Beasts Within by Lexi Lewis Read Free Book Online

and bringing everything over to the table.
                  Camilla brought the food over, setting it in the middle of the table, and they both sat down to dig in.
                  Breakfast was a mostly quiet affair, and Karic would have asked Camilla if she was alright if not for the fact that she was on the run, so clearly not alright. Also the food was just too good to ruin by talking. She had prepared fluffy blueberry pancakes with a massive pile of perfectly done bacon on the side, and there had even been syrup and jam left in his fridge to make the breakfast perfect. Usually he just had coffee and grabbed a doughnut or something to have with it, and he honestly didn't think he had ever sat at the table like this and had breakfast. It was actually really nice. Having company was nice. Karic had gotten so used to being alone that he didn't even notice how quiet his house was when it was just him, but the warmth and easiness of Camilla's company made him think.
                  “So…” he said as he was helping himself to a fourth pancake from the stack in the middle of the table. “Do you think you'll try to head out today?”
                  She glanced up at him, amber eyes anxious. “Am I in the way? I'm sorry. I was definitely planning on leaving today. I have to, really, so it's fine.”
                  Karic held up a hand, cringing at the way he had worded that. “No! I mean, no. You're not in the way. You can stay as long as you'd like, really. I was just curious. I have to go into work later, and you're more than welcome to stay here or come with me and hang out in the office. The nurses are nice to talk to and they might be able to point you in the right direction of somewhere safe to go. I mean, if you want. It's up to you, obviously.” Fuck. There was a very good reason why all the women he talked to were either sick or middle aged. They found him charming. Otherwise he was just nervous and tripped over his words.
                  “I…” Camilla licked a bit of syrup from her fingers and seemed to think about it. In Karic's mind there were plenty of reasons for her to stay. Her things were probably still wet; she didn't seem to have much of a plan beyond just getting away, not to mention she still had a sprained ankle. But he could imagine that her reasons for leaving seemed much bigger than any of that. “You really wouldn't mind?” she asked finally.
                  “I really wouldn't. It's nice to have company, and I can't cook for shit, so maybe it's a little selfish. But either way, we can get your ankle looked at and get your clothes and stuff dried off so you'll be in better shape when you do leave.”
                  That seemed to cheer her up, and when she smiled at him, Karic couldn't help but smile back. He didn't know what it was about her, but there was definitely some kind of draw there, and it was more than just because she was pretty.
                  An hour later and Karic was doing the dishes and all of Camilla’s wet things were in the dryer. Every few minutes her eyes would shift to a window, and he knew that she was concerned and worried that the rest of her pride was going to show up. He didn’t know if it would help if he told her that he wouldn’t let anything happen to her (after all, it was just him, and he didn’t know what use he could be against a whole pride of lion shifters), but he felt the need to keep her safe. It had always pained him to see someone in trouble, and from the fear lurking in those otherwise bright eyes, Karic could tell that nothing good would happen if the pride got Camilla back.
                  “What time do you have to go to the office?” Camilla asked from the living room, pitching her voice just loud enough to be heard.
                  “Not for another few hours. I’m on the late shift tonight. But if