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We ate the dessert on the sofa, feeding each other mouthfuls of chocolatey goodness and cream. Joss scraped off the last bit of mousse with the spoon and then used his fingers to gather what was left. He sucked them, his eyes smoldering as he gazed at me.

My length responded, and I shuffled my butt on the couch, trying to get comfortable.

“I like you, Garner.”

I was still puzzling over how to tell him who I was and lay out the fated mate deal where he was my one and only, but not knowing if I’d be accepted or rejected. Him liking me was a small step but I’d figured that out weeks ago. I envisioned a chasm with me on one side and Joss on the other. Just as in the movies, the earth was erupting, and the gap between us was getting wider.

“M-me t-too.” I stumbled over my words, needing to tell him what was in my heart but fearful I’d scare him away. “I do like you, not me, is what I was trying to say.”

“I got it.”

Joss had opened the door as lawyers put it, so I charged ahead. “We’ve had sex, amazing sex, but it wasn’t just a fling for me.” There, I said it. “I’m hoping we can spend more time together outside the office.”

Joss put his feet in my lap and rubbed the sole of his foot on my arousal. “The sex was beyond amazing. But I was hoping it was more than friends with benefits.”

I couldn’t think with his foot pressing on my growing arousal, and I removed it. Joss’s face fell.

“There'll be more of that later, but first, I need to explain a few things.”

His foot found its way back to between my legs. My head fell back and my breathing quickened. We could have sex and then I’d tell him about my other side. Pleasure rippled through me, and I so wanted to get naked and be with my mate.

But if we had sex, we’d snuggle and I’d doze off and it’d be tomorrow and I still wouldn’t have done the big reveal.

“I’m so sorry, but we can’t put this off.”

His face grew serious. “Whatever it is, it doesn’t matter. I’ll stay by your side.”

Poor guy. I’d given him the impression I had a life-threatening disease. But to a human, finding out that shifters existed waslife-changing. And there was no way to predict how he would react. I couldn’t imagine being in his position.

I can show him. You don’t need to do anything.

Thanks, but this has to be done slowly and carefully.

I got up because I needed to pace. “This is hard because you might not understand.”

“I care about you, Garner, and nothing you tell me will make me run away.”

Hold that thought.

There was a thump against the kitchen door. Joss might not have picked up on it, as we were in the living area. But I got up, expecting to see the neighbor's cat charging through the cat door. When he wasn’t getting enough attention at home, he came to my house for a not a stay-cation but a next-door-neighbor-cation.

“What’s that? Do you have a dog?” Joss was at my side, his voice warbling with uncertainty.

“Nah. My friendly neighborhood feline. He does the rounds of everyone’s house.” That was the reason for the cat door.

But I caught a familiar scent. Shit, no, he wouldn’t. What in the heck was he doing? He promised not to mess with me. At least I think he did. This was my moment when I’d intended to show my mate who I was. Make or break, and now I had to contend with that damned fool interfering.

“Joss, go back to the couch. I’ll deal with this.” I gave him a gentle push. “Maybe put your feet up. Or stand on the kitchen island.”

“What?” Instead of running away, Joss was beside me, color draining from his cheeks. “Call 911.” He fumbled for his phone.

He was the one who said I wasn’t comfortable in the countryside? My mate had come across as a guy who loved being away from the city, but the man in front of me was terrified of what might be coming through the cat door.

“See, I like nature’s creatures and being in the woods.”

Joss’s glazed eyes fixed on me. “We’re not in the damn woods.”

“But you thought I was uneasy in the great outdoors.” I was determined to make a point. Why, I couldn’t say. No, I knew why. Because my life was about to go ass backward, and I was pretending it wasn’t. Shit, I was being an asshat, just like my brother.