Page 19 of Mated to the Enemy
9
He scrubbed himself until his skin was red and tingling, trying to get the embarrassment to come off.
How could he not have been prepared for that sort of question? Of course, she would want to know why the hell he was out front of the gates basically waiting for her to crash. It was way too big of a coincidence. Yet he’d been stymied, and responded with little more than an awkward noise that only made it worse!
Klaue was not used to the way she made him feel, or act. Kincaid had been adamant that this was his mate, and though he still harbored many doubts, he couldn’t deny that there was some sort of connection to be had between them. Enough that he wanted to spend the rest of his life with her? So far, that seemed doubtful. She was a bit too caustic and sharp around the edges for him.
He dried off vigorously, hoping that by the time he left the shower, she would let the subject drop. The last thing he wanted to do was tell her the reason she was staying with him, under his protection, was because she may or may not be his mate. How wouldthatgo over? Not well, seemed the likely answer.
Growling at his own irritation, Klaue nearly punched the wall in frustration. Knowing what Kincaid had told him was only making things harder. Now, Klaue was trying to temper his attitude toward her and her refusal to disclose anything. Normally, he’d have already been far more intimidating and rude toward her in an effort to drag it out.
That’s not an option though. Not if you ever want her to forgive you if sheisyour mate.He could just imagine howthatconversation would go.
Oh sorry, hunny, I had to be a scary asshole, but it’s okay, because some guy with mystical powers says we’re meant to be together for the rest of our lives. So you forgive me, right?
He snorted with explosive laughter.
“What’s so funny in there?” Jessica called. “Shaking your hips in the mirror or something?”
Klaue made a rude noise. “How immature do you think I am?” he fired back, then immediately regretted the question.
Jessica just laughed. “Trust me, you don’t want me answering that question.”
“Fine,” he said, stomping out of the room in a bit of a huff and tossing the towel on the back of a chair as he started to dress.
“Hey!” she shouted, turning around. “Give me a warning next time, would you?”
Klaue grinned. “You didn’t seem to mind looking earlier. I just figured you would want to see the whole thing.”
To him, nudity was nothing, a commonplace occurrence among shifters. Either they had to strip nakedbeforeand after shifting, to save their clothes, or else they would be without anything to cover up with after, as the process would shred anything they wore.
Jessica didn’t seem to remember it in her daze, but he’d been naked the night before, when they’d barely escaped with their lives after the Magi of House Ursa had shown up to drive the unknown mage off.
Her sister was mated to someone in Canis, she’d said, the first piece of information he’d gotten from her. Hadn’t she become accustomed to it there? The wolves weren’t that different in some ways, he was aware.
“Ready,” he pronounced, feeling refreshed and ready to replenish his energy. It was time to eat!
Dragging Jessica along to the kitchen, he ordered copious amounts of meat, some bread, a plate of pasta and some bacon-wrapped asparagus the cooks had decided to make as a special for the day.
“See,” he said, pointing at them on his plate. “Greens. I’m a healthy veggie man.”
She lifted her eyebrows. “They’re wrapped in bacon, drizzled in oil and coated in cheese.”
He shrugged, then grunted. “Greens.”
Jessica made some unintelligible noises as she shook her head, but he was positive he saw the corners of her mouth curl just a little as she dug into her salad.
A commotion from the entrance caught both their attention, interrupting them mid-meal.
“Who’s that?” Jessica asked even as Klaue sighed, doing his best to keep most of it internal.
“That,” he said dully as the dark-robed figure strode up to them, bony fingers barely visible from the sleeves, “is the Magi of House Ursa. Korred.”
“Is there a reason he looks so angry?”
“Besides that being his normal attitude?” Klaue replied, deadpan.
There were few members of his House that Klaue couldn’t stand, but Korred was one of them. The Magi was old. Very old. His ways were antiquated and his antics tiresome. The man was the most reclusive of the ruling Council and rarely seen outside his chambers except when absolutely necessary. Like when a mage opened a rift twenty feet from the gates of Ursidae Manor.
