A Seacat's Love (Oceanan Trilogy Book 1) (26 page)

The possibility of finally having his own family placed Rick in high spirits. He grabbed the sponge and a dish and began to scrub while humming a tune. Rinsing the last dish, he sensed he was no longer alone. He glanced to his left and spotted Tigif at the entranceway. The cat did not bother to hide the hatred he obviously felt for Rick.

“So tell me, how does it feel to be fucking a sixteen-season female?”

“What did you say?”

Tigif was casually leaning on the doorframe. He hooked his thumbs in the front pockets of his pants. “I said. How does it feel to be fucking a sixteen-season female?”

“What are you up to now?”

“Has she not told you how old she is? She just had a birthday two tides ago. Her
sixteenth
birthday.”

Rick placed the plate he had in his hand on the counter, on the towel he used to let the dishes air dry. “Are you trying to take me as a fool again?” He faced Tigif and snickered. “Why not go for fourteen or maybe even thirteen while you’re at it?”

Tigif straightened and made to leave. “It seems she has not. Do not say I did not warn you. If you do not believe me, go ask her yourself. If not…continue to mate with a sixteen-season old female. I hear many human males like them younger. Firmer. Tighter. I wonder how Carol Ann and Blaisdale would respond when they discover her age—how the mighty Predator is sleeping with a
child.”

Rick did not miss the stress he placed on the last word. His heart began to pound. Could Tigif be saying this because he wanted Nora for himself? Rick remembered the words Leonora had spoken on the beach. She had said she would do anything for Rick as long as he was true to her. Did that include lying about her age?

Rick searched his memories, hoping one of their many conversations had included him asking her age. He fearfully realized he had taken her age for granted. She appeared to be in her early twenties. He had wanted her to be comfortable with him before he asked her something many others had gotten offended by. Now there was no way around it. He had to know her age. He knew she enjoyed bathing in the upstairs bathroom, so he left the kitchen “as is” and raced upstairs.

Rick rushed into the bathroom without knocking on the door. “Nora!” He yanked the glass door wide opened. Leonora stared at him with her mouth open and a small hand over her heart. “How old are you?” he breathlessly asked.

Her jaw dropped lower. The pink on her cheeks, placed there by the hot shower, disappeared. Rick knew then that Tigif had spoken the truth. He stared into her beautiful pale blue eyes. How could she have betrayed his trust? The pain he felt left him speechless. He left without saying a word.

“Rick, wait! Rick!” Leonora instinctively chased after him, forgetting to grab a towel. From the top of the stairs, she helplessly watched Rick exit the house through the back doors. It did not take long to figure out who was responsible for alerting Rick to her age. Her eyes began to glow.

“You truly are beautiful.”

Leonora heard him speak behind her. Her anger rose higher. “How dare you tell Rick my age! That was none of your concern.” She feared if she moved she would kill the cat. She was that enraged.

Tigif remained quiet. A predatory shine entered his green eyes. Leonora’s eyes narrowed. She detected movement. She glanced down and saw his manhood rising. Because of her anger, she was slow to realize her mistake. She noticed his gaze roam over her repeatedly. She scanned her body. Her eyes widened in horror. With a gasp, she tried to cover her body the best she could with her arms. She spun on her bare feet and flew down the stairs. She hoped to reach the safe haven of her bedroom before she died of embarrassment.

Tigif effortlessly jumped over the second story railing and landed soundlessly in her path. “And where exactly are you headed looking like that?” He pointed to her nakedness. “He will never be able to keep up with you.” He inched closer to her. “He is human. Their libido is not like ours. He will soon lose his ability to perform, if not interest. But I am an Oceanan male. I will be able to satisfy your need, each time you feel it coming on.” Tigif flushed her nakedness to his aroused form, and his eyes ignited.

“Get off me!” Leonora shouted before his lips swooped down and enveloped hers in a fury.

