Gods, he wanted to kiss him. He wanted to take his fated mate’s head in his hands and kiss every single inch of his face before finally getting to taste his lips. He bet they’d taste like champagne bubbles and saltwater taffy.
He had to be patient, though. It felt like they were making leaps and bounds in opening up to each other, and he refused to risk losing that.
Instead, he focused on their little game. “I am a cat. Some would say I’mkingof the cats.”
Technically, that was two hints, but who could fault him when his fated mate was perched on his lap, being unbearably cute?
Cameron gasped, his eyes going wide. “You’re a lion?”
“Yes.Panthera leo.”
He typically kept his face shaved or maintained a trim beard. Right now, he was sporting a slightly shaggy beard from the holidays. He closed his eyes and felt his hair thicken and become coarser as his beard grew out, forming the beginning of a mane.
Cameron made a surprised noise, and Emory felt the air move in front of him moments before Cameron’s slender fingers landed on his mane. He opened his eyes and found that Cameron had scooted even closer on his legs.
“You’re magnificent,” he whispered, and Emory really could have kissed him then, but his canines had elongated, and he didn’t want to risk scratching him. Instead, he sat as still as possible while Cameron stroked his fingers through his mane, his lion purring the whole time.
Finally, when it seemed like Cameron was done, Emory pressed his eyes closed and focused on putting all of his lion away. When he opened his eyes, Cameron was smiling a gorgeous smile.
“Would you like a hint for mine?” he asked, but as Emory nodded, he lost a bit of his smile. “Uhm…so, you know how I don’t have scent glands on my neck? I have glands, uh…somewhere else. And in my animal form…they release ink.”
Emory was about to guess squid, but for some reason, the long, spindly creature didn’t seem like his Cameron. “Are you an octopus?”
Cameron smiled, but it didn’t cover those freckles or reach his eyes. “I am. Smphioctopus marginatus, to be exact.”
Emory wasn’t sure what was dimming Cameron’s smile, because he could barely contain his own excitement. “What color are you?”
Was that rude to ask? Emory had always loved octopuses—octopi? No, that didn’t sound right. He was pretty sure it was octopuses. Either way, he’d always loved them and the many colors and shapes they came in. He wasn’t familiar with the specific genus Cameron had named, though.
“Uhm—I’m red? My parents think it’s why I’m a ginger. And uh…also blue. Or, I mean, I have a sort of phosphorescent blue on my…tentacles.”
Cameron turned a dark scarlet and ducked his head.
Was Cameron shy about his tentacles? He knew some omegas liked to joke about wanting to meet a nice alpha with a big tentacle, but Emory had actually never met an octopus shifter, and definitely not an alpha. As a pretty strict top in bed, he had mostly ignored the jokes.
The longer he pondered this, the smaller Cameron tried to shrink in on himself. He wrapped his arms around his waist and pulled his head back into the neck of his sweater, like…well, like an octopus trying to hide.
Emory’s lion roared, making it well known that seeing his mate small and scared upset him greatly. Before Emory could stop it, his lion took over, and his rough tongue and mane took shape again. He focused intently on not allowing his canines to elongate as he tipped his head down and licked Cameron’s cheek.
Cameron’s head jerked up in surprise, and Emory licked him again and then placed a soft kiss on the top of his cheekbone before pulling back. He had a smattering of freckles here as well, and Emory noted with interest that they seemed to have a texture. Some were raised, while some were almost concave, like they might be scars, not freckles.
Cameron studied him with a bemused expression.
“I.Love.Octopuses,” Emory said, taking care to emphasize each word. The effects of chugging his mixed drink were setting in as he almost tripped over the word octopuses. He was pretty sure that was correct, though.
Cameron stared at him for a moment before slowly raising his hand to pet Emory’s mane again. “You love octopuses?”
“Yes. One of our major clients is my hometown’s aquarium. We’ve held a lot of events there, and there’s a huge octopus exhibit. I think it’s a coral reef conservation...thing?” Emory said, trailing off at the end.
Cameron giggled, a surprisingly endearing sound. “Gotta love conservation things.”
Emory raised a hand to play with a lock of Cameron’s hair. “I love the red in your hair. I bet I’m going to love the color of your octopus.”
“Don’t lions have dichromatic vision? You won’t actually be able to see much of my red color when you’re a lion.”
Emory blinked at him in surprise. “You know a lot about lions.”
Cameron laughed, a bit of the alcohol he’d consumed evident in the now lilting tone. “I guess if youloveoctopuses, Ilovecats. My sister does shifter research, and she’s always sharing fun facts with me, and a lot of it is on large cats.”
