Second Nature

by Jae

  Congratulations, Griff, Kylin thought, you've got good taste. You picked a clever one. "So how did you know it wasn't Jeff Madsen?" she asked. "He's an old friend of Jennings's family, so my money was on him."

  "All the other councilors thought that too," Jorie said with a nod. "They were all staring at him — only Thyra Davis was looking at the ground."

  "Amazing," Kylin murmured. Were all humans like this? While building her political career, Kylin hadn't had much contact with humans. She found them interesting but had always thought Griffin was wasting her time living among them. Now she was starting to change her mind.

  Sometimes, she thought, pride mates come in surprising forms.

  Under Griffin's watchful eyes, she patted Jorie on the shoulder and steered them out of the room. "Is it too late to ask for an autograph?"

  CHAPTER 30

  GRIFFIN PUT HER finger between the pages and closed her grandfather's diary. When she had been a child, her mother had often urged her to read the diaries, but after finding out she had no dream-seeing potential at all, Griffin had thought it a waste of time.

  Now she knew different.

  The diaries were teaching her a lot about dream seers and about her family — and she now accepted that both would forever be a part of her life.

  Leaning her head against the back of the couch, she looked out the window.

  Snowflakes floated down to earth, forming a white curtain that separated the house from the rest of the world. Winter in Michigan wasn't so bad after all. Not when you were inside a cozy house, enjoying the warmth of a fire and the soothing sounds of Jorie's typing.

  Jorie had decided to postpone her shape-shifter novel's publication until she was sure she could portray the Wrasa accurately and without causing them harm. Still, she hadn't given up on writing despite her dream-seeing training and the council's demands on her time.

  Or maybe she didn't give up on it because of the demands on her.

  Griffin knew that Jorie often felt insecure, confused, and pressured when it came to her new role. For someone who only a few weeks ago made the final decision not to kill Jorie, the councilors sure act as if they can't live without her. They were often asking for her dream-inspired insight on things that were new and overwhelming for Jorie. The responsibility of being the Wrasa's only dream seer was weighing heavily on her. She was desperately afraid of making a mistake, misinterpreting a dream. Her writing was a safe haven, where she could forget about her fears and self-doubts for a while.

  The typing stopped, and Griffin turned her head.

  Jorie sat on the other end of the couch, her fingers lingering over the keyboard of her laptop while she gnawed on her lip.

  Normally, Griffin would have reached over and offered a shoulder massage. During the last six weeks, they had always been sitting much closer together on the couch while Jorie wrote, but today, Jorie had moved to the other end of the couch. Griffin knew her body language well enough to know that Jorie didn't want body contact right now.

  Feelings of hurt and disappointment poked at Griffin, and she flashed herself a sarcastic smile. Oh, come on. Where's that solitary tiger attitude of yours? Do you want her to think you're nothing but a cuddly pussycat?

  "Tough scene?" she asked when Jorie sighed.

  Jorie's head dropped back against the couch. "There's just so much to consider. I need to reveal character and move the story forward with this scene, pick the right level of explicitness, avoid purple prose, and use words that are neither too clinical nor crude. I don't want it to sound like an instruction manual or cheap porn. There has to be emotional intimacy, not just body parts moving against each other." Jorie tapped the side of the laptop while she spoke, revealing her agitation.

  Ooh! A grin spread over Griffin's face. This is why I've been relegated to the other end of the couch. She's writing a love scene! Even though Griffin was normally very respectful of Jorie's writing, she had to fight the urge to lean over and take a peek at the screen. "Can Ally help?" she asked. After a two-hour phone call, during which Ally had apologized for betraying Jorie's trust, Jorie had started to work with her beta reader again. She had forgiven Ally as she had forgiven Griffin.

  During the last few weeks, Jorie and Griffin had put the anger and betrayal behind them and had slowly rebuilt their trust and their friendship again.

  Shaggy hair brushed Jorie's brow when she shook her head. "I don't think Ally would be much help with this scene."

  "But you have written love scenes before, right?" Griffin had read one of them, and it hadn't been bad.

  "Yes," Jorie said, "but not lesbian love scenes."

