Page 19

"Now, come." I take her hand, wrapping it through the crook of my arm, and guide her to the table to meet my family.

Konstantin and Georgy are standing politely. Georgy nods and says, "Welcome, little sister."

She stumbles at his words but gives a half-smile and a quick nod before turning to Konstantin, who is about my size but slightly taller. He reaches out his hand to her, then snatches it back at my look. Georgy raises both hands in surrender, then sits back down.

He says to her, "You'll have to forgive my brother. We were raised with some manners, but apparently mating him has made him forget them."

"I haven't mated her yet," I grumble under my breath, pulling out her chair to seat her before returning to my seat.

The table is laden with syrniki, blini with smetana, and buckwheat kasha, plus steamed pork jiaozi and rice congee, typical favorites of ours in this area, since we're so close to China. "I've had Cook look up some American dishes for you," I tell her. "You can select whatever you like, and then let her know what you prefer, and she will have it for you, anything you wish."

"Oh," she says, raising her hand back to her throat. "She doesn't have to go through any trouble. I can—"

Her words trickle off at the flat line of my lips. Good. She's learning.

"I just want to say, you don't have to go through too much trouble for me."

"It's not trouble. You're not a guest. This is your home. And in your home, you should have what you like."

She nods and looks down at the table before asking Georgy, "In that case, I'll have some pancakes, if you don't mind. With the berry compote on top?" She bites her lip again. "Is there cream?"

Yes, my cock is asking the same thing. I swallow it down and hand her the bowl myself, serving her.

"No meat?" I ask.

"I'll have a little sausage."

"There is sausage, bacon, ham, slices of beef. We're big meat eaters around here," I say. "You're not vegetarian, are you?" I ask when the horrible thought occurs to me. How can I have a mate who doesn't eat meat?

She shakes her head a little. "No. Although sometimes I wish I was. It would be healthier, you know."

"Healthy for who?" Konstantin asks, and I give him a look before returning to her. No one should argue with my mate.

"I'm just saying. I'm a shifter, and she, my cat, needs the protein but also a variety of other nutrients."

Georgy clears his throat. "We were wondering; we could tell you are a feline. What kind of shifter are you, exactly?"

She sets her glass down, stopping mid-pour of her orange juice. "I'm a cougar shifter." She holds her head high, as if she expects us to mock her.

My brows furrow. "Like a house cat?"

She bristles, jutting her chin in the air, and says, "A cougar is the fourth-largest species of cat. The only cats bigger than cougars are jaguars, lions, and of course, tigers. So although we may not be able to take down a brown bear like you, we can still hold our own."

My brothers and I share a look and hold back our snickers. I pat her on the hand. "Of course you can. But we'll handle the bears. Don't you worry."

She snatches her hand out from under mine, and my brothers laugh.

When we finish our meal, my tiger is pleased. Content, as content as he can be, without mating with her, but at least she's here. She's in the home we've provided for her. She fits right in here. No woman has graced our table in the main hall since Mom left. Mom and Dad left when he retired. He'd promised to show her the world, and she told him she wanted to see it while she could enjoy it.

It's been nothing but tigers and testosterone ever since. It's nice to have warmth in the room that isn't just related to the sun.

"I'm sure you're ready to see your patient," I tell her, standing and taking her hand to help her rise from her chair.

"I am," she says. "That's why I'm here, after all."

"Not the only reason," I say, entwining our fingers and squeezing them.

She looks up at me, and her mouth is just a little open. And that's it, that's all I need. I swoop in and take that "oh" right off her lips. I've had my breakfast, my main meal, and now I need my sweet.