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That’s up to him.

Straightening my spine, I strode into the office, greeting my colleagues. The plan was not to glance into Joss’s section, but his scent captivated me, and my head swung to the right even though I told it not to. The mating instinct was so strong it overrode my instructions.

He was staring at me, not blinking, and I couldn’t pick up that he was breathing. Shit, he was holding his breath, perhaps worried the fox in the kitchen incident was about to be repeated. I couldn’t blame him ‘cause that was a bonkers way of being introduced to the shifter world. A smile tugged at my lips once again because of the memory, but there was no change in Joss’s impassive expression.

A trickle of sweat made its way down my spine and into my briefs. Flinging myself into my chair, I thought about how the improvements Joss had made would streamline our process and possibly not only save the company but be the catalyst for us making a huge profit.

Work. I had to put my head down and check off items on my to-do list, the one that never ended and just got added to. But thanks to Joss, he’d come up with the program with bells and whistles that integrated the department’s goals and broke them down into short, medium, and long term. I’d tried so many apps that had promised the same and more and had given up after a few days because I had to input so much data.

A soft knock at the door accompanied by a seductive scent jolted my heart. I’d allowed myself to forget about my mate for a few minutes, and now he was here and I couldn’t escape. I’d be forced to hear whatever he was going to say. I clenched my butt, wishing we could postpone this moment.

“Hi.” His timid voice affected me and my fox, with both of us wanting to hug him.

No, I’d groom him because foxes don’t wrap their paws around their mate.

“Wonder if we could have a moment to talk.” He white-knuckled the door jamb, and his head bobbed as though it was in water and being buffeted by a breeze.

“Of course.”

He jerked his head toward the outer office. “Maybe not here.”

After grabbing my coat, I flung it over my shoulder as if we were two colleagues going for coffee. But my belly was in turmoil, and I asked my fox for help in settling it.

There, there,he chorused, not that it did much good.

We stood in silence waiting for the elevator when we could have taken the stairs. We were acting like strangers sharing a short ride in a metal box. I’d done that countless times, stared at the panel, the doors, or the floor, wishing the ride would end but also fearing what would happen when it did. But the journey from the mezzanine to the first floor was mercifully short.

We wandered along the sidewalk, which at this time of day wasn’t crowded because this was the business district and most people were at work.

Joss bought two coffees from a cart and leaned on the side of a sandstone building, sipping his. I brought my cup to my lips and only pretended to drink, thinking I might throw up if caffeine mingled with the quagmire in my belly.

“I spoke to Harold.”

Okay, that was positive, because I’d been half expecting Harold to tell me Joss had quit and left the country.

“That night with the fox, your brother, and then you, I got home, locked the doors, and sat hunched on the floor, thinking the world was ending or I was going mad.”

I couldn’t say, “I understand,” because no matter how much I tried to put myself in his position, I would never experience what he had.

“I can’t imagine what that was like for you.” I hoped that conveyed the appropriate amount of sympathy.

“Harold took me to dinner and he talked for hours, with me interjecting asking him questions and to clarify points.”

I’d have to call and thank him because he’d done my job.

“We laughed at Booker’s fox running around your house, and he said he’d never heard of any shifter beast being so bold.”

Only Booker would get into a book of records for such an outrageous act.

“I’m so sorry. He didn’t warn me.”

Joss grinned, the first one today, at least the first directed at me. He waved away my apology. “He explained that the shifter mating instinct never wavered, even after death, and mates are linked for all eternity.”

Harold went all in, and I wondered how my mate felt about us being coupled until the end of time.

“That’s true, but did he also tell you that humans can opt out?”

“Yeah.” He put the cup in his left hand while the right one edged toward my own. His fingertips brushed over mine, the warmth traveling up my arm and to my belly, calming it.