Her heart raced faster at the feel of his hands familiarizing themselves with her backside. Leonora struggled to escape his
embrace. Tigif brought her tighter to his need. His fingers slipped in between her thighs. Hatred and vengeance filled Leonora’s core. Her eyes ignited behind closed lids. She growled and extended her claws.

Tigif suddenly released her mouth and glanced sideways. To her relief and horror, Lance had his gun aimed at Tigif’s head; beside him stood Carol Ann. Surprisingly, Tigif continued to hold her. Leonora pierced him with the fiery glow in her eyes before slashing the left side of his face. With a howl, Tigif jumped backward. He touched his bloody cheek, just as Leonora ran off to her bedroom.

“Go after her, Carol Ann,” suggested Lance to a shocked Carol Ann. “See if you can find out what’s going on.”

With a nod, Carol Ann went after Leonora. Lance’s aim did not falter. In fact, he moved the barrel of his gun closer to Tigif’s head. “As for you,” he gestured with his head to the stairs, “Upstairs. Now.”

An hour later, Carol Ann reentered the living room to find Lance standing by the glass sliding doors. He stared out at the ocean while speaking on his cell phone.

She stopped behind him. “Well, I—”

Startled, Lance made for his weapon. The gun was cocked and ready to fire by the time he realized who it was. “Viper, I’ll have to call you back. Thanks for the warning.” He pushed the off button. “Sorry about that,” he spoke to Carol Ann. He released the gun’s hammer and replaced the gun into its holster under his left arm. He noticed Carol Ann’s smirk.

“Shouldn’t you be more alert with an angry tiger on the prowl? After all, you shot him and continue to point your gun at him.”

It amazed Lance how quiet Carol Ann was on her feet. She reminded him more of Rick with each aspect of her personality. Lance chuckled softly and shook his head.

He returned to scanning the beach. “Let me worry about that stupid cat. What did she tell you? The groceries are in the kitchen. So where’s Rick?” He quickly glanced at her. “And why was she naked and in Tigif’s arms?”

“Don’t let your guard down with Tigif, Lance. I don’t trust him. There’s something about him that frightens me.”

Lance was touched. Giving her a sideward glance, he bowed his head once and dashingly smile. “Thanks for caring, but don’t worry about me. I can take care of myself. So what’s the scoop?”

“Ahem. You’re not going to believe it.”

“Try me.”

Carol Ann repeated Leonora’s story.

“You’re right. I don’t believe it.”

“I told you.”

“What sort of fools does she think we are?”

“Apparently none. She really seemed genuine.”

Lance wearily shifted his weight to his left leg. “Oh come on now, Carol Ann. You can’t be serious.”

“She is a cat.” Carol Ann shrugged her shoulders. “Think about it. Even the cats on this planet mature quicker than humans.”

“Yes, but—”

“But what?”

Lance overlooked her rudeness. He understood it stemmed from not wanting something to interfere with her brother’s newfound happiness. He made the gesture of something tiny with his forefinger and thumb. “Don’t you find it a tad bit suspicious that she kept that information from Rick when there is supposedly no cause for it?”

“Not when you expected Rick to react the way he did. Lance,” she moved to stand in front of him, “she said she’s in love with Rick. She feared he would leave her if he found out her age, because of the way we humans determine maturity.”

“And she’s right. If she
is
only sixteen, then Rick'sss never going to touch her again—not even with a ten-foot pole.”

“Nooo.”

They turned to see Leonora cover her face with her hands and begin to cry.

Leonora paced in the living room. Two days had passed with no word from either Lance or Rick. Dread etched itself deep in the lines on her forehead.

“You need to calm down, or you’re going to ruin my tiled floor,” commented Carol Ann from her seat on the sofa. Her joke was wasted on the cat. “Leonora, listen. I know Rick better than anyone alive. He may be hurt and upset for a while, but he’ll come around. When he calms down, he’ll see the truth. He always does.”

“But until then, what is going to happen to us? I cannot lose him, Carol Ann. I simply cannot.”

