Lion And The Falcon (Furry United Coalition) (18 page)

Damn straight he was.
Clarice growled and whirled on her toes, stalking to the front door. He caught up to her outside.

“Hey, where
are you going? We haven’t eaten yet. Did you get a call from the office?”

“Yeah
, actually, I did. My rational self called and said to get away from the big, lying pussycat.”

“What did I lie about?”

Deny it, would he? Ha. Like hell. “You brought me here on purpose.” She poked him in the chest.

“No, you volunteered to come.”

“But as it turns out, we didn’t have to stay,” she accused.

“Nope.”

What? He wasn’t even going to try and lie his way out of it. “You didn’t mention that part.”

“
You didn’t ask. All I said was I needed to make an appearance.”

“Which implies staying for a while.”

“Implies, but I never said it. You assumed, hence, I didn’t lie.”

“Don’t y
ou dare split hairs.”

“
Never. My conditioner is too good for that.” She glared at his paltry attempt at humor. He grinned. “Would you rather I split feathers?”

She punched him in the gut
, ignoring the low “Ooh” from the crowd watching in the open doorway.

“We really need to work on your communication skills,” he gasped.

“Why? I think I just communicated my annoyance with you quite efficiently.”

“True. But you could have just said
, ‘I’m mad.’”

She growled.

A smile curled his lips, a boyish one she fought to not melt under. “Have I told you how sexy it is when you make that sound?”

No, and she wouldn’t let it distract her.
“Why did you goad me into coming?”

He shrugged. “You told me you didn’t have any family growing up. I thought you might enjoy a taste of mine.
”

“Why would I enjoy it? They’re cats. I’m a bird.”

“Lions, if you please, who immediately accepted you.”

“How do you figure that?”

“Well, you’re standing here talking to me, aren’t you, instead of boiling in a pot with some carrots and celery?”

“
You have a sick sense of humor, Sylvester.”

“
Like you don’t.”

She didn’t reply, because honestly, she kind of enjoyed his jabs. Even those of his mother and cousins. How
deranged did that make her?

“Come on back inside. We’ll eat some lasagna. Gorge ourselves on bread and then
pig out on the best cherry pie ever.”

“
Thanks, Nollie!” yelled Aunt Shirley.

“Nollie?” She snickered.

“Don’t you dare repeat it,” he warned, but his eyes twinkled with mirth.

“
Only if you tell me why your uncle Alfred hates poultry.”

“
Oh, he doesn’t hate it, but his best friend is an ostrich. Out of respect to him, my aunt doesn’t cook any aerial critters except for turkey at Christmas and Thanksgiving. But don’t worry, she only buys from certified dealers. No sentient birds are ever used in the making of any dish in her house.”

“Does this mean I should keep my love of
authentic Chinese food secret from your family?”

Nolan bit his lip as several voices gasped. “
You are truly evil.”

“
You’re just figuring that out now?”

For a moment
, she thought he’d kiss her. The expression in his eyes certainly seemed to indicate he would. And despite their avid audience, by damn, she was going to let him.

Or would have if one of his damned cousins hadn’t ruined the moment with a shouted, “Dinner you love birds!
Last one to the table is a rotten egg.”

To everyone’s laughter, Nolan earned the title, but he didn’t seem to care as he lounged amidst the pride of females and one aging uncle.
Even stranger, Clarice felt right at home among them. And he was right about one thing. His aunt made the best damned cherry pie ever.

Stay or go. Stay or go.

Lester mulled his choices as he laid the doctor’s home to waste. It offended him that while he spent all those months locked up in a cell, the undeserving doctor got to live like a king. So unfair. Just because lions were big and strong, and fast with big teeth—and great hair—didn’t mean they deserved the title king of the jungle.

Everyone knew chimps were smarter. Much smarter. Hadn’t he shown it by locating the doctor’s home
, which that stupid nurse so conveniently left for him to find in her address book? Getting in proved so easy. All he had to do was follow a couple leaving the place. A simple bump of the lady, a swipe of her wallet, and presto, he got her key card. Slipping into the parking garage took only moments as he scuttled in on the bumper of a car before slipping off into the shadows. Avoiding the cameras in the elevator, he took the stairs, hugging the walls and jumping from floor to floor using the railing, keeping him out of sight until he reached the doctor’s floor.

He spent a moment cursing and stomping his feet in the hall when he realized his key card wouldn’t open the doctor’s condo. But that was when he discovered an interesting side effect of the mastermind’s experimentation. He could move things. With his mind!

Just another sign of his greatness. All it took was him staring at the lock for a moment as his anger built before, with a loud click, the tumbler he imagined turned, giving him access.

Once inside, he meant to wait for the doctor. Catch the golden
-haired feline by surprise. Lion or not, one good swing of a metal bar would knock him out. But, a prowl of the doctor’s quarters revealed a second scent. An unknown had spent the night on the couch. A guard most likely. It sent Lester into a rage.

One target he could handle, but two? It wasn’t fair. He need
ed his revenge. Needed blood. Needed popcorn, which the doctor thankfully had in the form of microwavable bags located in a cupboard.
Crunch. Crunch. Crunch.

Once he calmed down—three bags of popcorn later
—he realized staying to confront at least two predators, even if one was a bird, might not be in his best interest, new super power or not.

Lucky for him, he came up with a new plan. He just needed patience to implement it. Patience and more popcorn to tide him over. Lots of popcorn
, and he knew just the place to get it.

