Chapter 9 #2
My hand automatically slipped into my hoodie to close over the ring box I’d found in Cy’s duffel bag.
“We aren’t exactly mates yet, per se,” I hedged.
Though it brought me pleasure to think of them as mine.
I’d always thought of Cy and Elm as mine, and to a lesser extent Birch, who was like a fun brother to me.
“What mean, no mates per the say?” Turning to me, his eyes narrowed, frown deepening.
“We aren’t- There isn’t- Uhm… I don’t know how to explain this,” I spluttered.
“Smell like Purr-roo mates,” he rumbled out in that same matter of fact way Cy tended to talk.
“Yes, I smell like, uhm, them, the guys I was, uhm, with.” There went my face, flaming away. “But, well- Uh, see… We didn’t- There wasn’t-”
“They bite.” He gave a loud sniff. “Mark Purr-roo theirs.” A louder, longer sniff followed. “Smell funny, but they like Kehl.”
“According to their mother, they’re Lo denaii, Lepyr, human, and some kind of Zoob thing,” I told him.
Kehl let out grunt that I took to mean, doesn’t matter. “They Lo denaii. They bite. They claim. Purr-roo haves mates.”
It just wasn’t that cut and dry though. “What if one of them suddenly announces he didn’t mean to, panics, and takes off after the, uhm, claiming?” My face heated but it felt good to confide in him. Maybe he’d have answers.
Kehl blinked at me like I’d just told him something wild. “Tell him go?” he asked. “No want him mate? Him bad the sex? No want two mates, make him go?”
“What? No! It wasn’t like that.” It was my turn to stare at him.
Scowling down into the bowl of raw eggs, I muttered, “I love Elm. I think I’ve always loved him, deep down.
He hurt me, leaving like that. He didn’t even try to explain.
” Realizing I was getting misty eyed, I quickly wiped the tears away on the sleeve of my hoodie. “He just left me. Again.”
“Him leave first time? Him bad male?” Kehl cocked his head, brow furrowing in confusion.
A short laugh choked out of me. I shook my head. “No. Actually, if you can believe it, my parents were responsible for us being apart the first time.”
I still struggled with that one. With no way to resolve it and get real answers with my parents gone, it would always bother me to some extent.
“What mama, da say, you say you want the Elm?” he rumbled out.
“I lost my parents to a drunk driver last year.” Wondering if he understood, I elaborated, “A bad accident with cars. I don’t know if you know what those are.
I never knew they were the reason why Elm and Cy avoided me.
It’s a long story, but I’m being forced out of my home- my, uh, hut, the one my parents lived in, and this was supposed to be my last Thanksgiving there.
Elm and Cy’s parents grow produce and sell it.
They have a store. I met up with them for what was probably going to be the last time at their store getting food to make Mom’s favorite dishes, to have one last Thanksgiving there before I had to move. ”
Kehl let out a low rumble. Pulling the pancake pan from the stove, he turned back to me, took my hands in his, and crouched down so we were eye to eye. “What need? Need Kehl do things help? Get hut back? Who take?”
A small smile tipped my lips. “I really wish it was that easy.”
“New mates.” Kehl shook his head and grimaced sympathetically. “Not goot, you males not be with they Purr-roo.” Pointing to his head, he made a grr face. “Make males not goot in head, be ‘way from mates long time.”
“Wait… are you saying us being apart could literally hurt them?” Please let that be a figure of speech.
My hopes were dashed when he nodded and rumbled, “Mate sick. Need mate.”
Standing, he motioned for me to tug my hoodie aside. Knowing what he was looking for, I exposed the bite marks on first my right shoulder, left, and back of my neck.
“Who make this?” he wondered with a grunt as he studied the bite on the back of my neck.
“Cypress,” I confided.
“Not look Lo denaii bite,” he muttered as he settled my hoodie back in place.
“How long do you think I could possibly be stuck here?” I wanted an honest answer and Kehl seemed like the type that wouldn’t bullshit me.
“Portal not stadebull. It come, it go. No way know. Rek not lie. Could be long time, maybe not. Portal not goot. Some Lo denaii get stuck other side, not come back.” He paused for a minute before adding, “Kehl no go to huedmans Urf. No want be stuck.” Motioning to his face, he let out a soft growl.
“Face scare huedmans come to village. Rek call Kehl fecked face.”
“Rek’s an asshole.” I made a face to convey just how deeply I felt that. “No one really cares what he thinks.” Studying Kehl’s face openly, I told him, “I think you being so big scares the ladies above anything else. You’re a big guy compared to a human man.”
“Kehl face scare Purr-roo?” He turned away as he asked the question, like he didn’t want to see my face when I responded.
