“No, not that. I’m not a compulsive liar or anything, I promise.” He flashed her a reassuring smile, which faded into a thoughtful look. “I’m just…used to being able to keep stuff hidden, I guess. Give myself time to process it.”
“I’m not as good at that,” Lynn said. Too much time spent alone, probably; she hardly ever had to deal with strong emotions in front of people. Everyone in town was used to her being gruff, blunt-spoken, not hiding her opinions of things.
“So you have to take some time to yourself.” Ken was following the thought to its logical conclusion. “All right. Okay. That makes sense.” He was talking to himself, now, working through it.
“You get that I don’t want to get away from you,” Lynn tried. “I just need—this is a big change. I need to think about what it means.”
“Yes,” he said slowly. “Yes. I understand.” He looked up and smiled, and this time it was tentative, but real. “All right. When can I see you again?”
“Tonight?” Lynn said. “Dinner??
??
Ken took her hand, squeezed it. “Dinner sounds amazing.”
“Great,” Lynn said on a relieved sigh. “We can go to Oliver’s, I guess; it’s the best place in town.” Although that meant the gossip would begin spreading immediately. Nina had worked as a waitress as Oliver’s before taking the guide job with Lynn, and Lynn was sure her former coworkers would be texting her about her new boss being there with a—Lynn cast an eye over Ken’s still-naked body—very attractive man. Probably before they were even seated.
But if they were mates, well, it wasn’t like they were going to be having some kind of secret fling. Right?
God.
Lynn squeezed Ken’s hand back, then freed her fingers. “I have to go meet my client.” After having sex out on the forest floor. She was going to be scrutinizing herself very carefully in her truck’s mirror before heading back, that was for sure.
He leaned in and kissed her softly. “Go. I’ll see you tonight.”
The kiss temporarily evaporated any issues Lynn might’ve had a second ago. She kissed him back, marveling once again at how right it felt. She’d never even realized it was possible to feel like this.
Only the knowledge of her client waiting for her made her pull back. “Tonight,” she affirmed, and turned towards her truck. Thinking about speed, she shifted, the better to run back quickly.
The mate-bond hit her all over again once she was in her lynx form. Mate! her lynx was thinking ecstatically. He’s our mate. The lion is our mate!
Lynn hadn’t quite realized how fantastic Ken smelled in her human form. She wanted to run back and nuzzle up to him, then maybe curl up next to him and stay there forever.
Client, she reminded both herself and her inner lynx, although her shifter side definitely didn’t care much.
Mate, her lynx thought wistfully, as Lynn forced them to trot off into the woods instead of staying curled up with Ken.
If she hadn’t had a real professional obligation, she would’ve turned right back. Well, it was good to know that her shifter side didn’t share any of the complicated feelings Lynn’s human side had about the mate-bond.
Mate, she thought again, this time with all the wonderment that had been overwhelmed by her doubts. My mate.
***
Ken watched Lynn vanish into the forest, holding himself still with an effort.
His lion was roaring inside him. We can’t let our mate leave! We just found her. She needs to stay with us!
That’s not how this works, Ken told his lion firmly. Our mate is her own person with her own wants. She can make her own decisions. We can’t run after her and carry her off against her will. She wouldn’t like that.
His lion receded a bit, grumbling, Well, if you say it like that.
I do.
The problem was, Ken understood his lion’s need. But he also understood that it wasn’t a need born entirely of love and desire.
Although he felt both of those for Lynn, and they both rose up in him, cutting like a knife, when she left.
But really, that kind of dumb possessive behavior was born out of fear. He was afraid that if he let Lynn out of his sight, she wouldn’t come back. And if he couldn’t trust his mate to come back to him, if he thought she’d run away from his love, well, then he couldn’t trust in anything. And he’d probably want to take a good hard look at his own self, if he ever did drive a woman away like that.