The Boy Next Door

Chapter Sixteen

At least, she couldn’t until Ian bolted upright from where he’d slouched in front of her door in an attempt to keep her from leaving. The expression on his face when he stood, pressing his nose to her door, had all of that ill timed amusement dying a short, fiery death, and that knot of panicked terror that had unraveled amid her distraction rebuilt itself in her throat, choking off her laughter with a strangled gurgle.

“Cullen,” After a quick glance through the peephole in the door, Ian jerked away as if he’d been burned, backing farther into her apartment that he had willingly moved since he’d locked the door after Griffin and the others had stalked out. “Cul-”

“Yeah, I smell ‘em.” Cullen stood, shaking out his fist as he stalked to the door for his own peek out whomever or whatever it was that they could… smell. “Fuck.”

“What smell? What can you smell?” When the Cullen and Ian ignored her she turned to Luca who flushed bright red, clearing his throat awkwardly when she caught him staring in the direction of her ass. Deciding she could be indignant later, Samara snapped, “What do they smell?”

“Pu-er,” he slanted a glance from her to his brothers and back again. “Feline.”

Feline? They smelled a cat?

“Mrs. Drescott down the hall has a calico.” She offered hopefully, but the identical looks she received in response had her cringing.

“That’s…” Cullen seemed to be searching for the right word. “Great. But that’s not what kind of feline we’re talking about her, Sweets.”

“Then what kind of feline are you talking about?” To say she was confused was an understatement, but she was tired of simply stumbling blindly through whatever it was she’d inadvertently put herself right in the middle of by being involved with Colton. If he expected her to be on board with the budding relationship between them, then she simply refused to keep second guessing whether or not he’d told her the truth or if he’d kept things from her in an attempt to keep her from freaking out on him.

“Lions-four of them, if I’m hearing right.” Cullen tossed the comment so casually over his shoulder that it took a moment for her to actually wrap her brain around what he’d said.

“Lions,” Samara whispered, unable to keep the quiver of shock from her voice when she asked, “You mean like the Lion King Lions?”

“Right. Only not like Simba and Mufasa… more like Scar-” he scratched the back of his head in thought, “-yeah. They’re like as ugly outside as Scar was inside...and outside-Ow! What was that for?” Cullen turned on Ian, who’d slapped him in the back of the head, effectively forcing his forehead into the door before him. “Oh, for God’s sake,” Cullen cursed when he saw the paleness of her face. “He never told you about the Lions, did he?” When she shook her head, nausea keeping her silent, he groaned, “Why?”

“You know why,” Ian sighed.

“But, she’s nothing like Kara!” Cullen burst out, instantly halting whatever Luca had been about to add.

“I-” Samara frowned. Why would Colton think she was anything like Kara? God, did she reminded him of the other woman? She did, didn’t she. That’s why he-no, now was not the time to wonder just how much she reminded Colton of his ex. Just the thought gave her hives, so she steered the conversation back to the subject at hand. Sort of. “How many kinds of-of… shifters are there?”

“Well, there’s wolves, as you know.” Cullen dug his cell phone from his pocket, peeking once more out the peephole. “And there’s Lions.”

“Tigers,” Ian shot her a tense smile.

“And bears,” Luca happily added, either completely oblivious to the tension in the air or ignoring it entirely.