Page 48 of Blade

“You didn’t eat me.” He shrugged. “That was a good clue.”

He was insane.

“I’m glad you understood that.” Because while some things just went wrong around my mate, he could be dangerous when he focused on what he was doing. “I’m also glad you aren’t panicking now that I have a human form again.”

Thank the gods for that.

“It’ll probably get weird eventually but your personality doesn’t feel much different and I wasn’t going to have some big freakout when everyone was watching.” He huffed when I had to fight back a laugh. “I learned very early in life to panic in private…but I guess I can panic with you now. You know…because we’re mates.”

With his background he should’ve been trying to stab me at the very least, so I thought he was doing fairly well overall.

Oh, he’d tried to explain things carefully, but I wasn’t stupid and hadn’t been as naïve as he seemed to think I was before I’d been changed.

His family were monster hunters.

“That’s right.” Kissing his head again, I tightened my hold on him as I focused on the way he felt in my arms. “You’re my mate. That means we don’t lie and we panic together.”

Henley hugged me back just as tight. “You ready to have a freakout or do you want to wait until we’re home later?”

Home.

“Later, please.” I wasn’t sure how I felt about anything at the moment but I knew I wasn’t going to break down right then. “But.”

He was my mate.

He was my mate.

He was my mate.

“Mates don’t lie. Mates panic together.” I could hear the smile in his voice when I sighed. “I thought you might need a reminder.”

“Thank you.” My dry retort got another giggle from him, making him sound even more innocent than he usually looked. “You’re right, though.”

“So?” He was making it very clear that he wasn’t going to let it go.

“So I’m going to make sure you understand that I don’t want you to leave me alone right now.” I might not be up with the times about much, but from the TV we’d watched and the things he called podcasts that we’d listened to, men were expected to communicate clearly about their emotions.

I was calling bullshit on that being a behavior everyone partook in, but Henley had sent me several pointed glares as the people had talked and debated current cultural norms.

My mate was helpful but not subtle.

“I can do that.” Lifting his head, he kissed my cheek. “It’s a very reasonable request.”

I wasn’t so sure about that, but I let him claim otherwise.

“You just need time to get to know me more.” Shrugging, he straightened and pretended to be confident, being an adorable distraction. “I’m kind of complicated.”

I would have to agree on that even if he was teasing.

“You’re confusing. I think you’re getting those words mixed up.” Kissing his forehead one more time, I pushed back the war of emotion in me and nodded toward the bed. “I think those are mine.”

The stack of clothes looked simple with the jeans and what seemed to be a T-shirt giving a familiar feel. That was probably their goal, and they succeeded except for the strange shoes on the floor by the bed. I’d never seen anything like the bright blue shoes that looked like some kind of sportswear based on the commercials we’d seen.

“You’re going to look sexy.” Eyes sparkling, he gave me a bright smile that had his innocence level going up again. “Okay, how about I sit with you and ask questions while you get cleaned up?”

“Perfect.” I wasn’t ready to be alone with my thoughts yet either. “And because you like to know the limits we’re workingwithin, I am going to make it clear I’d like to be ogled by my mate.”

I’d been waiting for him for a very long time.