Page 26 of Purrfectly Mated

Hunter needed her to agree to stay with him forever. Once he gave her his claiming bite, there was no telling if it would awaken an animal within her or not.

Fuck, he hadn’t thought of that. It was exceedingly rare, but Pride members still whispered about it. They referred to the process as thePuspa.

It occurred when a Tiger Shifter took anormalor human as a mate. During the claiming, that was Shifter speak for sex with some biting and scratching, the Shifter sometimes woke theanimal withinthe normal.

It did not happen with every mate. In fact, it was highly unusual, almost unheard of for a mate to experience thePuspain this day and age.

Hunter didn’t give a fuck.NormalorShifter, he wanted her and only her. Elissa Phoenix, delicate female, curvy temptress, was everything he ever wanted.

And he didn’t know a thing about her, he thought with a laugh. Didn’t matter. She was his. Elissa was it for him.

Every cell in his body thrummed with the knowledge that in front of him was the only woman who would ever occupy that special place in his life. She was the only other person in the world who mattered. At least until she had his cubs.

Cubs.

Now it was his turn to swallow hard. The image of her swollen with his young had him growing even harder in his too tight jeans, if that was even possible.

Slow it down.

Even if they were blessed enough to experience thePuspa, she wasn’t a Shifter now. She was anormal,and he needed to explain some things to her.

Fuck.

It had been so long since he’d been out in thenormalworld.He didn’t know where to start. Now that he was in charge of Maverick Development, he spent more time in the office than out with the crews. A change he didn’t relish.

Until now.

It would give him more time with his Nari,and it would allow him to make the necessary adjustments within the Pride. Things he’d been putting off. Like setting Blake straight. But first things first.

“So,Elissa, I believe Uncle Uzzi is right. I believe you are my mate,” he stated slowly.

He figured it was best to lead with the truth. He had no intention of lying to her. He could never do that.

Not ever.

Hunter had been waiting for his entire life for this moment, whether he knew it or not. He would always treat her well. She was precious.

Purrfect.

Mine.

* * *

Elissa swallowed.

Hard.

“Mate? Well, um,” she said idiotically.

“Uncle Uzzi mentioned that might be a possibility when he drove me here,” Elissa finished her thoughts in a husky voice she hardly recognized as hers.

“Here,” Hunter said, handing her the fluffy white towel some young man brought him.

She’d noticed the guy earlier as he’d followed Hunter into the room. One look from Hunter, and the male had run off to grab the freshly dried towel before returning with it. He’d held it out to his Neta, without looking directly at him.

Neta, she thought, mulling the word over. It sounded foreign when she first heard it from Mr. Stregovich, but now it seemed to fit the man standing before her.

The other male was no more than twenty. A baby really, but he was already stunningly handsome like all the men she’d seen so far. He smiled shyly and waved, backing off quickly when Hunter glared at him.

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