Page 46 of Mated to the Human: Volume One

After a brief awkward moment, Merrick pushed open the car door and stepped out onto the sidewalk. He turned back to the inside of the car and seemed surprised that Leander was sliding across the seat toward him.

“Oh, right,” Merrick said, stepping back. “We’re supposed to live together now.”

Once Leander’s feet hit the pavement, he nodded at his driver and shut the door. The SUV pulled away, leaving him and Merrick alone on the sidewalk. It was a cool night, their breath leaving faint white clouds in front of their faces. “We are, but…” He didn’t know exactly how to continue. Clearing his throat, he said, “I thought, perhaps, we could take some time to adjust to each other before we decide how we’d like to proceed.”

For a moment, Merrick didn’t say anything, and his face wasn’t giving anything away. Then, he dropped his gaze to the sidewalk. “That’s fine with me. I’m, uh, really attached to my apartment.” He reached into his pocket and pulled out his keys. Lifting his gaze, he frowned at the empty space where the car had been. “Why send the car away?”

Leander couldn’t look away from Merrick’s face. He was so expressive. From the furrow in his brow to the confusion widening his gorgeous hazel eyes. Leander still couldn’t parse all the colors swirling in them—blue, green, gold, brown. He couldn’t wait to see them in the daylight.

He considered himself fortunate that the sun didn’t give him as much trouble as it gave some vampires. He was sensitive to it and avoided being out when the sun reached its apex in the middle of the day. Too much exposure weakened him, but he was fairly confident it wouldn’t kill him.

Realizing Merrick was still waiting for an answer, he cleared his throat. “I had hoped to walk you to your door. I’ll make my way home from there.”

With a nod, Merrick led them down the sidewalk and around to the back of the building. From there, it was a series of locked doors to get through the foyer and into the building’s interior. Leander was happy to note the presence of a security system.

Merrick pushed the up button on the elevator and fiddled with his keys. “I live on the top floor. You don’t have to—”

Leander took a small step closer. “I would like to. If you don’t mind.”

The tiny, pleased smile on Merrick’s face sent a jolt through Leander—electric and so warm it made goosebumps race down his arms. Shit. That wasn’t supposed to happen. Hadn’t happened in a hundred years. One would think a hundred years might be long enough to overcome the grip of fear suddenly closing around Leander’s heart in a tight fist.

Merrick turned to the elevator doors as they opened and stepped inside.

Leander stepped back, even as his instincts were screaming to walk forward, to stay with his mate.

Realizing Leander hadn’t followed him, Merrick put a hand out to keep the door from closing. “Are you coming?”

He cleared his throat, looking over Merrick’s shoulder, unable to meet his beautiful eyes. “Actually, I think I will head off from here. Perhaps we can have dinner later this week to discuss how we’d like to proceed.”

“Oh, um. That’s fine.”

Leander pasted on his most professional facade. It had served him well all these years, and until he could figure out how to keep his traitorous heart out of the equation, it would have to do for his mate as well. “Excellent. My assistant will contact you to work out the details.”

Merrick smiled again, but it was a far cry from pleased. “Of course. Good night.” He dropped his hand, and the elevator doors slid shut.

“Good night.” Leander closed his eyes and let out a slow breath. He should have known he wouldn’t be able to handle this. Merrick’s scent called to him. It was the only reason he’d given in to Lenette’s insistence that he be one of the paranormals to take part in her little unity ploy. It had been a moment of weakness, catching that scent and agreeing to go along.

He sighed, looking up to the arrow above the elevator moving to point to five. Merrick was up in his penthouse now. Safe. That’s the best Leander could hope for. Because Merrick was his mate now, and he’d sworn long ago that loving anyone else—even another mate—wasn’t something he’d ever do.

The cool night air hit him in the face once he was back outside. Every step he took away from Merrick felt like a barb digging beneath his skin. Looking up, he saw several of the top-story windows illuminated.

Taking a breath, he willed himself up into the air, rising steadily and slowly until he reached those windows. Hovering to the side of one, he peeked inside. The room directly inside the window was dark, but light spilled through the room’s open door from a well-lit living area beyond.

Merrick walked in front of the doorway, casting a shadow into the dark room. Leander pulled his head back, heart hammering in his chest. Merrick was fine. Safe and sound. And probably hurt that his mate is a callous ass of a man. He shook off that thought and peeked back around the window’s edge, nearly falling out of the sky when he came face to face with a gray tabby cat.

Large green eyes glared at him as something unclenched in his chest. Merrick wasn’t alone. The cat continued to stare, ears pinned back to its head. Lifting his hands in surrender, Leander floated farther out from the building, looking deeper into the penthouse one more time. When he didn’t catch sight of Merrick again, he let a tiny sigh escape as he flew higher, turning and heading for home.

2

The gala hadn’t been Merrick’s idea of a good time—not that many formal occasions were. Still, he’d looked forward to seeing and spending time with Leander despite his better judgment, and it’d been nice to see Cane again. He’d also enjoyed seeing Hollis and Derek. Both of the other couples seemed closer than he and Leander were, but he told himself for the thousandth time that just because they were moving slowly didn’t mean their mating was hopeless.

It wasn’t as if he and Leander hadn’t seen each other. They’d shared two perfectly nice dinners in the past week. They’d been awkward, true, but the conversations they did have about the city and books had been pleasant. It was just that Leander somehow managed to never talk about himself in any real way.

Merrick had watched him eat normal human food in fascination, saw him out in the light of the setting sun, and definitely noted Leander’s reflection in the bistro window they’d had dinner in. For all his books, so many things about vampires were still a mystery. They were a tight-lipped bunch, and Leander definitely wasn’t the exception. Not that the vampire parts were all Merrick wanted to know about. He just wanted to know something about Leander that wasn’t gleaned solely through observation.

Once the speeches were over, they’d left the gala after saying their goodbyes. Since Merrick’s building was only a couple blocks from the hotel where the gala had been held, they opted to walk. It was a nice evening—cool and crisp. Merrick peeked at the man beside him and hoped that once Leander believed he could trust Merrick, he would let him in.

Less than a block from Merrick’s building, Leander stopped walking, head snapping around to stare off in the direction of downtown.

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