“To start with, you might.” He reaches out and rubs my thigh, his calluses scratching slightly. “But soon you won’t even notice, and only extreme emotions will filter through.”
“I’m not worried. It’s nice,” I tell him, grabbing his hand from my thigh and giving it a squeeze.
“Why do you feel so sad?” he asks, sounding worried. “I thought you wanted this.” He gestures between the two of us with the hand I’m not holding.
“Oh, I do,” I assure him quickly, “but I’m going to miss my bakery.”
He gathers me in his arms and drags me down to the bed, and I feel his relief. “I’m sure once we get settled into our new roles, you will be able to go back there from time to time, and have you seen the kitchen in the palace? I swear it’s a chef’s dream.”
“I don’t want to step on any toes by asking if I can use it,” I explain, and he scoffs, the breath of air lifting a strand of hair that tickles my face.
“You’re the queen, they can’t tell you no.” His tone leaves no room for argument, so I’ll accept it for now.
Liam suddenly grows tense, tightening his hold on me, and a rumble comes from his chest. “What do you want?” he asks loudly, and when I turn my head, my eyes widen, and my heartbeat increases at the sight of the dripping wet white tiger who is stalking into the room. He pauses when he sees the two of us wrapped around one another.
He shakes his body, and drops of water fill the air around him, then he starts running.
“No, not on the bed!” Liam shouts, releasing me and jolting upright. He holds his hands out to stop the tiger, but it’s too late. He takes a running leap and flies through the air, landing on the end of the bed, and stares down at me.
“Fucking hell, Gryff. Now you’ve soaked the sheets and are getting cat hair all over them, you asshole,” Liam grumbles with disgust as the cat sits down on his haunches and then lowers even further, still staring at me as he rests his head on his paws. He doesn’t even blink as he stares at me with those deep, ocean blue eyes that stand out against his white fur.
“Hi.” I tentatively reach out, remembering how cuddly this cat was when I was in the stables the other night. I should feel self-conscious, since I’m naked and have Liam’s cum still dripping down my inner thigh, but I don’t. His gaze is hot and heavy, and there isn’t one glimmer of disgust or aggression in his eyes.
He must think I’m taking too long to touch him, because he shuffles forward and butts his head against my hand, chuffing when I scratch behind his ear.
“Fucking needy cat,” Liam grumbles, but when I look at him, although he’s frowning, his eyes are smiling like he’s trying to stop himself from laughing. The cat’s tongue darts out, and then he scoots even closer to me, his head just about in my naked lap, but before I can push him, his tongue darts out, and he catches our combined release, which he eagerly licks up before moving toward my pussy. My eyes widen with panic, and I push his head away, but a hand comes out and smacks him on the nose.
“Bad kitty. Your tongue will strip Colbie’s pussy, and then no one will be playing with it,” Liam scolds the tiger who snarls at him, but he sinks back onto his haunches.
There’s a pulse of magic in the air, and the tiger’s body contorts and shifts into a very naked Gryffin. He grins at me like a naughty child, but his eyes sparkle with heat and desire. He’s still lying on his stomach, but my hand is now threaded through his black streaked silver hair. I go to pull my hand away, and he reaches out to stop me.
“Don’t stop, it feels nice,” he tells me, closing his eyes and leaning into my touch. I continue to run my hand through his wet hair, being careful not to catch it in any knots.
“What are you doing here?” Liam asks, leaning back, comfortable with his nudity.
“You’ve been gone for hours, and it’s getting late. Although Colbie shifted into two new forms today, she needs to work on her primary form as well,” he tells us without opening his eyes. I’m pretty sure if Liam invited him, he would climb into bed with us and remain here for the rest of the night, but unfortunately, too many people are relying on us at the moment. Maybe one day we can return to the cave and have some fun, when I don’t have so many issues waiting for me to deal with.
I give him one more scratch behind the ear before stretching my arms and arching my body. I’m so comfortable and relaxed, I’m reluctant to leave, but duty calls. When I open my eyes again, both men are staring at my naked body.
“You guys have a little drool here,” I tease, swinging my legs to the side and looking around, but then I remember I have no clothes. Well, fuck.
“How about we head back to the pool, and you can try shifting into your tiger form for the swim back to the other side?” Liam suggests, nodding at Gryffin who quickly bounces up off the bed. Holy shit. These men have incredible bodies. Gryff isn’t as bulky as Brodie, Hunter, or Liam, but he still has a body made for sin, all sinewy muscles and silky smooth skin. My eyes drop lower, and holy shit, it must be a shifter thing to have a huge cock. It’s at least nine inches and rapidly hardening. He looks down at it and shrugs unapologetically.
“You’re my mate, and you’re naked. I wouldn’t expect any other result anytime soon,” he tells me. “I can’t wait to see your tiger, cookie. Do you need me to go first and show you?” He tilts his head to the side in a very feline movement, and I appreciate the fact that he ignored my blatant ogling of his body.
“Yeah, okay, show me your cat again and tell him to keep his tongue to himself.” Gryffin’s smile drops in disappointment, and I quickly add, “For now.”
He smiles, and I watch as his body contorts once more, fur sprouting over his skin as his body elongates and shifts.
“Doesn’t that hurt?” I ask Liam, and he shrugs.
“Not really. We’ve been doing it for as long as we can remember. The mythical shifters say it’s agony the first few times they shift, but they adjust quickly and it becomes second nature. Yours doesn’t hurt, does it?” he points out, and I wave a hand as Gryffin completes his shift, and his cat prowls around my legs, bumping into them. I’m almost knocked off balance. I grab for his back to steady myself, and he chuffs like he’s laughing.
“No, but it doesn’t feel like that looks. One moment, I’m me, and the next, I’m something else.”
“Yes, your shift does look very different from ours. It’s like the magic explodes out of you, reforming your body at the same time. I wonder why that is…”
“Probably because the goddess just had to add one more thing for me to worry about,” I grumble, and there’s a tinkling of laughter that echoes around the cavern. Liam looks around, fully alert for any danger, while Gryffin plants himself in front of me and doesn’t move, a low growl coming from his chest.
