Southern Shifters: Purred Promises (Kindle Worlds Novella) by R. E. Butler Read Free Book Online Page A

everything into the bedroom. Jair was still sleeping, and she thought he looked even sexier that way, with his tousled hair and stubble on his cheeks.
    She set the items down on the nightstand and cut a piece of steak. Then she climbed into bed next to Jair and waved the meat under his nose. He came awake with a purring growl, his eyes flashing with heat as he snagged the meat between his teeth.
    He chewed and swallowed, then kissed her. “You made breakfast? How did I sleep through that?”
    “I guess I wore you out,” she teased.
    She sat up and cut more of the meat, and he joined her, curling around her and stealing bites, feeding her more than he took for himself. He rubbed a bit of meat down her neck, licking the juice from her skin.
    He popped the bite into his mouth and kissed her throat. “Thank you for breakfast, sweetheart. You didn’t have to cook for me.”
    “I wanted to.” She set the utensils on the empty plate and turned to face him. “I want to be a good mate.”
    He smiled and kissed her gently. “You already are. And now it’s my turn to be a good mate to you.”
    Before she could ask what he meant, he climbed from the bed with her in his arms and carried her into the bathroom. He set her on the counter and turned the shower on. She parted her legs when he came to stand in front of her, and she grasped his lean hips and drew him close. Tilting her head up, she asked, “How’d I get so lucky to have such a sexy mate?”
    “I’m the lucky one.”
    “That sounds like an argument that ends up with both of us being winners.”
    He helped her from the counter and purred when she took off the shirt she wore. Shoving the shower curtain to the side, he held her hand as she stepped over the edge of the tub and under the hot spray. He joined her, taking up most of the room with his big body. He stared down at her in silence for a long moment.
    “Jair?”
    “I want to do like ten different things to you, but the hot water won’t last long, so I’m arguing with my beasts about getting clean.”
    She laughed. “Clean first, then dirty.”
    “I love how you think.”
     
    * * *
     
    She snuggled against Jair on the couch, a blanket wrapped around both of them as they stared into the fire. She loved the sound the fire made as it crackled and spit, sparks blossoming and fading in the fireplace. She was deliciously worn out, and more content than she’d ever been in her entire life. Jair was amazing, from the top of his sexy head to the bottom of his feet.
    He lifted her wrist and kissed the space just underneath the symbol. He had a similar one, but she didn’t know his story yet.
    “It hurt,” she blurted out. “I know it’s supposed to hurt, but it was more than the physical pain. I t was like the magic seared everything, not just my skin. In an instant, my life was different and would never be the same.”
    She hadn’t liked the symbol . Had hated it, in fact. But without it, she never would have met Jair.
    “You’re here,” she said.
    He snuggled her a little closer and kissed the top of her head. “Where else would I be?”
    “No, I mean that without these symbols our paths would never have crossed.”
    He stiffened for a moment, and she wr iggled out of his embrace until she was facing him. She opened her mouth to ask what was wrong, when he gripped her shoulders lightly.
    “It’s not pretty.”
    “What isn’t?”
    “My past.”
    She snorted. “Whos e is?”
    Shaking his head, he lightly massaged her shoulders and said, “Sweetheart, you were put in a shitty situation by your father. I was the result of a shitty situation.”
    He wasn’t looking at her, and her cat murmured in concern. She cupped his chin and lifted his head until she could look into his eyes. She found the place on his neck where she’d bit him and rubbed it. He purred, in what seemed like an almost involuntary reaction, and she smiled. “We’re mates. Whatever baggage you have, it’s mine to carry now,