Pregnant With His Liger Baby

As they walked together through the garden and made a bee-line for the library, Sylvie realized that the thrum had just gone into overdrive. Her body was singing at the feel of Micah’s large hand encircling her smaller one. She couldn’t wait until they reached the secluded place of which he spoke so she could get a proper taste of him at last.

It seemed like Micah felt the same way, because just as soon as they were hidden among the tall rows of shelves, he pulled Sylvie into his arms. He nuzzled his nose into her hair, drinking in the scent of her.

“I had a dream about you last night,” he admitted as he dragged his lips over her forehead and her eyes.

“You still didn’t tell me your name,” she reminded him, trying to break the tension between them.

“Br’Roar,” he said as they began walking again. “It means ‘protector’.”

“I see,” she smiled. “And you are, too, aren’t you? You’re a very great protector. Of your pride, of your great grandparents—and even of me, really. You wanted to protect me today from Leona’s tattling.”

“I always protect the things I care about most,” he said as they stepped into the garden again. Rose was watching the pair of them as they walked, and they were glad they had opted not to hold hands again as they came out of the library.

Sylvie smiled as she rejoined her mother. “That was an interesting book, sir,” she said. “I’m glad that I came to see it with you.”

“Any time, Miss Paw,” Micah said, and she easily caught the merriment in his eye.

“Weren’t you the lion we saw in the Commissary earlier?” asked Rose curiously.

“Yes, I believe so,” said Micah. “Good day to you, Mrs. Paw. Or do you prefer Majesty?”

“God, no, I get enough of that from the humans without you starting in,” she replied.

“You’ve got a lot of things here,” Micah said then. “Shall I help you carry them to the border of tiger land?”

“Would you?” she asked gratefully. “That would be so nice. I’m so worried about my son, I suppose I went overboard. He’s been missing for several days.”

“Yes, your daughter mentioned that,” he nodded, and Rose cast them a curious glance.

“How long have you two known each other?” she asked as they began to walk with all the bags.

“We met in the garden,” Sylvie lied. “I guess he thought I was staring at him, too. I had to tell him I was daydreaming about a book I wanted to read. That’s why we went to the library.”

“Oh, I see,” she nodded. “It’s just that you seemed so familiar as you were headed back. I thought you must have spoken sometime before.”

“No, ma’am, but we were certainly enjoying the conversation just then,” said Micah with a smile. “Your daughter has a keen wit. A most refreshing trait for me. You must know how tiring it is, dealing with lionesses of Leona’s ilk all the time. I confess, I only ever return to the pride if I must, just to avoid her whenever possible.”

“Now that I can believe,” Rose replied with a roll of her eyes.

Because of the number of bags on their arms, none of the three could return to cat form as they stepped out of the Community Center and out into the fields. The rest of the walk was spent in cheerful conversation until they’d reached the little slope that would take the two females back down onto tiger lands. “Thank you so much, Micah. Who would have ever expected such a polite lion as you are?”

“Well yes, unless of course you try to enter the territory I’m sworn to protect,” he shrugged. “If you did that, I might have to bite off your tail.”

Her brow shot up in surprise. “Sylvie told you that, right? That saying?”

“Yes, I believe so,” he agreed.

“She made it up when she was a small cub,” she chuckled. “I’m not surprised you’ve heard it already. She says it all the time. Anyway, thank you kindly for all your help. Do enjoy the rest of your day.”

“Good day to you, as well, ma’am,” he said with a bow of his head.

See you tonight, kitten? I hope so.

“G-good-bye, Micah,” Sylvie said as she stepped away.

*****

The rest of the day went by in a blur as Sylvie continued to wonder if she’d be able to sneak out to see Micah that night. Her body ached all over, and in her mind she kept replaying the way it had felt when Micah had touched and kissed her, but all that did was make her feel even worse—or better, depending on one’s perception of such things. Sylvie couldn’t make up her mind which of them it actually was.

More than once, she caught her mother watching her with a speculative look on her face. She knew what the woman must be wondering, and she would be right. The attraction between Micah and herself was too readily apparent to anyone who had seen them together. It had been apparent that morning, when she had seen the pair of them staring at each other as they entered the Commissary at the Community Center. She wasn’t stupid, she had to have worked it out.