“Are you courting me, Occam?”
“I am indeed, Nell, sugar. After Larry Aden abducted you, I informed your mama and your daddy that I was courting you.”
He was close, so close I could feel his body heat through my clothes even in the stuffy house. “Oh?”
“Your mama seemed happy. Your daddy called me a devil cat. I told him this devil cat loved his plant-woman.”
I didn’t move.
“I told him all that, not to lay claim to you like a possession, but to provide you with what protection I could, from themen in the church who might still want to claim you and your land. And since we’re looking for total clarity,” he added, “I didn’t ask his permission. I informed him. Just like I informed the vampire that I was not interested in being her dinner or her sex toy.”
Occam lifted his hand and stroked his fingers along my jaw, soft as heated silk. I exhaled, the breath shuddering slightly. “Occam,” I whispered, “you might not shoulda done that. Courting is for a permanent relationship. Marriage or concubinage.”
“I was made fully aware of that by your daddy,” he murmured.
His eyes were the bright, shining gold of his cat. He was standing so close that his breath teased across my shoulder and curled down my chest. His fingers slid along my nape and into my hair and tugged along my leaves sprouting there. They shivered and so did I.
“And?” I whispered. The word was almost silent, but his cat ears picked it up.
“And I told him that when you were ready you could ask me to marry you. Or ask me to become your concubine.”
My mouth opened slightly. A male concubine? Oh. That was... new. And shocking. And—
“I told him I was yours and that if you’d have me, you were mine. I told him I’d kill any of his church people who harmed you or Mud. And because he’s a man of the Word of God, I told him I was cleaving to you. And I also told him that if you sent me away, I’d go and give you whatever time or space you needed. But that I was yours. Forever.”
“Oh...” I breathed out.
“Yes. Big-cats don’t mate forever. Werecats don’t either. ButIdo.”
A quiet voice in the dark of my brain hoped his tie to Soulwood wasn’t forcing this.
“I’m yours, Nell, whenever you want me.”
That didn’t sound like a Soulwood binding talking. But...
When I didn’t reply, he said, “There’s this line of dialogue in an old movie I watched when I was a kid. A knight or something like it telling his king, ‘I am yours to command.’ Nell, you’re in charge of this thing we might have, like that kingwas. I am yours to command.You are in charge, Nell, sugar. Totally. In every way.”
I swallowed, the sound dry and kinda rubbery. Occam’s fingers smoothed the leaves in my hairline and I felt a tremor run through me, thick and heavy and all twisted with meaning. It was like vines crawling over and across one another, winding and curling together.You are in charge, Nell, sugar. Totally. In every way...Heck fire. I wasn’t even in control of my own life yet and here was Occam pretty much giving mehislife. It was a heady and terrifying feeling. I’d never had anyone give themselves to me before. “Oh,” I managed again. Definitely not Soulwood. I could think of absolutely nothing to say. Nothing at all. Silence stretched between us like heated taffy.
Occam reached out and took my hand. And lifted it to his mouth. He pressed my woody nails against his lips in a kiss that heated all the way to my toes. “Nell, sugar? Let’s eat.”
I nodded and turned to the kitchen. My legs felt a little wobbly and my breath was coming a mite too fast. Helping get the food on the table eased my shock some, however, and we sat at one end, me at my place, where I had recently staked my claim to the head of the table, and Occam to my left. That was where Leah had sat when I was part of a polygamous household. It felt strange to have Occam there, after the conversation we’d just had. The cats leaped to the tabletop and Occam said, “Later you,” as he put them down. “I got treats for you.”
“You’re spoiling my mousers.”
He grinned and picked up a thin square of ham with his fingers and bit into the greasy goodness. I used a knife and fork. “I passed a guy cutting up a downed oak tree in town,” he said, by way of conversation. “I stopped to talk and he’ll give away the wood if you’ll take care of delivery and splitting. You want it?”
“Some idiot’s giving away free wood? Yes.”
“He’ll split it for thirty bucks a cord. You want it split?”
“I’m not paying some yahoo to split wood. Townies always leave it too thick and I have to split it again anyway.”
“You got a good ax?”
“Yep.” I had a good ax and a strong back, but I didn’t say that.
“How many cords?”
