Page 75 of Love the Way You Lion
“This is all rather new to me—you, us. I’m not prepped for the after snuggles, though,” he frowns and looks at me for the first time in a while, “doesn’t seem to be an issue. I’m not sure I understand that, either.”
I might as well be functionally muted for all the words I have right now. I should say something, but what? I can’t say something like ‘well, mate since I’m sure I was a hormone-induced flight of fancy, as usual, I didn’t feel like I should do things that might muddy the lines of acceptable behavior from a side piece’.
Ugh. That sounded harsh even in my brain. This is not good.
“Bugger.” He wipes a hand down his face, looking as if he’s going to say something when a loud noise from across the room distractshim. “Christ. It’s the bloody Company. That’s a ‘now’ sound, mate. I have to run.”
Before I even figure out what to reply, he’s disappeared and I’m left wondering what happened. “Did I dream it all?”
Christ. I’m such a fucking idiot.
The Cat And The Blade Talk Terms
TALIA
“I’ve never shown you the claws before?”
“Nope,” I say, running a finger down her cheek. “It was quite a revelation last night.”
She grins a bit and gives me a shy smile that melts me. I see what Taurus meant about her having a way that defies words for that.
“Do you want to see them for real?”
Her expression is so unsure that again, I almost forget who I’m looking at. Something bad had to have happened to this woman because someone who has as many talents, brains, and that body shouldneverlook so unsure. “Sure, babe.”
Holding her hand up, she flicks out each claw individually, which is impressive. “Handy dandy, Swiss Army cat, at your service. They skewer, they “mince, and they make julienne fries.” Her grin twists, and she murmurs, “Imagine waking up one morning and finding that these pop out randomly now. It was shocking. Learning how to harness things was even harder.”
“I want to say that I can imagine it, but I don’t think I can. The fangs were a slow process for me, me and you kind of stumbled into a mutation that was major. However, it clears up the lacerations the bird’s been sporting for the past few months. I knew you had claws, but that’s not the same as ‘knowing’.”
“No one believes it until they see up close. Not these, not any of it. Even then, it’s not a simple transition for them to accept.”
Something in the way she says that echoes of sadness and loss.
She had trouble with people accepting her changes prior to Taurus. People hurt her, and she admitted she came to him looking more for a cure than a reason she’d mutated. It disgusted him that people shamed her into trying to… what did he call it? De-evolve for their comfort.
I lean in, looking at them, remembering that they are much sharper than they look—which is sharp.
“You can touch. They’re not as sharp as they should be. I haven’t sharpened.”
Shaking my head, I smile. “Unnecessary. Thank you for sharing with me. I’m sure that you’ll share the rest of it with me.” She looks panicked for a moment, and I cover her hand with mine. “I only know because if Taurus knows, then I know. I don’t spook easily, especially once I’ve been all seduced and whatnot.”
That gets her attention. “Seduced?”
“I didn’t say you did it; I’m saying that’s how I’m feeling when I think back on it.”
Huffing in a way that is very reminiscent of her spouse, she crosses her arms over her chest. “I was doing what I always do, trying to heal you. You could ask the boneless one, but he’s otherwise occupied, I guess. Ask him later.”
I grin. “I will. I got worried because even though you started at my ass to get to my shoulder, you were all business until I touched your leg. It felt like I was stepping way over the line.”
She shrugs, giving me that shy look that is enchanting. “I was holding back a bit because I wasn’t sure; I could have been reading you wrong. I read people wrong a lot now; I didn’t used to.”
“It’s amazing that we made any progress at all.”
“I guess I could have scented, but the boys were all distracting and I was nervous and when I get nervous, I lose all ability to use my skills. Ironic, huh?”
I smile and pull her closer. “I like when you’re nervous.”
Her body wraps around mine, and she sighs. “You know, you’re going to look wicked hot in that snakeskin thing for the party.”
