskers. “You’re going to hate hearing this.”
“But you’re going to tell me anyhow, right?”
Jrrru hesitates, and then nods. He sighs heavily. “When a praxiian finds a female he’s interested in, he gets very territorial. He marks her door with his semen so his scent is there and any other praxiian would know that you’re being courted and he wouldn’t come after you. Your door wasn’t marked and it was bothering me. So…here I am.”
I blink at him, shocked. He really came over here in the middle of the night to shoot his load on my doorstep because another man is coming over? “That’s barbaric.”
“It keeps you safe.”
“Safe from what?”
He bares his teeth. “His attentions!”
The vet’s assistant? He wants to keep me safe from the vet assistant? That’s what’s got his fur in a twist? “First of all, I think he’s married and second of all, you think he’s going to go wild for me?”
My skeptical expression tells him what I think of that.
Jrrru gives a little shake of his head. “Why wouldn’t he? You’re amazing.”
Just like that, everything inside me melts. All the fear, all the annoyance, all the anger at finding him on my doorstep—gone. In its place is a sweet liquid heat. “You think I’m amazing?”
“Kef, yes.” His shoulders straighten, as if he’s about to go to battle on my behalf. “Every keffing day I wake up and I’m thrilled to be on this planet, because it means I get to see you again. I thought my brother was just infatuated with his female when we moved here and he’d get bored of it, but I understand now. It doesn’t matter where you live when the best person on the planet is right next door.”
Oh.
I take a step forward, onto the porch, and stand in front of him. I tilt my head back, staring up at his feline features. Funny how he seemed so strange to me at first and now I think he’s the best thing I’ve ever seen. “Can I kiss you?”
“You want to kiss me?” His ears perk.
I nod, feeling a little silly for having to ask. In the movies, the heroine always flings herself into the hero’s arms and he sweeps her off her feet, but Jrrru’s people probably don’t kiss, just like mine don’t come all over someone’s door to show their interest. “I do want to kiss you, but I’m scared.”
His ears flatten. “Of me?”
I shake my head quickly. “Just…of falling in love. Being vulnerable. I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but I’m not a big fan of leaving myself open.”
Jrrru’s mouth twists into a toothy smile. “I might have picked up on that.” He reaches for me, stroking a lock of my messy hair back from my face. “You know I’m perfectly fine with letting things go as slow as they need to go.”
“I might have picked up on that,” I tease back. “And I appreciate it. I know there are probably easier women to get to know.”
“But I don’t want to get to know other women. I want to get to know this one.” His claws card through my hair, and maybe I should be nervous at how big his hands are, but his size just makes me feel safe. Like he could kick the ass of anyone that tried anything. His gaze dips down to my front, and he clears his throat. “You’re, ah, not wearing much.”