Free Lust of the Cat Men: A Shifter Romance (The Pride Book 2) by Amie Heights Page B

damaged, so unstable, that no one would ever believe the story that you told.  The other way is dead.  I plead with you to consider another possibility.  The other choices that you could stay with us forever.”
    Alison considered her choices very carefully.  She knew that the cat men would do anything to protect the privacy of their Pride.  The vengeance they had taken upon her a week ago was nothing compared to what they were capable of.  That meant to her that when he said so damaged he meant there might be something terrible in store for her.  The other option was to stay a prisoner.
    Would that be so bad?  She enjoyed the company of all the men and was beginning to form relationships with them.  But what sort of life would it be, trapped in this Royal dungeon with no other exposure to the outside world? It may be the most beautiful and decadent place she had ever lived but the prison was still prison.
    “If I were to stay with you, what would my life be like here?” she asked him.
    Gerald seemed to consider this question, but he had obviously been thinking about it quite a lot over the last few days. 
    “When we took you, you proved to us that you would be capable of not just being another human.  Your courage and your spirit rival any of us,” he told her.  “You would be a perfect addition to our Pride.”
    Alison took the complement gracefully but was unsure what he meant by that.
    “I thought you were only men?” she asked and was happy to see Gerald’s face split wide with a smile from her question.
    “No, no,” he said, still holding her.  “The Pride is a group of men that are closer than brothers.  But our race has existed a very long time with both male and female members.”
    He chuckled softly before continuing.  “Where do you think little kits come from?” She smiled back at him as some relief came to her.
    “Well, I figured you had your ways.  I haven’t seen any women here, do you have them hidden away somewhere?”
    “No, no women here,” he replied and his eyes grew very distant.
    “One of the reasons we are in hiding is because a long time ago I had a wife,” she saw how sad his face looked as he said this.
    “You don’t have to tell me more unless you want to,” she said.  She had a feeling where this was headed and didn’t want to make Gerald feel forced to explain something painful to him.
    “No, it is important that you know,” he said.  “My wife’s name was Ariel and we met by the river one day by the village where I grew up.  We were about the same age and quickly fell in love but after we both underwent the Change our love deepened to something most people would never understand.  We shared something special because of it.”
    “What happened?” she asked him.
    “Humans happened,” he said.  “One night she was found and taken just like Samuel and now just like you.  When I found her body it was daytime and she was still the most beautiful woman in the world.  We can never allow ourselves to be discovered because I can never lose someone that I love again.”
    Alison now did have tears in her eyes because of the pure emotion Gerald was displaying.  Without realizing that it was happening her lips found his and they were kissing.
    She felt his strong hands on her body touching her sides and pull her closer to the kiss.  Gerald was in full man form because it was daytime and she had never had him touch her this way before.  He was gentle and tender, a stark contrast to when he had ravaged her a week ago.
    She felt her body responding her arms reaching up, to touch him.  His strong arms held her as his mouth kissed her passionately.  Alison melted into his body.  She felt his hands, free now of the claws he had used on her before, opening the buttons that held her shirt closed.  Alison began pulling at his shirt as well, opening it to show his broad chest and thick chest hair.
    Suddenly with more passion, more urgency, the two began to