Free Cats in Heat by Asha King

waiting.
    Steps faintly crunched on the gravel driveway, swift and light.
    Erik froze for an instant then spun and headed for the door just as it opened.
    Addie crashed inside, breathless, slamming and locking the door at her back. Her hair was in a ponytail that had twisted to the side, black hair curling into tendrils damp with sweat around her brow. She leaned against the door and let her purse thump at her feet.
    Erik was at her side in moments, eyes scanning her in a rush for any injuries. “What happened?” He reached for her shoulders, touching her as if to assure himself everything was fine. His fingers dragged along her shoulder, up her neck, cupping her jaw and tilted her head back so her eyes met his. “Addie?”
    She studied his eyes and then let out a heavy breath, shoulders deflating, as if whatever she saw in him released some tension in her. He didn’t wait for a response, instead pulling her into his arms instinctually. Despite her strength and iron will he’d seen over the past few days, right in that moment she felt small and vulnerable.
    And I swear on everyone I’ve lost, I won’t let harm befall you.
    “There were people,” she mumbled against his bare chest, her arms wrapped around his torso. “They didn’t do anything but I thought...I don’t know, maybe I’m crazy. Paranoid.” She twisted and looked up at him.
    He breathed in, the world around them going away. That thread connecting them seemed to tighten and warmth spread through him everywhere their bodies made contact. Her lips parted, seeming to beckon him, and he wanted nothing more than to kiss her, taste her, take her.
    But he gave himself a mental shake as his brain caught up with his body.
    There were people...
    “What people?” he asked abruptly.
    Addie blinked as if she just came back to herself as well. “What?”
    “You said there were people. Who were they?”
    She stiffened and reluctantly he let her go so she could step back. “Why? Should I be paranoid?”
    Yes. Hell, YES .
    “Whoever you’re running from—are they here?” she asked.
    He still had no idea how to even broach the subject. She’d already had to accept a whole lot with his presence here, sure, and keeping someone ignorant never solved anything, but...
    “Erik?” she prompted.
    “What did they look like?”
    “No.” She stepped farther from him, abruptly hit the front door, and then skirted around him, back up like a spooked animal cornered by a predator. “I get to ask the questions now. Tell me what is going on.”
    “I just think you should be careful is all.”
    “Why do I need to be careful?”
    Erik took a deep breath. “Because not everyone is as they seem. And I don’t want you hurt.”
    “Is someone after you?”
    “Yes,” he relented.
    She hadn’t stopped backing up and he restrained himself, avoiding moving forward as she clearly wanted distance between them. “Are they in Havelock? Did you lead them to my town?”
    Since he hadn’t left the house upon arriving here, he didn’t think Lincoln or his lackeys would have his location narrowed down, but still... “Maybe, but—”
    “And am I in danger for keeping you here?”
    Yes . As much as he wanted to reassure her—as much as he wanted to reassure himself —he couldn’t entirely say for certain, not unless she started answering questions. “That depends on you.”
    Addie halted. “Excuse me?”
    “I need you to tell me about your grandmother.”
    “I don’t need to tell you a goddamn thing! I am not the one keeping secrets— I am not the one who shows up on someone’s doorstep half dead begging you not to call the police!”
    “No, you’re the one who saved me from death, Adelaide. You’re the one who healed me .”
    She stared at him for a moment, her eyes huge with pink around the edges as if they threatened tears, her chest heaving with angry breaths. Then her lips snapped shut and she turned, thumping down the hall. Her bedroom door slammed before he