He waved a hand away. “Of course.”
“Well, of course, right back at you!”
Standing up, her dark dress reached the floor, topped by a vivid shirt in different shades of pink. She looked like a flower vendor at a farmers’ market in Brooklyn, where there would be nothing between them but bouquets of dying roses.
She grimaced and plucked up one of the mugs of tea and thrust it into his hands. “Drink it.”
He eyed the drink she’d warned him was a truth serum. “No way.”
“Drink it and tell me that you’re grateful and goodbye.”
He ignored the mug to put both hands on her cheeks, tilt her head up, and kiss her.
13
Cat stood there dazed as her lips pulsed. Mateo stepped back, calmly took the mug out of her hand, and took a deep swallow. “You’re driving me crazy. Nothing in my life makes sense anymore. And you make the least amount of sense of anything, so why did I feel like I was coming out of my skin until I could see you again? Also, you smell so good, like the first day of spring and Christmas wrapped together, which I wasnevergoing to tell you. Oh shit, that really was a truth serum.”
Yeah, none of that was helping with the noise in her head. He leaned down to press his nose to the notch at her throat. “No, seriously, you smellsogood.”
She plucked the mug away from his hands. “Okay, you’ve had enough.”
“And your family is insane!” he added, looking around. “Who has weapons in the foyer? Do they really think any of that could hurt me? And when will this wear off? Why did I think this was a good idea?”
“I personally think it was the best idea I’ve had in a long time,” Cat mused as she watched him turn in a full circle. “And these aren’t their only defenses.”
He abruptly spun toward her, looking massive in the tiny, feminine room.
“What are the rest of their defenses?”
She waved a hand vaguely.
“No, you have to show me right now. I have to know all of their defenses right now.”
Alarm flared in her gut, as well as guilt over the opportunity that just presented itself. “Why? So you’ll know how to overcome them?”
“No, so I’ll know what’s coming for me. Nobody can get hurt. You would never forgive me if I ate someone you loved.”
Cat’s jaw dropped and then she nodded. “You’re right. And that’s a new fear unlocked, thanks.”
He gripped her arms hard, too hard. “I would never.”
“I know.”
His dark eyes seemed to blaze in his face, and though he hadn’t touched his hair, it was now sticking up. “I would never, ever! I drank your blackmail potion, so you have to believe me.”
She sealed his lips to his. “I know.”
She tasted mint, a little leftover truth serum that obliged her to say, “I trust you.”
“So show me the weapons,” he said seriously.
“You’re not going to let this go.”
“I really can’t.” He sounded almost confused about it. “It’s like there’s a hook inside my chest, and it’s pulling me forward, and if I don’t find out this information, I will die. Which I know makes no sense, but I can’t make it make sense. Make it make sense?”
She kissed him again and bit back her laughter. She’d seen other people under the influence of a truth serum, but they hadn’t ever seemed so giddy. He was surprisingly sensitive; with his bulk, it shouldn’t have worked that well. She paused. He had a werewolf inside to contend with. Did that mess with things?
He squeezed her arm again and then deliberately let her go, a finger at a time. “Please, Patchouli.”
