of my caution, so it obviously left a lasting mark.”
“I would be more concerned about your general inclination to kill people for money, personally.” Sebastian returned to the bathroom with the cheese box in one hand and the gift basket in the other. “And I really doubt your father spanking you for running out in traffic led you to become an accomplished bounty huntress.”
“I’m a lynx. We’re murderous, furry little freaks by default. One of my brothers became a land shark.”
“An attorney?”
“Land shark.”
“I bet he loves when you call him a land shark.”
“He really doesn’t, which is why I do it.” As I’d neglected my gift basket earlier, I rummaged through it, discovering several more wrapped boxes at the bottom. “More presents!” I sat on the tub’s dais and took out the first box, which was slender and thin, tearing at the paper to discover what was inside. A white jewelry box lurked beneath the paper, and I lifted off the lid.
To maintain my cover as beyond poor and scraping to get by, I’d never purchased a watch for myself, although my brothers had a tendency to pin me to the floor to acquire my various sizes, including wrist, ring, and neck so they could give me trinkets for the holidays. Like me, most of my brothers kept any gift giving to small or inexpensive things.
Nothing about the watch counted as inexpensive, although it was small and delicate enough I worried I’d break it. I liked the sapphire blue watch face and the moon and star motif decorating it. At a loss, I showed it to Sebastian. “I know nothing about watches.”
Sebastian took the watch from the box, turned it over in his hands, and examined it. “How long have you been planning to come to this spa?”
“For a while. Months, actually. I had to get time off work, so I started making plans a year ago when I won the days off. I told my family I’d be coming here then.”
“This watch cost somebody several thousand dollars, and it has your name engraved on the back of it, so it’s definitely meant for you. This was not a random addition to your room, although the cheese box could have been acquired on short notice, same with the Champagne and flutes.” He smiled and returned the watch to its box. “They probably assumed you’d think it was cheap so you’d wear it. Wear it anyway. These are built to last, and they have really good warranties. Just don’t wear it when you’re planning on making a hit requiring bloodshed. Blood is a bitch to get out of a watch.”
“Spoken like someone who knows.”
“Well, I am a lion. Sometimes, someone pisses me off, and I just swat. With claws out. And then people complain because I don’t wear a sign around my neck warning them I can turn my nails to claws at my whim.”
“You’re a hybrid?”
“I’m predisposed to hybridism, but I do not have the hybrid form at this point in time. I can transform my hands into partial paws with claws. This is enough predisposition to count for the law enforcement exemptions, so I’m happy with that. I suspect my boss is hoping I’ll develop full hybridism after mating because of the associated virus spike.”
Nice. I’d scored extra with him. “I get my own pet lion, and he might one day become a fluffy hybrid for my enjoyment?”
“And if I develop hybridism, you might, too, especially since your brothers are predisposed.”
Hmm. Did I want to confess the truth, or did I want to save the truth for some evil surprise? The cat in me wanted to surprise him sometime later. I’d get scolded by the CDC for hiding my status, but unmated hybrid females were hunted. My new status as mated would prevent being hunted by anyone other than Sebastian.
My virus wanted Sebastian to pounce and continue his trend of having his way with me. As my nail polish would survive the transformation, thanks to magic and the nature of lycanthropy, I held out my hand, smirked, and shifted it to my humanoid paw covered with fur and armed with extra-long claws, perfect for shredding through prey. “I’m sorry, Sebastian, but I’ve been naughty. You should reward me for not letting anyone know I have fairly refined control of my transformations. Honestly, I didn’t want it in my file I could, because I had enough trouble with unwanted males sniffing around on my turf.”