“No,” she was breathless. “Don’t. That was some kiss.”
“I shouldn’t do that. There’s an unfair power balance here.”
She frowned and moved a square of pancake around her plate. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
“You’re relying on me to keep you safe. For a place to stay. And I sorta took…” He let the rest hang. He really shouldn’t have reacted like that to his mate, saying she would go back to the vampire.
It had been all protective instincts.
Some jealousy.
“Well, you’ve made up for it, so stop beating yourself up about it, okay?” She smiled at him warmly, and his insides clenched.
“You’re sweet,” he whispered.
Her smile turned mischievous. “Coming from you, I’m gonna take that as the highest compliment.”
“You should,” he said.
They continued to eat, grinning at each other like the kiss had meant something. Like it could ever mean anything.
Lilliane pushed her plate away and crossed her arms. He grinned at her. That was usually a sign that she was up to something. “What?” he asked. “You wanna say something?”
“I’ve got a shifter question. Is that rude?”
He shook his head. “Go ahead, trouble.”Please let it be about anything other than mates.
“Is it possible for a shifter to have feelings for someone whoisn’ttheir mate?”
Of course, she would want to talk about mates. She was relentless. It was dangerous and adorable. “Some shifters never find their mates. They still fall in love. Get married, have kids. All that stuff.”
“Oh. So, not everyone gets the chance to meet their mate?”
“No. It’s not rare, exactly, but…” He shrugged. “They still live happy lives.”
“What happens to shifters that find their mates but lose them?”
Atlas shook his head. His little troublemaker. He knew what she was trying to do with this particular line of questioning.
“Depends.”
“On what?” she pressed.
“Well, if they mated…”
“The bite when she orgasms,” Lilliane said matter-of-factly, uncrossing her arms. His whole body went rigid as the image of Lilliane coming on his dick while he bit into the tender skin of her neck overtook his brain.
He cleared his throat. “Y-Yeah … exactly. If they haven’t mated, it’s not so bad.”
“Not so bad?” she repeated, crossing her arms.
“It’s not the pain of losing a mated mate.”
“But still painful.”
He hissed out a breath. She was trouble.Trouble. “No.” He rubbed the back of his neck.
She narrowed her eyes at him. “You’re lying.”
