The room had just gotten dark again when the door opened. Jay came in with a lantern and placed it on a table by the door. Misty couldn't help but admire his broad chest and chiseled abs. A short leather kaunak hugged his hips.
KAUNAK? Misty's brows creased in consternation. What was a kaunak?
"A scrap of leather hung or tied around the body or waist and the most standard type of clothing for shifters in Tamult." Misty shook her head. How did she know what kind of clothing Jay was wearing? She had never heard of a kaunak before coming to this world and she hadn't been here long enough to have them tell her.
She looked back at Jay, settling her eyes on his lotus tattoo. Or rather, his mate mark. Information began to pour into her mind from somewhere. Mate marks were left after the mate contract was enacted. All parties would have a tattoo on them. There were dominant and subservient marks. The person with the dominant mark was the primary mate and was able to take in as many mates as the mark dictated.
"Good morning!" Misty pulled her eyes up to meet Jay's. For a moment, she couldn't think. Jay was so beautiful. She took a closer look at his face. He had shiny black hair the same color as his Jaguar form. His brows arched delicately over dark brown eyes that had flecks of gold and amber. His nose was just the right size for his face and turned up ever so slightly at the end. His lips looked as if they had been kissed with dark red roses.
"Do you like what you see?" Misty felt a rush of embarrassment and looked at the floor. "You are right about the kaunak. You may not have noticed last night, but men wear the short kaunak while women wear the long one." Jay's lips twisted into a feline grin. "Do you want to take it off?"
"What!" Misty's head shot up. Jay had walked across the room until he was very close. In fact, she could feel the warm breath on her cheek as he leaned in and whispered in her ear.
"Mate, you can see anything you want." Jay's voice sent a thrill through her body and Misty shivered. Back in her world, she had avoided dating like the plague. Aside from the fact that the men were misogynistic jerks, they never did a thing to excite her. Jay hovered close to her but kept that final space between them so that if Misty wanted to pull away, she could. She stepped back and over to sit in the chair next to the bed.
Jay watched her and took a seat on the bed. He knew that their contract was an accident. He also knew that only compatible people could even form a contract and wasn't too worried. Though he wasn't looking forward to the wait, he was looking forward to getting to know the woman in front of him.
Jay touched the lotus on his chest. He still couldn't believe that he didn't have a dominant mark. Not that it mattered too much. Up until he met her, he had never been interested in love and marriage, but he could feel his intense curiosity when he looked at the dark haired beauty in front of him. Short tawney ringlets bounced around her head and her matching eyes showed every emotion she felt. She had a small nose and full pink lips that kept drawing his eyes.
She was a tall shapely woman. Full breasts pressed against her shirt and her pants hugged a slender waist and curved over her hips. When he first saw her, he thought there was something wrong with her. In his pain, he thought the clothes she was wearing were her skin. He smiled to himself in amusement. He could hardly wait to peel off the layers she had on.
"I don't think I'm ready for that." Misty knew that the man before her was definitely the kind of guy she was attracted to, but she also knew there was no way that she could just jump into things.
"It's alright. We have plenty of time. Let's start with just learning a bit about each other." Jay lay back and propped his head on his arms. "Let's start with your name."
Misty's eyes widened and she thought back to her encounters over the last day. She realized that Jay had introduced himself, but she was in such a state that she had never even told him her name. She buried her head in her hands and groaned at her behavior.
"You're right. I'm so sorry. My name is Misty." She peeked through her fingers at Jay. Jay flashed another grin at her. "I'm not usually like this. I'm not from here and the journey was extraordinary."
"You don't have to worry. I just want you to be happy." Jay thought she looked so cute. Misty dropped her hands down.
"I have so many questions, I don't even know what to ask!" She looked around the room. "Is this your room?"
"This is my mother's guest room. I used to live here when I was young, but my siblings have my old space. I am the eldest of five."
"Are you all Jaguar shifters?"
"Only me and my mom. My father is a Lion shifter. He has 2 other wives, both lioness shifters. All of their kids are also lion shifters."
"Do men typically have a lot of wives?"
"If they have dominant marks. Only men and women with dominant mate marks have multiple spouses."
"You mean women can have multiple husbands?"
"Yes."
Yet another thing about this world that Misty would have to wrap her head around. The idea of having multiple partners wasn't new to her and she had seen a lot of stories back in her world where the whole plot revolved around harems or reverse harems. She even had a few friends that were in throuple style relationships and even more that played the field. Thinking to the mate contract system of this world, she had to admit that there was something about the idea that the person you contracted with was compatible. She looked at the lotus tattoo wondering what kind of mark Jay had.
"If you are wondering, I don't have the dominant mate mark."
Misty's jaw dropped in shock. The gears in her brain started turning and she came to a startling revelation.
"You mean I have the dominant mate mark!"
Jay nodded. Seeing the shock on Misty's face, he glanced at the lantern on the table. Quite a bit of time had passed, and it was getting low on fuel. Even though she had spent much of her time with him passed out, Jay could see the dark circles under her eyes. Even though he wanted nothing more than to snuggle on the bed with his new mate, he knew that she would find that uncomfortable until they knew each other better.
"You should get some more sleep. Morning is still a long way off." Standing, Jay walked over to Misty and pulled her up. He guided her to the bed and drew back the covers. Misty could feel how tired her body was and collapsed under the sheets. Jay tucked the edges around her and walked back to the door. Grabbing the lantern, he turned back to Misty.
"Good night," He whispered.
"Thank you, I'll see you in the morning." Misty closed her eyes as Jay shut the door. She could hear his steps fade away. Misty couldn't help but be a little concerned. She had a dominant mate mark. She wasn't even sure what to do with that information. Heaving a sigh, Misty turned onto her side and went back to sleep.