Page 49 of Cats Never Fly

IdoubtedDaphneandPeterwere fated mates—not only hadInot seen any visible markings, but fated mates were rare—so when they’d suggested we were mates,Iwas surprised she suggested we might be fated mates.Chosenmates were the norm.But, given how quicklySimonandIconnected,Iagreed withDaphneand wondered if we might not be more.

Fatedmates sounded like a fairy tale to most supes, butIwas old enough to remember when theEternalMagicplayed matchmaker for almost everyone.WasInaïve for thinking that?Possibly.Thismight all be an artifice created by the magic in the whistle, butIkept thinking:Whatif it wasn’t?

“Ihad already wondered if you might be my fated mate,”Iadmitted.

“Youdid?But…”Hiswords trailed off when he saw the serious look on my face.

Inodded. “Didn’tyou?”

“Howcould we be?” he whispered and averted his eyes, like he wasn’t sure if he should admit that. “Isn’tthis all because of the whistle?”

“Iwish we’d met under different circumstances, but what if this was theEternalMagic’sway of bringing us together?”

Heglanced up at me, his face full of hope. “Yeah?”

“Yes, kitty cat.Ithink that’s entirely possible,”Isaid asIreached for him.Iput my hand on the back of his neck and pulled him close.Hisbreath quickened as my mouth neared his.Hesmelled of maple syrup and bacon and orange juice.Andthen his lips were on mine.

Thekiss was torturous in thatIcouldn’t hold him against me—the front seat of a car wasn’t the best place for this—butIclosed my eyes and savored the taste of him.Hislips pressed the right amount of firmness againstmine.Histongue was tantalizing when it slipped up against mine.Hismoans, though…Thosemade me want to haul him into the back seat and claim him.

Aringing noise interrupted the sweet music of our mingled panting breaths.

Simongroaned as he pulled away from me.Icould have stopped him.Iknew ifIheld him in place, he wouldn’t fight me.ButIlet him settle back into his seat and pull out his phone.

“Hello?”

“Whereare you?”Itwas the hellhound,Van.Icould hear his question clearly in the quiet car.

“Uh…”Simonlooked flustered as his gaze darted over the landmarks like he’d never seen the neighborhood before, althoughIwas sure he’d grown up here.

“IsWalshwith you?”

“Yeah…”

“Takehim over toDocRoberts.I’llmeet you there.”

Thenthe hellhound was gone.

Right.Witheverything else that was going on,I’dforgotten about the bump on my arm.

Simonshook his head as if he was still boggled by my amazing kissing.Ipreened.Thenhe licked his lips and looked at me again.Hisgaze drifted down to my mouth before coming back to my eyes again.Hispupils were dilated in a telltale sign that he liked what he saw.

“Ididn’t tell you earlier…”Hehesitated and swallowed.Hisgaze darted away from mine. “ButIlike you in my clothes.”

“Yeah?”Imimicked his one-word question from a minute ago with a smile.

“Yeah.”Hereturned my smile with a shy one of his own when he glanced back at me.

Ugh, this kitty cat.Hewas so ridiculously adorable.

Irather liked being draped in his possessions too.Andsoon,Iwould drape him in mine.Ihad several gemstones that would complement his coloring.PerhapsIcould buy enough peridots to line the walls of our bedroom with them.Iwas sureIcould find the perfect color to match his cat’s eyes.

Ihadn’t seen him shifted yet, but when his emotions ran high, his cat showed in his beautiful eyes.Butperhaps when he took his cat form his eyes would reveal yet another color—Topaz?Emerald?Whateverit was,Iwould memorize it, then surround him with jewels selected just for him.

Therewere still so many things we needed to learn about one another.

Except, if he wanted me to wear his clothes often, we needed to expand his wardrobe.Ididn’t tell him that.Nottoday.Ididn’t want to burst this lovely feeling growing between us.ButIneeded color in my life.

Thenagain, if we were alone, we might not need many clothes…Hmm…I’dhave to give that some thought.