Read Online Chasing Cristabel (Ashland Pride Six) by R. E. Butler - Free Book Online Page B

want to Skype with them, or just call, if you want us
to go there with you and meet them in person – it’s your choice,
but we’re with you.”
    She said nothing for a long moment, as her
hands twined with his cousins’, and she placed her head on Chase’s
shoulder. Then she untangled her hands from theirs and leaned
forward, pressing her lips to Hunter’s as her arms wove around his
neck. She slipped to her knees between his spread legs, and he
cradled her close, his hands rubbing gently up and down her back as
their kiss deepened.
    The front door unlocked, and he lifted from
her mouth. Dylan and Chase stood swiftly, turning toward the door,
protecting Cris. She blinked a few times, and then yawned. “It’s
probably Lily.”
    “On the off-chance it’s not Lily, let us keep
you safe,” Hunter said, drawing her close.
    “Okay.” She snuggled against him.
    Lily paused after opening the door. “Oh.
Hi!”
    Dylan and Chase relaxed. Hunter helped Cris
to her feet and stood behind her, wrapping his arms around her to
keep her close. “Hi yourself,” Cris said.
    Chase said, “Thanks for letting us have the
apartment, Lily.”
    “I’m sorry I gave you the run around
yesterday. I was planning to introduce you to Cris last night and
make sure she wanted to be with you guys, but then I got stuck with
an extra shift.”
    “It worked out perfectly anyway,” Cris
said.
    Hunter kissed her ear. “Definitely.”
    “Can I talk to my bestie for a minute in
private?” Lily asked.
    “Sure,” Hunter said. He kissed Cris on the
cheek and stepped into the bedroom with Chase and Dylan.
    “You know that they’ll still be able to hear
everything you say, right? Shifters have great hearing,” Cris said
to Lily.
    Dylan grinned from where he leaned against
the bedroom wall. “She’s amazing.”
    “And all ours,” Chase said.
    “Damn it, I forgot you guys hear better than
I do. Well, anyway, I just wanted to make sure you were okay. Are
you…dating all of them?”
    “Shifters don’t date. Well, not really
anyway. We’re mated,” Cris answered.
    “So you bit them and they bit you? Ouch!”
Lily exclaimed.
    “Well, no. I mean, yes, they bit me, but I
didn’t bite them,” Cris said.
    Hunter went still, wondering if she were
going to elaborate.
    “Should we be listening?” Dylan asked.
    “Cris said we would be able to hear. Besides,
I want to know what her mating traditions are like,” Chase
said.
    “Me too,” Hunter said.
    There was a long pause out in the family
room, and then Cris said, “It’s complicated and involves some
things I don’t think you want to know about me and my mates.”
    “Oh, sounds kinky. Does it involve whipped
cream and…I don’t know what lions like. Raw steak?”
    “Aw, geez. You’re a nut,” Cris said,
laughing.
    “You’re happy? That’s all I care about,” Lily
said.
    “Deliriously.”
    Hunter grinned, and his lion pranced around
in his mind like a peacock.
    “What about your parents?”
    “I don’t know. I need to tell them so they
understand I won’t be back again.”
    “You won’t ever go home? That’s
depressing.”
    “It is what it is. My dad would never accept
mountain lions into the pride.”
    “They’re still lions,” Lily pointed out.
    Hunter left the bedroom and joined them,
putting his arm around Cris and drawing her into his side. “With
shifters, sometimes the species is more important than the type.
We’re cats, but we’re not African lions. It would matter to her
pride.”
    “But not to your pride. You guys are
all-inclusive,” Lily said.
    Chase and Dylan joined them. Dylan grabbed
their coats and said, “It’s different for us. Each shifter group
has their own rules. Sometimes they’re inclusive, but sometimes
they’re exclusive.”
    “Sounds complicated,” Lily said, her brow
arching.
    Cris shrugged. “You just need to know that
I’m staying in Ashland.”
    “Here?”
    “Um, hell no. No, offense, but your place is
too small for