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The man had staked his claim. The animal could retreat just enough to strengthen a little more. If it moved too quickly, the man could fight it. If they fought, it would be a battle they would both lose, because once the animal stepped free of its bonds, it knew it would never return. There would be no going back, not even to save the man’s life.
Freedom awaited. Its mate awaited him, and it could smell her scent, her pain, her need to be marked, to be claimed by one such as the animal. She was wild and she was bound to it. But she ached; her spirit reached out to the animal, and it longed to shelter that spirit in the shadow of its strength.
So sweet. It inhaled her scent as the man’s defenses relaxed, as the man rested against her, lost in the pleasure of his release. The animal inhaled her essence and it was pleased. It stepped closer, just a little bit closer to the man’s flesh, felt her warmth, felt her like a gentle rain and it rumbled its pleasure.
Ria’s lashes lifted, a frown on her face as she felt something. She didn’t hear it. She felt it. Mercury held her tight to his chest as he rested against her, catching his breath, and she could have sworn . . . She waited, holding her breath. A grumbly little purr?
She heard it again and let a smile touch her lips.
“You’re purring,” she murmured.
He stilled against her. Tensed and it stopped.
“I don’t purr.” He moved, lifting himself off her, his expression set now, his eyes their normal amber brown as he adjusted his clothes then helped her from the couch.
Ria frowned, standing before him as she unzipped the skirt that was bunched at her hips, stepped out of it and collected the shreds of the rest of her clothing.
“I know a purr when I feel one,” she told him, irritated by his denial.
“You misfelt then.” He shrugged, his gaze hooded as she stared back at him.
She wasn’t going to let herself get angry, she promised. This was the best sex she had ever had in her life, why argue over a damned purr?
“What, are you ashamed of it?” she asked him, defying her own promise.
He picked up his shirt from the floor and pulled it back on. He was fully dressed now and she was as naked as the day she was born. That small detail had the power to irritate her. He should be as naked as she was at the moment.
“Breeds don’t just purr,” he informed her. “And you need to shower. I’m betting we can expect company within the hour. I don’t think I can handle anyone seeing you naked like this.”
“What the hell do you mean Breeds don’t just purr?” Her nakedness didn’t bother her, and it wouldn’t until company actually did arrive. “Come on, Mercury, it wasn’t that big a deal. Just a tiny little purr . . .”
“Breeds only purr during mating,” he told her stiffly, his expression somber, almost regretful. “There hasn’t been a mating.”
That told her. She tried to still that sharp little pain that drove a spike through her chest, but damn, it wasn’t easy. And it made her question her own mind. Because she could have sworn she heard that faint little rumble. And now she wondered if she had just needed to hear it.
“Well.” She stiffened her shoulders and her upper lip. Because if she wasn’t careful it was going to start trembling. “That puts me in my place, doesn’t it?”
“Dammit it, Ria.” He reached for her, scowling.
“I have to shower, as you said. You expect company soon, and parading around naked isn’t my favorite pastime anyway.”
She turned away from him and moved quickly for her bedroom.
“Straighten the couch up if you don’t mind.” She paused at the doorway and looked back.
He hadn’t moved. He still stood there, watching her, his expression arrogantly impassive. The couch cushions were in disarray, and God only knew what his company would catch scent of when they walked into the room. Probably her complete humiliation.
“And there’s room freshener in the kitchen cabinet,” she told him. “Make use of it please. I’d prefer your company not know exactly what happened in here.”
His lips parted to speak, and she couldn’t bear to hear anything he had to say. She didn’t care what it was. She slipped into her bedroom, closed the door behind her then leaned against it with a hitching, silent sob.
Only mated Breeds purred. They only purred for their mates, not for women who were too stupid to steel their hearts against the need to hear it. And she was one of those stupid women.
Mercury watched the bedroom door close, his fists curling, the need to punch something riding so hard inside him it was nearly impossible to deny.
She didn’t know what he would have given to purr for her. To know that all that wild courage and passion was his alone.
Before he could help it, he ran his tongue over his teeth again and snarled in fury. Nothing. Not an itch, not the slightest swelling of the glands, not even a vague sensitivity to give him hope.
