Chapter Thirty-Four

Iris

Kal’s gray eyes had a translucent quality that you’d never know about unless you got close enough. Watching those storm-gray eyes shift between hues was making it really hard to think.

Also difficult was the fact that I was finding the hard edge of Kal’s jaw with my fingertips, and he was letting me. If anything, I think he was encouraging me.

“Okay,” I managed, through lips I wasn’t quite sure would ever stop tingling. Oh, Kal knew how to kiss. I’d suspected as much, but now the world could have experienced another Rift, and I wouldn’t have known. “What?”

“We should go home and talk, I think,” Kal said.

He made no moves to do so. In fact, his eyes fluttered shut as my fingers smoothed up the cold scruff, contrasting with hot skin, to brush against his bottom lip. The other hand was gently scraping up and down his cheek. Mine, I thought with a fierceness that seemed to echo through my soul and a joy that unknit me at the same time.

“Iris,” he said, a groan catching his throat, and he caught my hands. The sudden loss of his arms around me had me stumbling against his chest. “I…what was I going to say?”

How you were going to kiss me like that again? I wanted to ask.

But he let out a resolute sigh and stepped back, opening his eyes. “I—”

“Kal!” Luke’s relieved shout had me jumping back, but Kal gripped my hands more tightly, preventing me from going too far. “There you…” We both looked down the trail to see him slowing down as he ran towards us and making a hilarious face. “Aha—hi, guys. Um, Xander needs us.”

“I’m busy,” Kal said through gritted teeth.

“Yeah, so that’s why you tuned out…” Luke tapped his head. “Honestly, we were afraid you might be dead.” A grin flashed onto Luke’s face. “But…just preoccupied.” Kal let out a rumble, and Luke quickly added, “Breach. Real one. I’m sorry.”

Kal blew out a long sigh, and I sensed him looking at me. Luke tried to hide his grin, and I dropped my eyes, the rational part of my brain waking up and going bright red.

“I’ll be right there,” Kal said to Luke, who didn’t move. “Lukas. Get your ass gone, please.”

“Of course. And, ah, my apologies, you two. Have a good night, Iris.” I nodded and saw him shift out of the corner of my eye, loping off into the shadows.

I peeked up at Kal, who was frowning and staring off to the side, probably talking to Xander. When I’d found out about the telepathic connection among the pack, it had seemed interesting. Kal had said it was a damn nuisance.

Wait, aren’t mates supposed to have one, too? I wondered, and a nervous thrill went through me. Kal had said that when you didn’t want to be disturbed, you wouldn’t be, and that your thoughts were safe, but still, it seemed shockingly intimate.

But then, the Rift had torn down so many walls between nature and man, why not between humans, too?

“I have to go,” Kal said in a tone of great reluctance. “Any other time, I wouldn’t, but…”

“Go,” I said as his hands slowly uncurled from mine. “I’ll, um, go home and make dinner.”

“I probably won’t be home till late.”

“Then I’ll leave it out for you.”

“Thank you,” he said, and suddenly he was kissing me again, making me rise up on my toes and arch my back. Then he pulled away and grinned at me, a wild and sly grin that was meant only for me. “For the road, y’know?” He stepped back slowly. “Don’t wait up.”

With that, he shifted and was gone.

I made my way back to the house, dazed and giddy. Stripping out of my many layers, I was a bit damp and decided to take a shower. Everything was slow and dreamy, my brain lost in replaying that kiss over and over again. The moment I’d said his name as I tried to figure out why he’d stopped, I knew he was going to kiss me. Some primal knowledge had risen up.

But still, when he’d stalked over and kissed me like that, I'd been…

Well, I was still reeling.

And now I had questions. So many questions. What did he mean by more? Were they the answers to my questions? Were we going to keep living together? Was this a one-time thing?

Out of the shower, I wrapped a towel around myself and looked into the mirror, touching my lips. A shiver went over me, recalling the little moments between us over the last few weeks, maybe more, when I’d wondered if maybe Kal’s feelings had changed toward me.

Or had they been there all along?

Picking up another towel, I squeezed the water from my hair and wandered to my room to get dressed. Even though Kal had said he wouldn’t be back until much later, on the off chance he did come back, I picked out a cute pair of loose black lounge pants and a peach tank top, over which I put on one of his hoodies that I’d borrowed the other day. It still smelled like him.

Traipsing downstairs, I cooked dinner. More often than not, the cooking fell to Kal. He was good at it. His mother had taught him after his dad died so they could spend time together. Like most things, he was efficient, practical, and direct about it. As well as far too good at it.

I ate, read, and tried to get some work done. But I was too restless and antsy, wishing Kal would come home. Finally, I nodded off on the couch, worn out from the day.

Unfortunately, when I woke up, Kal still wasn’t home. Getting a second wind, I read for a while and was about to head upstairs when I heard a noise. Heart leaping, I bolted upright on the couch and peered over the back of it, down the hall.

