Reading them has me feeling like I’m living the day with him, and I find myself snatching up my phone whenever I take a break from work to get another dose.
After the first five or so that I didn’t respond to, Mahon even did the gentlemanly thing.
Mahon:Hey ya. I know I’m texting a lot. Am I bothering you? I’ll stop now unless you say otherwise.
I only held out five minutes before responding.
Satine: You can keep texting.
Mahon: Great! Here’s a picture of the squirrel that stole my potato chips. Cute as hell, but don’t trust him!
Maybe I should’ve applied that advice to the man, too, but less than a week has gone by, and I can’t stand going to bed another night without seeing his face.
So, I invite the bear back over.
This time though, I’m going to make sure I have control of the situation. That I’m the one throwinghimoff-balance.
I stare at the innocent white square in my palm. The object both excites and terrifies me. And when I hear the distant thrum of Mahon’s scooter engine approaching my house, I peel off the back of the adhesive and stick the patch on my wrist.
Sharp pain splits through my body, as if a hornet stung my wrist and decided to have a go at a few more spots. My weight alters, my sight loses an edge of clarity, and gravity dials up a handful of notches.
After I take a series of deep breaths, the pain fades to a manageable level. To get used to the change, I go through a few quick yoga poses, my feet feeling sticky against the hardwood floor.
Sweat glands, I remind myself.Those little fuckers are everywhere.
When I’ve gotten as comfortable as I can hope for, I peer out the window next to my door, spying like I used to whenever Mahon came to my house. And like all those times, he’s currently chuckling at my latest monster display.
The Wolf Man and The Creature from the Black Lagoon are in the middle of a game of badminton. I kitted them out with sweatbands and rackets on their respective sides of the net, and I even flew up to a high branch to suspend the shuttlecock from a strand of fishing wire, so it appears to be in play.
Not as shocking as my last creation, but I figure Mahon and I heated up my property plenty without needing more fictional monster bed play.
While the shifter is distracted, I carefully slip out my front door and move to stand on the top step of my porch, arms akimbo, every inch of me on display, except for the small bits covered by my shorts and sports bra. Finally, he finishes taking in the sporting event and faces my house. Hazel eyes land on me, and he stumbles. We stare at each other across the distance, him no doubt admiring my new, supple form while I moon over every ruggedly handsome inch of him.
Somehow, Mahon became even hotter in the last few days, and I’m not sure how he managed it. Maybe he got a witch’s help, like I did.
Unfreezing, Mahon raises his nose in the air, nostrils flaring, before refocusing a curious look on me. “Satine?”
I smile, my face feeling softer than wet clay without my scales. A panicked thought has me pressing my fingers into my cheeks, worried I’m so soft that all my parts might start slipping off. But no, they’re still in place. Even the protruding nose in the middle of my face. I keep catching glimpses of the fleshy add-on in the corner of my eye. How do people focus with the constant distraction?
“Is that you?” Mahon steps toward me, hesitant puzzlement in the tilt of his head.
“You guessed it.” I perform a three-sixty turn, so he can admire every inch of my transformation.
“I’m confused.” He stops at the foot of the porch steps, staring up at me. “I thought you didn’t have a human form.”
“I don’t.” Raising my arm, I display the patch stuck to my wrist, successfully stifling a wince from the pain caused by the movement. “Bought a few of these off a transformation witch. Ithought they might be helpful if I needed to be among humans. But I don’t use them much.”
“Is your skin supposed to be red like that?” He tilts his chin, brows dipping.
Following his gaze, I realize the pale flesh around the patch has flared an irritated color.
“Well, a human’s skin shouldn’t be. But yeah. The witch warned this was a side effect. One of the reasons I don’t use them often.” The other is that they cost a fat stack of cash.
Mahon steps closer, bringing his summer scent and heavy presence with him. I gasp when he settles his palms on my shoulders, his hands rough against my abnormally soft skin. Carefully, he drags his touch down my arms, as if examining the changes.
“Do you like looking like this?” When the question comes, the words hold none of his regular boisterous enthusiasm.
The muted reaction has my thoughts stumbling over one another.
