The Leopard King by Ann Aguirre Page A

on the couch last night at least, so maybe her shifting milestone would help him turn the corner on his grief. He came out bleary-eyed when he smelled hot coffee and frying meat. She didn’t have the heart to scold him when he plucked a slice off the platter and nearly swallowed it whole. From the look of him, he hadn’t hunted enough to stay healthy as a lynx.
    “When did you decide on Dominic? I thought you were holding out for the other one. That hothead jaguar.” After their failed pairing, her father always pretended he couldn’t remember Slay’s name.
    There was no point in telling the story like she had with Joss. Her dad wanted to hear one thing only. “It happened pretty fast, but I’m happy.”
    “That’s all I care about.”
    Impulsively she hugged him and then wrinkled her nose. “You reek. How long has it been since you washed up?”
    “I don’t remember.”
    “No breakfast unless you shower.”
    Dom sauntered out of the bedroom with wet hair in time to catch that. “Looks like I’m in luck. Okay for me to go ahead?”
    “Of course. You only have twenty minutes.”
    “ We ,” he corrected. “Unless you plan to leave me hanging today?”
    “No, but I may not be able to stay as long. Recon mission,” she reminded him, bracing for him to list the reasons why it was dangerous.
    But as Dom tucked into the food, he said, “I’ve been thinking about that, and you have my support. You can’t live in a cage, just to ease my mind.”
    Much as I wish you could.
    But if Dom limited Pru because of his own fear, that would make him a shitty excuse for a leader. Not to mention, Dalena had been “safe” at home when she died. So avoiding potential danger wouldn’t guarantee Pru’s safety. What Slay had said gnawed at him, and sometimes he wondered, What makes you think you can keep her safe? Especially now. But she was the first person to break through and make him care again—about her, the pride, and himself.
    Her reaction was everything he could’ve hoped. She stilled for a second, her eyes brightened, and she threw herself at him, locking on to his neck in a fervent hug. Laughing, he caught her and then wouldn’t let her up when she realized she was sitting on his lap. As Dom tried to get her to feed him—just one bite—her father came out of the bathroom. Deep eyes took in the scene, and then he smiled.
    “That takes me back.” Without telling Dom to unhand his daughter, he helped himself to a generous portion of breakfast.
    Pru startled him by stuffing bacon in his mouth, then she squirmed away to scarf her own food quickly. She still needed to wash up, and things were pleasantly chaotic as they got ready. As they tussled over who would clean the kitchen, her dad laughed.
    “I’ll do it. There are no important meetings on my schedule today.”
    “Thanks, Dad.” She kissed his cheek and grabbed Dom’s arm. “Hurry, we only have four minutes now, and we promised not to keep them waiting again.”
    It turned out that she’d adjusted the clocks, so when Pru said “only four minutes”, she really meant, We’ll get there fifteen minutes early. For the first time, they arrived at the conference room with time to spare. Dom wavered between amusement and irritation, but at seeing her relief, his sense of humor won out.
    “Are you this earnest about everything?”
    “Pretty much,” she said, smiling up at him.
    Somehow he restrained the urge to kiss her. He’d never hear the end of it if Raff caught him going at his mate in the conference room. So Dom contented himself with brushing his knuckles against her cheek. Because his people knew their business, the table had already been set with tea and sweets. He didn’t have a chance to sample any, however, because a messenger burst through the door, breathless, and tried to speak.
    “Easy.” He recognized the young guard, an eager puma. “What’s happened?”
    “The… the Eldritch party, sir. They’ve arrived early and will be