Ry stared at her as shock punched a hole in his gut. “You have love. Mine,” he snapped. “I’ve told you before. I thought you believed me. I can’t imagine spending my time with anyone except you. I love you.” The last came out with a growl. He hadn’t imagined telling a woman he loved her. Once his feline genes had appeared along with his intense sexual needs, he hadn’t let himself think of the future, hadn’t thought a life with one woman would be possible. It hadn’t seemed likely.
“You love me?” A small frown marred the smooth skin of her brow.
“Yes.” He set the box aside and gathered her close to claim a kiss. It started out gentle, a mere brushing of lips, before the kiss took a decided carnal slant. He pushed his tongue past her lips and explored the softness beyond.
Mine
, he thought.
My love. My woman
.
He pulled away to stare at her. “Do you think I’d let anyone else call me Kitty?”
“Dammit, I didn’t want to love you.” Camryn wrapped her arms around his shoulders, holding him tight. Without warning, the magic of the house seemed to pulse and surround them. It tickled across his back and when he lifted his head, he noticed a soft blue glow. The glow surrounded them both.
“Camryn, do you see it?”
“Yeah.” Wonder shaded her answer. “It’s amazing, but what does it mean?”
The skin of his chest and back prickled, the sensation deepening to almost painful. Ry tensed against the cramplike ache arcing through his chest and back.
“
Eek!
” Camryn said. “Something’s moving beneath your skin.” She pulled away to stare at his chest.
While they both watched, the inky black swirls gathered together to form a solid mass.
“Still love me?” Ry gritted out. “With all the weird stuff that keeps happening?”
“Being around you makes life interesting,” Camryn said, but her nose wrinkled in a combination of fascination and horror.
“You’ll stay with me?” Ry demanded, something inside insisting on her commitment. He’d do anything for her, except let her walk away.
“Yes,” Camryn snapped. “I thought men avoided talking about this stuff. I love you, okay? But that doesn’t mean this is a good idea. I told you I’m not relationship material.”
Ry grinned. He’d known she loved him but the words brought intense satisfaction and a sense of rightness. The pain eased off and when he glanced down at his chest he saw the marks had disappeared as mysteriously as they’d appeared. “Have the marks disappeared on my back?” The blue glow continued to surround them, caressing Camryn’s curves.
“Roll over a bit more so I can see.”
Ry obeyed, presenting his back for viewing.
“Amazing,” she muttered.
“What?”
“You have a huge cat springing across your back. It’s a bit like mine but bigger.” She traced her fingers over his back and he shivered, the skin sensitive in much the same way as Camryn’s.
He rolled back to stare up at her.
“The black has faded from your chest.” Camryn ran her fingers across his pectoral muscles, eliciting a completely different feeling. Heat roared through his body and he tugged her onto his chest, aligning their bodies to perfection. He reached up to kiss her, freezing when an expression of agony creased her face. “Camryn?”
“Hurts,” she gasped.
“Where? What hurts?”
“Every…where.” Camryn’s body twitched, her arms and legs jerking while she writhed against him. She moaned and crawled off him to curl into a fetal ball.
Ry moved closer, alarm filling him. There was no blood. The blue glow had left him and only highlighted Camryn. As he watched the blue turned to bright red. Camryn screamed, her pained shriek lifting the hairs on his arms and legs. Ry reached out to soothe her. His hand brushed her tattoo and she stilled. The glow danced across his arm and gathered in a ball until it covered Camryn’s tattoo in red fire and seemed to seep into the skin. Camryn quivered and lay quiet, apart from her harsh pants of breath.
“Camryn. You okay?”
“Yeah. It felt like my insides were turning inside out.” She moved gingerly, straightening her body until she lay on her back.
Ry stilled on hearing her description. Swallowing, he stared at her with foreboding. “Ah, I’ve felt the same thing before.” He shuddered, even now remembering the pain when his feline powers had kicked in.
They shared an intense look, Camryn scowling at him. “When?”
“After I left home, when I discovered I was a feline shifter,” he said with a trace of caution.
“What?” she shrieked. “I’ve turned into a kitty-cat?”
Ry winced, understanding her reaction because he’d gone through the same thing. In his case he hadn’t had someone to help him with the sheer terror and disorientation of the change. “Let’s find out.” Ry stood and waited for her to climb off the bed.
