Page 18 of I Married A Catman

“Thank you, Sir. You are most kind,” I said politely and with sincere gratitude.

Under different circumstances, I would have burst out laughing at his flabbergasted expression. But I had places to be. I rushed inside the ship and hurried across to the other side under the annoyed glances of the cleaning crew racing to get everything ready for the next boarding and departure.

I easily found the appropriate exit following those simple instructions. Even as I hurried down the ramp, I battled between relief at finally recognizing my surroundings based on the photos I previously saw and cussing out the guidelines that omitted mentioning following the blue line.

Movement ahead drew my attention. To my shock, I recognized Kayog waving at me. Feeling flustered, I waved back before hurrying towards him and the imposing Nazhral standing next to him. Where the Temern was smiling with his usual cheerful disposition, the male I immediately recognized as Gaelec—my soon-to-be husband—might as well have been a stone statue.

“I’m so very sorry,” I said with a nervous laugh as I reached them. “Our ship got delayed, and then I totally got lost by going out the wrong exit. I’m terrible with directions. I’m like a lab rat in a maze.”

Although Kayog chuckled at my attempt at self-deprecating humor, it fell flat with Gaelec. He was staring at me, looking totally unimpressed, borderline horrified. I groaned inwardly, both embarrassed and mortified. This was not the firstimpression I wanted to give him. I was likely sweaty and flushed from my ordeal.

It was all the more embarrassing that he looked good enough to eat. Despite his undeniably feline traits, that male was sheer perfection. His body was hot as fuck. Every muscle was deliciously defined and covered with the tiniest coat of grayish brown fur in just the right amount. The more generous patch of fur around his chest and neck vaguely reminded me of the collar of a Maine Coon. It looked so soft and fluffy I wanted to sink my fingers into it and scratch and then rub my face all over it. But more fascinating still were the unusual streaks, shaped like lightning, scattered artistically over his body and parts of his fur. He could have passed for the God of Lightning. His mane swished to the side, almost in a retro style hairdo that I found super cute and that had me itching to play with his locks. His lips were sensuously plush, and his whiskers long but barely visible.

I felt tiny as he stared at me with stunning, piercing blue eyes. Wanting to break the ice, I forced a nervous smile, to which he stiffly responded.

This was not going well.

“Don’t worry, my dear Ophelia,” Kayog said in a reassuring tone. “We heard of the unfortunate incident that detained you. As for being directionally challenged, I will have to find a moment to tell you about my countless mishaps over the years. But all that matters is that you are here now.”

I gave him a grateful smile before glancing sheepishly at Gaelec, who continued to silently study me.Bordel! I needed him to relax a bit. I never considered myself the superficial type, but that male genuinely had me drooling. The thought that he might not like me seriously stung.

“Ophelia, meet your mate, Gaelec Sulwyn. Gaelec, this is your bride, Ophelia Moreau,” Kayog said, seemingly oblivious—or deliberately choosing to ignore—the tension between us.

“Hello, Gaelec. It is a pleasure to meet you,” I said, relieved that my voice sounded a lot steadier than I felt.

“The pleasure is mine, Ophelia,” he replied in a polite tone.

Cue exploding ovaries.Dieu du ciel!The voice on that male was out of this world. My toes curled, and my skin erupted in goosebumps. His pupils narrowed into tiny slits as he looked at the phenomenon on my arms, left bare by the sleeveless maxi dress I was wearing. My cheeks burned with embarrassment as an air of worry descended over his face.

“What’s happening? Are you unwell?” Gaelec asked with concern.

I shook my head and rubbed my palm over my forearm. “No, everything is fine. This is a natural phenomenon with humans,” I said sheepishly. I cleared my throat and gave him a shy look. “We call it goosebumps. It normally happens in reaction to something pleasant. Beautiful music will often do that for us. In this instance, it was your voice. It’s quite stunning.”

He gaped at me, speechless. I felt the heat on my cheeks cranking up another notch, and I shifted on my feet, not knowing what to do with myself. His shock gave way to the most incredible air of timidity that I never expected to see on such an imposing male. He seemed flattered, touched even by my clumsy but honest compliment.

“Thank you, Ophelia,” he said at last, regaining his composure. “I’m glad the sound of my voice pleases you.”

Both of his feline ears twitched as he spoke those words, turning slightly forward as if to better listen to his own words. The sudden urge to scratch him behind the ear struck me hard. I once again groaned inwardly at my ridiculous reactions. I tended to have no filter, which occasionally got me in trouble.

“Well, if you are both ready, we can proceed to the meeting room where Isobel awaits us to conclude your union,” Kayog said, sounding particularly pleased.

I wouldn’t go so far as to say that I was pleased, too. But that little glimpse of Gaelec’s softer side intrigued me. Maybe we could patch up this bad start.

I happily followed the two males through too many corridors until we reached meeting room 3B. It wasn’t that I was clueless when it came to following directions, but more that I suffered some sort of sensory overload when surrounded by big crowds and all the disturbing flashing signs, monitors, and other displays that they constantly crowded public places with. My eyes no longer knew where to look and struggled to process all of it. So my brain just went into protective mode and started blocking out certain things, flat out ignoring they were there.

While I genuinely loved roughing it out in the outdoors, this issue also played a large role in me not being too keen on life in the big cities.

As we closed the distance to our destination, Gaelec took the lead to go open the door for us. With a will of their own, my eyes flicked to the long, poofy tail that trailed behind him. It had that same beautiful grayish-brown color with more of those white, lightning streaks.

I wonder if its size is proportional to…

I gasped, shocked by my own highly inappropriate thought. To my relief, a feminine voice announcing the imminent departure of some random flight helped bury the sound, sparing me from having to explain to my companion how I had traumatized myself by entertaining lurid musings about Gaelec.

To be honest, I obviously wondered about what Nazhrals were packing down there. Considering that the PMA expected newlywed couples to consummate their wedding the first night, it was only natural that I would educate myself as to what I could expect. To my dismay, some research confirmed one of my concerns regarding his naughty bits. Like a feline, Nazhrals had spikes on their peens. It wasn’t triangular-shaped like a cat’s butwas fairly similar to a human’s. However, right below the head, one third of the upper part of the shaft was slightly recessed and covered in a few rows of spikes all around the circumference.

I couldn’t deny that it freaked me out a bit.

At least, everything I read about it reassured me as to the fact that they weren’t sharp or hard and therefore wouldn’t inflict any type of damage. Still, I would remain a little apprehensive about the whole deal until I got to experience it first-hand… pun intended.

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