Sun Catch Her (Book 1: Three Rivers Deep series) COMPLETE

Chapter Twenty-Five | B

Not amused, I mock-slapped the tousling motion away, warning him not to do it again if he wanted to keep that hand. He grinned at my unconvincing show of annoyance before heading for the backdoor, the look in his eyes telling me that my spunk made him feel better about my chances of getting through today.

"Don't mind him," Indy said from behind the folder when the door closed. She bent back a corner to peer at me. "He thinks he knows what's best for you. Better than me anyway."

Like poisoning me almost to the point of having a heart attack was what was "best for me"?

The corner of my mouth twitched as Indy continued to rattle on about Micah. "He's way too involved. Beyond what a guardian should be. Though I suppose that's my own fault in a way for pulling him out of training at such an early age to watch over you. He's gotten too attached." She eyed the toast when it popped up. "He was the one who woke you from the coma, and ever since he's been maneuvering himself into the position of taking over your personal care."

"He woke me?" I watched Indy push away from the table. "How? I don't remember."

"Some idiot nurse gave him a copy of Sleeping Beauty to watch in the hospital room while I was away one day, working Whyte Wine's spot in L.A. fashion week. The movie...gave him ideas," my aunt said as she snatched up the toast. She brought them over and set them on the plate.

"Ideas?" I echoed, reaching for the knife and jam. What sort of ideas could a twelve-year-old get from watching Sleeping Beauty with a comatose patient? "Oh! He kissed me?"

Indy stared at me with a knowing mien about her. Holy cheese, wasn't that Disney princess even named Aurora?

"He saw what Prince Charming did to wake up the princess and he—"

"And he electrocuted you," Indy said bluntly, grabbing her purse from the table. "He got too anxious in the act, and he got lucky. The boy could have killed you."

I grimaced at the loud clacking of her heels as she slipped them on and headed for the front room.

"He was too young to be watching over me. You said so yourself." I frowned at the cooling toast. My appetite was slipping.

Micah wouldn't hurt me like that now. No wonder he was being so careful when he handled me, I recalled from last night. The part where he came into the room, angry and spilling lightning, was coming back to me. He was being cautious, getting control of himself.

"The samples of the spring collection have arrived. They're over at the other house," she said by way of parting. "We'll have a fit- model session as soon as you're feeling up to it."

"Hey, wait a minute!" My so-called aunt came to a stop in the archway. "I, um, I wanted to...to ask you about something," I finally got out, heat beginning to rise in my face.

"What is it?" She interjected into the silence after my words trailed off. She set her purse on the floor and leaned against the door frame, arms crossed.

Gravely embarrassed, I swallowed and forced out the question. "I uh, I wanted to ask you about the—tang."

"The what?"

"The tang," I hissed, my face and neck radiating now. "The taste you get in your mouth whenever your body wants to...oh good cheddar, you know."

"Mate?" she said loudly, and I could have just died. "You've been experiencing the 'urge,' with Alexander I hope?"

Heaven forbid if I felt anything toward Micah.

"I want to ask something, but it isn't about me." A stab of fear slid through my chest, followed by guilt for being so absurd. It wasn't the real Bettihemae's fault that Dream Bettihemae had attacked me. Although she did rat me out to Micah about the night at the movies before I got a chance to explain myself.

"What do you want to ask?" Indy prompted.

"I just want to know if devvi females sometimes experience a hormone imbalance when they are old enough to come into heat. Like how human girls can suffer from PMDD?"

"Premenstrual Dysphoric Disorder?" Indy's eyebrows drew together. "It's possible, but pretty rare in devvis. And hard to diagnose. Females can be bitchy to begin with. That's why they are generally dominant over the males."

Oh? I hadn't realized that.

"Is there any literature you can get for me on it?" I asked, picturing Bettihemae's elven face surrounded by chestnut hair in the dim light of the parking lot when she leaned in through the car door. "Devvi hormonal disorders" probably wasn't something that one could effectively Google. "If you could get me something, a pamphlet, anything, I'd appreciate it."

"I can try to locate something." Indy's voice was soft in thought. "But this isn't about you?"

I shook my head and reached for the jam again, wanting to bring the awkward subject to a close.

Straightening with a soft hmm, she picked up her purse. "It's too bad that Alexander called me on Sunday to retract his claim on you. He would have been good for you."

"He what?" My hand jerked, and I almost dropped the knife. "What do you mean he retracted his claim?"

"As the dominant male of this territory, he is no longer putting pressure on me about courting you." She shrugged.

Which meant that, at some point, he had been putting pressure on Indy to "court me"? And he hadn't thought to mention this little tidbit to me the other night?

Maybe he wanted to meet me first, get to know me. He had been adamant about figuring out the cause behind the tremendous attraction that we had for each other. Alex was going to talk to his brothers about us. Did they say something to make him decide to retract his claim on me?

"It's a shame is what it is," she was saying as she walked out of the room to leave me there with my breakfast, stunned. "He seemed so eager when we were in previous discussions to become your mate."

Alex he...he wanted to be my mate? But he changed his mind.

Crap, I wasn't breathing.

"Oh, and one other thing." She stuck her head back through the archway, oblivious to my crushed expression. "I've never experienced the 'tang' of wanting to mate. I'm not female."

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