Camryn glowered at him. She knew he wanted to help but this was beyond anything she’d experienced before. “I don’t want to be a cat.”
“I’m sorry.”
Camryn knew he meant it, but his concern didn’t help. She sucked in a deep breath and smelled dozens of scents. Her hearing—she could hear the rattle of decanter against glass in the library on the floor below. Nanu was still drinking porter. Uneasily, she glanced at the oil painting on the far wall. She could read the signature of the artist without difficulty. Fear licked through her veins. A kitty. Part of her accepted it even though her mind railed against the idea.
“How? How did this happen?”
“I don’t know.” He shrugged and she felt his clear frustration. “I wish I could tell you.”
“To change I picture the cat in my mind, right?” She’d asked about how he changed forms before and knew the drill. A tremor shook her hand, and she hid it behind her back. With a deep inhalation, she thought of Ry in his cat form.
It hurt. Pain speared through her for an instant before she felt her body changing shape. Panicked, she tried to stop but Ry’s deep voice calmed her, pulled her through and suddenly she dropped to all fours.
“Camryn,” Ry said, smoothing his hand over her head, ruffling her fur.
Her fur
. Camryn sneezed, and her tail flicked, lashing across her hindquarters. Camryn started in fright, bringing an abrupt bark of laughter from Ry.
Stop laughing at me, dammit. I’m not used to this
.
“Do you want to go outside and run around the garden?”
Are you going to change too?
“Try and stop me.” He strode to the door before turning back to grab a robe and shrug it on. “Better not shock the footman on duty.”
She padded after Ry, mind busy cataloguing scents and tactile sensations. And the things she could see. Incredible, even though her vision was black and white.
“Quiet,” Ry said, but Camryn had already heard the low tones of men talking near the front door. They detoured to another room and Ry opened a set of double doors leading into the garden.
Camryn squeezed past him, assailed by myriad scents. Flowers. Coal smoke. Lingering food aromas from dinner. The sharp stones on the footpath gave way to grass beneath the pads of her paws. Behind her she heard Ry’s robe whisper to the ground and the sharp cracks his bones made when he shifted to feline. Then he leapt at her in a mock charge. Laughing inwardly Camryn darted away from him, enjoying the play of muscles and the pure rush of speed.
This is amazing
.
Are you okay?
Ry loped beside her while they ran a circle of the rear garden.
I’m stuck this way. Half woman, half kitty.
It’s not so bad. You have me
.
Ry sounded uncertain, making her realize how difficult it must be not knowing his background.
A rush of tenderness swelled inside her. She loved this man. Without another thought, she pictured her human form and managed to shift. A bit disorientated, her heart still pumping from the rush, she sashayed to the doors they’d exited.
“After you take me home to visit my brother and family, we can start searching for yours. We’ll go to the planet Gweneth’s mother came from and investigate from there.”
Ry fell into step beside her, stooping to pick up the robe he’d worn before he shifted. “Are you sure?”
“Yeah. I’m positive.” She’d miss Gabriel as much as she always did, but not everyone gained a second chance at love like this.
They made it to the bedroom without discovery and locked the door to ensure privacy.
Ry smiled and ran his hand over her naked shoulder. He kissed her gently, sliding his lips across hers. “I love you.”
“I know,” Camryn said with a trace of smugness. “And now you’re stuck with me.”
Ry chuckled. “Count on it.” He tugged her onto the four-poster bed and kissed her neck.
“The box is glowing a weird blue color,” Camryn said. “Look.” She reached over to pluck it from the dresser and handed it to him. The stone set in the center is a different color. Push it and see what happens.”
Ry picked up the box. Camryn could tell it was with little hope since they’d tried to open it before. He ran his fingers across the bright shining blue stone in the middle. With a soft click, the box sprang open.
“Fukk!” Ry muttered. “I’ve pushed that stone a hundred times and nothing has happened.”
Camryn crowded closer. “What’s inside?” There had to be something. Her breath eased out when she saw the aged parchment inside—more than one sheet.
Ry opened the first one and scanned the contents. “It’s a letter.”
