But he still hadn’t forgotten about the person watching him from behind a large oak tree. A soft purr rumbled in his chest as he turned his head to stare at Keaton. His mate was half hidden by the tree, watching Kade in silence.
“Do you feel better?” Keaton moved a little closer, but he was a good distance away. Kade could see that the man was still afraid of him. His heart squeezed like a fist in his chest at the thought of his mate fearing anything about him—told himself that this was all new to the human and it would take time to adjust.
Kade did something he had never done in his life. He rolled to his belly, tucked his tail, and made himself as nonthreatening as he could. He let out a soft purr as he crawled by small inches toward Keaton, keeping his moves even and slow.
“Either you are about to pounce, or you’re trying to tell me that I have nothing to fear. I have to tell you, the inching closer is pretty damn creepy.”
Kade froze. He had thought Keaton would be more relaxed if he was in a submissive pose. Now he wasn’t sure what to do. How could he convey to his mate that he was no threat to the man? He wasn’t ready to shift back to his human form yet. As a matter of fact, his muscles were burning for him to run once more.
“Bishop thought it would be a good idea for me to come out here and find you. I’m starting to question the man’s sanity. I’m pretty sure he wanted me to get used to seeing you like this, or he was offering me up as your dinner.” Keaton squatted down, raising his hand, palm out. “If you don’t plan on eating me, then I’d like to pet you.”
The thought of his mate petting him had Kade moving again. When he reached his mate, Kade gently butted his head into Keaton’s hand.
“This is so freaky.” Keaton’s laugh was soft. Fingers caressed the underside of Kade’s jaw and then his mate ran his hand over his neck and head. Kade was eating all the attention up, rolling onto his back and hoping.
A blond eyebrow rose high on Keaton’s forehead. “You seriously want a belly rub, don’t you?”
Kade purred loudly.
Keaton dropped to his ass, sitting right next to Kade as he began to run his hand up and down Kade’s belly. “Does the kitty like that?”
He inwardly laughed. Keaton was talking to Kade as if he were a mere house cat. His tone had even dropped to playful. Raising one of his front paws, Kade rested it on Keaton’s lap. The moment was so serene, so peaceful that Kade hated the thought of it ending.
And then his mate did something totally unexpected. Keaton turned until he was resting his head on Kade’s upper body. The man was lying flat on his back, staring up at the stars. “This reminds me of all the times my parents took me camping—minus a big leopard. I loved lying out under the stars. There’s just something about the peacefulness of night.”
Kade agreed. He had always loved running at night when he was younger. It was as if he had the world all to himself. The darkness that was only interrupted by the bathing moon always felt more intimate to him.
“I guess you can kind of call me a nature guy. I would rather be out in the wilderness than in a congested city. I don’t have a lot of hang-ups that other people have and my views are nonconformist.” Keaton turned his head and smiled at Kade. “It freaked me out at first to see a man change into an animal. That was some mind-blowing stuff. But now that I’m lying here with you, doing what I love to do best—which is stargazing—I think you being a snow leopard is pretty damn cool.”
Kade lay there and listened to his mate, letting the lull of the man’s voice soothe him. Keaton could have been talking about the stock market and Kade wouldn’t have cared. He just loved to hear the man talk. Keaton’s tone was like a balm over Kade’s weary soul. But he did like the fact that Keaton thought his cat was cool.
He was still afraid that Keaton held the mutated drug in his system. As cool as Keaton thought his cat was, that did not mean that his mate wanted one of his own. Kade still wasn’t sure how that would even work. He had never heard of anyone gaining an animal.
“Dude, this reminds me of my backyard. I have a house on ten acres and on a clear night the view is just as majestic.”
He wasn’t sure if Keaton was aware that his hand was running down Kade’s furry leg, his mate’s fingers massaging Kade’s paw. He didn’t want Keaton to stop. Kade could see that he was quickly getting used to his mate’s petting.
“You know,” Keaton said as he turned over and propped his head on his hand. “I don’t think being a leopard would be all that bad. I mean, I’ll be able to run naked. That’s a big selling point in my book. I wasn’t lying when I said that clothes were very confining.”
His thoughts began to tumble as he tried to figure out exactly what Keaton was saying. Did his mate just say that Kade could claim him? Somehow knowing that Keaton was all for it terrified the shit out of Kade. He wasn’t sure why since he had been hoping the man wouldn’t turn him down.
But now that it was a real possibility, Kade had an urge to run in the opposite direction.
Chapter Five
Keaton killed the last couple of hours at work, ready to shut the hut down so he could meet up with Kade. The guy had found some building that he thought perfect for his handmade furniture store. He wanted Keaton to
