Page 79 of Fourth Base with the Alpha

In the private car park, Hunter loads my suitcase into the trunk of the car.

“I’ll drive Isabella home,” he tells Mick.

“You sure, man?”

“Yeah, get back home to your wife and the kids. They must miss your sorry ass.”

“They’re just hoping I brought them home candy.” He grins and steps in to give me a hug. “See you soon, Isabella.”

He stalks off to find an Uber and I climb into the front seat of the blacked-out SUV.

“I could take the bus you know,” I protest feebly, as he pulls out into the city traffic.

“You and the frigging bus. Why’d you love it so much?”

“I never said I love it, but it’s pretty interesting. Good for people watching. There is so much freaky stuff that goes down on the bus.”

“Like what?” he asks, his brow crinkling with concern.

“Like once there was this woman with a new baby in a sling. The baby was sleeping quietly, but when it got to my stop, I looked down at the baby, ready to make some cute compliment about the baby, because, you know, new moms love that. And I realized it wasn’t a baby at all. It was a cat.”

“What the fuck?”

I burst out laughing. “I’m telling you it’s like a zoo. I could spend all day riding the bus.”

“Don’t.”

The car speeds along the freeway, the dark sky lit up by the glow from the city.

“Why the fuck would you carry a cat around in a sling?” Hunter asks.

“The more important question is how did she get the cat to be so passive? Our cat, McFluffpaws–”

“Excuse me.”

“McFluffpaws.”

“You called your cat McFluffpaws? And you criticized me for naming my teddy Teddy?”

“It’s a perfectly respectable name … for a not very respectable cat. He’d claw my eyes out if I ever tried to put him in a sling.”

“Too right. Wouldn’t do his street cred much good.”

“He has no street cred. Trust me.”

We draw closer and I guide him through the streets until he’s parking outside our apartment block.

“Thanks,” I tell him, unbuckling my seatbelt and turning to face him. “For the trip.” And the amazing sex and the way you make me feel. And everything really.

“I’ll carry your suitcase up for you.”

“Hmmm,” I screw up my face. “You sure about that? My grandma will be home. Possibly my mom too.”

“You don’t want me to meet them?”

“No, it’s not that … it’s just …”

But he’s jumping out of the car and retrieving my suitcase before I can explain. I sigh and follow him out and we trudge into the building.