Kade walked away, but his words repeated in Rafe’s head. Finally, he shoved away the doubt and embraced his determination. He would capture Jon. No other option was acceptable.
Rafe strode across the room and took Jasmine’s hand, pulling her away from the happy group. She looked at him with questioning eyes.
He brushed his nose against the column of her neck. “I need your arms wrapped around me too.”
She linked her hands at the base of his spine and rested her cheek against his chest. Her scent, the unique fragrance that was purely Jasmine, filled his lungs. Peace flowed through him with each inhale, chasing away the darkness and frustration that had built within him while talking to Kade.
“Thank you.” Rafe rubbed his cheek over her head. “I needed what only you can give me.”
“Peace?”
“Yes. Holding you tames my cats.”
“When will I get to meet them?”
“Whenever you’re ready.”
She nibbled on her lower lip for a moment, then pressed her palms to his chest. “Now. I want to see them now.”
“Then you will.” He led Jasmine toward the steps.
With the door to their bedroom shut behind them, he let his mind slip into the mystical realm where his cats lived. He’d let them decide who’d get to meet Jasmine first. His jaguar bumped him. So be it. Rafe eased back, his jaguar’s soul shadowing Rafe’s, and undressed.
He stood naked before her and allowed the change to overtake him, slowing the rapid flip in images as much as he could so she could see the process. Rafe caught sight of himself in the mirror behind her. The fuzzy image of his jaguar stepped from his chest. The tether connecting their souls shimmered, first stretching to allow their forms to separate then constricting to pull Rafe’s body inside. His human shape grew opaque before disappearing.
In the next heartbeat, Rafe looked upon his mate as his jaguar saw her. She was as beautiful and strong in his animal’s eyes as she was in Rafe’s, but his cat saw more than just her physical form. Strength emanated from her. So did kindness. It was an instinctual knowledge, more than a physical one. It also explained why his animals had been drawn to her.
Peace and happiness merged, leaving him…content. He padded to her on silent paws, then rubbed against her legs, showing her the only way he could while in his jaguar’s body how much she meant to him.
She giggled. “That tickles.”
He circled her, brushing against her, and was rewarded with another happy sound. She knelt, and he lowered his head, silently urging her closer. She rested her fingertips against his flank. A long moment passed before she petted him.
“You’re much bigger than I thought you’d be,” she mumbled.
He let her familiarize herself with his animal form for a few minutes before he shifted. He couldn’t touch her the way he wanted while in his jaguar’s shape. She’d stirred too many emotions within him over the past few hours.
He kissed his across her shoulder, pushing the strands of hair out of his way as he mapped a path to where her mate mark would be displayed.
“I want you to be my mate, Jasmine.” He licked the spot at the base of her neck. “I will bite you here, searing my claim onto your body and soul.”
“With your fangs, right? You’re going to leave a scar on me?”
“A beautiful mate mark, not a scar. All mated women wear a bite.” He nipped the spot with his fangs. “And you will enjoy wearing it. It’ll be sensitive. Arousing.”
“I don’t know. My clothes will touch it and drive me crazy.”
“Only when you’re excited.”
“But it’ll feel just as good when you kiss it as it does when you have your mouth on other parts of my body, right?”
“Yes, but only my mouth. No other male’s touch will have the same effect. It’ll be my bite, just as you are my female.”
“That’s sounds a little possessive.”
He caught her earlobe between his teeth and tugged on it. She turned her head toward him, seeking out his lips, but she needed to know the details of mating before he allowed passion to distract them both. Well, she needed to learn some of the details. The worst he’d save for another day.
“Yes, but the mate bond we will form goes both ways. I’ll be yours as much as you are mine.”
“But a mate bond for breeding isn’t. It’s for sex only.”
The certainty in her voice surprised him, but if she’d been talking to Mira, it wasn’t much of a stretch to believe Jasmine knew more about mating than he’d assumed. He wouldn’t count on it, though. He doubted Mira would want to discuss the darker details any more than Rafe did.
“The one-way bond between shifters links the female to the male so only he can impregnate her. It’s a breeding bond only. Love doesn’t necessarily come into play. Neither does fidelity.”
“But I have yours?”
“Yes.” He breathed the answer against her ear. “You have mine.”
“Rafe.”
Just his name, but he heard the unspoken words, the ones he didn’t dare ask for, not yet. He didn’t want to pressure her into saying anything she wasn’t ready to give. For a human, the few days they’d known each other wasn’t long enough to claim unending devotion or love. For a shifter, such a decision could be made in seconds, even if it took the shifter years to understand love was what had driven them to commit to their partner in the first place.
“I’ve waited incredibly long for you. I won’t lose you. Not to death or another man.”
“I don’t want to lose you either. Not to the past or your hatred for—”
He kissed her, stealing her breath and her words. He refused to allow her to say Jon’s name while Rafe was holding her. No way did he want the male to ruin any moment with Jasmine.
Finally, he
