“Argh!” Gripping his hair, she tugged his face down to her own. “Stop that or I will really bite you.”
There she was, his tough Kirby who’d built a life for herself through sheer grit and determination. “Promise?” His cat batted playfully at her, wanting out of Bastien’s human skin so she could play with him in reality. Soon, he promised the leopard.
“You’re—” Releasing him after a hard, infuriated kiss that made his chest rumble in another purr, she said, “I think I better take leave from work until this is all sorted out.”
Bastien nodded.
“I’m so new I’ll lose my job if I don’t go back within a week.” Her temper faded into a sadness that had him wrapping his arms around her. “I really liked this job.”
Protective as he was, Bastien wanted to fix everything for her, but he knew Kirby wouldn’t thank him for it. “My sister tells me that’s the top kindergarten in the city.” Mercy’s mate had apparently already begun to scope things out, even though it would be six months yet before their babies were even born. “They wouldn’t have hired you if you weren’t the best—you’ll find another position when you’re ready.”
A small nod against his chest. “My rent’s paid up for the next two weeks at least.”
That statement, Bastien couldn’t let pass, because as Kirby needed to have pride in her work, he needed to care for her. Shifting so he could look at her face, he said, “You don’t ever have to worry about a place to live.” He’d hidden his intentions at the start so as not to rush her, but after hearing of what she’d gone through as a child, he wanted her to know she was wanted, adored. “Right now, we need to go to the aerie.” The natural surroundings would put her animal more at ease.
Small white teeth sank down into her lower lip. “I hardly know you,” she whispered, but made no move to pull away, instead petting his chest with small, absent strokes, as if to soften the impact of her words.
“Some people”—he closed his hand over hers—“we know in a heartbeat.” Leopard and man both looked into the unusual hazel of her eyes and saw their future. “Others, we’ll never know, even if we speak to them for a thousand years.”
Blinking rapidly, Kirby buried herself against his chest. “I’m so scared, Bastien.” Her voice trembled.
“I’m with you every step of the way, little cat.” He held her close, the side of his face pressed against the softness of her hair. “We’ll do this together.”
CHAPTER 7
Chest tight, Kirby made the records request on their way to her apartment to pick up what she’d need for a few days at the aerie. When Bastien reached across to run his knuckles over her cheek, she leaned into the touch, so painfully happy that he was in her life.
Some people, we know in a heartbeat.
He was right, and despite her fear at the violent depth of their fledgling connection, at how much it would hurt if he changed his mind and rejected her, she wasn’t going to back away. Bastien was too important, too wonderful, and she wanted him to be hers, only hers, the possessive thoughts at once shy and wild.
When he suggested they stop at the fresh goods market on their way out of the city, she gladly fell in with the idea. “I think doing something mundane will be good right about now.”
Forty-five minutes and a quick snack at the attached café later, the wicked cat next to her was coaxing her into surrendering to the lure of a slice of organic carrot cake with cream-cheese icing, when she heard, “Bas!”
Startled, she looked up from the tempting display to see a man with rich brown hair and hazel eyes darker than her own prowling toward them. Despite the difference in coloring, the Smith familial stamp was unmistakable.
“Sage.” Bastien scowled. “What the hell are you doing here?”
“Mom messaged, asked if I could grab a few things for her, drop them off on the way home.” Sage’s words may have been for Bastien, but his eyes never moved off Kirby. “I’m the good-looking brother,” he said with a smile so charming, it was adorable. “Sage.”
Kirby liked him at once, comfortable in a way she rarely was with strangers . . . but of course, he was Bastien’s brother, and she trusted Bastien down to the bone. “Kirby.”
“Cake, huh?” Sage rubbed his jaw, blew out a breath. “I’d go for the double chocolate with vanilla frosting myself.”
Throwing an arm around her shoulders, Bastien said, “Stop flirting, you’re terrible at it,” to his brother, but she could tell it was only pretend, the two men obviously friends as well as family.
FIFTEEN minutes after they’d run into Sage, Bastien closed the fresh groceries in the trunk of the car and pointed a finger at his brother. “Don’t tell Mercy, Herb.”
Sage rocked back on his heels, a glint in his eye. “Worried she’ll scare away your girl, Frenchie?”
“I don’t think Kirby’s the scaring-away type, are you, little cat?” Proud of the woman who was his own, he cupped her cheek, ran his thumb over her lower lip.
Coloring, she nonetheless pressed a kiss to his palm. “If I was,” she pointed out, “all your growling would’ve done it already.”
Bastien saw Sage’s eyes go leopard at that instant and knew his brother had realized exactly what was at stake. Not that he wouldn’t tell Mercy and Grey anyway—but he wouldn’t mention it beyond that tight circle. Not yet, not until Bastien was ready. He and his siblings might rag on one another, but they’d never mess with something so important.
Leaning close to Kirby, Sage whispered, “Ask him about the infamous kitten defurring episode.”
“Remind me to strangle you later.” Bastien opened the passenger door for Kirby, saw his brother’s smirk turn into a grin when Kirby waved at him after getting into the car, her eyes sparkling.
“Frenchie, huh?” she said, once they were on their way again, the laughter in her tone welcome.
“I really need to strangle him. Surely, my folks wouldn’t notice one less son.”
Shoulders shaking, Kirby turned in her seat to face him. “You’re close.”
“Yep, all four of us are pretty tight-knit.” Every one of his memories of childhood included one or the other of his siblings. “Not that we didn’t fight like feral wolves sometimes,” he told her. “In one notorious incident, Grey, who was only a tiny cub at the time, got mad at Sage and clamped his teeth on the tip of Sage’s tail.”
Kirby’s smile lit up her whole face. “What happened?”
Wanting to kiss her breathless, he said, “Stubborn bastard refused to let go, despite Mercy and me trying our hardest.” The memory made his leopard huff with laughter. “When Sage tried to shake him off, he just dug his claws into the earth and growled in the back of his throat. We finally had to admit defeat and call in the Power of Mom.”
Kirby’s laughter filled the car. “Tell me more.”
He went to do just that when his phone rang. “Sorry. Probably work.”
To his relief, Kirby didn’t seem to mind the fact that he had to be in contact with the office for most of the trip, her eyes on the scenery. Still, he didn’t like her so quiet, her fingers twined to strained whiteness around one another.
“What music do you like?” he asked between calls.
“Cheery, chirpy pop.”
Wincing, he pulled up a station that delivered exactly that. “You owe me.”
“Come on”—she turned in her seat to face him once more—“it’s not that bad.”
“I’m sorry? I can’t hear you past the sugar blocking my eardrums.”
She mock punched him and his leopard purred. He wanted to luxuriate in her touch, wanted to demand the most intimate, most private skin privileges, but while he delighted in skin-to-skin contact with her, he wouldn’t push her to consummate their relationship. If he woke to see regret in Kirby’s eyes, it would fucking break him. No, when they took that step, he needed his mate with him all the way, confident and passionate and demanding in her own right.