  Tilting her head, Griffin looked at her. "Except for the obvious, is it really so different from writing heterosexual love scenes?"

  A slight blush dusted Jorie's skin. "I don't know. When I reread the love scenes in my previous books, just to get in the mood for writing love scenes, they didn't seem to work for me anymore. There was no emotional depth, no... connection between the main characters."

  Connection. Griffin tasted the word. Is that what's been missing from Jorie's love life in the past? She knew it had always been missing from hers. Sitting here on the couch with Jorie, in the middle of a cold Michigan winter, nothing was missing, though. She winked at Jorie and put on a comically seductive expression. "Need some help with the research?"

  "Griffin!" Jorie flushed but had to laugh at the same time. She swung her leg up and poked Griffin's thigh with her bare toes.

  Griffin grabbed the foot before it could retreat. Her lips pressed a tender kiss to the back of the foot.

  Tension fled Jorie's shoulders. She gave Griffin a smile. Seconds later, the typing started again.

  Seems that tiny kiss was inspiration enough. Griffin wondered whether their growing relationship made it into Jorie's novels in some form. She watched Jorie's focused expression for a while, then picked up the diary and started to read again.

  Their peaceful evening was interrupted by a demanding "miaow."

  Griffin glanced down.

  Emmy, Jorie's tri-colored cat, was glaring up at her, obviously displeased with finding Griffin on the couch. At least now, after six weeks, Emmy had learned not to hiss at Griffin at every opportunity.

  "You know," Griffin said, careful to keep her voice soothing and low as not to startle the cat or interrupt Jorie's writing, "you've got quite the attitude for someone who was almost eaten by a liger once. I'm top cat in this house, so you can either sit on my lap or find your own spot because I'm not moving." She patted her thighs in invitation, but Emmy turned, giving her the cold shoulder, and walked away.

  "Are you talking to me?" Jorie asked, not even looking up from her laptop.

  Griffin chuckled. "No, but you're welcome to sit on my lap anytime too."

  "Mm-hm," Jorie murmured distractedly. Then she glanced up, making eye contact over the screen of her laptop. "And just for the record, I am top cat in this house."

  "You're not a cat," Griffin said, grinning. She loved exchanging these playful barbs with Jorie. With her wit and her command of language, Jorie was a challenge every time.

  Dark hair flew as Jorie lifted her head up high. "I'm a maharsi; that outranks a simple cat."

  The ease of her statement made Griffin smile, enough to forgo protests about being called a "simple cat." Jorie had really struggled with accepting her role as a maharsi in the beginning.

  "So you better watch out or I might tell the council I had a dream that you were urgently needed somewhere in the Arctic," Jorie threatened.

  "Oh, all right, all right," Griffin said, lifting a placating hand. "Michigan is cold enough for me, thank you very much. You're welcome to dream about me, but please make it a dream that takes place in the Bahamas." An image of Jorie in a bikini while they lounged in the sun next to the pool flashed through her mind.

  "Hey, I'm a dream seer, not a piano player in a lounge, taking requests," Jorie said but grinned as she went back to her writing.

 
Griffin smiled. She knew Jorie wouldn't send her off to the Arctic, and Griffin didn't want to leave, not even if her destiny were the Bahamas. Her place was right here, with Jorie. She had given up her job and her apartment in Arkansas, and even her room at the bed-and-breakfast stayed empty most nights. If anyone asked, she told them that it was because Jorie's house was more comfortable and that she needed to stay close to protect Jorie. While it was true, those weren't the only reasons, though.

  With the large fireplace and the liger-sized tub, the room at the bed-and-breakfast was more than adequate, and so far, there had been a lot of grumbling among the Wrasa, but no outright physical attacks on Jorie. Griffin wasn't taking any chances until she was sure that the chaos in the council and the uproar in the rest of the Wrasa community had settled down. Her true reason for staying at Jorie's, though, was wanting to spend time with Jorie. She wanted to get to know her under circumstances that didn't involve kidnapping her or being on the run together.

  The doorbell interrupted her thoughts.

  Jorie groaned and looked up from her writing. "Who's that at this hour?"

