“Is that what you’re trying to save me from?” He picked up my hand and placed it on his chest. There I felt the rapid beat of his heart. “It already hurts, Harper. The minute I saw you, I knew what you were to me and the rest of our pack. Watching you walk out of that hardware store was fucking agony. I wanted to throw you over my shoulder?—”
“You threaten to do that a lot,” I said. “Is this some kind of kink or something?”
His grip on my hand tightened.
“The tiger wanted to come forward, track you back to your apartment, and lie in waiting for you to come out.” I went very still, a curious mixture of fear and something far more seductivecoiling in my gut. “He wanted to hunt you, capture you, and then drag you back to his lair, forcing you to stay right there until you saw it.”
“Saw what?” I squeaked out.
“That we’re meant to be together,” he said, his thumb brushing against my bottom lip. “I’m scared I’m fucking this up, because I’ve never pursued a woman before. You’re scared that despite what I tell you, I’m going to let you down, just like every other guy in your life.”
OK, definitely psychic. I frowned as I stared back, as if that was enough to protect my thoughts.
“And here’s the thing. The guy that was stupid enough to climb a damn tree at eight years old is the same guy that thought it was a good idea sleeping with you on the first night.” Tor glanced back at the restaurant. “Maybe because when I’m with you, I feel the same way as I did when I leapt from the tree to the roof. That I don’t need to be afraid to make that jump. I’ll always make the landing, Harper.” He turned back to face me. “We’ll make the landing.”
My heart pulsed so hard in my chest I could feel every beat, and all I could see was the edge of the roof. Discarded balls and lost frisbees clogged the guttering, along with dead leaves. My leg muscles were tensed, ready to attempt the jump, but in my head there was only the ground below. I’d fly through the air but wouldn’t have the power, the strength, to make the jump. I’d go crashing through branches, clotheslines and flower beds, only to land with a crushing finality.
“Nothing in my life makes me believe what you’re saying is possible,” I told him. “And trust me, I’ve given it a red hot go with more men than I can count.”
That earned me a low growl, but as his eyes flashed brighter green, a slow smile spread across his face.
“Their loss,” he said. “Our gain.”
I was going to argue, providing him will well-reasoned arguments about how many relationships went bust. People got married, went to considerable effort and expense, only to split years later. God, my own father hadn’t stuck around past the first couple of years of my life, and when I’d tried to make contact, he made clear he wasn’t interested. So why… All thoughts were driven out of my head as Tor’s mouth came crushing down on mine.
This was where the noise in my head silenced and my body took over. Responding to desire, kissing him over and over, getting deeper with each pass, this made sense to me. Bodies knew exactly what they wanted and rewarded you with warm fuzzy feelings afterwards. It was the tricky shit that went on in people’s heads that made my life difficult. When he pulled back, my lips followed, wanting more, more.
“Not asking you to jump yet, Harper. You’ll know when you’re ready and I’ll be right there with you, but… just gimme a chance to show you what’s possible.”
I played his words over and over in my head as he drove me back home. They seemed ridiculous, easy to dismiss, so why was I so fixated on them? Probably because he sounded so completely confident in the outcome, that had me somewhat intrigued. Of course, once we got to my place, it was a matter of collecting up all of those food containers, carrying them up the steps.
“So… did you want to come in?” My eyes slid down his body. “Pretty sure I’m gonna need some practise, handling those spines.”
“Hey.” My front door opened abruptly to reveal Daria standing there. “Thought that was you. Hey, Tor.”
“Hi, Daria.” He shot me a sly smile as he walked inside, then placed each container on the counter before stacking them in the fridge. “My mother sent over a care package.”
“Oh my freaking god, you saved me from two minute noodles,” she said, perching her butt on the counter, then grabbing a spoon and tucking into one of the boxes. I mouthed the word ‘cockblock’ at her as I walked past. She just snickered into her lamb rogan josh.
“So…” When Tor straightened up and walked over to where I was standing in the hallway, he stopped me from edging down towards my room with a strong arm that wrapped around my waist.
“To be continued,” he said softly, then leaned in, brushing his lips against my ears. “You can practise playing with my spines in your dreams, babe.”
Dreams he’d be able to feel, see, participate in, I remembered, and that had my mouth hanging open as he waved goodbye to Daria.
“I guess hit it and quit it didn’t quite work.” I could hear the smile in my friend’s voice, and sure enough, she shot me a shit-eating grin. “He took you out, brought you home with a stash of delicious food?—”
“That his family made,” I croaked out.
“You met the fam?” She was down from the kitchen cupboards and crossing the floor in seconds. “Damn, Harp, it is on.”
“It is not on.” I held out a finger, as if that would ward her off. “Not on at all.”
“On like Donkey Kong!” she crowed. “Harper and her mates, sitting in a tree. F-U-C-K—” I slapped a hand over her mouth, only for her to lick it.
“Ew, gross.”
“First comes love.”
