Page 55 of Tail, Dark and Handsome: Celestial Mates
Winter found the kitchen in disarray, a sure sign that Zero had been there. He wiped down the counters and washed discarded dishes while water boiled for his morning cup of tea. He mused about Marigold’s laughter. She gave the light, lilting sound freely and with ease, sharing it with the wider world. It was so unlike Rebel’s hard-edged laugh, honed by bitter experience.
His heart tugged in sympathy for his lost mate. He could never give her what she wanted or be who she wanted. But Marigold…
Perhaps it was the newness of her and the connection between them. The two females were similar in their strength of will and opinions—Chase would snidely comment that Winter had a type—but different in fundamental ways. When Marigold turned her warm eyes to him, she gave him all of her. In that moment, he was the center of her universe, and it was a blessed place to be. He never wanted to leave that place.
Never wanted her to leave. She asked for time, and he would allow her time to arrive at the correct conclusion, but he would not passively wait. He seized every opportunity for touch, always allowing her the ability to reject him, and thoroughly enjoyed the way she melted when their hands touched or their bodies brushed alongside each other. He didn’t understand this feeling of giddiness, anticipation coiled tightly around warmth. It burned inside him.
Kitchen tidied, he sat down at the table with his mug and tablet. He scrolled through messages, most from Chase, none pleased. No change there. The computer generated alerts every time the media mentioned him or Rebel. The time spent at the resort had generated a few articles, mostly speculation on the identity of the human female seen in his company. Those stories fell into the harmless category. Mostly, he wanted to keep Zero out of the media’s focus.
He opened the most recent alert, and his blood turned to ice.
His home. Photos of his fuckinghomewere splashed all over the news site. The camera seemed to particularly love lingering on the untidy bits, like Zero’s unmade bed and messy cabin.
Indignation roared through him, burning away all the soft and fuzzy feelings. He knew who did this.
“Marigold!”
Zero appeared, munching on a crunchy fruit bar. “She’s in her cabin.” His ears pressed forward in concern. “What’s wrong?”
Nothing he had not been capable of anticipating. Everything he feared.
Winter burst into the female’s cabin, fury making the fine hairs on his ears and tail stand on end.
Marigold lay sprawled on the bed, wearing only a tank top and shorts. Her bare legs were there, still tan from their time in the sun.
Refusing to be distracted by the exposed flesh, he averted his eyes. Zero crowded behind him. With a warning growl, Zero backed away.
“What?” she asked, rising to a seated position. Her legs crisscrossed neatly over each other in a folded position. She smiled at him.
Temptress.
Snarling, he threw the tablet down onto the mattress. “Explain.”
She picked up the device and read. “Oh, it’s about you.”
“Specifically,” he growled. The female was intelligent—he knew that—but why did she act clueless?
“‘Take a peek inside Winter Cayne’s luxury ship with exclusive photos.’ Oh. Look at that. It’s the common area. It photographs well. Very pretty.” She handed the tablet back to him and paused at the last moment, searching his face. “Was there something else?”
“You leaked those photos to the media.” His fingers dug into the tablet’s casing, claws scratching the glass surface. He had been wrong not to have her sign a non-disclosure agreement and wrong to trust her. Remarkably, his voice remained even and cool. “Do not deny it.”
Her lips pressed together and her eyes went wide, then narrowed. “I did not, but there’s no point in arguing. You’ve already made up your mind.”
“When we reach Corra, you are dismissed.” He turned on his heel, colliding with Zero.
“Dad, no,” his kit said.
He had been wrong to trust the female, to invite her into his home. He trusted her with his kit, the most precious person in the universe. Sending Marigold away would hurt for a time, but it would fade. Thank all seven virtues that he had done nothing so foolish as to mate the female.
“It is done. This is for the best,” Winter said.
Chapter 12
Mate Hate! Fading pop novelty, Rebel Cayne, was seen arguing with her mate, Winter, outside a high-end restaurant. The one-time headliner was asked to leave the premises when witnesses report she…
-Tal Tattler
Marigold
