Cats in Heat

Adelaide Deveraux lives a quiet life in the country, never quite fitting in with other people and preferring her spare time spent caring for the various stray cats in the area. But late one night, a feline of a much larger persuasion shows up at her door, shifting into a very injured—and very naked—human man in need of help.

Erik Wells has been on the run his whole life: from the people who killed his parents when he was a boy, from a group determined to exterminate his own kind, and now from the underground gladiator ring who abduct shifters and have them fight to the death for entertainment. And he needs to keep running, but something about Addie draws him to her home and her care.

The tiger in him senses it: there’s more to Addie than apparent at first glance—more to her knack for working with roots and herbs; more to her strange dreams; more to the secrets buried in her family history. But if she is who he thinks she is, the danger’s just beginning, as the powerful man responsible for keeping Erik captive for so long will stop at nothing to obtain her for his own.

Cats in Heat

Cats & Conjure #1

Asha King

Also by Asha King

Now Available

Near to You

Bad Moon Rising

Somebody to Love

Wild Horses (Stirling Falls #1)

Wild Horses: Cold, Cold Winter (Stirling Falls #1.5)

Sympathy for the Devil (Stirling Falls #2)

Circle of Friends: How Can You Mend a Broken Heart?

Coming Soon

The Book of Love

I Who Have Nothing

Gimme Shelter (Stirling Falls #3)

Circle of Friends: Still in Love with You

Cat Scratch Fever (Cats & Conjure #2)

Stray Cat Strut (Cats & Conjure #3)

Cats in Heat

Copyright © 2013 by Asha King

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

Edited by Adrienne Jones

Cover Art © 2013 by Asha King

First Edition October 2013

ISBN-13: 978-0-9921281-3-5

All rights reserved under the International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions.  No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the author.

This book is a work of fiction.  Names, characters, places and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to any actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

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Your support of my livelihood is appreciated.

Special thanks...

...to my friend Aylia’s husband, for playing the right song at the right time—a song that inspired this book and series. Sort of.

And sorry, Aylia, for basically saying your husband inspired my erotica—I totally did not mean it like THAT.

Chapter One

“Okay, bring your arms up!”

This elicited a groan from the women in her class.

Adelaide Deveraux sighed, maintaining her stance. They’d just barely gotten through the bellydancing warm-ups when the bitching began and weren’t any happier in the conditioning exercises now. She kept her smile bright and arms in position, giving the class a moment.

Eventually they got their griping done with and raised their arms. Only two held the same stance she did; the others had variations between loose arms with their elbows dipping downward and arms straight out instead of rounded.

Let’s try another tactic.
“Get those arms nice and round, elbows up—no, not that high, but level with the rest of your arms. Um...okay, how about you pretend you’re...hugging a tree. A really big tree.”

“Or my husband,” muttered Mrs. Franks in the front row.

The other women snickered, the humor seeming to freshen up their attention.

“Or Cynthia’s husband,” Addie said. “Now, like we did in the warm-up, we’re going to isolate the chest. Not moving your hips or your shoulders, you’re going to shift your chest from side to side...”

She tried not to let her dismay show on her face but good God this wasn’t going well. A big selling point for this belly dancing class had been not just the costume making later but the performance at the end of the course in front of family and friends. No way would they be ready for that in ten weeks.

Addie walked around the class, stepping carefully around yoga mats and the odd cell phone people had brought—despite it being against the rules—to their stations, murmuring encouragingly and offering tips phrased in the most positive way possible. She wore a hip-scarf over her black, stretched cropped pants, and the dozens of shimmery coins jangled when she walked. It was irritating during a regular lesson but she figured out early on new students seemed to be more engaged with her instructions when a spangly belt was involved.

Rain pattered hard on the windows of the rented community room, sending dappled shadows across the floor. The sun had been AWOL all day, both morning and afternoon grim and gray, melding into one. The weather report had called for a storm but—

Thundered cracked in the distance, blasting over the Middle Eastern music playing from her iPod and speaker set up in the corner. Adelaide paused her trek around the room and the other women wavered their exercises, a common current of tension running through the room.

