Page 102 of Shifter Marked and Claimed

“I take it back. You two are nothing like them. Have a good night.”

He got up and moved farther away.

“It was sweet of him to make sure I was okay,” I said. “There aren’t many people who will do that.”

Vedar made a soft growling noise.

“He should have minded his own business.”

I shook my head.

“No, he shouldn’t have. Do you know what I would have given to have someone step in when Zoe and I were on the streets? People need to care about each other more and about themselves less. Everyone is standing in line, focused on demanding their own handouts instead of looking for ways they can also help give. We need to watch out for each other more, not less.”

He gave me an annoyed look.

“You don’t like when I disagree with you?”

“I don’t like when you think of other things.”

A laugh escaped me.

“Other things or anything other than crawling into your lap for a snuggle?”

His pupils expanded.

“Yesss.”

I wondered if he realized he’d said it with a very dragonish hiss.

“Sorry, Vedar, but that’s not going to happen. First, we find Chloe. Then, we figure out how to stop Joey from coming after us. After that, we grovel to Zoe for leaving her behind. My head’s going to be filled with lots of non-Vedar thoughts for a while.”

He glanced out the window.

“How much longer until we reach your home?” he asked.

“A few more stops.”

“Plenty of time for lap snuggles,” he said softly as he reached for me.

I slapped at his hands.

“Stop that.”

His chuckle filled the air around us.

“See? You’re thinking of nothing but me now.”

“I think I liked it better when you talked less.”

“No, you didn’t.” He leaned in just enough to rub his cheek against mine, and I melted.

“No, I didn’t,” I agreed weakly.

I set my hands on his chest and leaned into the cheek contact, aware that I didn’t really want to do this in public but unable to help myself. Thankfully, I didn’t fall so completely under his spell that I missed our stop.

With a flush staining my face, we left the bus behind and started walking.

“We need to set some boundaries,” I said. “It’s obvious that I have very little willpower when you start touching me. So, please stop touching me.”

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