“Gage happened,” Connor said simply.
Kat smiled at the mention of his commander. The pack’s alpha was special. Even though she’d been a cat instead of a person when they’d first met, she knew there weren’t many people in the world as caring and supportive as Gage.
“He showed up around a year or so after the change,” Connor explained. “He said he’d figured out I was a werewolf after reading the press clippings from my various law enforcement exploits. He helped me finally understand what was going on and then asked me to come to Dallas and be part of his pack. I agreed and never looked back.”
“Was it hard not working missing persons anymore?”
He frowned a little as he considered that. “I went down into those tunnels after those kids with no backup and no plan. Some people might say it was admirable, but it was also stupid. And truthfully, it wasn’t the first time I’d done something like that. It took almost getting killed, becoming a werewolf, and an honest conversation with myself to realize I’d gone into missing persons for all the wrong reasons. The biggest reason I was there was some misguided attempt to atone for my sister’s disappearance. Once I got through all that, I was able to step back and accept there were other cops working missing persons in LA—damn good cops—and that it was time I let my sister go and move on with my life.”
She let out a sigh, thinking about all the years she’d spent trying to come up with ways to get revenge for her coven members, feeling like a coward when she’d run away to save herself. How long had it taken her to accept there was nothing she could have done? In all honesty, she wasn’t sure she’d gotten there yet.
“I can’t imagine that was an easy conversation to have with yourself,” she said softly.
Connor grunted in what she assumed was agreement but didn’t say anything.
They finished eating a little while after that. Connor had devoured all the sandwiches on his plate and half of hers, but that was cool. He’d made way more than she could eat anyway. And she didn’t regret not giving the peanut butter and cheese sandwiches a try one bit. As far as she was concerned, those were two great tastes that were never meant to be together.
“I know it’s barely noon, but you didn’t get much sleep last night,” Connor said. “You should try and get some rest.”
Kat knew he was right. After that fight at the farmhouse, her magical core was on the verge of total collapse. If that happened, she’d be wiped out and have to sleep so much that before she knew it, she’d turn back into a cat and waste all her time as a human.
“I can’t sleep,” she admitted. “No matter how exhausted I am, I can’t seem to relax.”
He frowned. “I know for a fact that you slept fine when you were a cat.”
She wasn’t sure what to say to that except the truth. Then again, in a few days, she was going to be a cat again, and with Marko aware she was in Dallas, she’d have to go on the move. Why not be honest with Connor?
“I could sleep fine because I was sleeping with you,” she said softly. “Connor, you’re the reason I stopped running in the first place. You’re the only thing that makes me feel safe.”
Connor didn’t answer. In fact, he didn’t even react. He simply sat there regarding her with an unreadable expression. She held her breath, waiting for him to tell her that there was no way in hell he was going to sleep with a woman who’d been a cat up until a few days ago. But to her surprise, he stood and held out his hand toward her. She took it, allowing him to pull her to her feet. Then, without a word, he started walking toward the bedroom. Once inside, he led her over to the bed she’d tossed and turned in the night before, then moved to the far side of the room to close the curtains, casting the room into semidarkness.
Kat felt like she should say something, but instead she reached over to pull down the sheet and blanket, sliding into the bed and across to the far side. After she was settled, she pushed the sweatpants over her hips and down her legs, then dropped them on the floor beside her. She turned back around to see that Connor had stripped off his T-shirt and was climbing into bed with her. Now that her eyes were adjusted to the dim light, she could clearly see the exceptionally well-done tattoo of a wolf head on his chest. All the guys on the team had them, and while they were all identical, she’d always been partial to his tat.
She noticed that he kept his eyes to himself. Not that it mattered. She still had the long T-shirt on, so it wasn’t like she was naked under the blanket.
They lay there, side by side, quietly for a while, a foot or so of space in between them. But that didn’t work for her, and after a moment, she slid closer, putting her body against his and resting her head on his bare, warm chest. He wrapped an arm around her shoulder, and just like that, she could finally relax.
Kat smiled as she listened to his heart beating steadily under her ear. She could stay here the rest of her life. Unfortunately, that thought only reminded her that she would once again be a feline soon.
She lifted her head to look at him. “In less than a week, I’m going to turn into a cat again. I don’t want to waste what little time I have left in this body. I could sleep here on your chest and be happy, but truthfully, there are other things I’d rather be doing.”
“Such as?” he asked in a soft voice that did crazy things to her.
Kat climbed up a little higher on his chest and kissed him. His lips were warm on hers, his taste enough to drag a moan from her throat.
“Such as that,” she whispered, pulling back to gaze down on him.
Connor’s hazel eyes glowed gold at her words. It was so unbelievably sexy, she promised herself that she’d never forget the image. Then he pulled her in for another kiss, taking the lead this time as his tongue slipped into her mouth to tangle with hers. If she’d thought he’d tasted good before, it was nothing compared to this.
This was absolute heaven.
Chapter 12
Kat threw one of her legs across his hips, never breaking the kiss as she slid her bare inner thigh back and forth across the hard-on bulging under Connor’s shorts. He groaned, and Kat would have let out a laugh if her mouth hadn’t already been busy. She couldn’t help but be thrilled to know Connor was as excited about this moment as she was.
Then again, she wasn’t sure how he could bequiteas excited as she was. But that was only because she’d been waiting for this moment since the day she’d met Connor. And yeah, she was fully aware how weird it was for a cat to lust after a guy, but the truth was she’d been hot for him even while trapped in a feline body and walking around his apartment on four legs. Not that she’d ever admit that in a million years.
Slightly distracted by those thoughts, she barely noticed when Connor reached down to wrap his fingers around her waist and drag her on top of him so she was straddling his hips. The feel of his erection pressing against her was delicious beyond belief. Even if hewasstill wearing his shorts.