“I understand that, but—”

“Do you?” Leonora paused in her pacing. “Do you really understand? Have you found your soul mate? Have you found the one being that possess the other half of your soul?”

“No.”

“I did not think so. Do not tell me that you understand until you have found your own soul mate.”

“Fine. But not eating and not sleeping and all this worrying isn’t healthy for you. You need to calm down.”

Leonora was not listening to her. She went to the sliding doors in hopes of spotting Rick’s return. “Where could they possibly be? Where is he?”

Resigning to the circumstances, Carol Ann stood from her seat. “Well, I have to get dinner started.” She waited for a response. It never came. She exhaled and left to prepare their meal.

After Carol Ann finished taking a tray to Tigif’s bedroom, the women ate in silence. By ten thirty, the kitchen and dining room were clean and the dishes washed. Since neither were sleepy, they opted to watch some television. By midnight, Leonora sensed someone climbing the steps to the back porch.

“Someone is here,” she whispered.

The women shifted in their seats to see Lance unlocking the door. He entered the living room with a somber expression. And alone.

Leonora was the first to reach his side. “What happened? Where is Rick?”

“You’ve been gone for two days. Where did you go? Did you find him?” asked Carol Ann a bit more calmly.

Lance replied to Leonora first. “He wants to have a word with you.” He pointed to the deck with his head. “He’s waiting just outside.”

Without a thank you, Leonora rushed onto the deck.

Lance met Carol Ann’s gaze. “From the look in your eyes, it’s not good.”

“It isn’t.”

“What happened?”

With a strained laugh, he began. “What do you think happened? That night I found Rick in one of the local pubs in town. And do you know how I found him?”

Carol Ann’s expression turned fearful.

“I was driving down one of the town streets when I saw several police cars. They were arresting everyone involved in a bar fight. And guess who was in the middle of it?”

“No.”

“I spent the last two days paying his bail and sobering him up!”

“That’s not like Rick.”

“I know. I’m telling you, Carol Ann, the sooner these cats leave Earth, the better off we’ll all be.”

Outside, Rick watched the waves make their way upon the shore. He listened to the sound they made as they banged against the nearby jetty. It all brought back memories of the first time he had made love to Leonora on the shoreline.

Clenching his teeth, he gripped the railings. The pain he felt deep in his soul was monumental. He knew releasing her would be painful. He had feared it. The sound of the deck doors sliding open, then shut, brought his focus back from those blessed images and the horrid pain. He waited for her to appear beside him.

Leonora paused next to him. She faced the ocean while she spoke. “I was
so
worried about you. You left so quickly that I never got the chance to explain anything to you.”

He looked at her.

She peeked at him sideways and admitted the truth. “Yes, I am sixteen seasons old.”

Her words caused Rick to grimace in pain. He closed his eyes and turned his face away.

“I am sorry. I did not want to tell you because I knew you would misunderstand and try to impose your age standards on me. I am not human, Rick. Those standards do not apply to me. I am subject only to Oceanan laws, and they state that
I am an adult
. There, I am legal to go wherever I want, do whatever I want, and be with whomever I want.” She stepped closer to him. “Please, Rick. Please, try to understand.” She rested her hand on his left forearm. “I am a grown female.”

With a strained laugh, Rick pulled his arm away. “An adult female?” He faced her. “Were you ever going to tell me? Or were you going to keep me in the dark forever?” When she failed to respond, he received his answer. “I see.”

“No, you do not—”

“Yes, I do. How many more secrets do you have, Leonora? How many more surprises can I expect to receive from Tigif?” He wanted to know, and he wanted to know from her directly.

Lowering her head, Leonora sadly answered, “You know I am telepathic. So is my brother. He has visions. And he can move things with his mind. I have the gift of language.”

“What do you mean?”

“I can understand and speak all languages. To our knowledge, no other felines are able to do these things. So my brother and I keep it a secret…from everyone. I was desperate when I first reached out to you with my mind.”