Bought for Christmas by Doris O'Connor Page B

makes the whole being mated
thing such a big deal. It really is for life. There is no divorce when you’ve
found your mate.”
    Emilia
went quiet and worried her bottom lip with her teeth again. He was beginning to
realize it was a tell-tale sign of her emotions. She was chewing something over
in her mind, and his insides twisted in on themselves.
    “So
how does one become one’s mate? Is it like in the books?” She blushed when he
raised his eyebrows.
    “And
what sort of books would that be, kitten? Because I’m pretty sure there are no how-to
manuals for shifters in existence. At least not for humans.”
    Emilia
avoided his gaze, and he grasped her chin to make her look at him.
    “Eyes
on me, girl, and answer my question.”
    A
pretty blush stained her cheeks, and had it not been for his enhanced hearing
he’d have missed her mumbled reply.
    “Shifter erotica, Sir.”
    “I
see. So, you tell me what usually happens, and I tell you if you’re right.”
    Hunter
had a hard time keeping a straight face. She looked too adorable all flustered
like this.
    “Err,
no, Sir, I’d rather you tell me, because … well, that’s just fiction.”
    Hunter
smiled and ran his thumb over her soft lips.
    “Truth
can be stranger than fiction at times.”
    “So,
it seems, but will you please tell me how it works?” She didn’t quite manage to
look at him when she said that, and the emotion choking him meant he had to
clear his throat several times before he could project his voice with any of
its usual authority.
    He,
too, stared into the fire, his senses too aware of her reactions as it was.
    “I
guess, humans would call it falling in love at first sight, but it goes much
deeper than that. It’s the knowledge that that particular person is the only
one for you. It’s everything. The way they talk, look, their scent. A person’s
scent changes as they get older, did you know that?” He glanced across at her
to see her shaking her head. “So, even though you might have known them for a
while, say as a child…”
    Emilia
gasped and drew her knees up to her chest, and an ice cold fist squeezed his
chest. It made breathing difficult, and he forced his bear to stand down. The
animal was too agitated by the confusing signals Emilia sent out right now.
    “When
you see them again, all grown up, you realize they’re your mate? Is that what
you’re saying?” Emilia whispered the question, and Hunter breathed out slowly,
all too aware of the way her breathing sped up and her heart beat thundered.
    “Yes,
kitten, that’s exactly what I’m saying.”
    Emilia
took a deep breath as though to try and steady her nerves.
    “Has
that happened to you?” she asked. The wobble in her voice meant he had to
look at her, and he knew his bear was showing in his eyes by Emilia’s reaction.
Her breathing hitched and her eyes widened, and she leant in closer, as though
she, too, felt the pull of the mating bond.
    “Yes,
it did,” he said.
    Emilia
opened her mouth as though to say something, but nothing came out bar a
strangled squeak, and he balled his hands into fists on his thighs to stop from
reaching out to her. A myriad of emotions crossed her face, and when she
finally spoke, her voice was barely above a whisper.
    “So,
why haven’t you claimed her?” She flicked a glance up at him, and he smiled.
    “It’s
not as easy as that, kitten.”
    “Why?”
    Hunter
sighed, and an uneasy silence fell between them, only broken by the sound of a
falling log. Emilia jumped.
    “Is
that why you didn’t just take the shares?” she asked.
    “I
was never going to take the damn shares. Not for me anyway. They’re yours,
kitten. They should always have been yours.”
    Emilia
shook her head and gave a short humorless laugh, so unlike her that his gut
twisted.
    “You
know full well that women in our family never inherit anything. Besides, I make
my own money, and I have no wish to be associated with a company that was
responsible for the