Page 16 of Rooting for Kiran (The Mate-Cute #1)
KIRAN
Thea’s house is very cozy and tidy. Wood floors cover every room I can see from the entryway, which includes the kitchen, dining room, and living room. Even the hallway opening up ahead and to the right has wood.
It’s weird that I’m focusing so much on the floors, but being a big plant guy, I think about the trees that went into creating such gorgeous planks. They make for easy cleanup and all that, but were more trees planted to replace the ones cut down? I certainly hope so.
“Kiran?” Thea calls.
I turn my attention from the wood planks to her in the kitchen.
She’s perfect. Comfy in her pajamas, hair up in a bun, and… sockless ?
“Aren’t your feet cold?” I wonder aloud.
Thea gives me a bewildered look before gazing down and between both of our feet. “A little? I hate wearing socks to bed. I can’t breathe in them. You came just as I was preparing to go to sleep.”
I cringe. “I’m sorry. I—I know it’s late, but…” Should I be honest? I should. Colton told me to be honest.
“But what?”
“I wanted to see you.” My admission flies out quickly.
She turns to face me, dropping the penis at the same time. “Oh, shit.” Thea reaches down for the plant piece. “Sorry about that, but, um, what did you say?”
Judging by the way her hands can’t seem to get a firm grasp on Willy, I’d say she’s a bit nervous, for Pete’s sake. Speaking of which, who is Pete? Oh my word. Now I’m talking to myself.
There seems to be a hint of humor hiding in that minuscule uptick in the left corner of her mouth she’s fighting.
“You want me to repeat myself?”
She nods.
“Okay, sweet girl. Fine.” I take a step closer, noticing how her breathing picks up. “I wanted to see you because, for the last week, you’re all I’ve thought about.”
I’m even closer now, mere inches from being able to touch her. “So much so that I’ve been fucking up at work and had to ask a twenty-year-old how I could go about seeing you again.”
A wheeze filters through the air, and my eyes scan the room for any signs of trouble until I notice that the noise is coming from Thea. And I only know that because of the way her body is shaking and her hand is attempting to hide a smile.
“What’s so funny?” I ask, embarrassment beginning to creep in.
She lowers her hand. “Why a twenty-year-old?”
I shrug. “He’s the one who told me I was fucking up at work. He wanted to know what woman was taking up residence in my mind, and he wanted to help me out. I don’t know. Colton was just there, and I sort of word-vomited.”
Thea slowly blinks as she sets down the castrated plant and closes the distance between us before placing a hand on my chest. “Colton, huh?”
My head bobs up and down as I inhale a big gulp of air. Having her this close to me again is setting my body on fire, and the heat starts where she’s touching me.
“Seems like a good seed,” she says, her voice taking on a flirtatious tone at the same time the scent of her arousal hits my nose.
“Thea,” I croak, leaning my head down closer.
She reaches up on her tiptoes to kiss the side of my jaw. “I wanted to see you, too, Kiran. Think you’ll fit in my bed?”
As if my dick wasn’t already standing at attention.
I’ve slept with human women before, not many, but I have. Not a single one of those times ever felt like my one night with Thea.
Granted, I obviously hadn’t transformed because they weren’t my mates, but that’s beside the point.
Thea is the only one I want, and I’m going to pull out every page in the book to try to win her over. To make her mine.
“Lead the way, baby.” I swoop her up, and she squeals in surprise. “Use your finger, Thea. Point out where to go.”
She points toward the hallway. I begin walking that way, nipping at a finger of the hand she’s resting on my shoulder at the same time.
Her room is the last one on the right. Three of the walls are cream-colored, while the fourth is a very light periwinkle that matches her bedspread.
Before I can make any more assessments, I let Thea slide down my body. And once she reaches the floor, she takes my hand in hers and leads me to the bed. My transformation has already begun. I can tell by how tight my jeans are getting around my thighs.
“How do you feel about sixty-nine, Kiran?” Thea asks, stopping us next to her bed, where she begins working on my pants.
I quirk a brow at her. “Sixty-nine?”
Her eyes widen. “You’ve never heard of sixty-nine? Have you slept with other human women?”
Guilt sweeps through me. Why do I suddenly wish I would’ve saved myself for her? For my mate?
But how was I supposed to know I’d ever find her? Not all of us do.
“Kiran.”
My eyes snap to hers.
“What is it?”
I grind my teeth. “I feel bad talking about it.”
“Why?”
“Isn’t it…rude?”
After pushing my pants down my legs, along with my boxer briefs, she ditches her clothes in record time, prompting me to remove my own shirt next, until we’re both standing face-to-face and bare naked.
She offers me a sympathetic grin. “No, Kiran. I mean, if you’re rubbing something in my face, then yeah. But no, I don’t think there’s anything wrong with talking about past experiences this way. I asked. I’m an open book. I can answer an intimate question you have, if it helps.”
My stomach sours. I’m not sure I want to know anything about her past experiences—definitely not the shitty men that didn’t make her happy. My discomfort must show on my face, because Thea chuckles to herself.
“Or not,” she adds. “Why don’t we just forget I asked? Lie down on the bed, and I’ll gladly teach you some math.”