Like a Fox, Ridgeville Book 7 by Celia Kyle Page B

like. The
feelings weren’t forced, and her lioness didn’t have to be
convinced. This was her mate. Her man. Their man.
    With Jenner, she’d had to cajole the cat into
being happy with the male lion. She’d deluded the feline into
agreeing to be with him. And then… And then they had found out
Jenner had been working for his cousin Alistair McCain, the leader
of Freedom. He’d been one of the men who’d raped her new friend
Elise while Freedom held her captive.
    But this guy… Gavin.
    Heat tingled through her with Gavin’s touch,
the warmth of his fingers somehow crawling deep into her body and
grabbing hold of her soul. He was her match, her other half.
    He didn’t release her fingers, but held on as
he eased closer to her. She sat at the edge of the circular booth,
the rest of the women crowded in beside her.
    With Gavin’s pronouncement—the single word
she felt all the way down to her essence—their corner of the world
exploded.
    “Mate?” Maya screeched.
    “I don’t think so, mutt.” Carly jumped
in.
    “What does he lick?” Gina recognized the
laughter in Maddy’s voice. “Because if I wasn’t mated…” The woman
purred, miming a claw and scratching the air.
    Gina snarled at the other lioness, baring a
fang. Hers. All hers.
    “Well, no reason to get your vagina in a
bunch,” Maddy harrumphed.
    When Gina turned back to Gavin, she found
heat and a bit of cocky bravado in his gaze. Jerk.
    Sexy as hell jerk.
    Where lions tended to be wide and heavily
muscled, her mate was long and lean. The man topped six feet and
was head-to-toe hotness. Beneath his thin T-shirt, she could see
the carved lines of his body. She wanted to nip each one, and by
allowing her tongue to transform a tiny bit, see how he liked the
cat’s rough lick.
    A smile formed on his lips, and she returned
the expression. A small curl fell across his brow, the lock
catching the early morning light, and she restrained the urge to
brush it aside. His eyes sparkled a deep, dark brown. Not quite
black and not some blah color everyone else in the world possessed.
No, it was deeper, a hue that drew a person into its depths. Gavin
lured her with his gaze, pulled her in with the carved muscles that
coated his body and the seductive scent that flowed from him in a
constant stream.
    Her lioness purred, stretching and flexing
her nails in Gina’s mind. The kitty wanted to rub against the man.
Mmm… The fox. He was a fox. Literally and figuratively.
    Gavin grasped her fingers securely, claiming
more of her and rubbing his thumb over her palm in a small,
alluring circle. Her body melted, and tendrils of arousal plucked
her nerves. The cat craved him like a drug, and the human half of
her wanted to fondle him. She ached to trace those corded muscles
and see which spots would make him moan. Gina wasn’t normally Wonder Slut, but this was her mate .
Slutasticness was called for. Necessary even.
    The arguments and exclamations surrounded
them, but her gaze was intent on Gavin. Nothing mattered but
him.
    “Do you think there’s a licking hall of fame?
I bet there is.”
    “Dude! Can we not talk about licking
anything? He’s my brother .”
    “You bought him the shirt. Hell, you were
just asking him if you should have added ‘a lot’.” Maddy tapped her
ear. “Super hearing. I haz it.”
    “I don’t want my girl mating a butt-sniffer.
Is he housetrained? I mean, Elise was, but you never know about
boys.”
    “Is he gonna pee on her? Dogs do that,
right?”
    A grin threatened to emerge, laughter
battling with her desire, and she nibbled her lower lip. Gavin’s
focus centered on her mouth, and she let her tongue peek out to wet
her lips. His eyes darkened, and the scorching scent of his need
wafted over her. Silence descended on their table. Gina tore her
attention from her mate and focused on the women only to find her
friend’s gazes on her and Gavin.
    Maya cleared her throat. “Okay then. Puppy
gets the pussy.”
    A low rumbling