She looked at him, obviously startled. He was, too. He was normally the one who just sat in silence and waited. Got most of his information that way. And yet in this, he was pushing for more connection, probably much faster than she could handle.
And then she started talking.
“He’s a chemist. Our labs were on the same floor in school, but it was our mothers who set us up.”
Definitely a romantic relationship. “How long ago was that?”
She shrugged. “Three years? Four?” She looked down at her hands, twisting her fingers together as if missing a key piece of jewelry. “Our mothers keep hoping for an announcement.”
He swallowed, using the motion to shove down a howl from his bear. Meanwhile she glanced at him as if he needed an explanation.
“A wedding announcement, you know. A proposal.”
“Yeah,” he said, his throat painfully tight. “I got it.”
“I didn’t. He didn’t ask. Probably because he wasn’t sure I would say yes.” She chuckled. “Yu likes knowing the answers to questions before he asks them. Out loud at least. Scientifically he’s all about tearing apart the biological mystery.”
“You?”
“Y-U. Actually, it’s Jian Yu, which means ‘building the universe.’ But Yu likes being the universe, so he shortened it. He also likes the joke. You—as in someone else—seeming like the universe but it’s actually him because it’s Yu.” She waved her hand. “Don’t worry if you don’t get it. His brain can be pretty convoluted at times.”
“Sounds like a dick.” The words came out with a growl, and Hank gripped the steering wheel tighter. He was out of control here. That was not something he would ever say normally. People’s choices in partners were their own, and everyone was a dick in some ways. And yeah, she was smart enough to call him on it.
“He’s just smarter than most people and so has found ways to entertain himself in his own mind.”
Hank turned to her. “And do you come into that picture anywhere? Or is it all about him?” Which was a fat load of crap considering how Hank had made love to her last night. It hadn’t been about her at all, and he was ashamed to remember how selfish he’d been in the way he’d touched her. Ate her. And fuck, now he was hard just thinking about it.
Fortunately, she didn’t seem to be able to read his thoughts. Her gaze had shifted back down to her phone. “I love talking science with him. His mind…” She shook her head. “He’s brilliant.”
“And so are you, so you understand each other.” Marriages had been built on less substantial things.
“Yes, we do. Which is why when we miss scheduled phone calls, neither one of us takes it personally.”
Except she obviously did. Something about it bothered her. He took a stab at the reason. “How long since you had something together that wasn’t about science?”
She snorted. “Well, I thought he was a good kisser.” Her gaze shot to his. “Until you kissed me. Hell, I didn’t even know it was possible to be that good at it.”
Hank didn’t know how to respond. He hated the idea that she’d been kissing this jerk, but then she’d turned the compliment to him and he flushed with pride even as he tried to figure out her meaning. Yeah, okay, so he’d been good at it last night. That was all about patience and attention to detail. And actually wanting to lick every part of her just for the sake of tasting her. But his driving force had been getting between her thighs. About locking in the bond so that babies could be created. It hadn’t been about her as a person. They barely knew each other, though damn it, it felt like they’d been fated since the beginning of time.
Fucking bonding magic. It screwed up the progression of a normal relationship. Made it impossible for him to take his time with her and learn the things he wanted to about her. To see if they fit for real instead of just biologically.
Then she spoke, clearly smart enough to follow his thoughts even though he hadn’t said a word out loud.
“You said you were bound to me. What exactly does that mean?”
“It’s about the magic,” he began. But then she rolled her eyes as she looked away and he had to grip her arm tighter to get her to listen. “I know you think it’s stupid. I know you don’t believe, but you didn’t believe in shifters yesterday either. What don’t you believe in today that you will tomorrow?”
She wrinkled her nose at him. It was pretty adorable, but her words were serious enough when she spoke. “Fair point, but you’re fighting an entire lifetime of conditioning here. Science is real. Magic is superstition.”
“Yeah, I know. You don’t have to call it magic. Hell, it could be a really amped-up biological imperative to make special babies. We don’t know why, but it’s real.”
“The bonding.”
“It’s not uncommon for a shifter to lock on a person. Like really lock on. Base-of-the spine, gut-instinct, completely-without-rational-thought lock on.”
“How long does it last?”
Hank squirmed with that. He didn’t want to answer, so he took the distraction of his exit to maneuver the car down to his neighborhood. Everything looked quiet from where they were cruising through, but there was evidence of problems. A few broken windows, police tape, and at least a half dozen people peering nervously out windows.
