Free The Great Disapurrance: BBW Shapeshifter Surprise Pregnancy Romance (Chicago Catastrophe) by Anya Nowlan, Rory Dale Page A

further.
    Everything seemed easy and right. But Sienna knew the bliss she felt would be temporary. Sooner or later, reality would set back in. And when it did, would she be glad she slept with the man responsible for keeping her safe or feel like she’d made a terrible mistake?

Twelve

Arlen
    A rlen woke to the sound of the shower turning on. He was still on the couch, naked, with only a comforter covering his body.
    So that really happened, he thought, sitting up and eyeing the bottle of tequila still on the coffee table.
    His head was humming and his body throbbed, but he couldn’t blame his lapse in judgment on the alcohol. They’d been a little tipsy, sure, but not flat-out drunk. It was the way her touch made him feel, that gleam in her eye when he kissed her that drove him over the edge that had been way too close to his heels for a while now. At least since seeing her for the first time.
    The heat didn’t help, but he wasn’t sure if the outcome would have been any different without it.
    Of course it would have. She wouldn’t have been marked then…
    But he was in the middle of a mission, and she didn’t know about his heat. He couldn’t afford to be distracted. Well, at least not any more than he already was. He had promised to keep her safe. All of that was more important than the almost overwhelming urge to taste her again.
    Arlen was pulled out of his thoughts when Sienna appeared in the living room, clad in only a towel.
    “Can I borrow some of your clothes? I put mine in the wash,” she said, biting her lip.
    Her wet hair sent tiny streams of water flowing down her tawny skin, and he couldn’t help but follow them with his eyes.
    Spirits above, she’ll be the end of me.
    “Of course. Feel free to rummage around in the drawers by the window,” he replied, managing to drag his gaze back up to her face.
    Sienna gave him a smile and started to turn around, but stopped at the last second.
    “We don’t have to make a big deal out of last night, you know that, right?”
    She searched his expression.
    You don’t know the half of it…
    “I know,” was what he ended up saying.
    In his rational mind, he knew it was the right thing to say. His tiger protested violently, though. Sienna have him a nod and a smile before disappearing back into the bedroom.
    He wasn’t exactly about to tell her that she was the only woman he could ever have children with. That was a little too much after a one-night stand, no matter how resilient the woman.
    Arlen waited until she was dressed before walking through the bedroom to the bathroom and showering. Sienna was already whipping up breakfast by the time he stepped into the kitchen. Her hair was starting to dry and was even curlier than before, making him want to run his hands through the locks.
    “So, what’s next for the diabolical duo?” she asked, plating stacks of pancakes.
    “I thought we could go over everything you saw while at Holland’s. You can describe the people that came through, give me some names. You could have overheard something that could be useful.”
    “Sounds like a plan.”
    Sienna smiled as they both dug in.
    The food was delicious and sharing the meal with her only made it better.
    I could get used to this.
    The thought slipped through before he could shoo it away. It was utterly ridiculous, of course. He was trying to get Sienna out of danger, not into more danger by getting involved with an assassin. An assassin on the payroll of one of the most ruthless companies in the world, on top of that.
    Arlen did the dishes as Sienna grabbed a pen and a piece of paper and sat back down at the table, scribbling away.
    “What are you doing?” he asked over the sound of running water.
    “Writing down all the names I can remember, along with descriptions,” she answered, brow furrowing as she focused on the task before her.
    She was definitely a take the bull by the horns type of woman. He smiled to himself, drying off his hands and joining her