The fine hairs on Addie’s arms rose, a prickle ran down her spine, then thunder spoke again. Lightning flashed in violent, jagged lines through the west window and the lights went out.

A rush of whispers and nervous laughter ran through the group, breaking up the sudden silence. Addie swiftly walked to one of the windows and peered outside, watching the dance of lightning as it scattered from thickening clouds. The sky was pure black to the west—the storm wasn’t going anywhere. Rain hammered harder on the room, torrents streaking down the windows.

In a small town like this one, there was no telling how long it would be before the power returned.

“Well, class is over for today, ladies,” Addie said. “I’ll arrange a make-up—” She turned and saw all the women already gathering their things, chattering as they headed for the door.

Addie sighed. Her students were soccer moms, some early retirees, and school staff who had the summer off. They were here for some silly fun and of course ready to duck out early. After all, they had lives and families.

She sighed and gathered up her things: the iPod and speaker, her water bottle and yoga mat. Before she went anywhere, she pulled off the damn belt and balled it in her fist so it wouldn’t constantly jangle, slipped on her flip-flops, and then followed the others for the front door.

The rain was intensely violent, soaking the parking lot. Addie and her group of pupils hung there in the community center foyer for a moment, staring at the grim afternoon outside. A figure raced across the lot, weaving between cars, and the women backed up as he burst through the door.

Robbie burst in, his overalls and T-shirt soaked and clinging to his tall, lean body. He shook rain from his short sandy hair and grinned lopsidedly, his gaze trailing over the women waiting inside. “Power’s out across town.”

Addie’s pupils all groaned and muttered. A look at the nearly-black sky revealed the rain wouldn’t let up any time soon and there’d be no telling how long before the hydro company got things running again. Could be a line down somewhere—this happened out in the country far too often.

Robbie’s eyes settled on Addie and his smile widened. “I have to lock up but I can give you a ride?”

He knew she walked home—she walked everywhere. In a small town, she didn’t need a car. And she always declined, preferring the exercise, but a glance outside...

“Okay,” she relented.

“Great!” And he scurried off to check the various interior doors of the community center.

In groups of two or three, the women began darting outside into the rain. Some clutched their purses to their chests, others held gym bags over their heads, and nearly all squealed as they pushed through the doors and were soaked by torrential rain. Wind sprayed water through the gap in the door for a moment, cooling Addie’s face, before the doors closed again and sealed the world outside away.

Steps approached a few minutes later and then Robbie appeared at her side, swinging his keychain. He offered her a plastic grocery bag—it was bright yellow and he definitely hadn’t had it when he came in, so he must’ve found it in one of the back rooms.

“Thanks.” She swiftly stuffed her things inside and tied the ends to seal it shut.

Robbie gestured to the door. “Ready?”

She nodded. He’d have to lock up behind him so she prepared to dart ahead for the old blue Chevy truck in the rapidly-emptying parking lot.

“I left the truck unlocked,” he said with a nod toward the parking lot and good-natured smile.

She was grateful for his forethought. With a deep breath, Addie darted outside.

Rain slammed down hard on her, blasting her wavy hair flat and drenching her clothes in a matter of seconds. She could barely see past the rolling raindrops in her eyes. Her feet splashed through puddles in the uneven parking lot—they were up to her ankles and made her flip-flops slippery, forcing her to slow before she lost her sandals entirely. Eventually she paused just long enough to tear them off and then ran barefoot the rest of the way across cold, rough pavement. With her head down and eyes squinting, she saw little else but the light blue truck waiting.

Lightning scattered across the sky and thunder cracked a second later overhead, almost right on top of the building. She felt it vibrating right into her bones and sighed with relief when she reached the truck at last. Addie dove inside the unlocked vehicle and slammed the door shut.

The skies continued to drench everything, rain hammering little needles against the truck roof and windows. Addie swiped her hair back and sighed; there was nothing she could do to dry herself or protect the vehicle’s interior. Robbie wouldn’t mind too much, though—he’d offered her a ride, after all, and had to know what the consequences of rain were.