I smiled.“I knew it was a waste of time, but he was persistent when he heard I was on the market.Maybe I was a little curious what his motives were.”
“It’s pretty clear what his motives were,” he grumbled.“So you’re getting mated for your dad?”
“You’re probably wondering why an independent woman isn’t making her own choices, but I am.No one’s forcing me to do this, and he’s not picking my mate.I’m just speeding up the inevitable.My father moved the world for me, so I want to honor him.Plus he’s right.Ishouldbe mated by now.Life would be easier with a partner who can share the load.”
Lucian’s biceps pushed out when he crossed his arms.“Your respect for family is similar to the way Chitahs are raised.”
“Yes, except that you have kindred spirits, so you always know who you’re meant to be with.”I looked down at my bare feet.“You’re lucky.”
“Yeah,” he said, averting his gaze.“Lucky.”
I picked at an eyelash threatening to go into my eye.“Not everyone mates for love.Those who do are lucky, like in your pack.The rest of us have to make a power play.”
“Why the rush?”
I lowered my voice.“He’s not getting any younger.”
“Based on the men you’re picking, you’ll wind up living alone with thirty cats, thousands of books, and getting drunk on wine.”
I stepped forward and touched his chest.“Don’t threaten me with a good time.”
Lucian gripped my arms, and my heart did a quickstep.“Close your eyes.”
“Why?”
“Don’t argue.”
Unsure where this was going, I closed my eyes and listened to him draw in a deep breath.Lucian gently blew on my cheek, then followed that with a hard puff of air.
I blinked my eyes open.“What was that about?”
He licked his lips before releasing his hold.“Eyelash.”
“Well, if that’s how you handle eyelashes, I’d love to see what you do with splinters.”
He frowned.“It was hanging on your lashes.Blowing is more effective than poking your eye out.”
“Be right back.”
Not only did his touch leave me hot and bothered, which had me needing to put space between us before he picked up my scent, but there was also a plastic bag in the laundry room filled with junk that needed to be set by the road.After lifting the bag, I squeezed through the doorway and turned simultaneously, causing the bag to get hung up on the doorjamb.When a hook scraped my thigh, I cried out.
“Ow!”
I dropped the heavy bag.One of the coat hangers had poked through the plastic and scraped my thigh pretty deep, but not enough to bleed.Just enough to turn blue and swell.
Irritated I couldn’t heal myself with company around, I went to the kitchen to dampen a rag.
“What happened?”He sniffed the air as I passed him.
“Why is it you always hurt yourself doing the dumbest thing?”After wetting a dish towel, I pressed it to my inside thigh.“This is what I get for procrastinating about hauling that bag of junk to a donation center.”
“Show me.”
When I moved the towel away, I frowned at the swelling.“I’ll shift after you leave.”
Lucian dropped to his knees and clutched my hips in a way that made me flush all over.“I can heal you, female.”
“Are you a doctor?”
