Page 81 of The Alpha

To her surprise, Q sat on his haunches before her. “To let you know I’m done talking. Then you can talksssk.”

“Sarian are quite the chatter boxes,” Melvale volunteered. “Get a bunch of them in a conversation and things can get messy if they start talking over one another. Which of course is considered very rude.”

Pari petted Q’s chin. “He’s… nice.”

Q closed his eyes and held his head high. “Did you hear that, Melvale? She thinks I’m nicesssk!”

Melvale left the lounge and tackled Q. He shoved Melvale a few feet, only to have him jump onto his back faster than Pari could track. “Oh!”

Melvale grinned down at her. “Let’s go for a ride.”

“You can ride him?!”

Q bounced a few times. “Yes, a ride! I take yousssk!”

“Q, help her,” Melvale said.

Q folded several legs under him and lowered himself to the floor.

Pari wasn’t sure what to do. Melvale reached down and offered her his hand. “It’s okay to step on his legs and climb up. You won’t hurt him. Grab his fur if you need to.”

Pari looked at Q to see if he had anything to say on the matter. He was smiling, so she guessed climbing all over him was okay. She climbed onto one of his legs, grabbed Melvale’s hand, and let him pull her up. He scooted back as he did, and positioned her in front of him, sideways.

“Okay, Q,” Melvale said. He tightened his arms around Pari as Q got to his feet, rocking them both.

“Oh, gosh!” Pari grabbed at Melvale’s arm and held on.

“I’ve got you, Kitten,” he said gently. “I won’t let you fall.”

She instinctively scooted closer, hanging onto his arm for dear life. “I’m sorry, I’m a little afraid of heights. You wouldn’t think so considering how many times I’ve climbed onto the roof of my building.”

“It’s nothing to be ashamed of, Pariwink.”

“Pariwink, Pariwink, Pariwinksssk!”

Melvale laughed. “He likes that name.” He looked down at her and smiled. “Ready to have some fun?”

“Um, if you are.”

Melvale gazed into her eyes. “Then let’s go. Q, take us to the library.”

26

Qstarted down the long corridor at his usual clip. Melvale had one arm around Pari and held her against him. She gripped his arm with both hands, afraid she’d fall off. Didn’t she realize he would never allow that to happen?

No. She didn’t. Because she doesn’t know you yet, ninny!

He tried not to sigh at the thought as several guards up ahead did their best to melt into the walls. The guards posted outside his chambers had let him pass without a word, and he knew a few followed. But were they following to protect him, or to protect others from him? It was a good question, and he had no answer.

“Where are we going again?” Pari asked, still holding onto his arm for dear life. Seated sideways as she was, he supposed he’d better reassure her.

He leaned toward her ear. “Relax, you’re not going to fall.” He put his other arm around her.

She grabbed hold of it too, and he felt the shiver that went up her spine. But he sensed it wasn’t from fear and smiled.

Q rounded a corner, skidding a little, and Pari let out a yelp of surprise. Melvale bent to her again. “It’s all right, I’ve got you.”

“Yes, but who has you? How are you staying on this thing?” she countered.

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