Page 48 of Tiger Bitten

“No, my plan is to see how secure you are in your own masculinity, which would be a green flag.”

He puffed air out of his cheeks and muttered, “Fine.”

“Also,” she said, lifting up on her tiptoes to plant a kiss on his cheek. “Misty put s’mores ingredients in the pantry. I missed them earlier, but she told me she did while we were playing horseshoes.”

“I still can’t believe you won three games in a row.”

“Look at all this cool stuff we get to learn about each other. You are mediocre at horseshoes, but bomb at cornhole, and I played in a co-ed horseshoes league from ages eighteen to twenty-two.”

His chuckle followed her as she meandered toward the drawers she’d unpacked her suitcase into earlier. She picked out her heather gray shorts and matching tank top sleep set, and her fuzzy white nighttime slippers, and made her way into the bathroom. “Be right back,” she sang.

When she was finished dressing, putting her hair up, applying her sea-creature cartoon printed collagen facemask, and unfolding a facemask for Mars, she opened the bathroom door to find him dressed in gray sweatpants and nothing else. Goodness that man was built like a Greek god.

She cleared her throat. “Hi.”

He laughed and hung his head, then looked back up at her, chin still tucked. Oh, so he was capable of getting even hotter. Fantastic. “My eyes are up here.”

Yup. She’d been staring at the bulge in his sweatpants.

“Right.” She forced her eyes up to his and smiled with her teeth.

“You’re so freaking cute,” he told her. Truth. He really thought she was cute. Oooh, she had a big crush on him.

He gestured to her hand. “Is that for me?”

The slimy facemask still dangled from her grasp. She’d forgotten about it because abs.

“Y-yes!” she said, trying to recover.

Mars sat down on the edge of the bed so she could better reach him and closed his eyes. She studied his face, so tan and smooth, with dark lashes framing his eyes. His eyebrows were so animated, and his jawline masculine. His beard was perfect, with little salt and pepper gray hairs that made him even more attractive to her.

“Can I ask you a question?” he asked, eyes still closed as she smoothed out the facemask across his face.

“You can ask me anything.”

“Are you scared of me?” he asked.

“What?” she asked, confused.

“Are you nervous around me? Or is your Cat ramped up around me for some reason?”

Oooh. She knew where he was going with this. “My eyes just stay gold. I don’t have a human color.”

Mars’s frown scrunched up the facemask. “Be still,” she murmured, and he smoothed out his face again. “There. All done. Twenty minutes and your skin will be hydrated and happy.”

Mars snorted. “Just what I always dreamed of.”

“Selfie time,” she said, sinking down onto his lap. She held her phone up and clicked a picture of them, then reviewed it. “Okay this might be my new favorite picture.”

“What kind of Cat are you?” he asked, and his voice was tinged in curiosity.

She blew out a frustrated breath. Ren wasn’t ready for this conversation. She looked at him, wishing he would stop. “I just want to enjoy the night.”

“Why are you ashamed of her?” he asked softly. “She’s beautiful.”

Ren shook her head and stood up off his lap, then made her way to the pantry to gather the s’mores ingredients—marshmallows, chocolate bars, and graham crackers.

“It’s just you avoid talking about that side of you,” he pushed.