Something between a whine and a laugh escaped my throat, surprising her. My wolf went crazy when she started to scratch between my ears and rub my head. I sniffed at her neck and licked the side of her face and jaw.
“You’re getting me all wet.” Reese giggled, and my heart hammered in my chest. I had to shift back into my human form for what I wanted to do.
I forced my wolf to take a step back. He lifted his head and howled at the moon, satisfied to meet his mate finally. Seconds later, I reeled him in and forced him to the background to shift back into my human self.
There was a look of awe and amazement on Reese’s face as I shifted back into my human. She grew visibly uncomfortable when her eyes lowered, landing on my cock.
I grabbed my jeans and redressed quickly.
Baby steps. I reminded myself that she needed time to adjust.
“Thank you,” she said. “For showing me.”
I smiled. “He wanted to meet you.”
She shook her head as she rose to her feet. “What does it feel like? Does it hurt?”
“What? Shifting?” I asked.
“Yeah. Is it painful?”
“At first, when we’re young. But not after the first few times.” I paused, considering what it felt like to shift. How to explain to someone something that was naturally a part of who I was?
“It’s like when you first wake up in the morning, and you have one of those perfect stretches. That feeling like your body is unfurling into its full self.”
She nodded contemplatively. “Which form feels like the real you?”
I cocked my head sideways, most surprised by that unexpected question. No one has ever asked me that before. Shifters take on being both as part of our identity. With humans, for those in my life who do know what I am, I don’t ever go into more detail than necessary.
But Reese wasn’t just another human. She was my mate.
“They’re both a part of me. My wolf is as much a part of who I am as the man standing before you.” I stepped closer and ran my hands up and down her arms.
She peered at something over my shoulder. “It’s like being a Black woman.”
I squinted. “How so?”
She rolled her eyes toward the sky. “Not in the animal sense.” She blew out a breath. “But we humans like to classify things. Sometimes, the question comes up for us if we’re Black first or a woman first.” She shook her head. “It’s stupid, to me, because I’m both at the same time. Always.”
I pondered her perspective for a beat. If someone were to ask me if I were a wolf first or a man, I would have to say I couldn’t disregard one half of who I am in that way. “Right now, I’m most grateful for my human form.”
Her soft eyes landed on my lips first. “Why?” she whispered, raising her gaze to meet mine.
“Because my wolf isn’t allowed to do this…” I pulled her into a kiss that I’d hungered to give her since that first morning she awakened in my bed.
She melted into my arms, giving in to the embrace. My wolf flipped over in my chest, whimpering in joy. I lowered my hand to her throat, tracing my thumb over the column, pressing lightly at first.
Reese gasped and pulled back slightly. Our lips grazed one another’s.
“Is that okay?” I murmured against her mouth.
She nodded.
I kissed her again, the fire in my belly burning, and the semi-erection I’d sported earlier was fully erect by then. I moved my kisses from her lips to her jawline, meeting the space between her ear and shoulder. My tongue trailed along that area I’d spotted earlier, causing it to pulse even more. Reese let out a small moan and my dick pressed against my zipper, threatening to rip the damn thing open.
“Chael,” she whimpered.
A strong desire burned through my belly, my wolf howled in my chest. The clothes I’d just redressed in felt too heavy against my skin. The need for skin-on-skin contact with my mate was imminent.
