The absurd threat entices a giggle from my lips, and I bury my face in the warm cotton of his shirt, breathing in the grassy scent of him.
“Where are your parents?” The question is all hesitation, as if he already knows the answer will be sad.
“Mama died the year after I graduated college. Car crash when she was driving to Atlanta for a shopping trip. She loved nice shoes.” I wiggle my clawed toes. We’d have endless playful bickering about my insistence on only ever going barefoot or wearing slippers. “Dad … he was always a keep-to-himself kind of guy. Mom would get him to open up. When he lost her …” Even the memory of the vacant stare has me shuddering. “He couldn’t come back from it. One day, he decided to go beast. Live as a dragon.” Once a dragon shifts into their other form, they must stay that way for a few decades. “He’s in the Antarctic colony. Last I saw him was seven years ago.”
“You’ve been alone for a while.” Mahon’s heavy hand slides down to my neck, thick fingers pressing into the tense muscles.
“Yes.” No use denying it.
I try, in small ways, to keep a connection to the world. Talking to people online. Inviting Levi over. Spying on the Folk Haven townsfolk when they aren’t aware I’m around.
But still, every night, I remember that I’m on my own.
As Mahon continues to stroke me, every cell in my body relaxes until I’m on the edge of sleep. Which is why I’m not sure if I dream the words he speaks.
“You’re not alone anymore.”
8
The sunjust starts to sink below the tree line as I lead Mahon down toward my dock. When I woke up from my nap, still sprawled over him, I worried I’d kept the man too long.
“I’m off work today. Keep me as long as you want,” he assured me with a cheeky grin that had my nipples tightening under my Velcro sports bra.
At some point in the last few hours, maybe when he cared for me while I hugged the toilet or when he offered to commit a crime against the people who’d hurt my mama, I lost the hesitation about bringing him to my small inlet of Lake Galen. Now, I cannot wait to dip the shifter into my water.
My house sits at the northwest part of the lake, closer to the Appalachian Mountains, which means the shore is steep enough to require switchback stairs to descend to the waterline. Normally, I’d just glide down. But with my webbed fingers wrapped around Mahon’s wrist, I keep my feet on the ground.
The rush and trickle of a waterfall greets us. The cascade is less of a massive curtain off a ledge and more a leapfrog down a series of large rocks. But I love living next to one of thetributaries to the lake. The falls ensure my inlet has freshwater year-round unless there’s a drought.
“You have a paradise, right in your backyard.” Mahon stares wide-eyed around my cove as we break through the last stand of trees.
I have to agree. The steep banks block most of the sun, even when the glowing mass sits high in the sky, but that only means this space is greener, lush from shade and water, the falls cooling the humid air until I shiver.
Of course, that might be anticipation.
“This is my favorite spot.” I face the bear and reveal a vulnerable piece of my heart. “You’re the only person I’ve brought here.”
If I thought his eyes were wide before, they’re planetary now.
“Levi?” he asks.
I shake my head. “He has his own lakefront property. And we rarely swim together.” One more indication he wasn’t the man for me. Because more than almost anything in the world, I love to swim.
“I am honored.” He places a fist over his heart, as if pledging fealty to me. If only I could inspire that type of deep loyalty.
“Even more honored than when I humped you?” I tease, needing to lighten the weight of this moment.
Mahon beams, stepping in close to settle his grip on my hips. “Equally. And doubly if you honor me with a humping here.”
My laughter bounces off the large stones that litter the bank, and I know for certain that inviting him into this space was the right choice. But I’m not done with the acts of vulnerability.
“Did you know that I have a second form?” As I ask, I slide away from his grip, stepping carefully to reach the short gangplank that stretches to my floating dock.
The wooden platform is small, only big enough for a couple of chairs or to lounge on. One of my fondest memories isswimming in this inlet as my parents shared an evening cocktail in their folding chairs. I’d bring them the smoothest rocks I could find and then set the stones back in the exact spots I’d found them, not wanting to steal anything from Lake Galen.
“A true second form or another spell?” The humor has left Mahon’s voice, and I turn to find him watching me with concern.
“A true form,” I assure him. “But I’m not going to show you until you get in the water.”
