Page 23 of Controller's Obsession

That’s not the point, is it?

This isn’t funny!

Oh, to the goat gods, how can I face Merihem now?

When they stopped, Merihem shifted to look at his mate. “Peni,” he murmured gently, stroking a finger over the rough hair on the back of his neck. “We each have another side that does thingswe don’t always approve of. But they are us. And what happened between us is wonderful. I want to nibble on your neck if that makes you feel any better.”

He felt the uncertainty, and then Peni shifted, sitting on the sticky, wet floor looking anything but certain. “Wonderful?” he asked, sounding doubtful as he eyed Merihem with dark shades of red slashing over his cheeks.

Bending so their noses were nearly touching, the scent of his cum lingered between them. He held Peni’s gaze, wanting this to be about them, not their other halves right then.Don’t fuck up.He ignored his demon side. “Yes. Feel our connection.” He took his small hand and pressed it to the center of his chest. Letting him feel how hard his heart beat. “This beats for you and no one else. It is yours for all eternity and beyond. Nothing will break our connection.” He rubbed their noses together, smiling shyly. “And when you're ready to complete our bond, then all you need to do is ask.”

“Ask?” he squeaked.

Merihem kissed him because he couldn’t resist, but he kept it gentle, holding back his true passion. Peni wasn’t ready for that, not yet. His thoughts didn’t hide that. “If you can’t, then that’s fine, too. We’ll figure it out.”

His blush deepened prettily. “Ok-ay. You’ll figure it out.”He’ll do the figuring. Yeah, that works.

You do know he can hear us?

Well, how do we turn it off?

Chapter Twelve

Peni

There were times when Peni got overwhelmed in life. His goat was more worldly in a lot of ways. He saw things more simplistically, and that was understandable, given he was an animal at heart. Peni was the one who worried and fretted, andyes, he knew he was prone to overthinking things. But there was so much going on, his brain felt as if it was going to explode, and he now had an extra worry to add to the list—would anything in his life ever be normal again?

There was the unexpected arrival of Mrs. Danials. Peni’s face was still throbbing, and it would take a long time for him to forget the hate in her voice.

And what about the lawsuit she was yelling about? Peni tried to hide his worries from Merihem. Was he going to get served papers because he’d been sleeping in the basement? The threat felt real. Not that he was sleeping down there anymore because of an even bigger change in his life.

Peni was furious, embarrassed, and completely mortified by what his goat had done. He hadn’t even planned to shift. No, his goat just burst out. What was worse was that his animal side took the most serious decision a shifter could makeout of his handsand left Peni with a mate to contend with.

A mate who was grinning at him and stroking his face, which was nice, yet… “I should probably clean something. I haven’t finished the kitchen counter.” Peni was doing his best to cling to what he knew.

Only before he’d finished speaking, Merihem was shaking his head. “I need to speak to Dakata, which means calling a special taxi and going to the forest.”

“Yes. You should definitely do that.” Peni needed time to think alone. “I’ll just stay here…”

“You can’t.” Merihem looked aghast.

Peni flinched back as if Merihem had hit him. “I can’t stay here anymore?”

“No, no. You heard me wrong. I mean, you need to be with me right now, sweetheart. Please. Come to the forest with me.”

Frowning, Peni gave Merihem his best “look”. “You saidyouneeded to speak to Mr. Dakata. You saidyouneeded to call a special taxi and go to some unnamed forest. There was nothing in what you said about me. I need to clean.”And put some clothes on,but Peni prayed that thought hadn’t gone through their weird bond. Shifting was not good on his clothes, although he had it easier than bigger shifters.

“I’m sorry.” Merihem looked as if he was having an internal discussion with his demon half. Peni found that easier to spot for some reason. “I am used to… you know what? I should not fob you off with an excuse. Put bluntly, I misspoke. I meant to say it would make me very happy if you would come to the forest with me.”

Peni glanced up at the kitchen counter and then back at his mate. “Are you sure I can’t just stay here?” Cleaning was way easier.

“You got attacked in this house. We can’t let that happen again,” Merihem stressed.

“I don’t think it will be a problem now Mrs. Danials is in hell.”I need to think! My brain has got some serious organizing to do.But Peni didn’t want Merihem to think he was incapable. It was bad enough that his goat had done the unthinkable, but ultimately he and his goat spirit were one. He was going to have to live with his goat’s decision. The thing was, Peni, if asked, couldn’t tell anyone how he felt about what was done. He had absolutely no idea. His whole life had simply spiraled out of control in a matter of hours.

Which meant all Peni could do was focus on the immediate issue. Merihem wanted to go to the forest. Peni didn’t have any clothes on. “Fine. I’ll go to the forest with you. Can you close your eyes, please?”

“Are you going to run away if I do?” Merihem’s hands rested on his shoulders gently, his gaze revealing worry. Something else Peni was getting better at reading.

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