Page 23 of Ensnared By the Rabbit Genius
Immediately, both of them smiled and nodded as they went passed us. I got the impression they weren’t curious anymore.
I stared at Seiwa’s profile as he marched along, knowing I was going to have to ask him what that phrase meant. I might already know the meaning because guaranteed income hadn’t been the only thing I’d read about. This thing was a favorite topic of several social media personalities who shared gossip and rumor as easily as the truth. But could it really apply to me? To me and Seiwa? Wouldn’t he have told me long before now?
And since he hadn’t said a word about it, what did that mean?
We must not have been that far from his quarters when he’d picked me up because I only had a few minutes to ponder all that before he set me on my feet in front of a door. He needed afree hand to unlock the door by pressing his palm to a panel on the wall, so it wasn’t like I minded being set down. I walked in first, trying to psyche myself up for the conversation we needed to have. I just had to ask the question. Just say it out loud.Just say it.
“What doesaye fuh-tier-uhmean?” I sucked in a breath after that because wow, I could’ve waited until the door finished shutting.
Seiwa blinked at me, looking caught again. “That’s a Norlish phrase.”
“Yes, I know.” And now I was sure he didn’t want to talk about this either. “You’ve said it to Norlons a few times, and I think you’re saying something about me. Or maybe, um, us? They always look at us differently after you say it.”
He nodded and took a deep breath, not looking at me. “I didn’t want to put any pressure on you. I know these things are different for humans.”
Oh, god, I was right. My heart started pounding and my hands got sweaty. Was this a good reaction or a bad one? I needed the words. “Tell me what it means,” I whispered.
“It means…” He gulped and took a couple more deep breaths. “It means ‘he’s my mate’.”
I closed my eyes and pressed a hand to my chest. So while I’d thought we were sort of dating, what we’d actually done was gotten married. That was what being mates meant to Norlons. It was a monogamous, committed relationship between two or more Norlons that got its start through scent. What scent? It was different for everyone, but it caused an instant lust that made claiming said mate an absolute necessity.
Seiwa hadn’t exactly jumped me the first time he’d met me, but he had paid a lot of attention to me. He’d been respectful and that whole consent thing he still did told me it wasn’t like he couldn’t control himself. But he also hadn’t held back oncehe got me to say yes either. And, if I was honest, there had been plenty about him that I hadn’t been able to resist. Maybe I couldn’t consciously scent his pheromones, but I could still react to them.
“Please say something, Ellis,” he whispered hoarsely.
I opened my eyes to see him gazing at me with big sad eyes and felt a lump in my throat. Finding someone who wanted me forever and ever wasn’t a bad thing. How could that be anything other than a reason to celebrate? Finding your fated mate was… Well, it wasfate. It was true love and The One and meant to be. None of that was?—
“Ellis, please. I’m sorry.”
Oh, goddamnit, I didn’t want him thinking there was anything to apologize for, but when I tried to speak, all I did was croak. Fuck it, then. I ran over to him and jumped up, confident that he’d catch me. When he did, I wrapped my arms around his furry neck and held on as tightly as I could.
I gasped and looked up when he suddenly dropped, but he landed in a chair and kept holding onto me. Face to face with him, I could see that his pink eyes were brighter because of the unshed tears filling them. He blinked, and they fell. That lump in my throat choked me up even more as I shook my head and wiped away his tears. My first act as an official mate, and I’d made him cry.
“It’s okay,” I managed and cleared my throat. “I kind of knew.”
He ducked his head to press his face into my chest and let out a shaky breath. I petted his furry head and turned to kiss the long ear pressed against my cheek, giving both of us a minute to calm down. Or maybe chill one thing and rev up another because, hi, I waspetting himand his fur was extra soft like maybe he was using a new conditioner or something. When helifted his head and pulled me in closer, it was nice to discover that both of us were working on semis.
“I’m not going to apologize,” I said with my nose in the air.
Seiwa huffed a laugh. “Of course not.”
“It’s the petting. It’s like a side effect from having my hands in your fur.”
“You like what makes me Norlon.”
“I do.”
He nodded and ran a claw firmly over my ass and all the way up my back. I frowned at him, not understanding why I could feel a bit of a breeze now. But then I looked over my shoulder and pulled at my shirt to discover that he’d sliced right through it!
“Seiwa!” I tumbled off of his lap and realized he’d shredded the seam in my pantsandunderwear, too. “I would’ve taken them off, you shit. Now what am I supposed to wear later?”
He stood up over me and whisked off his tunic like it had tear-away seams. “Do you accept that you’re my mate?”
Damn, he was quite the sight right then as I stared up at him from the floor. Furry muscles on display, cock straining his pants, ears pointing right at me as he waited… I cleared my throat. “Yes, I accept that I’m your mate.” I grinned. “And you’re mine.”
He smiled and used that damn claw to slit his own pants open, letting his cock and balls swing into view just over my head. “Then what makes you think you’re going to need clothes any time soon?”
A shiver went through me and my aching ass drunkenly said he could bring it on, but I knew better. “Where’s that salve you mentioned?”
