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“Of course you did,” Camilla said teasingly. “The movie is amazing. But the Boone I remember, hated wearing a tux.”
He glanced at her before returning his gaze to Abena. “I will admit the tux isn’t my favourite part.”
She laughed. “I knew it.”
They people watched in silence for a few minutes before Camilla said, “You’ve impressed Abena, and she’s hard to impress.”
“I’m just doing my job,” Boone said.
“When did you get so modest?” she teased again. “What happened to the Boone I knew and loved?”
His tiger growled grumpily. He’d gotten annoyed the minute Camilla joined them. While his tiger hadn’t disliked Camilla when Boone dated her, he hadn’t been nearly as fond of her as Boone. That in itself wasn’t super unusual. Sometimes, a shifter’s human side was more attracted to a potential mate than their cat side, and vice versa. But, normally, the side less attracted would fall just as hard as they got to know the person. It was a self-preservation thing. Especially if their cat side believed a person was their mate. If the human side didn’t share their feelings, insanity set in.
He shuddered inwardly. It had almost happened to Cooper with Daisy. Cooper’s human side was just as in love with Daisy as his cat, but he’d fought against his lion’s feelings, thanks to Daisy’s fear of shifters. Happily, it had worked out for Coop, but watching his boss and friend descend toward madness terrified both Boone and his tiger.
Not that it had come close to that with Camilla. Neither he nor his tiger had ever seen her as his mate when they dated, but his tiger had never felt as strong of an attraction to Camilla as Boone’s human side. Not even after months of dating.
“Boone?” Camilla said.
“I guess people change, even me,” he said.
She studied him thoughtfully. “Yes, you have. You’re like a completely different person, Boone.”
He cleared his throat, his tiger sending out warning growls when he smelled the faint scent of Camilla’s lust. “I’ve only accompanied Ms. Nkosi to a few events. It’s hardly enough to impress her.”
Camilla shrugged. “How you kept your cool, protected her, and charmed both the paparazzi and the overzealous fans who approached her in the grocery store last week is exactly what she’s looking for in a security person.”
Abena sipped at her champagne as her co-star, a white man who had aged out of his action flick career a few years ago, joined her and put his arm around her. Boone started forward, and Camilla grasped his arm. “It’s fine. She likes William, and it won’t upset her that he’s touching her.”
Abena glanced at him, and Boone raised one eyebrow at her in a clear ‘do you need me’ gesture. She shook her head slightly and winked at him before smiling at her co-star.
“See,” Camilla said. “I told you.”
He relaxed as Camilla squeezed his arm. “I’ve been watching you closely the last week and a half, Boone. I like what I see.”
Shit. He did not like where this was headed.
“Thanks. I should probably -”
“Would you like to have dinner with me?” Camilla asked. Her leopard purred to him, and he swallowed hard as his tiger made another irritated growl.
“Oh, um…”
Camilla stepped closer, running one red painted nail up and down his arm. “You’ve changed, Boone. I can see that, and I’d love to try again with you now that you’re in a better place.”
Fuck! He had no idea what to say or do. Even if his tiger hadn’t been currently obsessed with Hedra, he had no attraction to Camilla, and, honestly, Boone’s human side didn’t either. Not anymore.
But the idea of hurting Camilla again, of making her feel less, sent trepidation through him. He couldn’t do that to her again.
“Boone, will you have dinner with me?” Camilla asked again.
“I have a girlfriend,” Boone said, feeling more than a little panicked.
“Really? I can’t smell her on you,” Camilla said.
“She’s human.”
Camilla gave him a look. “I should still be able to smell her scent on you. What’s her name?”
