Suffering & Salvation by Kenzie James Celia Kyle Read Free Book Online

be—”
    “You’ll just be you, Simi. My beautiful cougar, my sweet mate. That’s all I’ll ever need.”
    She curled her lips up into a hesitant smile, the nervous gesture spreading to the bobbing of her knee as she weighed his kind words. Sifting through Cougar’s thoughts on what those words meant to her partner in crime, Simi wanted to make sure they were both in agreement. Certain that they were, she replied, “Okay, Brand.”
    “Good. You still hungry? Thirsty?”
    Cougar whimpered, tail flicking, wanting to be set free to run and play.
    “Play now?” Simi held up her hand, thumb and index finger about an inch apart, then, “Just a little while?”
    He laughed, smile warming his handsome face, and ruffled her hair. “Absolutely, Coug, let’s go.”
    Brand pushed away from the counter, picked up their plates, then carried them to the sink. Simi moved to follow, snagging a rag hanging nearby. Cougar was impatient, but Simi tried to reason with her. Just a little longer to cleanup, and they’d be dashing out the door in no time. She bumped into Brand, their fronts pressing together when he turned around.
    He frowned, saying, “Outside’s thataway.” He pointed toward a door on the other side of the room.
    “Great. But I’d like to help you with the dishes first.” She’d always done the chores. Malcolm had seen to that. She cursed herself for thinking about anything that had to do with him. And yet, she continued to do so.
    Gemmie butted in, with impeccable timing in Cougar’s mind, and said, “No, no, sweetie. I handle taking care of y’all. You just go and have some fun, let Cougar stretch her legs.” The woman came toward her and leaned in close, mouth to Simi’s ear. “Pounce on him once or twice for me.” The woman pulled back and winked, and Simi would be lying if she were to say that Gemmie wasn’t growing on her. Almost as quickly as Brand had. And the fact that Gemmie seemed to care so much for her mate, like a mother’s love for her son, well, only made it that much easier for Simi to take her kindness at face value.
    “Hey now. No turning my girl against me.” Brand’s face tightened, but it was easy to see that he was joking. Such an opposite to her ex. So refreshing. He snagged Simi’s hand and led her to the door, opening it for her as he’d done from the time that she’d been lucky enough to have met him. “Run free, Simi. Let Cougar have some fun for once. I’ve got, I mean, we’ve got, about thirty acres or so fenced in, with approximately another hundred outside.”
    Shock stole over her as she walked out onto the screened-in back patio. “This?” She waved her hand at the colorless, but manicured lawn, the surrounding forest, and the large house that she’d just stepped out of, then added, “You’re telling me that this is all yours? ”
    He shook his head. “Ours. We’re mates, remember? We’ll get all the legalities sorted out this week. Need a little time for my lawyer to draw up the paperwork to add you to everything.”
    “What? Why? So soon? I don’t understand why you—”
    “Shh, little cat.” Brand sidled closer, nudging her with his hip. “Talk later, play now.”
    Cougar didn’t have to be told twice. Simi dashed across the grass, tossing clothing aside as she ran, the cold lawn squishing beneath her feet, giving and flattening to the weight of every step she took. By the time the last of her clothing dropped from her fingertips, she was already in the middle of her shift, going down to all fours in moments, eating up the ground with her lengthy strides on the expansive yard.
    Woo-hoo! A yip behind her signaled Brand’s change, Wolfie following, but hanging back a bit to let her explore. Echoes of his paws pounding the earth along with hers made her realize that this was the happiest she’d been in a very long time. So much so that she never wanted to let the feeling go.
    When a large space appeared in the concrete barrier, she sprinted