Lion And The Falcon (Furry United Coalition) (12 page)

He didn’t immediately answer
. Instead, grabbing an afghan from the top of his couch and tossing it his mother’s way, said, “Mom. Please. I have a guest.”

“You have a
bird
in your condo.” How she made the word sound dirty, he couldn’t have said, but he could feel Clarice bristling behind him, ready to begin round two of the taunting.

“Can this not wait until after breakfast? I’m hungry.”
He put on his best pout. Lower lip jutting, big eyes batting, and his mother, tying the blanket sarong style, not falling for it, at least clamped her mouth shut. Now if only he could duct tape Clarice’s.

“
You have got to be the biggest, laziest pussy I’ve ever met, Sylvester.”

“Sylvester?” asked his mother in a choked voice.

Whirling, Nolan shook his finger at his ASS partner. “Stop that right now.”

“Or you’ll do what?”

He blurted the first thing that came to mind. “Kiss you.”

“Excuse me?”

“You heard me. If you say one more thing to drive my mother mental, I will kiss you.”

“You wouldn’t dare.”

“I would, with tongue too.”

“In front of your mother?”
Clarice moistened her lips.

“Yup.”

“That’s not fair. You know I don’t like you.”

“
I think you protest too much. Is this your way of trying to force me to do it? You know, you could just ask. No need to play these games. I’m more than willing to kiss you.”

“You’re sick.”

“So you keep saying.”

Ignoring his mother’s
piqued interest, he held Clarice’s gaze, hands on the back of the couch, leaning against it to hide the stirring interest from a certain body part. To his relief—and major disappointment—Clarice backed away, lips pressed tight as she grabbed her clothes, heading to the bathroom. One sniff, though, and Nolan could smell the interest she pretended didn’t exist. He also scented the filth of the previous days excursions on the clothes she planned to wear.

Stepping in her path, h
e pulled the fabric from her hands. “Oh no you don’t.”

She tugged back. “I need to get dressed.”

“Not in that you’re not.”

“
Oh yes I am.”

“Nope.” He danced out of reach, Clarice hot on his heels. He
dove into his room, hit the patio doors, and slid them open in one deft motion. Without pause, he flung her filthy things over the railing. Down they sailed. Clarice clasped the balcony railing and peered over the edge. He took a peek himself to see her garments sinking in the pool.

“Do you know how
long those took me to break in?” she snapped.

“I’ll
have them dry cleaned and returned later. Now, why don’t you go shower? You stink.” He pinched his nose and held himself taut for the punch she aimed his way. Wow, she could pack a wallop. So, of course the side of him that apparently enjoyed abuse had to say, “Didn’t hurt.”

“I hate you.”

“You know what they say about hate.”

“I don’t want
to have sex with you.”

“Who said anything about sex this time?”

With a growl, she whirled on her heel and stalked off. He grinned at her retreating back. “There’s a robe hanging on the back of the bathroom door for when you’re done,” he mentioned as he followed.

She answered him with a flipped finger as she stalked past his mother
, who watched with a calculating look. He whistled as he strolled to the phone and ordered enough food for a small army, then he headed into his bedroom as the shower turned on. Grabbing a t-shirt and track pants, he dressed quickly and exited to find his mother also attired once again, her outfit not the one she’d arrived in judging by the shredded remains of silk on the floor. He didn’t bother to wonder where it came from. Given his mother’s temper, he figured she had clothes stashed everywhere she went.

As he padded into the kitchen to get some coffee going, she followed.
He was ready, more or less, for the interrogation he knew he couldn’t avoid.

“Who is she?”

“A coworker.” No, he wasn’t going to make it easy on his mother, not after the way she behaved. Goaded or not, she should have shown a little more control.

“A coworker who spent the night in
your condo in her underwear!”

“Well
, yeah. We got in late and she didn’t have any jammies. Would you have preferred to encounter her naked?” He certainly would have.

“You’re being deliberately obtuse.”

“How? I’ve answered your questions,” he replied with a sly smirk.

His m
other’s lip tightened into a thin line. “I am going to ask once again, and you better answer me straight this time, Nolan. Who is she and what is she doing here?”

“I’d say that was obvious.
She’s ASS and she was taking care of my body.” At the sour expression on his mom’s face, he couldn’t help laughing. “Get your mind out of the gutter, Mother. She’s ASS, as in Avian Soaring Security. Kloe assigned her as my bodyguard. We had some security concerns over those escaped patients so Clarice was asked to stay with me until another agent comes available.”

Instantly, his mother’s irritation switched to concern.
“Are you in danger?”

He shrugged. “The
agency seems to think so.”

“
Because he is.” Clarice answered as she emerged from the steam-filled bathroom wearing his robe, which looked way too big on her slender frame. It made her appear cuddly, feminine, soft… Seeing her wear it, knowing it bore his scent, that the fabric had touched his skin, roused something primitive in him. A sense of possessiveness flooded him, a new feeling he’d never felt before for a woman, or at least never until Clarice.
Mine.
He swallowed hard and hoped the sensation would pass because despite his attraction to the falcon, getting involved would just invite trouble. Loads of it.

“
I can’t have my only male heir threatened. You will pack a bag and move in with the pride until the danger passes.” His mother stated it as a done deal, however, Nolan wasn’t about to let himself get sucked into his mother’s clutches. No way. If he allowed that, he’d wake one morning to find himself wedded and bedded to who knew how many felines as part of his mother’s political machinations.

“No, I’m not.
I’m staying right here.”

“Oh no you’re not.”

“Good luck convincing him otherwise,” Clarice muttered as she prepared herself a cup of coffee—her eyes lighting with pleasure at the Keurig machine on his counter and the array of Kcup flavors.

