Page 69 of Blade

Being better at hiding things from me wasn’t a skill we needed to strengthen.

“Part of you didn’t want to hide it from me.” The rest of him would learn that I wasn’t like his insane family. “I think a big part knew you needed to talk to me.”

“Next time I’ll try that.” His honest admission that we’d do this again made me fight back a smile. “Is this mating stuff? I feel much better now, almost floaty like subspace, but I was a basket of crazy before.”

“I think so.” And if keeping him bound to me like this made it better, that said I was probably right. “I honestly didn’t think it would affect you since you’re human. I’m sorry about that.”

His deep exhale had him relaxing even more. “I’m really glad this isn’t just me being nuts.”

“You wouldn’t be crazy even if it was human anxiety about something.” I should’ve realized sooner it wasn’t typical. “With a new mating, sometimes one party feels more anxiety at the idea of separating.”

I knew I wasn’t going anywhere and having his scent with me all the time would’ve made it easier for me as well.

His grumbling huff made me smile. “The sub party. Fucking hell. This is ridiculous.”

He was so cute.

“Your…nature might have made it feel stronger to you but I have no way of knowing.” And the human internet wouldn’t be helpful about that information.

The parts of the internet where my people talked openly would be more helpful on the mating human aspects, but I wasn’t sure about the submission part. For our conversation, though, I focused on what I did know. “It should ease up as we continue to bond, but I’m also going to stop asking you to leave the trailer. We’ll get groceries delivered and watch movies and plan our trip until you feel better.”

Henley’s body sent out waves of wonderful scents, but even though he had to be feeling a thousand times better, I could almost feel him processing faster. “I think I know the answer to this, but what do we do to move the bonding along faster?”

He probably did know the answer.

“I will answer that question, but do I want us to bond faster than you’re comfortable with?” So much drama in one sigh. “That’s not an answer.”

It was cute, though.

“No, but I don’t like this feeling and I’m not sure there’s a rational reason to go slow.” His grumbling tone made him sound frustrated but the way he was nuzzling against my neck was sending conflicting signals. “You smell really good.”

“Thank you, my mate.” Focus. Focus. Focus. “We were going slow to give us time to get to know one another.”

I just hadn’t thought us living together would make it so difficult for him.

“I don’t know how things are done now, but when I was younger and new matings happened, the couple would spend a few weeks getting to know each other. They’d hang out in public and do the traditional human dating stuff. Then they’d just end up with a very short engagement.” Had we done that to blend in or was it the best way not to jump right into bed together?

I’d never questioned it because it’d never affected me.

“If they weren’t alone together much, it might’ve made a difference.” Pressing kisses up my neck, Henley let out a happy sigh as I shivered. “I’ve seen…I’ve seen a lot of stories online and mated couples talking about moving fast. Then…then they realized they needed to get to know one another better.”

Chuckling softly, I tilted my head so he had more to kiss. With him being human, it didn’t feel submissive at all, and I just enjoyed his touch. “I can see that, but for us, we might’ve been taking it a bit too slow considering how much we’re around each other.”

“I like being around you.” Licking around my ear, Henley moaned softly as he rocked his hips and ground his dick against mine again. “I…I wanted to give you time to think and to…to process.”

“I appreciate that and I’ve loved getting to know you in this form too, but what do you want, my sexy mate?” Thinking about what I’d have done if my mate wasn’t human, I focused on my panther and let his low rumble fill my chest.

I wasn’t the same as the pure creature who was strictly nature designed, so it was like a purr on steroids, as my mate would’ve said. It was designed to soothe and show our connection since it was something we only did with cubs or mates, and it seemed to work with humans as well. Henley let out a pleased, relaxed sigh and nuzzled against me before going back to kissing my ear.

However it came across to him, my mate seemed to connect with me and I could smell the gentle pleasure radiating from him. “I…I think I want to kiss you more and…and be with you…and then…and then we can take a nap. Yes. With you wrapped around me.”

That sounded perfect.

“I’m going to shift and stretch out over you, pinning you to the bed so you can’t move.” It was my turn to start nuzzlinghim even though I could only reach his neck at the moment. “I love holding you tight and knowing you’re mine. My shifter side wants to wrap you up and never let you go.”

His soft chuckle made me smile. “I like that idea.”

“It’s one of my favorite parts of BDSM.” I’d spent quite a lot of time over the past couple of days trying to understand as much as I could. “I can be as possessive over you as I want and it’s considered a good thing.”