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“Do people do that all the time?” she asked.
None of the scientists had—at least not while she was watching. Middlemarch residents hadn’t kissed in front of her, but they held hands and stood close to each other. Now she understood why they might do that. Her entire body tingled from her lips to the tips of her toes. Her tail swished, confined beneath the long T-shirt he had given her to wear.
Marcus smiled. “Couples do. Mates. Sometimes friends might kiss each other on the cheek as a greeting. Like this.” He demonstrated for her, and immediately, her skin tingled.
This man confused her. She searched his face and saw a hint of humor and something else that flickered too quickly for her to read or understand. Every instinct advised her to trust him, yet that wasn’t her way. She relied on no one, not after leaving the scientists. The young woman scientist had helped her and explained how she should hide. She’d assisted Ria in boarding a boat that was heading for New Zealand. The woman had told her to travel farther afield, but Ria had liked this place, and once the ship reached closer to shore, she’d slipped over the side and left under her own steam. It was best if the boat owner didn’t know what had happened to her.
“Where did your mind go?”
“The past,” she said simply. “I don’t enjoy my memories.”
“Did your mother and father shift to feline? Your brother?”
“My mother, but she did not shift often.”
“What happened to you?”
“I did my first shift at age eleven, which excited my parent, but when it came time for me to change back, this happened.” She gestured at her ears and hair. “It wasn’t easy to hide, and my brother found out. He did nothing until my parents died.”
“When he sold you out,” Marcus snarled.
“Yes.” Ria studied the anger in him, his tense muscles and taut shoulders. Without giving her actions much thought, she ducked closer and pressed a quick kiss to his cheek before darting back. She beamed at him because she’d enjoyed the activity and could see why kissing was popular. Marcus not only smelled delectable, but the friction of his skin against her mouth excited her.
“Can I kiss you again? On the mouth?” His voice was hoarse, and everything about him was solid. It made her want to knead her paws against his flesh and test that hardness.
Even as she thought this, her hands curled, and her claws protruded beneath her fingernails. She extended her fingers, willing the sharp weapons to subside into her flesh again. Her control was usually better than this.
“Can I see?” he asked, stepping nearer.
She held out her hand and found she enjoyed his closeness and the rough skin of his hands against her smoother palms. Intrigued, she seized one of his massive hands and turned it over. She ran her fingers over the calluses before glancing at him.
“I work with wood to make furniture. It makes my hands rough.” He smiled, his eyes glowing even more golden than earlier.
“Why do I hunger for your scent?”
His smile broadened. “I told you. We’re mates. Nature has decided we’re perfect for each other.”
Ria shrugged, not understanding.
“You like my scent and standing close to me, right? Or at least that is how I feel when I’m near you. I want to hold you in my arms. Kissing you is amazing, and I desire more.”
“The sex stuff I read in books and see on the TV? I never understood why people did that.”
Marcus made a weird sound before he said, “Yes.” He cleared his throat. “Think of it this way. When you’re in Middlemarch, you haven’t met anyone you want to kiss or hold you? Saber, for example, or any of the other Mitchell men?”
Ria considered her words and shook her head. “When I go to Storm in a Teacup, all I am interested in is the cheese things. The scones. They are delicious, and I eat one every time I visit.”
“But not the men?”
“No, I stay away.” Ria frowned. “The only day I sensed anything different was when I bumped into you on leaving the café.”
“Ah, you remember me.” Smugness filled his face and voice.
“Yes.”
“That’s good. So do you understand now about mates? What about your parents? Were they mates?”
Ria didn’t know, but they had been close and died together. “I do not know. When they died, I was still young. My brother was much older.”
