I wasn’t the ‘where is this going’ talk woman. At least I hadn’t been before now. But she hadn’t mentioned us being mates since she first told me about it, and some small, insecure part of me was worried that she’d changed her mind. Or been mistaken about it.
Marilee sent me a look before returning her attention to the road. “No, we haven’t.”
She paused, and I realized she was waiting for me to continue.
“It was… good.”
“Just good?” she asked incredulously. “Are you kidding me right now?”
“Well, better than good. But I shouldn’t have brought this up, so just ignore me.”
“Why shouldn’t you have brought it up?” she asked curiously.
“Because this is a job for you, I recognize that. It’s not the time or place for a personal discussion.”
She jerked the steering wheel, moving the SUV to the nearest parking space before turning to face me. Then she reached across the console and took my hand. Like every time we touched, a little current seemed to arc between our skin.
“What are you worried about?” she asked.
“I’m not worried,” I denied.
She released my hand and pressed her palm over my heart.
“Do you feel this?” she asked. “The bond growing between us? The way we’re starting to sense each other’s emotions?”
“You feel that too?” I asked in surprise. “I thought I was imagining it.”
“You’re not imagining it. When you find a mate, a fated mate, the bond grows the more time you spend together, and when the claiming happens, it becomes permanent.”
“The claiming?” I asked.
“Someday, when you’re ready, if you agree, I’ll bite you. Here.” She pressed one finger against the space where my neck and shoulder met. “It seals the bond and also tells every supernatural creature that you’re taken.”
“Am I? Taken?”
Marilee gave me a tender look. “I certainly hope so. I’ve been waiting for you to get there, but when you’re ready, I want us to mate officially.”
“What does that mean, exactly?” I asked. “Besides the sensing of emotions through the bond?”
“It means we’ve made a commitment to be together for the rest of our lives, to make a life together, to never be attracted to another person because we’ve dedicated our lives to each other, and only each other.”
Her words were like a vow, and I felt the seriousness of them right behind my sternum. Somewhere in the recesses of my mind it registered that this was a bad idea, letting someone get close to me. In my world, the world I’d grown up in and seemingly could not escape, loving someone was a liability for both of you.
But instead of putting a stop to this I said, “And you still think I’m your mate?”
She gave me an incredulous look. “I don’t think you’re my mate, I know it.”
We stared at each other for a long, charged moment before I finally whispered, “I know it too.”
It was true, although I couldn’t say why. Later I’d freak out about this conversation, but for now, I wanted to relax into the idea that this woman wanted me just for me and was asking nothing in return. It was a novel feeling but one I welcomed.
Her smile lit up her face, and I thought for sure she’d lean over and kiss me, but just then a text came in. Marilee pressed the button on the dash, and a robotic voice announced that there was a message from Lois.
“Where the hell are you, Martin? I don’t have all day. Get to the office now.”
Marilee
“About damned time you got here,” Lois snapped as Hazel and I walked into the crowded conference room.