  "Stay," Griffin said and got up from the couch. "I'll go." Checking out visitors was part of her job as Jorie's bodyguard, after all. Crossing the floor, she breathed in the air. "It's just Kelsey," she called back to Jorie before she opened the door.

  "Tas Westmore," Kelsey Yates said, ducking her head in deference to Griffin's higher rank. "The perimeter is secured. Everything is quiet in Osgrove. There's rarely anyone out in this weather." She shoved a strand of tan-and-chocolate hair out of her face and peered around Griffin into the house. Despite being a Syak, Kelsey Yates had the curiosity of a cat. "Everything okay at the house too?"

  Griffin looked down at the saru, one of a dozen members of the new unit responsible for protecting Jorie. No one had come right out and said it, but Griffin knew they weren't there only to protect Jorie but also to spy on her and make sure she didn't do anything the council didn't want her to do. Most of them were Syak, and Jorie had accepted it, but then she had put down her foot and had insisted that Griffin be appointed the team's leader. For Griffin, it had been the ultimate proof of Jorie's trust. They had both decided to forgive past actions and move on.

  Madsen had objected and complained, but finally he'd had no choice but to give in, grumbling something about Jorie spending too much time around cats and picking up their stubbornness.

  Her sudden promotion had surprised Griffin. After everything that had happened, she was convinced that she'd no longer be a saru and would be more of an outsider than ever. Now she wasn't less but more involved with the Wrasa community and also with her family. Even Nella was still sticking around Osgrove after Brian and Gus had given their formal permission for her to stay in their territory while she trained Jorie.

  "I'm having trouble establishing myself as the top cat in the house, but other than that, everything is quiet here too," Griffin answered. She was still getting used to being the leader of a unit and working in a team, but watching Gus and Rhonda interact with the pride had taught her that a little self-deprecating humor could go a long way. She was slowly making this team her team, no matter what Madsen had planned.

  Kelsey Yates tilted her head to the side and offered a hesitant grin. In the beginning, Griffin hadn't liked having Kelsey on her team. She had been a member of Jennings's pack, one of the Syak who had attacked Jorie. Griffin hadn't trusted her.

  Then Kelsey had apologized to Jorie, telling her she had thought Jennings's orders had come directly from the council. Griffin believed her. Both she and Kelsey had taken responsibility for their actions, and Jorie had forgiven them.

  Over the past month, their mutual distrust and awkwardness had eased. The scent of Kelsey's guilt whenever she faced Jorie had faded, and now she was learning to relax. "Living with three stubborn felines and their human roommate... seems that's the price you have to pay for your promotion," Kelsey said with a smile.

  Most of her fellow saru, still not fully convinced of Jorie's abilities even after six weeks, would have seen it as a demotion, not a promotion. Griffin saw it differently. For the first time in years, she had no doubts about the rightness of the job she was doing. She hadn't accepted the job as the leader of Jorie's bodyguard unit out of guilt. This was what she wanted to do. "Seems that way," Griffin said. "Make sure the team, including Wesley, stays away from the house during the night. If anyone gets too close, it could interfere with Jorie's dream seeing."

  It couldn't, but the saru under Griffin's command didn't know that. It was a convenient excuse to get a little privacy while she and Jorie got to know each other better.

  "I will do that, Tas," Kelsey said. With a nod, she turned and walked back out into the snow.

  Shivering, Griffin closed and locked the door and returned to the living room. "Everything's quiet in Osgrove," she reported.

  Jorie glanced up from her laptop and looked past Griffin to see if Kelsey was following her in. "Why didn't you ask Kelsey in for a cup of tea?" she asked.

  "Because you're writing, and they have to learn to accept that you won't give that up completely just to be at the council's beck and call," Griffin answered firmly.

  With two quick taps of her fingers, Jorie saved what she had written so far, then lifted the laptop off her thighs. She crooked her finger at Griffin, an unreadable expression on her face.

  Griffin's mouth went dry as she followed the beckoning. Unfamiliar self-doubts crept up. Did I do something wrong? Did she really want Kelsey to stay? She knew Jorie normally didn't like it when other people made her decisions for her.

