“The truth is, being able to turn into a griffin is only one of the ways I’m different from normal humans,” he said. “It’s somethingallshifters have, though, no matter what kind of animal we turn into. It’s something you grow up hearing about, but I guess I never really gave it that much thought until now.” He paused. Natasha was still listening, eyes wide. “But now that it’s happened to me, I wonder why I didn’t think about it sooner. If I’d known, I definitely would have come looking for you.”
“Come looking for me?” Natasha was now looking simply confused – and Kieran realized he was tip-toeing around the subject.
Simply tell her!his griffin roared within him, pushing the words up his throat.She is our mate! She will accept us!
“All shifters have what we call a fated mate,” Kieran blurted, finally getting the words out. “Someone we’re meant to be with – the person who was made for us. And we were made for them. As soon as we touch them, we justknow.We just know that they’re the person we were meant to spend the rest of our lives with. And Natasha, that’s what you are to me – my mate. The person I was made for. The person I want to be with. Forever.”
Natasha’s eyes had become as big as saucers as he spoke, and Kieran wasn’t sure whether that was a good sign or not. She was silent for a moment after he finally came to the end of his speech – he had no idea whether he’d been able to put it in a way that sounded appealing to her or not – simply staring at him.
“So – so you’re saying that – I’myourmate. Me?!” she stammered out after a moment.
Kieran nodded. “That’s right, Natasha. If you’ll have me.”
Natasha stared down at her coffee again. “Uh, wow,” she murmured, after another moment of silence. “Well, I definitely didnotsee that one coming. Is that why you asked me out, after… oh my God, after our hands touched over the can of beans? You couldsensethat I was your mate even then?!”
“That’s right,” Kieran said, nodding. “I knew it right at that very moment. But I guess everything since then has kind of been a mess. I feel like we haven’t been able to get to know each other very well at all. And I know that’s important! I don’t expect you to just say yes to me right away, when you don’t even know much about me. But… if you’re willing… I’d love to spend the month you’re in Girdwood Springs getting to know you better. And showing you just how dedicated I am to being the best mate I can possibly be for you.”
Natasha had raised her head as he spoke, and was now regarding him steadily with her large, dark eyes.
“Well,” she said, licking her lips. “I think I alreadydoknow a lot about you. I know you’re kind, funny, and sincere – even if I couldn’t see it right away. I know you tried to tell me the truth as soon as you could. I know that I felt a connection to you right away, even though I tried to tell myself I didn’t. And I know,” she continued, leaning in suddenly and putting her coffee cup down on the table next to her, “Iknowthat I’ve never been more attracted to anyone before in my life.”
Kieran’s heart skipped a beat.Did she really just say what I think she said?!
He’d noticed right away that Natasha was direct, and that she said exactly what was on her mind. And now, he realized, slightly dazed, sheactedon it too – because in the next moment, she pressed her lips to his, her hands coming up to cup his jaw.
The kiss wasfarmore searing than it had any right to be – Kieran felt lines of fire racing through his veins as he parted his lips, feeling Natasha’s open as if in answer to his. Raising his arms, he slid his hands around her waist, pulling her closer to him on the sofa, as the kiss became deeper, more urgent.
They were moving quickly, but Kieran knew that neither of them wanted to stop – the heat in his belly was kindling quickly, the flame of his desire for her leaping high within him. He’d wanted to do this since the first moment he saw her – his beautiful, perfect mate – but this went beyond anything he ever could have imagined.
We really are made for each other,he thought, his head spinning, as together they began to sink back onto the couch, their mouths locked together, pleasure already singing along his every nerve just from having Natasha pressed against him like this –
CRASH!
Kieran and Natasha jumped apart, still breathing heavily, as the massive sound tore through the house. It was followed quickly by another series ofcrashes andthuds, as if, once again, that herd of elephants had returned and they were now hosting tap-dancing lessons in the attic.
Kieran watched as Natasha’s eyes grew wider and wider with alarm the longer the sounds went on – and he imagined his own expression mirrored hers.
“What was that?” Natasha whispered, during a brief pause in the unholy racket.
“Uh. I don’t actually know,” Kieran admitted. “I guessed at first that it was the house… settling, or something like that. But I haven’t really had the chance to investigate yet, and I’m starting to doubt my guess is correct.”
Anothercrash, anotherthud.The sounds didn’t subside at all – if anything, they seemed to be gettinglouder.
Well, until they abruptly stopped altogether.
“Well, whatever it is, it hasterribletiming,” Natasha said, as she rather sheepishly smoothed down her hair from where it had fallen into complete disarray as Kieran had kissed her. “But… oh my God. Maybethisis what Eula meant when she said this place was haunted?”
Kieran blinked. “I’m sorry, what? It’s haunted? Someone told you that?”
“Yeah – well, she didn’t say much. She just said some teenagers had been using this place to hang out in, since there’d been no one living here for a while.” She shot Kieran an apologetic look. “Sorry, that’s probably not something you wanted to hear about somewhere you spent your childhood.”
“No, it’s okay,” Kieran reassured her. “Idolove this place, but it’s me and my parents who’ve been neglecting it. I can’t really blame anyone for thinking it’d been totally abandoned. We did always have some plans to come back and restore it, but we never really found the time, and we couldn’t do it when Great Uncle Henry was still alive – he always insisted he had his own plans for the place, and he wouldn’t budge an inch or let anyone help him, no matter what. So by the time he died, it was already a little worn out.”
Kieran felt a pang in his heart as he spoke. He reallydidlove this place, and he had so many wonderful childhood memories of it. Perhaps, this time, he really should just stay here and try to do something with it.
Well, provided it isn’tactuallyhaunted, I suppose…
“I don’t believe in ghosts, though,” Kieran said. “So… this place being haunted is a little hard for me to get behind.”