“Why are you being so stubborn?” his mother asked.

Other than the fact he was a big boy who didn’t want his mommy protecting him? “FUC needs me.”

“No
, we/they don’t.” Clarice and his mother spoke at the same time, and with the exception of one word, parroted each other. Not that they appreciated the fact their minds swung in the same direction judging by their matching glares.

“Yes
, they do. I’m the one who knows my patients best. I can help. Not to mention, I make great bait.”

“No son of mine is dangling himself in front of a bunch of crazed killers.”

“Why not?” Clarice taunted. “Can’t your boy take care of himself? Or does he need his mommy to fight his battles?”

Since when was his reluctant ASS partner on his side? He eyed her suspiciously, especially given her benign smile at his mother.

It was a nice play, though. Either his mother called him a pussy, or she had to admit he wasn’t completely useless. In other words, it could go either way. Nolan wished he’d thought to put a shot of something alcoholic in his French Vanilla flavored coffee.

“Nolan is a perfectly fine fighter. He had nothing but the best teachers growing up. However, we’re talking about homicidal maniacs. If half of what my sources tell me is true, then only an idiot would try and face these escaped abominations alone.”

“He won’t be alone.”

“Why? Are you going to stay glued to his side and protect him? Ooh, I’m just shaking in my fur. What are you going to do, big bird? Shake your wings at the attackers?
Regurgitate some worms and spit at them.”

Clarice sighed. “What is it with you cats? You know
, it’s not all about hand-to-hand combat or animal shapes. We have evolved. There is such a thing as weapons nowadays.”

His mother sniffed. “I should have known you were one of
those.
”

“Why you catty b—
”

“I smell breakfast!” Nolan announced
, stepping between the brewing fight to answer the door. The catering staff wheeled in several white cloth-covered carts holding an array of covered dishes.

The presence of the human staff kept his mot
her and Clarice silent, but the visual daggers flew fast and furious as they each paced their end of the room.

As soon as the caterers left, with a generous tip
in hand, Nolan seated himself and lifted the domes from the platters. Steam arose along with mouthwatering scents. “Time to sheathe the claws, ladies. Breakfast is served.” Like naptime, Nolan let very little get in the way of his food. A lion needed to keep up his energy after all, especially when dealing with his mother. And, he amended, when juggling a ruffled bird who looked like she’d rather peck their eyes out than sit down and eat.

“We should be getting to work
,” Clarice admonished.

“Eat first,” he ordered between mouthfuls.

“Let the bird go. I’ll get you to the office,” his mother offered.

Before he could refuse, Clarice replied
, “On second thought, I am rather hungry. I guess catering to a male lion’s
needs
will do that to a girl.”

Nolan almost choked.

*

Barb thrown, Clarice t
ucked the robe around her, and ignoring the older cat’s rumble of discontent, sat at the table. Truth was, she did feel rather famished this morning and despite her less than great sense of smell, even she couldn’t resist the rich aromas wafting from the table. The doctor wasn’t kidding when he said he would order everything on the menu. Waffles, big and fluffy decorated in whip cream poufs, a spattering of icing and fruit tempted on one dish. Toast towered. Pancakes steamed. Bacon from barely cooked to crisp, along with sausage and ham made her mouth water. Orange juice beckoned. Coffee promised a return to sanity.

“Where’s the eggs?” his mother demanded.

“Out of deference to my guest, I didn’t think it appropriate.”

Ah, how sweet. Gag.

His mother couldn’t leave it at that, though. “Afraid of eating a cousin?”

Clarice arched a brow. “Are you always this crass or did someone forget to take her meds this morning?
I hear menopause can be rough on women your age.” Target launched. And…boom. Direct hit. Fury had the woman red-faced and ready to lunge across the table.

Figured Sylvester would ruin her fun.
“Enough. From both of you,” Nolan ordered. “Mother, mind your manners, and you, Clarice, eat or I will make good on my promise from earlier.”

A kiss if she didn’t shut up? Damn, he needed to come up with a better punishment or else she
would start trouble just to see if he’d follow through.

A
silent, if uneasy truce descended as they ate, and ate, Clarice not even coming close to packing away as many calories as the two lions. Where did they put it all? She’d seen Nolan almost naked. The man, contrary to his lazy nature, didn’t have an ounce of fat on his frame. Nope, all six-foot-plus of him was tanned, toned muscle with a layer of…

A knock sounded
at the door and Clarice used it as an excuse to escape the erotic images determined to batter down the wall in her mind. She put her eye to the viewing hole and groaned. Could she pretend their newest visitors weren’t there? The knock came again in a quick, insistent patter.

Swinging open the door,
Clarice stepped aside to let the visitors in. The annoying rabbit of the day before hopped in followed by her lumbering bear of a husband laden with some familiar luggage.

“Oh goody. I thought I smelled food.” Off Miranda bounced to join the feast, going right for the carrot muffins
, which along with several of the other healthier items, remained untouched.

“Morning,” Chase said gruffly
, dumping Clarice’s bags at her feet. “Kloe asked us to bring your stuff. Apparently, my being a lawyer isn’t an important enough job. FUC has relegated me to bellboy.”

“Now, now
, grumpy bear. We both know you cleared your client calendar, what with the baby coming soon and the whole crisis with FUC having everyone on edge.”

“I cleared it so I could catch up on my sleep before the cub is born.”

“Sleep? Who has time for sleep? There is still so much to do,” Miranda reminded as she inhaled all the muffins and then started on the cheese Danishes,  which resulted in a growling tugging match between her and Nolan as they fought over the last cherry one.