Son,
This is the traditional letter written by a father to his son and is bespelled to open only when a mate is found and the bond formed. Congratulations on finding your mate. I’m sure she’s very beautiful and a valiant warrior, willing to fight at your side.
Ry stopped reading. “Do you think this letter is for me?”
“We couldn’t open the box and now we can. Of course the letter is intended for you.”
Ry’s eyes held wonder and he blinked before he started reading again.
I’m going to mention family history, although I’m sure this is old news. It doesn’t hurt to emphasize how foolish rifts are amongst kinfolk, especially if they are the result of a stupid argument. My grandfather and his brother argued over policy and the way the House of the Cat should run. Richard left our home planet of Viros and settled on Ibrox many galaxies away. Contact between the Coppersmith brothers ceased. For a time life continued without problem until my grandfather argued with the House of the Cawdor. They hired a wizard to place a curse on the Cat and our luck suffered. Our crops failed and sickness came to our people and loyal followers. You were born during the middle of a great famine. I realized our bad luck started when the two brothers fought. It was time to repair the rift. I decided to travel to Ibrox and attempt to mend the hurt between our families. Surely two cousins can reconcile? The lives of my family and our people depend on it.
If you are reading this letter, I know my journey has been a success and once again the House of the Cat is restored to its former glory—a harmonious clan who pull together to face the good and the bad.
Ry looked up from the letter. “Talor and I are related.”
“That’s weird. You didn’t look alike at all.”
“I don’t understand why I’ve never heard anything about this.”
“But if your parents crashed maybe there was no reconciliation. Maybe your great-grandfather never spoke of the matter again. Maybe he wiped his hands and started afresh.”
“I wonder if Talor had a box like this,” Ry said.
“He didn’t appear to have a mate. He might have possessed a box and not been able to open it or perhaps your great-grandfather departed from tradition. And from what Talor said the family prospered because you acted as a familiar for them, even though your powers hadn’t manifested.”
Something slipped from between the pages of the letter and fluttered to the ground. Camryn plucked it from the floor and handed it to Ry. A sense of contentment flooded her when she touched it.
Ry smiled. “It bears a leaping cat.”
Camryn crowded closer to him. “It’s the same as our tattoos.” She glanced up at his face and read his mind with ease. “We’re going to my home first, to visit my brother. You promised. I want to spend at least a month there and return often.” Camryn held her breath, waiting for his reply. She thought he’d hold to his promise, but if he didn’t she’d have to test the bonds between them. Anxiety at possible separation made her bite her bottom lip. No matter what, he couldn’t use this mate stuff to force her to act against her wishes. She had a creative imagination when it came to payback.
Ry leaned over to kiss her. “I made a promise and intend to keep it. My family hasn’t returned to their home planet for many cycles. An extra month won’t make any difference. Besides, we’ll need to do some research first.”
“I love you.”
“I’m counting on it because Mogens informed me the rest of the crew wish to visit your home with us.”
“But…but I thought they’d want to have some rest. Recreation.” Camryn tried to imagine her brother’s reaction and failed.
“You are right. They’re my family,” Ry said. “Our family. I couldn’t say no.”
“I guess it would be all right,” Camryn said with clear doubt. “My brother has an open mind.” And he’d need it. “What about Gabby and Luke?”
“I didn’t think another space voyage would be fair on them. I thought we’d stop by the Coppersmith estates and leave them there. Cody is great with animals. She’ll make sure they’re cared for. Sound okay?”
“Yeah.” It sounded great. An adventure. With no doubt a few trials along the way. “I can’t think of anyone I rather have at my side,” she said, and smiled because words were inadequate to describe her happiness and satisfaction. An adventure indeed. “My very own kitty-cat.”
“Who are you calling Kitty?” Ry stroked his hand across her back, rubbing her tattoo. A purr erupted and she arched against him with real pleasure.
Camryn chuckled, biting back a groan when his busy hands cupped her breasts. “I guess it takes one to know one,” she said. “Two kitty-cats together.”
An indignant snort emerged from Ry, but Camryn held the idea for a little longer. Although she was teasing him, she knew it was true. They had so much in common. Yeah, they belonged. Camryn purred and turned in his arms so their lips met. Their bodies strained together, whispering love with every touch and caress.