I sat up.“I’m joking.It was a cheap piece of furniture.”
“Obviously, or it wouldn’t have snapped like a twig.”
After the embarrassing process of using the bathroom, I located my black sundress and stepped into it.I’d bought it years ago for an outdoor formal event.Lucian adjusted the back and told me I looked pretty, which was what every girl wanted to hear first thing in the morning before putting on makeup or styling her hair.Because of his heightened sense of smell and our inability to separate, I skipped putting on perfume and scented lotions.
Instead of going downstairs, I called my father to make sure he had changed his oxygen tank.This wouldn’t be the first time I’d gone to work without talking to him.He liked his independence, so sometimes I would call him from work so we could catch up.
When I told him I had to go in early and I’d check in on him later, he seemed okay with it.
I wasn’t.
Lucian raised a steaming cup of coffee to his lips, looking handsome with his damp hair and fresh morning face.
“I know you probably don’t want to talk about last night,” I began, “but was there something I did wrong?”
His brow furrowed.“What do you mean?”
“Well, you’re a Chitah.You have different rituals in the bedroom, and maybe I wasn’t doing all the things you’re used to that… well, that help you finish.”
There was no easy way to broach the topic, so I put it out there.
He set the mug down and stared at me for a beat.“If that ever happens again, bite my neck.”
My eyebrows popped up.
He rubbed his whiskery jaw.“It, um… helps us finish.It’s a Chitah thing.”
I smiled and stepped into his arms.“Ah.Sothat’sthe secret sauce.”
“Don’t bite hard enough to draw blood, and it only works on the neck.”
“Why is that?You’re not a Vampire.”
“It’s like our body needs permission.But you’re also too fucking pretty, and staring up at me after you finished put me on the spot.It was like having an audience.”
“Yes, but this audience is cheering you on.Do you mind if I ask about the scars on your stomach?I thought Chitahs healed.”
He ran his hand across his flat belly.“Gunshot wounds from a bunch of assholes who jumped us.Salem thinks it hit an artery or something and that’s why I lost too much blood.It slowed the healing, and Mel stitched me up.”
I drew the slack on the chain and played with it while thinking about the past.“Is this related to that Shifter who was after Robyn not long ago?”
“Yeah.”
“I like that you’re honest with me, especially about all the bedroom stuff.That’s rare, but I appreciate it.The only way we can understand each other is talking it out.”I stepped back and finished my juice.“I need to call Connor.”
Though I was famished, we grazed on fruit.I was afraid cooking bacon might carry the aroma down the elevator shaft and signal to my father I was still home.He had plenty of food and drinks down there.
Lucian and I sat on the living room couch, and while I scrolled through messages, he picked up the remote and turned on the television.
“How long do you think it’ll take to secure the house enough that my dad can come up again?”
He scooted down in his seat and pursed his lips.After a beat, he replied, “I can secure the house in three weeks.”
Relief washed over me to have a date in mind.I wanted us to have our lives back again.
“That’s contingent on how soon I can get the materials to reinforce the windows,” Lucian continued.“It’ll take longer to install security cameras around the property and inside the house since I have to wire you up and secure the feed.I buy them from a guy who builds the equipment himself.If you want the option that requires a new roof and escape route, it’ll be at least a month before he can move up here.”
“If you can install motion alarms around the outer perimeter of my property before everything else, that’ll be good enough for me to move him out of the basement.Everything else can take its time.”
