Free Gravity by Dannika Dark

is. When my parents died, he took over making decisions for me. I let him at first
    because I was in shock from their death, and he handled the funeral arrangements and finances. I
    was young, and he was a family friend. Slater has wanted to make babies with me for eons.” Her
    eyes rolled a little and she shook her head. “My family has a lot of knowledge on rare Breeds and
    he thinks I’m an agreeable match with his genes. It’s all very scientific.”
    Justus lowered his eyes. “Why did he strike you?”
    “Spending the night at your house really provoked him like I’ve never seen before. It started an
    argument that’s been going on for years. I didn’t tell him where I went tonight, but he heard the
    club music on the phone. He’s afraid I’ll find someone else so he tries to keep a tight leash on my
    whereabouts.” She ran her long fingers through the ends of her honey-brown hair and averted her
    eyes. “I got out of the cab and he was waiting for me. I said some things I probably shouldn’t
    have because of the alcohol and he lost control.”
    Justus’s arm dropped like a guillotine, slamming the ice on the armrest as he rose to his feet.
    “I’ll pay him a visit.”
    “Oh, no, no, no,” she said, rising to her feet. “He’s never done anything like this before, so
    there’s no need to start World War III all on account of a bruise. He’s not stepping foot inside my
    house again. I may have to work with him, but that’s as close as he’ll get to me. I’m not the kind
    of woman who lets something like this go. Hit me once and I will never…”
    Tears glistened in her eyes and she turned her head away. Page had that familiar look of
    embarrassment, like she should have seen it coming and it was her fault for allowing it to happen.
    “Please don’t do anything; it’ll only make it worse. It’s not going to happen again.”
    “You’re right about that, Page.” Justus allowed her to take the ice from his hand. “This won’t
    happen again.”
    “Thanks for bringing my equipment, Mr. De Gradi. I’m sorry I can’t offer you anything to drink,
    but to tell you the truth—I’m beat.” A short laugh popped out and then she sighed heavily.
    “Ghuardian, we’ve imposed here long enough. I think we all need some sleep.”
    Sometimes you didn’t want all the drama, all the fuss, and Page had a lot to think about. I
    doubted she wanted to be chastised for not wanting Justus to rectify the situation with more
    violence. As chivalrous as it was, it could potentially make things worse for her.
    “Page, I’m sorry about tonight,” I said. “I thought it would be fun for us to hang out.”
    She smiled. “I really had a good time, Silver. Maybe next time we can just catch a movie.”
    “Sounds good.” I looked at Justus, but like a bag of concrete, he didn’t budge.
    “Please,” she coaxed. “I’m grateful that you thought to stop by and see how I was doing.” Her
    fingers grazed his arm for just a moment. “Let me get your coat.”
    The air warmed ten degrees.
    Chapter 6

    “Tarek challenged for the position of Lord of his Pride… and won.”
    “He what?” I gasped in a broken voice. My heart raced within my chest as I looked at Logan
    beside me on the sofa in his condo.
    I had assumed that when Logan met with his older brother, Leo, they were discussing the trip
    with Christian. That was partly true, but there were also major political shifts occurring within the
    Chitah territories.
    I once raised suspicion that Tarek might have killed his older brother in order to secure his
    claim for the position of Lord. He was in a top-ranked family among his Pride, and only the eldest
    brother retained the right to challenge for the position of Lord. In Logan’s family, Leo would be the
    one entitled to that privilege, should he ever choose to accept.
    A Lord has authority over all his Pride. However, the Overlord rules all Chitahs. The frightening
    part was how close Tarek was to that