Addie’s mouth went dry, and then she saw his eyes—golden-tawny and full of good humor. “Seamus?”
The lion gave her a little huffing bark, walked well around Kendrick, and butted his head into Addie’s side.
A thrill went through her as the huge, ferocious lion bumped her with affection, and again when her hand stroked his wiry, warm mane. At least not all Shifters were afraid to let her touch them.
Kendrick heaved himself to his feet and faced Seamus, his eyes narrowing. Seamus continued to lean against Addie, rumbling in enjoyment as Addie scratched under his mane.
From Kendrick’s throat came the grating sound of a tiger’s long growl, a noise that would send terror through the jungle. Seamus met Kendrick’s gaze, unimpressed. Leisurely, he stepped away from Addie, shook himself out, yawned, then strolled off the porch again, sauntering away.
Addie found herself smiling in delight, her face aching with it. She wanted to laugh, and when Kendrick turned a look of fury on her, Addie couldn’t help herself. She let the laugh come out.
“The look on your face,” she said, pointing at Kendrick’s great, beautiful tiger visage, with his black stripes on snow white, his eyes luminous green. “It’s priceless.”
The tiger began to distort, and in a few seconds, Addie’s laugh choked off. Before her stood not a man or a tiger, but a half man, half tiger. White tiger’s fur spread over the steel-muscled armature of a man, the face Kendrick’s but with fur, tiger ears, and the teeth of a beast. His hands ended in claws, dark and sharp.
“He defies me.” Kendrick’s voice was guttural.
“He’s giving you a hard time,” Addie said, trying to hide her nervousness. “I heard him on the phone with his girlfriend. It’s painfully obvious how much he loves her.”
The tiger-beast-man rippled, the fur flowing away, Kendrick shrinking down to be Kendrick-sized again. He was completely naked, the morning sun kissing his skin.
“He’s never defied me,” Kendrick said, now sounding confused. “Not even as a joke.”
“People change. Seamus is madly in love with this woman, and he lives with her now, right? Wouldn’t that make him different?”
Addie saw him turn these thoughts over in his head, uncertain. “Yes,” he conceded.
Addie resisted the urge to reach a comforting hand to him. She liked that Kendrick stood here before her, bare and unashamed. If last night were anything to go by, touching him would make him retreat and run.
“Breakfast?” she suggested instead. “I’ll cook this morning and give Charlie a break. I make a mean pancake.”
“Pancakes!” Small voices chorused inside the house.
The three cubs pressed against the front window, not in the least surprised to see their father standing naked on the porch, facing Addie.
Addie gave them a shaky wave. “Probably you should get dressed,” she said to Kendrick, as though every inch of his body didn’t make her hot all over. She gave him an encouraging smile then made herself stroll, as leisurely as Seamus had, into the house.
* * *
Kendrick ate breakfast at the far end of the table, trying not to watch Addison’s warm eyes as she conversed easily with Seamus, Charlie, and the boys.
He burned for her, and nothing was going to be simple. Addison was right that Seamus had been teasing the hell out of him by nuzzling her this morning. Seamus would have sensed Kendrick’s need for Addison and decided to play with him a little—Kendrick hadn’t exactly hidden his interest.
If Kendrick kept Addison at arm’s length and focused on the problems at hand, he’d be fine, he told himself. Yeah, and snakes will sprout wings and fly.