Page 57 of Feline Good

Crossing her arms over her chest, Sekhmet answered shortly. “Well… yes. Clearly not my best decision.” Her words might have been spoken with bravado, but Maya could see the longing in her gaze as her eyes trailed to Kyril. Once again, Maya’s heart hurt for her.

Maya still couldn’t believe what her men had been through— being trapped as a cat for fifteen years— but being stuck in this… pocket of time, no matter how pretty, for thousands of years?

How is she still even sane?

Well… that’s debatable. A familiar voice answered her, pulling a gasp from her throat and turning her gaze to Asher. He winked before pinching two fingers together and crossing them over his lips in a zipping motion.

Shh, it’s our little secret.

“Nothing’s a secret from me, Keeper,” Ra called out to them. Her gaze jerked to the god, and she swore her blood pressure rose in that instant with such a powerful being focused on her.

A deep chuckle slid over her skin like warm honey, and she smiled. Amir pulled her closer with a growl, bringing a smirk to her lips.

Ra saw his action, and a knowing smile answered hers. “The first female Guardian. It is a pleasure.” He reached out a hand, and without thinking, Maya gripped his in a firm handshake.

Instead of a comforting warmth, a zing of heat lit through her veins in a flash of agony so strong it sucked the breath from her lungs, but just as quick, it faded like a wave in the ocean washing away grains of sand. Amir pulled her back, and she went lax in his grip, a mix between drunkenness and energetic vitality flowing through her.

“You’re welcome.”

Maya giggled at the warm floaty feeling that drifted through her body.

“What did you do to her?” Ever her Amir, butting in to take care of her. She could kiss him if he was close enough. He… wasn’t.

Actually, he handed her off to Asher and stalked towards Ra. Maya rose up from where Asher held up, calling out to him. “Amir! Don’t pester the sun god!”

Chuckling, Ra made a calm down motion with both hands parallel to the floor and brushed another few locks away that had fallen into his face.

“Listen to your woman. Don’t pester me.” But the look on his face was one far from annoyance. He was amused. “As the Keepers of Time, time itself obviously does not affect you. Congratulations, you're immortal.” The last was pronounced with a tone as dry as the Sahara.

Maya was starting to suspect she would have whiplash at the end of the conversation.

It only dawned on her the downside to his announcement, and she tried to keep the disappointment from overtaking her. Her men would stay the same forever, whereas she would grow old and die.

A snap of fingers in front of her face brought her out of her reverie. “Yes?” She looked up to find Ra smiling down at with kindness in his gaze.

One would think such a powerful god would be scary and intimidating— and he was, there was no denying that. But there was also a touch of gentleness to the giant that made her want to hug him.

Or maybe that was whatever drug he buzzed into her veins with that handshake.

“Don’t look so sad, Maya. You’re the Guardian. You have powers all of your own.”

Her eyebrows drew low as she considered his words. “I see the past and the future. And sometimes I adopt their strength but—”

“Eh, eh, stop there. That’s the key.”

Frowning, she studied him a little closer, as if there was a screw loose.

Ra rolled his eyes before motioning to them as a group. “When you adopted their strength and agility… did you happen to participate in any… ah, extracurricular activities beforehand?”

The light bulb didn’t just light up inside Maya’s head— it burst apart and shards of shrapnel struck her like lightning. “Holy shit!”

“Bingo,” Ra said with a grin.

“Wait, I’m missing it, what does he mean?” Asher’s voice came from beside her, and she turned to wink at him.

“It seems when we have sex, I borrow a bit of that stamina you guys seem to have.”

Ra snapped and pointed, aiming a finger gun in their direction. “Exactly. As long as you guys are doing the hanky-panky, you’ll keep Maya here young and healthy for as long as you want.”