“No.” It really didn’t. “The first thing I noticed about you was your height, then your eyes,” I admitted. Eyeing his furry back, I asked, “Do I put you off? Am I weird to you?”
Kehl whirled back around so fast it startled me. “No!”
His reaction made me smile.
“Can you walk me through cooking the eggs? I’ve always wanted to play pioneer woman.” Peering around him, I pointed to his pan. “This one is about ready, I think.”
Kehl spun back around and plated his mega corn cake pancake thing.
I hooted like we’d just scored a touchdown and fist pumped the air when it came out golden brown and just crispy enough.
Kehl looked at me like he was just now realizing he was in the presence of a dingbat, then smiled appreciatively at the cheer.
“Kehl help Purr-roo make eggs but Kehl not do that, that thing Purr-roo do, eggs cook good,” he rumbled.
“Nah. That’s my job,” I joked as I glanced around for a utensil to stir the eggs.
Reaching over me, Kehl plucked a carved, wooden, flat ended spoon up from a large clay jar and held it out to me. My brain felt like it went on the fritz as his fur brushed my hand, his scent filled my nostrils, and my body went haywire.
This was just like what happened to me being near Cy and Elm but it was so extreme I stumbled dizzily and had to catch myself by grabbing onto the counter.
“‘Kay?” Khel asked.
Waving him off, I tried for a smile. It faltered as he drew close, dragged my beanie from my head, and his breath coasted over my head as he examined that weird, dried bandage paste stuff.
Before I’d had a chance to think about what the hell I was doing, I sucked in a lungful of his scent. A loud rumbling sound filled the air.
Kehl pulled away to stare down at me in surprise. It wasn’t until his fuzzy eyebrows shot up that I realized that sound was coming from me.
Embarrassed, red faced, I mumbled nervously, “I love pancakes. What can I say? Heh… heh.”
Kehl said nothing, his expression gone from surprise to perfectly impassive at my bullcrap excuse.
“I’m starved,” I muttered as I hurriedly turned towards the egg pan to dump eggs into it and get this breakfast party started. The only problem was, I’d just walked away from the eggs, meaning I’d have to go back over near Kehl to retrieve them.
Something is wrong with me, I surmised. This can’t be normal. The weirdest part? I really wanted to run back over there for another hit of his scent.
“Purr-roo?”
“Hmm? What?” My smile was too wide, forced. “Just, uh, checking the pan.” The forced laugh that followed sounded like I was having some kind of personal, private, bathroom related issue.
Why was I talking so loud?
Staring at the pan a bit too hard, I lifted my hand, ready to tap the side with my finger, when thick arms reached around me, quickly captured my hand, and jerked me back away from the stove. The action shoved me against Kehl’s wide chest, pressing my hand and his cupping over it into my belly.
“Hot,” Kehl warned.
Yes. Yes, it was.
“Oh. The pan.” He’d meant the pan. “I knew that,” I mumbled.
Fidgeting in his hold, emotions warring, I turned and wriggled to extricate myself.
Kehl easily kept me where he wished.
“Purr-roo?”
“I’m sorry.” I was swimming in his scent, drowning in it. I felt drunk off of it. I knew he could smell me, the reaction I was having to his nearness. Covering my face with my hands, I shook my head. “I don’t know what’s wrong with me.”
Kehl released me and I sighed in relief. He understood. Good. And he didn’t sound angry or offended.
Thick fingers curled around mine. I started at the unexpected touch. This gave him the advantage he needed, making it easier to wrestle my hands away from my face and dip down to force me to meet his gaze.
“Why sorry?”
He was so close and he smelled so damn good. Breathing through my mouth didn’t help any. If anything, I found myself panting, licking my lips, then swallowing thickly past the lump forming in my throat, the saliva filling my mouth. Mark. Bite. Claim. Mine.
“No,” I blurted at my inner thoughts— they felt loud, primal. I would have pulled away but he held my wrists captive.
Kehl gave a loud sniff, then another. Leaning in, he closed his eyes and inhaled deeply. A deep, rattling rumble burst to life in his chest.
My fingers itched to press into his chest right over the spot, burrow into hot skin and thick fur, to lean in and catch a deeper hit of his scent.
My heart raced double-time. My throat worked as I struggled to calm my breathing. I was panting at this point, short, loud, obvious little pants for breath.
Kehl leaned in closer. A soft, reassuring sound bubbled up his throat. Shivering in place, I forced myself to meet his gaze.
“Purr-roo.” He literally purred my name.
Without thought, I leaned in closer, and closer, until his bent knees were on either side of me and if I leaned in just a smidge more I could close the distance between us, namely our mouths… Just a little taste, a teeny tiny one.