Free Familiar Desires: 5 (Protective Affairs) by Rebecca Airies Page A

should do?
    “No,” Kane answered, drawing her gaze to him.
    “I’m not four. What I ordered was more than enough unless we’re
not going to have lunch.” She narrowed her eyes at them. She knew wizards
considered it their duty to take care of their Familiars, but she wouldn’t
starve if she only ate what she ordered.
    “We’re having lunch later. Depending on a few things, we
might eat a little late. The ordering thing irritates you?” Kane sounded a
little surprised.
    “Yes, you could have asked me if I was sure that would be
enough.” Alana drew a hand through her hair. She’d been a bonded Familiar for
years, but she’d never had the traditional relationship. If this was it, she
wasn’t so certain that she wanted it. Even though the behavior irritated her,
the thought of walking away again made her feel a little panicky.
    “We don’t know how much you normally eat. You weren’t very
cooperative before, so we didn’t want to take the chance that you might be
trying to rush out of here. We haven’t had a chance to get to know that. From
what we’ve seen of shifters, they eat big meals and it should be a busy day if
all goes well.” Michael’s voice still carried a little confusion. “Aside from
that, what we added are some of our favorite dishes so even if you take only a
bite or two they won’t go to waste.”
    Maybe it hadn’t been completely high-handed as she’d
thought. “We’re going to have to learn to talk with each other while I’m here.
A misunderstanding is what led to me leaving last time. I don’t want to spend
the entire time I’m here arguing with you or being angry. So next time, ask how
much I normally eat and if maybe I’d like to try a little more.”
    Michael’s eyebrows shot up. She had the feeling that was
because of the first part of the answer, but he didn’t say anything about it. “We’ll
talk more, but this is as new to us as it is to you. It’s going to take some
adjustments. You know it’s drummed into wizards that we need to take care of
our Familiars.”
    “Just as it’s drummed into a Familiar shapeshifter that we
must guard our wizards with our life.” Alana shrugged, but she did see his
point.
    “We don’t want you placing yourself between us and danger.”
Kane put his hand over hers.
    “That’s a little too bad. In certain situations, I’m much
more capable of handling things and will do so.” She took a little satisfaction
in saying that.
    “For now, but we’re aware of how strong our tie is.” Kane’s
fingers tightened briefly and his eyes hardened.
    She sighed. She really hadn’t expected to have to get into
these more difficult issues this soon. “I didn’t know much about you when I
left, and I think that was part of the reason it was a little easier to leave,
but seeing you with that woman… Asking the tough questions seemed like a waste
of time after that.”
    “You should have stuck around and confronted us with it.”
Michael’s voice lowered and he leaned in closer.
    “I already had so many doubts and questions. Some of them
about what I wanted, but a lot of them were about what you wanted. You were
still in college and he was involved in his business. Not to mention the fact
that I didn’t know if your family had ever taken a Familiar as mate. Some witch
families don’t, you know.” She traced circles on the tabletop with her
fingertip.
    “We’re aware of that.” Michaels fingers slid across hers,
stilling her nervous movement. “We know that it happened at exactly the worst
time. It was still too new for you to know enough about us to realize that we
wouldn’t discover the bond one night and have an intimate lunch with another
woman the next day.”
    “For our family, it’s been a few generations since anyone
related to us has married a Familiar. I think the last was a great uncle or
something. Seriously though, our marrying you couldn’t cause too much scandal
in our family. At least, you’re from a