  When Griffin hesitated, Jorie gripped her arm and dragged her closer until Griffin's leg was touching Jorie's knees. "Did I ever thank you for being so understanding when it comes to my writing?"

  "You don't need to thank me," Griffin said. The situation was working out well for her too. She needed time and space for herself sometimes, and Jorie always gave it, without Griffin having to feel bad about it. She knew Jorie needed the same things.

  Faint lines formed around Jorie's eyes as she grinned up at Griffin. "So you don't want me to give you a big thank-you kiss?"

  "Ooh." Griffin purred. "You know what? I just changed my mind. Cats do that all the time. You can thank me all you want."

  Smiling, Jorie pulled a very willing Griffin down and kissed her.

  Heat rushed through Griffin. She wrapped her arms around Jorie and deepened the kiss. When she closed her eyes, the living room receded and she felt as if she were kissing Jorie in the middle of the forest, under blooming trees and lilac bushes.

  "Mmm." Griffin hummed when they came up for air. She slowly straightened, opened her eyes, and then couldn't stop staring at Jorie's lips. "That was quite the thank-you."

  "You deserved it," Jorie said, her voice husky. "All my other girlfriends — all two of them — constantly complained about it."

  "About your kissing technique?" Griffin joked. "Because I've got to tell you, I see no reason for complaints at all." Her body still vibrated with a silent purr.

  Jorie rolled her eyes. Her teeth nipped playfully at Griffin's bottom lip. "About my writing."

  She's so open and not afraid to make herself vulnerable in front of me, Griffin marveled. She really trusts me — and not just in life-or-death situations. "Your writing is a wonderful thing," she said. "It will never be a problem between us."

  Jorie leaned over and kissed her again.

  "Mmm." Griffin hummed and then grinned brightly as she repeated Jorie's earlier statement. "All your other girlfriends, huh?"

  A flush crept up Jorie's neck, but she didn't look away. "I thought that's where we're heading even though I know it might not be such a bright idea. I mean... I'm a human, and you're a shape-shifter, and —"

  "No," Griffin interrupted, completely serious now. They had kissed before, but so far, they hadn't talked about it or acknowledged in any way what was going on between them. Maybe it was time. "In this," she gently touc
hed her own chest, then Jorie's, "we're not a human and a shape-shifter, or a dream seer and a saru. You're Jorie, and I am Griffin. Nothing else should matter between us."

  Jorie's lashes fluttered when she thought about it for a moment. "Well," she finally said, "I think I changed my mind."

  Sudden fear made Griffin's skin itch. "Oh?" she asked weakly.

  Jorie nodded. A smile slowly inched its way onto her face, making her dark eyes sparkle. "A little help with my research would be highly appreciated."

  Griffin growled and then rushed her. At the last second, she slowed her approach. She enfolded Jorie in her arms and pulled her against her body, still holding back not to overpower or hurt Jorie.

  But apparently, Jorie didn't want her to hold back. She slid her arms up Griffin's back and tried to pull her onto the couch with her.

  As much as Griffin wanted to, she couldn't let that happen. "The couch is not the best place for this if you're a shape-shifter."

  "I thought you said you're just Griffin right now, not a shape-shifter?" Jorie asked. Her lips teased Griffin's neck, where her wounds had long since healed.

  "Right," Griffin said. She ducked down to return Jorie's gesture, trailing kisses over the faded marks on her throat. "But being Griffin comes with a few unique issues, and one of them is weighing four hundred pounds."

  Jorie blinked once but then said, "I have a very sturdy bed."

  Griffin looked into her face, searched the dark eyes for what Jorie was feeling. When she sucked in a breath, she tasted Jorie's desire and her nervousness. There was no doubt and no fear, though.

  Her fingers found Jorie's. Hand in hand, they walked over to the bedroom and closed the door behind them.

  Jorie's sweatshirt dropped to the floor. For once, Griffin's neat cat side wasn't tempted to pick it up. She was too busy watching Jorie, who was now struggling to pull her T-shirt over her head.

  For someone who was usually not shy about her body at all, she suddenly found herself hesitant to undress and reveal her body to Jorie's eyes. Her Puwar girlfriends had always complimented her looks, but would Jorie, a human, find her equally pleasing?