“I’m trying to,” she said, uncertain.
Eagan stepped back, pulling his shirt over his head. “I’m going to shift for a while. Okay? Pull my cat out. Just until I calm. I don’t want you to be afraid.”
“O-Okay. What should I do?”
Eagan thought about it. “Go lay on the bed.”
Clara nodded and bent to take her boots off.
“Put on my clothes. The ones you slept in.”
She bit her lip. “Are you sure that’s a good idea?”
“Yes. Do it.”
He unbuckled his jeans, removing the rest of his clothes so he was completely naked. Jag quarreled beneath the surface of his skin, needing something he couldn’t give it. Her. He needed her, but she wasn’t ready. Might never be.
He watched her as she stripped and dressed in the thread-bare clothes he’d loaned her and then laid on the bed. She stared at him expectantly.
“I won’t hurt you,” he reminded.
“I know.” Her whisper of trust hit him right in the sternum, strengthening his bond for her.
Without anymore hesitation, he let his cat roar forward, his flesh giving way to fur. His teeth to fangs. His hands to claws.
The jag purred with the transition and finally, finally being able to have his mate. He leaped forward, onto the bed, his massive paws on either side of her face. Her beautiful eyes were wide with surprise. And yes, fear.
Won’t harm. Never harm mine.
Slowly, he lowered his nose to her neck, rubbing his face along her skin. A small giggle escaped her and it made him so happy he nearly forgot about the panther who’d taken a swipe at him.
“Your whiskers,” she chirped. “They tickle.”
His purr rumbled the room.
“Eagan,” she breathed, and he felt the fear slip away through their bond. “Can I pet you?”
Mate’s hands. Yes.
His tongue darted out to lick her hand in encouragement. Leisurely, she ran her fingers through his thick black and tan fur.
“So soft,” she murmured. “I never would’ve imagined.”
He curled next to her on the bed, his paw resting on her shoulder while he licked her face. She giggled some more. He loved making her do that.
“You know,” she said. “If you turn back into a man, we can talk this all out. And maybe… I don’t know. Maybe you can lick me like that some more. Unless…” She laughed as his whiskers tickled her nose. “Unless I taste better as a cat or something.”
Oh, his playful, naughty mate. How perfect was she?
He’d lick her alright. Lick her so good she’d think his tongue’s only function was to give her pleasure. But first, he had some explaining to do.
***
Eagan’s jaguar was a magnificent creature. He was huge with thick, muscular legs and paws the size of a dinner plate. She knew there were sharp, lethal claws in there somewhere but he was so very gentle with her, she couldn’t be afraid.
He was completely Eagan. Kind and sensitive and concerned for her, even in his animal form. Why she thought he’d be any different, she didn’t know. The cat and the human were the same. One man. Two forms.
It was amazing.
She leaned her head against him and stroked his fur, listening to the rumbling sound erupting from his throat. Gently, he nipped her shoulder and pulled back.
Between one blink and the next, he’d transformed. Taut, smooth skin replacing sleek fur. Cat eyes that almost glowed, replaced by the stormy ones she loved so much.
And he was naked. Lying next to her in the bed.
“Renner is completely faithful to Bethany. That’s what I was trying to tell you. He’s the only mated cat in our clan, and he’s… different. He’s decided to go a different route. A mutual mating, he calls it.”
“A mutual mating?”
Eagan nodded. “See, the way it usually goes, the male finds his mate, claims her—whether she agrees to the matter or not—gets her with young, and then moves on to his next female.”
“That’s…” God, that was nothing Clara wanted any part of. “…awful.”
He reached across the bed to touch her cheek. “I know. But he always comes back to his mate. She’s the one that matters to him. The one he protects at all cost.”
Clara frowned. “That doesn’t make it okay.”
“No.”
“But your clan doesn’t do this.”
Eagan shook his head.
“And that’s why Magic was mad when he caught us in the kitchen.”
“Yes. He’s uncomfortable because more and more of us are wanting to mate. He doesn’t believe it’s possible for us to deny our instincts to stray.”
Clara considered it, her heart lodged in her throat. She’d never imagined herself in a long term relationship of any kind. But so much had changed in the last week. And Eagan made her want to try. But if he couldn’t promise she was it for him… no amount of base logic was going to make her stay.