Page 50 of Purrfectly Mated

She snickered coughed to cover up the suddenly naughty turn of her thoughts. But who could blame her? Hunter Maverick was a veritable god in bed.

Or the bathtub.

So lost in her thoughts, Elissa hardly heard the laughter and noise around her. It was nice, though. The natural comradery around her was not faked, forced, or feigned in any way.

She felt comfortable around them.

All of them.

These strange men. Her new sister, Jessica. Hunter. Most of all, Hunter.

They were all the Pride, her Pride now. Something inside her told her she was safe, and she felt relaxed with them as if she’d known them all for years.

“If I eat all the meatballs, you think Hunter will freak out on me?” Tyler asked.

“Nah, he’s got a mate now to make him more,” Mikey answered.

“Shut up, Neanderthal! Women don’t just sit around chained to the kitchen all day waiting for their big bad mates to get home!” Jessica snarled.

“It’s okay, actually I love cooking---”

Elissa tried to break it up, but they were having too much fun tossing out crude names.

“Don’t get your tail in a twist,Jessi-cat,” Reg snickered, earning him a glare from Brayden.

“Children! Stop it right now or no dessert,” Elissa scolded in her best authoritative voice.

Almost immediately, the group of Shifters went quiet, with a few murmured apologies here and there.

“Can I, uh, that is, what did you make for dessert?” Reg asked.

Everyone giggled, and a roll might have gotten tossed at Reg. Mikey snagged it out of the air before it made contact and put the whole thing in his mouth. These guys could really pack it away!

She wondered at the reason she felt so comfortable with them, in response, that voice in the back of her mind reminded her once more it was her job.

You are their Nari.Let them see your wisdom.

She stood up quickly, ignoring the strange voice and the quivering in the pit of her stomach. It really was a good time for dessert.

She went to the kitchen to retrieve the pies she’d made using the canned sweet cherries Jessica had put up the previous season mixed with some pitted tart cherries she’d found in the walk-in freezer. A little sugar, a bit of lemon zest, a healthy splash of rum and,voila, her special cherries jubilee pies.

Elissa had figured they’d appreciate some nice homemade pies after their meal. Especially served with her special freshly whipped vanilla cream. Besides, she’d needed something to do with her hands while everything else was cooking in the oven.

They’d turned out wonderfully. Perfectly browned and glistening with sugar crystals. She took a deep sniff, noting with some shock the detailed assortment of delicate flavors she’d been able to catalog with each breath.

Holy cow. That was new.

She was always proud of her work when it was deserving, but she’d never felt quite so in tune with the ingredients before. Perhaps it was the high quality of the foods and their organic nature. She couldn’t say for sure, and the rumble in her head seemed to disagree with that assessment.

Elissa ignored the feeling that something else was going on with her, choosing to focus on the present. She walked over to the baker’s racks and retrieved the tray of pies from where they sat, cooling after they’d finished baking.

The soft shuffle of feet behind her made her tense. Enraged at the intrusion, she stilled with the pies in her hand and tried to get a handle on her sudden rage. Her spine was tingling like mad. The voice inside of her mind growling like a beast.

It was more than a sixth sense. It was as if a whole new person had suddenly sprung to life inside of her. The thought was vaguely terrifying, but she had no time to dwell on that. There was something, er, someone headed her way. Whoever it was, the person would be there soon.

He’s here, that strange voice hissed excitedly.

Elissa turned around slowly. Joy and happiness welled up inside as she took him in.

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