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through him as he shifted, and
suddenly he was much lower to the floor and the room was in crisp black and
white. He panted and let his tongue loll out of his muzzle, trying to look cute,
before shifting back. “See? It’s all real.”
    Mark had wriggled into a sitting
position, still staring at him. “Wait. That was you following me, wasn’t it?
While I was running,” he accused. “I thought you were a dog.”
    Delaney grimaced. “Yeah. I know I
should apologize for following you, but on the plus side it meant I was here to
chase off those assholes.”
    Some color came back into his mate’s
face, which was a huge improvement. The rising scent of anger, however, wasn’t.
“Why are you following me?” Mark demanded. “Did those guys have something to do
with you?”
    “No, although I heard them asking
you about your laptop and Trickster. I’m guessing they thought you might have
brought restricted files home with you.”
    “I wouldn’t do that. Besides, my
laptop’s still in the office.” He glared at Delaney. “Mainly because you tried
to kiss me this morning. What the hell was that all about?”
    “Yeah, about that.” Delaney settled
back on his heels, wondering how to phrase it. “Shifters can smell their mates.
It’s kind of like meeting your soul mate, only we get confirmation with our
noses. The long scientific explanation involves pheromones and matching body
chemistry, but the short version is, I scented you the moment I walked into the
office. It took everything I had not to go find you and beg you to go home with
me.”
    Still upset, Mark glanced away. Delaney
could see a flush of pink along one cheekbone. “I’m not gay. I already told you
that.”
    Delaney laughed softly. “Yeah,
well, my last three girlfriends are going to be really surprised about this,
too. But the mating bond doesn’t give a rat’s ass about sexual orientation. It happens
when it happens, and you just have to roll with it.”
    “No, I don’t. I’m not ... one of
you.” Mark waved at him. “I’m just a regular human, and I’m damn well not your
mate.”
    The frayed cord of Delaney’s
patience unraveled just a bit more. “Fine. Prove it.”
    “How?”
    “Kiss me.”
    “What?”
    “Kiss me,” Delaney repeated. “Just
a plain old kiss, no tongues or anything. If you’re not my mate, then you won’t
feel a damned thing. And if that happens, then I’ll leave you alone. You won’t
even see me for the rest of your contract with Trickster.” Of course, if Scott hires you that’s going to be a whole ‘nother kettle
of fish.
    Mark looked torn. “And if I feel
... something?”
    Delaney shrugged. “Then you give me
a chance. Go on a date with me, get to know me, let me get to know you. I swear
to God, I’m actually pretty personable when my dick isn’t trying to drain all
the blood from my body.”
    That dragged Mark’s attention
downward, and his eyes widened. “Jesus. You’re—”
    “Hard. Yeah, I know.” Delaney looked
down at his throbbing cock and sighed. “If I can ignore it, so can you. Just
kiss me once, and we can get this all over with.”
    “This is insane.” But he could
already hear Mark’s heartbeat speed up. “One kiss. And no tongues.”
    “Shifter’s honor.”
    Mark muttered something under his
breath, then nervously licked his lips before puckering them in a perfect
duckface.
    Delaney grinned. “Really? That’s
how you kiss someone? No wonder you haven’t gotten to first base with your
girlfriend.”
    Mark pulled back, stung. “You’re
the one who suggested it, asshole!”
    “Okay, okay. Look, just relax.” He
moved closer to the couch, acutely aware of the velvety upholstery rubbing
against his aching dick, and gently slid his hand around Mark’s jawline. He
could feel the muscles there flinch, as if readying to pull away. “Seriously,
just relax,” he breathed. “Let me lead?”
    As he expected, Mark’s pupils had
already dilated again at his touch, and