Had she made that decision?
She knew she had.
There was a part of her that knew she belonged to him, longed for him. There was a part of her that knew the mating heat was coming, it was simply a matter of time.
"So soon?" she asked, rather than refusing outright. "I thought, after the mating . . ."
"We need to get started now, Rachel." His tone was harder than it had been in past days. She was so used to him using the softer, gentler tone of voice that the normal tone was like a slight dash of cold water across her flesh.
She nodded though. "Ely will be doing the examination?"
She liked Dr. Vanderale but the other woman had the power to intimidate her. Rachel didn't like acknowledging that power where anyone was concerned.
"Only Ely." He nodded as though he understood her hesitation.
"Very well." She drew in a hard breath, mentally preparing herself for the coming tests. "I can do that."
He nodded sharply. "We've also been invited to dinner tonight with the Leo, his family and Callan and his. I'm sure you'll enjoy some time with Merinus."
His voice was oddly cool, even though she had agreed to what he'd asked of her, which indicated there was something more going on. She'd learned many of Jonas's ways, and one of them was that the more he expected a complication or a problem from one of his requests, the cooler he would become with whomever he was dealing with.
Rachel nodded again. "I'll check with Erin to make certain she can stay with Amber." The young lynx Breed had taken to Amber with surprising affection.
Jonas frowned at the statement. "Erin and Amber will be going with us. Socialization begins as an
infant, Rachel. You want her to know how to deal with others, and how to interact, even as a toddler."
Her brows raised. Jonas's frown deepened.
"She's my baby, Jonas," she reminded him. "I appreciate what you've done to protect her . . ."
"She is our baby." He leaned forward, his hands planted on her desk with a suddenness that had her staring up at him warily. "Never doubt that I don't claim that child as my own. We will raise her together, we will protect her together. If you have other ideas, then perhaps you've been right to deny the mating."
He straightened as quickly as he'd leaned forward, his shoulders straight, his expression forbidding as he seemed to glare at her.
"Don't imagine you can demand those rights." Rachel was out of her chair immediately.
"I don't demand them. I have taken them," he growled, bending again until he was almost nose to nose with her. "Raising a child is a partnership, mate. Don't imagine otherwise."
"You're pissing me off." Her hands went to her hips. "Asking for something is a hell of a lot nicer than demanding it. What the hell is wrong with you, and since when did you decide you could arbitrarily decide that you have any rights over me or Amber?"
"When I knew you were my mate," he snarled back at her. "And why have you decided to suddenly become so damned difficult? I do know a few things about children. Cassie didn't turn out so bad, and all of Sanctuary has participated in raising her."
"Cassie has an excellent mother," she pointed out, exerting effort to be calm, her eyes narrowing. "And likely had a father who understood not to speak to her mother as though she knew nothing about raising a child."
Jonas was fighting for control; Rachel could sense it. She watched him, her heart racing, a sense of impending doom rising inside her as his eyes flashed from silver to mercury and back again.
He was testing boundaries he didn't want to tempt, not now, not yet. Likely, never.
"Amber has an excellent mother," he growled, obviously pushing the words past clenched teeth. "I never implied otherwise, Rachel. You have turned a simple discussion into a conflict that should not exist."
"Or perhaps you have." They were still nose to nose, eyes narrowed, the tension stifling. "Now that we've agreed Erin and Amber will accompany us, you can see about becoming prepared for the telephone conference you have with Senator Tyler in exactly one hour. After that, you have a meeting with the pre-cabinet concerning the latest attempt by various groups to gain access to a hunting permit for Sanctuary's northern boundary. You don't have time to stand here growling and snarling at me."
He flashed his incisors at her. She crossed her arms over her breasts and stared back at him with steely resolve.
"Mating heat is coming, mate." His voice lowered, rasped, stroked along her senses like dark velvet. "Let's see where all that anger gets you then."
Turning on his heel, he stalked from the ante office back to his own, and closed the door quietly behind him.