“Are you even listening to me?” Shelly stopped in front of me suddenly, his pointer finger tapping the end of my nose.
“Um, yes?”
Shelly narrowed his eyes. “Fine, Scooby Doo. What did I just say?”
I snorted at the nickname. He didn’t pull it out very often and it always made me laugh. “You said you didn’t ask me to put him in the trunk,” I repeated, trying to sound contrite. “And you’re absolutely right.”
Shelly rolled his eyes very impressively. “As glad as I am that you agree that it’s wrong to stuff people in trunks, that was like three points ago.”
Oops.
Giving up on my current approach, I decided to play to my strength. Catching Shelly’s wrist in one hand, I tugged lightly and brought him tumbling into my lap. Wrapping him in a hug, I brushed my lips over his cheek.
“He’s an asshole and I’m not sorry I did it,” I admitted, “but I am sorry if it made you feel like I didn’t think you could handle him on your own.” I knew better than anyone how much Shelly hated people thinking he was weak. “I know you could have, it just pissed me off seeing him treat you like you were some half-wit and I overreacted. You’re worth twenty of a jerk like that.”
Shelly sighed, melting into me as his anger dissipated. “Thank you, Scooby. I know you were just trying to help but sometimes I want to whack your nose with a rolled-up newspaper!”
The visual of him swatting my massive bear like a misbehaving puppy had me chuckling. “Careful, I might like it.”
Shelly relaxed the rest of the way and laughed with me, then raised a brow when my stomach growled. “You haven’t eaten?”
“Not yet. I was planning on ordering a pizza and then, well, you know.” I waved my hand expansively.
Shelly glanced at the clock and grimaced. “We missed the good place. Do you want the other place? Or I could fix you something.”
“I can cook, you know. We’ve been taking turns for years.”
Shelly leaned up and kissed my cheek before hopping off my lap. “Yeah, but it was your he-man protective act that resulted in you missing the good pizza, so it’s the least I can do. You planning on going back out tonight?”
I peered out the window, catching the glory of the full moon. “I might,” I said after a minute. “Not sure yet.”
Behind me in our little open kitchen, Shelly huffed.
“Bear still feeling pissy?”
I shrugged, no point in denying it. “A little. He’s not gonna want to let you out of our sight for a few hours.”
“Silly Bear,” Shelly said fondly, reaching up to boop my nose like it was the bear’s snout. “Tonight’s the last night of the full moon and I don’t want you to miss it. How about if I come out with you?”
My bear rumbled his approval at the thought of being able to commune with nature and have our Omega close to him. “That would be great,” I agreed with a happy rumble of my own. “After we eat, though, I’m starving!” A cartoonish image appeared in my mind, and I laughed out loud.
“What’s funny?”
“He wants me to frisk you for newspapers before I shift.”
Shelly cracked up as he continued to pull containers out of the fridge. “He’s not in any danger,” Shelly assured me in amusement. “Bear has been a perfect gentleman, it’s your human half that needs a spanking!”
And just like that, an entirely different set of urges took over.
“While you’re doing that, I’m gonna grab a quick shower.”
Shelly nodded and I rushed from the room in search of the coldest shower I could get my paws on.
Chapter Nine
Mitchel
A full moon in the shadow of the Rocky Mountains is one of life’s absolute best pleasures.
