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She bites her lower lip. Lush and pillowy, my mind wanders into dangerous territory thinking of how they’d feel wrapped around me.
I force my mind to dwell on the blanketing whiteness of snow…which helps for all of two seconds until I’m reminded of her soft, velvet skin.
Dammit, and now I miss what she’s saying.
“—and it was so fortunate that it had been unlocked that entire time I was outside, because I really did need to use the powder room.”
“The door opened for you?” I blurt out without thinking. “I mean, of course, it opened for you. Good. How convenient.”
I look at the house with suspicion. “I know you said you’ve already seen the great room of the main floor, but would you mind if we pop back inside? Just to make sure we haven’t missed a memo from Jack or anything.”
“Of course not. You may not need it, but it’s nice to warm up. I have been fantasizing about the hot cocoa and coffee service on the kitchen counter.”
The what and the what on the where? I know that coffee and chocolate are delicacies among humans, but I never think to stock anything like that for me.
I look at the door, and dare it to deny me entry in front of Val. I barely touch the knob when the door swings in.
Val sashays in with her long strides, and leads the way into the kitchen. It’s a good thing she knows where she’s going, because the house is unrecognizable.
First off, it’s clean. Second, there’s a kitchen the size of my laboratory where a storage closet used to be. It has all the amenities a human would want, complete with a coffee service, to which Val helps herself.
She takes a long swallow from her paper cup. The sound of pleasure the dark brew elicits from her makes me want to keep a whole vat of it on hand.
“Thank you so much for humoring me,” she says. “I wasn’t able to get any coffee this morning, and I was starting to get a headache.”
Alarm bells ring in my head. “Headache? Is it an illness? Disease?” Without prompting, I place my palm lightly across her forehead. Her skin is smooth like porcelain and just as delicate. Even a slight flick from my claw can cut her.
I make sure my claws are firmly retracted in this state.
She giggles, the sound as light and fluffy as clouds. “No, that just means I drink too much caffeine on the regular, so when I don’t get it, I’m riddled with withdrawal symptoms. No worries. I’m actually pretty hardy. I don’t remember the last time I’ve gotten sick.”
Relief loosens the cords of tension within my chest. Still, she’s a human, and is so much more breakable than me. “Ah, that’s good.”
“Would you like some?”
“No thank you.” I would much rather hear your pleasure sounds as you drink yours. “I prefer tea.” Hopefully, the house will take the hint and roll out the tea service it provided me only a few days ago.
She places her cup down. “Oh, let me find some for you.”
Before I can protest, the damned trolley cart of tea and crumpets rolls in through a pair of swinging doors that were not there before today.
“Oh! How convenient! You must have a cart ready at all times.” She points to a crumpet. “May I?”
“Of course.” Because why the hell not?
“Breakfast is also something I missed.” She takes her butter-drenched crumpet and coffee and sits on one of the stools by the counter.
“Let’s get you more food if you’re hungry. I’m sorry, if I knew when your meeting with Jack would be, I would have made sure all was ready.”
She waves her hand. “Please, don’t apologize. This is perfect. Trust me. I feel right at home.”
Something about the way she says that makes every protective instinct in my body come to life. I wrestle those feelings down. Now is not the time to acknowledge any mating bonds.
She’s a human, for crying out loud. A small, delicate human with elegantly formed hands and a heart shaped face impossible to resist loving.
Someone like her—with her easy smiles and bubbly laughs—can never be with someone like me. I would be the worst type of male to even consider it. She deserves to be with someone happy. Someone kind. Someone?—
The front door swings open, and Jack walks in looking as bewildered as I feel. “Hey, the door opened, and whoa check out the house!”
