Mark got the sentiment, but… “We can discuss the house in a minute. First…”
His wolf poked him again, and this time he wasn’t too distracted by lust to get the message. He took another breath, running his gaze over her entire body. Analyzing the way she stood, the way she’d moved.
Tessa crossed her arms in front of her, which only framed those flawless breasts a little more. “Yes?”
“I’m a wolf.”
She nodded slowly. “I figured that out about two seconds after we met. And this is important…why?”
“You’re a cat.”
A cute pout appeared on her succulent lips. “You have issues with that?”
Mark shook his head even as he wondered how in the world this was going to work out. “You’re perfect.”
Light laughter escaped her. “Thank you, but I’m not sure what brought that on.”
Good grief. If she’d been a wolf, he wouldn’t need to have this conversation. They would have met and known they were the one for each other. As it was, his wolf continued to do the lupine equivalent of pacing, and it was a pretty damn uncomfortable sensation.
There must be more logical ways to approach this, but his logic meter had gone out of whack at the first sniff. The words blurted from him like homing missiles.
“My wolf says you’re my mate.”
Tessa’s eyes widened. “Oh, really?”
He nodded. “That’s why I kind of attacked you back there. The kiss and all.”
“Okay, I wondered about that.” Tessa glanced him over then shrugged. “Well, that’s interesting. So, do you want to meet regarding my proposal now, or tomorrow?”
Confusion swirled with need, making his brain foggy. “That’s interesting? That’s all you’ve got to say about me telling you we’re mates?”
She raised a brow. “No, your wolf said we’re mates. My cat says you’re kinda cute, but we don’t do mates like you guys. We’re not into the insta-just-add-water thing.”
He was going to fall over. “You’re saying you don’t want to be my mate?”
“Are you saying you love me?” she snapped back. “As in, you know all about me. What my hopes and dreams are. What makes me smile and what makes me cry, and you want to spend the rest of our lives together because I complete you?”
Mark stuttered to a stop. “Well, no. But that will come. It always does, for wolves.”
Tessa stepped closer and laid her hand on his arm. “But I’m not a wolf. I want to be in love before I mate anyone. That’s important to me. We make a choice, our humans and our animal sides. I’m not trying to be cruel, but I’m sorry. We’re not mates. Not yet.”
Chapter Three
She felt horrid. A terrible big bully who had taken away a child’s favourite toy. Seeing Mark’s face fall as she pulled back was like watching the rain clouds roll in and soak a picnic.
But darn it all. This was important to her as well.
Mark rallied himself. Coughed a couple times. Took a deep breath, his nose wrinkling up immediately.
Oops, her scent. Double drat. “Better not do that around me for a bit,” Tessa suggested.
He nodded, held out his arm. “If nothing else, let’s move the discussion inside. We have a lot to talk about, and standing on the road isn’t the most comfortable place. I can show you the house.”
She caught hold of his elbow. Her hand curled around his biceps and she had to smile. Nice muscles hidden under the flannel. Broad shoulders. That dark head of hair just screamed “run your fingers through me and mess me up”. Perfect length as well that when she made fists, there’d be something to grab hold of.
And those eyes? Darkest of dark chocolate with a lovely hint of…golden flecks?…in the irises.
“Ahem.”
It was her turn to realize she’d been staring at him and not moving anywhere. “Just checking you out.”
Mark snorted. “You certainly are honest, aren’t you? Like what you see?”
“Oh, definitely.” Of all the guys who could have hopped out of the woodwork and announced they were mates, she wasn’t going to argue with the exterior packaging on this one. She leaned up on tiptoe and brushed a loose strand of hair off his forehead.
His entire body shook as a shiver rolled through him. “Inside? Now, please?”
“Sure.” She matched pace with him, allowing him to lead her up the walkway. All the while her brain took notes regarding improvements and changes to be done. The path would have to be widened, plus she’d add a few more flowerbeds on the left side. The exterior boards of the ship were well maintained, though, freshly painted that summer if she guessed right. “You’ve done a great job taking care of the place. The paddle wheeler looks as if it’s in great shape.”
“To be honest, the outside is better than the inside. Basic repairs and slapping up new paint is easy. The inside? Well, you’ll see in a minute.” He swung open the door and Tessa zipped in eagerly.
A massive staircase stood before her, the huge expanse of steps branching off on either side of a landing just visible above head level. There were solid oak railings, wood trim on the walls, and elegant chandeliers sparkled overhead in the sun shining through the window.
She clutched her hands together and bounced. It was exactly what she’d hoped for. This would be the main entrance. The guests could go from here—
A soft touch on both shoulders brought her feet back in contact with the floor. “You’re scaring the dust bunnies.”
“Sorry.” Tessa turned to face him, letting her happiness show in her smile. “It looks gorgeous. What were you worried about inside?”
Mark pointed to the right, the passage reaching out into the darkness like the entrance to a secret catacomb. “Chaos in the corners. My family used the place for a variety of things, and each time they tore down and put up walls as they pleased. When I inherited, I gave up on the bottom two levels and concentrated on fixing the upstairs the way I wanted it.”
“That’s okay.” It was brilliant, actually. “It’s best to renovate based on current needs, anyway. May I look around?”
Mark gestured her forward. “Be my guest.”
Tessa slipped past him, his hmmm of approval as their bodies rubbed together making her smile. Okay, she didn’t know him yet, but the getting to know could be a lot of fun.
She peeked through doorframes and around posts. While the walls were in odd places, there wasn’t a ton of trash stashed in piles, or extra boxes. He wasn’t a pack rat, which was nice to know. All this room to spare, it would have been tempting for a person to fill it to the rafters with junk.
She came back and tugged him toward the stairs. “Chaos is right. Some of the walls aren’t vertical. Are the support beams solid?”
“Structurally, she’s as sound as when she was built in the 1910s. They dry-docked her in the 1950s.”
Walking up the staircase made her heart beat faster. “It’s like a trip on the Titanic.”
Mark laughed. “I hope not.”
“Oh, I meant the elegance. So so pretty.” She ran her fingers over the thick wood trim, and happiness welled up. Tessa twirled on him. “Can we talk business?”
“Let’s go up one more floor. I’ll make us a drink. Then we can discuss your proposal.”
She’d lost her ability to concentrate, so focused on what could be accomplished in the incredible place. “Sure. Sorry.”
Mark caught her with his fingers around her chin. “Stop apologizing. This is no longer your typical business meeting.”
His hand was warm and felt wonderful against her skin. “Does that expression you’re wearing mean you plan to kiss me again?”