Page 18 of Feline Good

He shoved his hands into the back pockets of her jeans to squeeze her ass, hard, and she whimpered. Amir ate the sound, his teeth clacking against hers in their violent kiss. When he pushed closer, she felt the bulge in his jeans press against her stomach, and her mind went blank. Maya followed him when he pulled back, eyes glazed over with lust from their kiss.

All it took was for her to recognize the smirk on his lips to snap her from the reverie, her heart still racing as her brows furrowed. “Why did you stop?”

“I just wanted you to know how easy it is for you to set us off. Be careful, umri. After fifteen years, I’m not capable of behaving as a gentleman should. I don’t know if any of us can. Make sure you understand that before we go down this road.”

Maya’s temper rose, her cheeks heating with anger as she realized this was all probably just a damn game to him. She was the only real woman he’d been around since they’d shifted to humans after spending fifteen fucking years as cats. Opening her mouth, she prepared a nasty response when a shimmer of light caught her eye, just over his shoulder. She shoved him out of the way, the subject forgotten as she moved towards the item on the shelf. It was a book, an old one, if she could guess.

It was authentic leather, the wrapping worn and stained with oils from many hands. Maya held it carefully, instinctively knowing how precious the item that she held was. “Amir, I think I found what we’re looking for.”

Without another look, she walked off, but not before she heard him mumble under his breath, “You bet we did.”

Refusing to read too much into the comment, and determined to ignore the way her nipples perked beneath her bra, Maya tossed a look over her shoulder to find his gaze glued to her ass, and she put a little more sway in her hips, just for him. A chuckle left her as he cursed and adjusted himself before following.

Serves him right.

When she gently eased the book down onto the table the guys had commandeered, she smirked with a simple, “Found it.”

They leaned over the table in unison, and August reached a reverent hand out to caress one of the stones embedded in the leather.

Cocking her head, she studied the awe in his gaze. “I take it you’ve never seen this before?”

Shaking their heads, August answered for the group. “No, we were pretty much in the dark about everything, until we changed. In the vision, Bastet only explained briefly what was happening and told us to collect a key from the safety deposit box set up in the name of the oldest.” He nodded toward Asher.

“Do you know what the stones are?” Maya asked, captivated by the shiny purple stones and gold metallic embellishments decorating the cover.

“If I was to guess, I’d say amethyst. The stones of protection and balance.” August responded again, and in her mind she dubbed him the most knowledgeable, the nerdy one.

It most certainly fits, what with his love of pop culture.

Smiling at the observation, she tapped the cover gently.

“Well? Shall we open it and learn something?”

Asher reached forward and did the honors, his slim fingers so fucking sexy with those rings, grasping the corner of the cover with care before he pried it open. The book was stiff with age, and the crinkling of the parchment paper sewn inside made her cringe. Maya feared if she breathed too hard on the book, it would disintegrate into ashes.

Please, don’t do that, book. We need you.

The elegant scrawl on the first page stole her attention, and she circled the table to read the inscription, placing a hand on August’s shoulder as she leaned forward. He stiffened slightly under her touch, and Amir’s words came back to her as she jerked her gaze in his direction. Amir aimed a pointed look at her hand, a reminder of the warning he’d given her. Make sure you understand before we go down this road.

This road? These… emotions? The last time she’d felt this strongly for someone so quickly, it’d ended in heartbreak, pain, and misery. Maya couldn’t survive that again. In a split-second decision, her paranoia got the best of her, and she pulled her hand away, sticking it in her back pocket.

Disappointment flared in Amir’s eyes, and she tried to swallow past the sudden lump in her throat, regret filling her instantly at what that simple denial may have cost her.

All choices have consequences.

Shaking herself from her thoughts, she focused her attention back on the book before her, but Asher had already begun to read aloud. His voice, usually smooth like a morning cup of dark coffee, seemed sinister as it read the first lines.

“I am the things that are, that will be, and that have been.”

Maya couldn’t help the unease that slithered through her, nor the sarcastic quip that left her lips. “Well, that’s not ominous.”

Asher chuckled before flipping the page. “That’s actually the inscription on Neith’s temple. She created everything.”

They must have read faster than her, because August spoke again after reading for a few minutes. “It looks like this book has been translated many, many times before. It started on papyrus with hieroglyphs, then transferred and translated to scroll, and then again to books, and many more before this one, apparently.”

Maya frowned, “Well, if it’s been translated so many times, how do we know the information is accurate? Mistakes happen.”

Amir eyed her from across the table, where he leaned with his palms flat against the marble, arm muscles stretching the sleeves of his shirt to maximum capacity. Maya swallowed at the sight he made, all commanding and broody, and sexy as fuck. “We don’t really have anything else to go on, do we?” To most, it might have been asked as a question, but instead, it came out like a pronouncement, a challenge, and she narrowed her eyes.