But he couldn’t spring that on Chiara, not like that. Not when she was already so distrustful of the shifter world.
So instead, he leaned forward very slowly, giving her an opportunity to move out of the way if she wanted.
Instead, she met him halfway, her eyes still wide with wonder.
The moment their lips met, Jared felt golden light rush through him.
Her mouth was soft and sweet, yielding to him. He raised a hand to gently wind it through her gorgeous mermaid hair.
For a moment, everything else fell away. There was only the heat of her lips, the scent of her hair, the overwhelming joy of having found her at last.
Kissing her, touching her, holding her felt so right. This was where he was meant to be. This was who he was meant to be.
For his entire life, he’d worked hard to fill every possible hour with his job. He hadn’t felt lonely—because he’d filled his life with work and friends until he was so busy that there was simply no time to think about the family he’d never known.
But now, at last, all of those worries fell away. He didn’t think of his job. He didn’t even think of what the chimera had sent him out to find.
All he could think of was the rightness of kissing his mate at last. He wasn’t lonely. He wasn’t worried about what was to come.
He was utterly at peace, all of his senses overwhelmed by the sensation of her soft lips and her luscious curves.
When he drew back at last, she was breathless, her cheeks still flushed and her eyes warm and awed.
“Wow,” she breathed as she looked up at him. “That’s possibly the best way to end an attack by a demon. Are you sure you’re not a seductive vampire or something? No one has kissed me like that before.”
He laughed and grinned at her, showing off his perfectly normal teeth. “No fangs, see? Sorry, I know you need rest—but I’ve wanted to do that since I first saw you. You’re gorgeous.”
She gave him a startled look, as if no one had ever told her that before.
Then he remembered how surprised she’d been that he hadn’t thought her crazy. A wave of protective anger rose up inside his griffin at the people who’d dared to belittle his mate.
She was a little off with her theories about vampires or aliens—but she’d come closer to the truth about the shifter world than any human he’d ever known.
Which made her the smartest human he’d ever met, not the craziest.
With sudden guilt he realized that he might not have a vampire’s sharp teeth, but his griffin did have a sharp beak. How was he going to explain that to her?
Maybe, now that she was so relaxed, he could tell her that she’d been right about the werewolves—and that more shifters existed than she knew of.
Shifters who could turn into a griffin, for example.
“I’m glad you’re not a vampire.” Still flushed, her cheeks dimpling as she gave him the sweetest smile he’d ever seen, she reached out and rested her hand on his arm. “I’d never kiss some horrible supernatural monster. They’ve ruined my life. But... now I’m almost glad it has brought me here. Thanks for saving me.”
All of his earlier joy had disappeared as he reeled. Hastily, he tried to regain his composure, even though he hurt as though he’d been stabbed right into his heart.
Shit! Of course she’d hate the shifter world after that attack...
“Any time,” he said, forcing himself to smile at her.
It didn’t matter. It was just a little setback. She’d only experienced the worst of the shifter world so far—out of control werewolves and an attack by Darkness itself. No wonder she was afraid.
He’d give her a little time to get to know him, and then, once she knew that he wasn’t a monster, he’d explain that there was a lot more than she knew.
Chapter Three: Chiara
Being kissed by the hottest man she’d ever laid eyes upon had been even more unexpected than being attacked by demons.
Of course, with her luck, he might just be an especially seductive vampire or an incubus—a demon who seduced women to feed on their energy.