Page 5 of Purrfectly Kissed

Fuck it.

If it wasn’t, she just invented it,

Nibbleable.

It definitely had potential. But even so. Jessica had to recognize the very sexy, very off limits, Brayden Smith was not for her.

Doubly sad chuff.

She waited while Elissa shifted back to human. It took a little extra. Her being pregnant and all.

The Nari’s tail had weaved back and forth as they’d trekked over the frozen ground back to the changing room behind the Pride House.

Elissa’s slightly swollen belly had wobbled from side to side in her Tiger’s body and Jess grinned happily. It was positively adorable.

Oh, shush it! I am a grown ass woman and only my mate can call me adorable, Jess.

Elissa scolded her.

Jessica frowned. She’d been projecting again and this time in her skin.

Well, shit.

She turned her head from side to side, but there was no sign of the big Black Bear. Wherever he was, she just hoped it was far enough away to keep from reading her thoughts.

Elissa was the only one allowed to be present to witness her humiliatingly lustful thoughts for the Bear.

The last thing she wanted was for big, sexy Brayden Smith to know she daydreamed about kissing him, for fuck’s sake.

Growl.

Moan.

Sigh.

Prrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr.

ChapterThree

Brayden walked as fast as he could away from the females without drawing attention to himself. He had no use for women, but he liked the Pride Nari, and it was his job to protect her.

Occasionally, when the Neta’s duties could not be avoided, Brayden was assigned to keep the Nari safe. Especially since the female was still getting used to her animal.

Shifters needed to transform into their animals to keep the balance between their dual natures. This was an understanding all Shifters were born with, even ones as different as Bears and Tigers.

No one had experienced the ancient Tiger blessing of Puspa in years, and so, the Pride did not know what to expect from their Nari. Already, it was strange how the urge to shift was not as strong with her yet.

But Brayden knew that feeling would only increase once she birthed the Alpha pair’s cub. To prepare for that time when her inner beast would push for the Change, Elissa had announced her intention to practice daily.

Typically, Hunter would be the one to accompany her, but the male had a meeting with city and state officials that morning concerning Maverick Development.

The construction company where most of the Pride worked, including Brayden, kept them solvent. Along with a rather impressive stock portfolio, the Pride had plenty of money.

But work was necessary to keep the area’s Shifters honest and loyal. They craved challenges and physical outlets to release energy. Fighting and fucking were always there, but Brayden preferred work.

When Hunter could not be with his mate, he’d ordered Brayden, the new Beta, to take over guard duty. He rarely minded, as it was Reg who often joined him in guarding the Nari.

But not today. Reg was working a double shift on the access road they’d been repaving. He’d thought the female would cancel, but not their Nari. She was tenacious.

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