Page 113 of Tail, Dark and Handsome: Celestial Mates
“I’m not perfect,” he said.
“Did I say I wanted perfect? I want real.” Her hand grabbed his, turning the palm up. She rubbed that point on the crease of his wrist. The heart. To relieve anxiety, she told him once.
Winter watched, fascinated. He could think of no reason Marigold remained with him and continued to choose to remain.
“This is real. Flawed and frustrating, but real. I love you so much it’s ridiculous.”
“So much?” Her words warmed him. His world was gray and shrouded in shadow, but Marigold was all the light he needed.
“So much, like you don’t even know,” she agreed.
“You carry my heart.”
She pushed forward, knocking him back in the chair, and straddled his lap. Her lips clamped down over his, hard and greedy. This was his world, sound and sensation, light and radiance, held in his arms. He could never be enough for her, and for some wonderful reason, she disagreed.
“Let’s go home,” his mate said.
Marigold
“Vehicles are parked in an underground garage for the neighborhood. I remember there is an access stairwell.” Winter led her deeper into the house. He opened a door, then shook his head. “Somewhere.”
“We’ll find it.” The vehicle synced with the ID chip embedded in Mari’s thumb, so there was no worry about retrieving the key from the valet. Depending on the size of the garage, the biggest problem would be finding where the valet parked the vehicle.
It didn’t matter. She’d rather walk barefoot in the blustery cold than stay a moment longer in Chase’s house.
Winter paused in front of a door with frosted glass. It slid open, revealing stairs down.
The stairs were disappointingly plain, basic perforated metal with a rubber grip coat to prevent slip and falls. Most starships used the same for their flooring, at least in the service areas.
She wasn’t sure what she had been expecting after the opulence of Chase’s house. Gilded railing and marble steps? An overstuffed chair on a track that gently brought the occupant to the lower level while music played? The chair would also have a cooler built into the side for a glass of perfectly chilled wine during the tedious one-minute journey.
Boring industrial design seemed like a letdown, but Chase was all about appearance. Guests used the valet service. No one who mattered saw the stairwell, and that said all she needed to know about Chase.
“Your feet,” Winter said.
“It’s fine.” Mari eased her weight down, grimacing at the feel of the perforated metal step under her bare foot. She just wanted to go home, take a bath, maybe have one of those muffins Brae made earlier in the day. Or two. It was definitely a two-muffin kind of night.
“Humans,” he muttered, scooping her up to carry in her a cradle.
Once at the bottom of the stairs, he continued carrying her. She should have protested that she was perfectly capable of walking, but it was nice to be treated like she was precious.
The underground garage stretched out for the entire city block. Vehicles lined up in tidy rows. Some had assigned stalls, most did not.
“Any idea where the valets park the guests?” Mari wiggled to fish out her comm unit from the jacket pocket. The tracking app could locate their vehicle. Winter lowered her to her feet.
“That way,” she said, pointing to the far end.
As they approached, awareness of being watched pricked along the back of her neck. The sensation was so familiar now that she almost failed to notice.
Lights flickered at the far end of the garage. Images moved like faded ghosts on the concrete wall.
Winter wrapped his hand on the back of her neck. “No. Do not.”
This was still part of Chase’s game.
The overhead lights went out, plunging them in almost total darkness. The only light came from the wavering images on the wall. Distorted and ghostly gray, the projection of Winter was dressed in evening wear, much as he was now. He roughly grabbed the arm of a Tal woman, dressed in a gorgeous golden gown. Her tail lashed, and she swiped her claws at him, skimming the fabric of his tuxedo jacket.
Mari recognized the footage, despite never having seen it before.