Kal came stomping through, covered in snow and soaked to the bone, his skin an angry red. A squeak escaped me, and I hopped up, vaulting over the side of the couch.

“Iris?” he asked and scowled, looking like a drowned bear. “Why are you up?”

“Fell asleep on the couch,” I said and came forward a little.

“Don’t—stop right there,” he said. “Don’t touch me. I’m a mess. I need to take a shower.” Kal stripped off another layer and piled it by the door. “Leave it—I’ll get it. Go to bed.”

He’d been working, and I’d been mooning. I should’ve gotten more done.

“Hey,” Kal growled as I began to walk upstairs, and I turned. “You—you look good in that hoodie. Keep it.” His throat bobbed. “What’s mine is yours, and all that.”

I smiled at him. “I wasn’t planning on giving it back.” Kal’s shirt was sticking to his skin and highlighting every edge of sculpted muscle as he stretched, working out a kink in his back. My mouth went dry. “Um, ha, good night!”

Fleeing upstairs, I knew there was no way I was getting to sleep. For a few minutes, I paced around, tugging on my hair and trying to put random things away. Then I flopped on the bed and rolled around, trying not to remember what it was like to have those broad shoulders at my disposal. Or how warm Kal’s skin was, even on the coldest days.

Worse, because I’d fled up here, I’d forgotten my glass of water and book. Thirsty and bored, I peeked out into the hall. No sign of Kal. I couldn’t tell if he was in the bathroom without creeping down there, but the house was quiet. He probably still was. It hadn’t been that long, had it?

Soundlessly, I headed downstairs. At the bottom of the stairs, I heard a noise in the kitchen and craned my neck to look, only to back up into the wall abruptly.

Kal was standing in the kitchen in a pair of sweats—and only a pair of sweats.

He turned immediately, and I gave a little wave. Color crept up his neck, and he folded his arms, leaning back against the counter. Shaking his head, he murmured, “Why did I bother?”

“I forgot something,” I said and rubbed my arm, before realizing I’d shed the sweatshirt upstairs. I’d almost taken off my pants, too. Even though I could see the glass of water and my book next to it, less than ten feet away, I couldn’t move. “Is the food okay?”

“Haven’t eaten yet,” Kal said in a faint voice, glancing away and then back. “Uh…”

Silence.

I almost laughed. Hard to say who was more awkward or nervous.

Every time I went to say something, my eyes went to the V of his abs or his corded forearms or those biceps swelling against his hard chest. Inside, I was growing more and more dazzled.

As well as skeptical. Had I imagined that whole kiss? My head drooped. Oh God, I couldn’t have a rational conversation with a shirtless Kal. I could barely breathe right now.

“Thanks for cooking,” Kal said, sounding closer, and I jumped when I looked up.

I nodded and swallowed, trying not to wonder what it would be like to kiss him right now. He was less than five feet away, and at this distance, you could appreciate how tall he was. Also, how devastatingly, spectacularly handsome and sexy he was.

Was this seriously my mate? I thought my legs might give out, and I was glad for the wall.

“Listen, it’s fine.” Kal turned and went to the sink, looking out the window. "I'm not a lovable moron like Rett was about this stuff. I know I'm good-lookin’ enough, but…” I stepped forward, a little puzzled and worried at his tone. “I can be a hard sight to look at. All the scars.”

“No, not all,” I burst out and gripped my fists at my sides. “You’re-you’re beautiful, Kal. You work so hard, and you’re so strong. All those”—I caught myself before I said muscles—“hours. I could look at you all day. Remember when we first met? You kept asking what I was staring at—I was staring at you. I’m just flustered and—” I swallowed the rest of my words. “And I’ll stop now.”

Kal turned and hunched over the sink, reaching for the faucet. One big hand went under the water, splashing it on his face and around his neck.

“Every damn time,” he murmured. “Every time, you somehow manage to blurt out some goofy, inane, and earnest rambling that undoes me.” Kal straightened and stared out the window. “Pierces right through me, Iris. I have no defense.”

Kal’s voice had a rich, reverent tone to it that warmed my cheeks and tugged at my gut. “So, you don’t mind when I ramble? That's good, because it happens a lot. And if we're gonna live together, you should get used to it.”

Turning, Kal gazed at me, and the force of it held me in place. “Could listen to it all day.”

“Oh,” I said and tugged at my top. Now my voice was squeaking. “Good.”

“You know peaches are my favorite fruit?” Kal asked out of nowhere. I shook my head, puzzled. “So, you didn’t wear that shirt on purpose?”

“Oh, I…” I looked down at the warm, light orange top. “Maybe?”

Kal let out a chuckle that smoldered against my skin. “Oh, Iris.” That blond head shook as he looked me over. “You better get upstairs,” he said, his voice dipping into a low, resonant growl. “Or I’m going to pin you against that wall and kiss you until you can’t see straight.”