day, I was worried you’d be feral or vicious or both.”
Hanging his head, Jonah resisted the urge to turn and hug Trey. How embarrassing would that be? Clearly Trey was trying to give some emotional support, that didn’t mean the man wanted to be hugged by Jonah as if he were a ten-year-old boy craving his affection. He knew his growing up had warped some of his emotional responses, but this was ridiculous.
“I’m not vicious,” Jonah said in a low voice. Yes, he’d killed Aaron, but he hadn’t enjoyed it.
“That’s clear,” Trey said calmly. “You’re a very personable young man.”
Personable? Jonah realized he had snorted again, and promised himself he would not do it a third time.
“How old are you, Jonah?”
“Twenty-four.”
“Really?”
Jonah pulled away to look at Trey’s face and try to read what he meant by that one word. Before he could decide on anything, Trey did an extraordinary thing, he took Jonah’s face in his large, warm hands, examining him in a slightly clinical way. Maybe making sure that Jonah’s stated age was correct? Jonah repressed the shudder he felt to have his face cradled like that. It wasn’t a repulsive shudder, more a welcoming one, which was almost worse because Jonah didn’t know what to do with that emotion. He could barely think with those rough hands on his sensitive skin. He simultaneously couldn’t wait till Trey let him go and didn’t want to be released.
Then the heat of Trey’s palms on his face was gone and Trey patted his shoulders twice before he rose, leaving Jonah alone on the cot, wordless.
Almost wordless. “You thought I was younger?”
Trey gave his half-smile, which Jonah was coming to realize meant affection, not cynicism. “You seem both older and younger. Which makes sense. You’ve had an unusual life here. But then, a lot of shifters do.”
“Did you have an unusual life?”
Trey breathed in, and Jonah immediately regretted his question. It wasn’t welcome. “I had a family, not a very nice one. My father was an asshole.”
“My father didn’t stick around,” Jonah offered.
Trey nodded. “I don’t find it that easy to talk about my family, but that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t ask questions. Just that I won’t always be comfortable answering them.”
“I understand,” Jonah said quickly. “I find it hard to talk sometimes, even when I want to. And other times, I say too much.”
Trey grinned for some reason, and Jonah felt like the sun was shining on him. Then Trey said, seemingly out of the blue, “I’m very glad to have met you, Jonah.”
Chapter Six
Jesus, he had to be careful, Trey thought as he lay on his newly made cot that night, listening to Jonah breathe the slow, deep breaths of sleep. Trey should have been tired after shifting, but he was wide awake and a little alarmed by himself.
Okay, alarmed was too strong a word, but he was concerned. Jonah was a very attractive, very lonely, incredibly naïve, reclusive lynx shifter who was starved of affection. Trey needed to keep their relationship purely platonic to avoid betraying the young man’s trust.
He’d touched Jonah earlier, for a couple of reasons. The lynx was skittish and Trey thought perhaps physical contact now and then would reassure him at a basic level that Trey was not here to hurt him. A body remembered who had hurt you and who hadn’t. And someone, not Trey, had hurt Jonah. Also, shifters who went feral tended to crave human touch once they returned to their human state. While Jonah was definitely not feral, he had been as alone as a feral could be.
It had been the right thing to do. Jonah had responded a little jerkily at first, but he’d calmed down and then been more at ease in Trey’s company. Besides, while wolves might be the shifters who most needed touch—a need Trey had managed to ruthlessly suppress—cat shifters, when human, when it came to spending time with their loved ones, tended to overcompensate for their solitary time spent
Hanging his head, Jonah resisted the urge to turn and hug Trey. How embarrassing would that be? Clearly Trey was trying to give some emotional support, that didn’t mean the man wanted to be hugged by Jonah as if he were a ten-year-old boy craving his affection. He knew his growing up had warped some of his emotional responses, but this was ridiculous.
“I’m not vicious,” Jonah said in a low voice. Yes, he’d killed Aaron, but he hadn’t enjoyed it.
“That’s clear,” Trey said calmly. “You’re a very personable young man.”
Personable? Jonah realized he had snorted again, and promised himself he would not do it a third time.
“How old are you, Jonah?”
“Twenty-four.”
“Really?”
Jonah pulled away to look at Trey’s face and try to read what he meant by that one word. Before he could decide on anything, Trey did an extraordinary thing, he took Jonah’s face in his large, warm hands, examining him in a slightly clinical way. Maybe making sure that Jonah’s stated age was correct? Jonah repressed the shudder he felt to have his face cradled like that. It wasn’t a repulsive shudder, more a welcoming one, which was almost worse because Jonah didn’t know what to do with that emotion. He could barely think with those rough hands on his sensitive skin. He simultaneously couldn’t wait till Trey let him go and didn’t want to be released.
Then the heat of Trey’s palms on his face was gone and Trey patted his shoulders twice before he rose, leaving Jonah alone on the cot, wordless.
Almost wordless. “You thought I was younger?”
Trey gave his half-smile, which Jonah was coming to realize meant affection, not cynicism. “You seem both older and younger. Which makes sense. You’ve had an unusual life here. But then, a lot of shifters do.”
“Did you have an unusual life?”
Trey breathed in, and Jonah immediately regretted his question. It wasn’t welcome. “I had a family, not a very nice one. My father was an asshole.”
“My father didn’t stick around,” Jonah offered.
Trey nodded. “I don’t find it that easy to talk about my family, but that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t ask questions. Just that I won’t always be comfortable answering them.”
“I understand,” Jonah said quickly. “I find it hard to talk sometimes, even when I want to. And other times, I say too much.”
Trey grinned for some reason, and Jonah felt like the sun was shining on him. Then Trey said, seemingly out of the blue, “I’m very glad to have met you, Jonah.”
Chapter Six
Jesus, he had to be careful, Trey thought as he lay on his newly made cot that night, listening to Jonah breathe the slow, deep breaths of sleep. Trey should have been tired after shifting, but he was wide awake and a little alarmed by himself.
Okay, alarmed was too strong a word, but he was concerned. Jonah was a very attractive, very lonely, incredibly naïve, reclusive lynx shifter who was starved of affection. Trey needed to keep their relationship purely platonic to avoid betraying the young man’s trust.
He’d touched Jonah earlier, for a couple of reasons. The lynx was skittish and Trey thought perhaps physical contact now and then would reassure him at a basic level that Trey was not here to hurt him. A body remembered who had hurt you and who hadn’t. And someone, not Trey, had hurt Jonah. Also, shifters who went feral tended to crave human touch once they returned to their human state. While Jonah was definitely not feral, he had been as alone as a feral could be.
It had been the right thing to do. Jonah had responded a little jerkily at first, but he’d calmed down and then been more at ease in Trey’s company. Besides, while wolves might be the shifters who most needed touch—a need Trey had managed to ruthlessly suppress—cat shifters, when human, when it came to spending time with their loved ones, tended to overcompensate for their solitary time spent
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