Speculation abounded amongst his family members. None of them ever came right out and asked him why he’d brought Clarice, but he saw the question in their eyes.
And what would I have replied if they did ask?

He could have stuck to the cover story of Clarice acting as a layer of protection against some crazy shifters, but the real truth? Much more complex. How could he explain
that she fascinated him? Not in a scientific or medical way, but in a when-a-man-met-a-woman,
the woman
, fashion, and felt an instant connection. How could he reveal that unlike all the felines and other women who’d thrown themselves at him, Clarice was the one who wouldn’t leave his mind? Wouldn’t leave his thoughts? The one he dreamed about when he closed his eyes. The one he sought when he opened them. How frightened he’d felt when he saw her facing death. The one who roused his protective instinct. How could he admit just how exquisite she’d appeared and tasted when she let herself go and indulged in passion?
Let herself go with me, something I wager she doesn’t do often.
That in and of itself awed him. Made him feel special. Made him feel…needed. Needed for more than his position, money, his great hair, or ability to sire lions.

How do I tell my family, my mother, my pride, that I think I’m falling in love with a falcon?
They’d castrate him for sure. Lecture him about cross breeding. Lock him in a room and threaten him with hair removal. Or would they?

It seemed he wasn’t the only one won over by his tough chick. Despite the ribbing and sly threats, Clarice gave as good as she got, and in return, his family seemed to have accepted her. At least on the surface. What their reaction would be if they thought his relationship with Clarice extended beyond that of coworker or lover remained to be seen. But
, for now, they seemed willing to accept her within their fold.

However
, that could all change in a moment. If his mother thought for one minute Nolan would settle down with a falcon of all things instead of a sanctioned feline, he had no doubt things would get hairy.

For now, h
e’d just have to keep the burgeoning thing growing between them under wraps. And not just from his mother. He suspected if Clarice caught even an inkling that his feelings for her extended beyond flirtation or work, she’d take flight. She’d made it clear what she thought of him. Desire was one thing. Expecting her to willingly enter into a relationship with him? A whole different ballgame.

“Are we going back to your place or do we have to visit more family members?” she asked as they left his aunt’s house amidst a chorus of goodbyes and not so discreet suggestions of what they should do for the rest of the evening. Some of them not far from his own ideas on the matter.

“What do you say we go home? We’ve done our duty and now have the rest of the evening free.” Free to do whatever they pleased. Hopefully, without any clothing.

To his surprise
, she didn’t argue. “Sounds good. I’m driving.” As if he didn’t already guess that, given she’d kept the keys and she slid in the driver seat.

Getting in on the other side, the sweet perfume of her arousal surrounded him, a musk he couldn’t escape in the close confines of the car. What brought it on
, he didn’t know. He sure hoped it wasn’t because he let her drive again. He preferred to think he was the cause of her excitement and not some hunk of metal. How strange to feel jealous of his car. Testing the waters, he casually slid his hand onto her thigh as he engaged her in conversation.

“How did you enjoy dinner?”

“It was interesting.”

“Interesting how?”

She shrugged. “Your family bickers a lot, and yet, you can feel the affection they have for each other.”

“We might fight and call each other names, but we do have each other’s back
s. What about you? There must be someone in your life, a best friend, aunt, uncle…” He already knew the boyfriend answer.

She shook her head. “My family was never large to begin with. My mother was an only child and my grandparents died before my birth.”

“You never say anything about your father.”

He could almost smell her embarrassment. “Because my mother didn’t know who he was. I was conceived during a
one night stand at some bar out west. All she remembered was he was human with long lashes. Not exactly much to go on.”

“So you lucked out getting the full shifter gene?”

A roll of her shoulders accompanied her reply. “I guess. But sometimes I have to wonder if I’d have been better off human. At least then I might have fit in somewhere. Once my mom died and I entered the orphanage aerie, I was alone. Most of the kids were there only part-time. Stopovers, as I called them. Most of them had extended family who could take them in. I, on the other hand, ended up a lifer. It kind of set me apart.”

He ached for her. His poor Clarice. He couldn’t imagine a life without someone at his back, or on his side. No wonder she adopted a tough persona. No wonder she didn’t let people get close. “Let me guess, these so
-called stopovers weren’t exactly kind about your situation.”

“They were kids. Kids are cruel.
Besides, they were right. I was the girl no one wanted.”

He heard the unspoken—
that no one loved.
“But it wasn’t your fault.”

“Maybe. Maybe not. I wasn’t exactly the cuddliest child. I got into fights
. Bloodied a few beaks. Plucked a few feathers. No one wants a little girl who can brawl like a full grown rooster.” The loneliness and pain she fought to hide with her flippant tone made him bristle.

“A pride would have. We value strength.”

“But I’m not a feline. And we of the avian persuasion do things differently.”

“I don’t like it.”

“No one said you had to.”

Needing to change the subject before he went furry and hunted down each and every child who made her feel bad, he asked, “So how did you end up an ASS?”

“There’s not many options for someone without money, family, or connections. Joining the Avian Soaring Security group gave me a chance for education and a future.”

And a sense of belonging
, he’d wager. “Do you like it?”

Again, she shrugged. “Most of the time. I’m good at what I do
; however, there are politics involved, as I’m sure you’ve seen in FUC.”

Speaking of politics, some things he’d read when doing his background search on his new partner made more sense. “In other words, as a woman without a family, you deal with idiots who think they can take advantage of you and get away with it.”