“What would it take to get you to come bathe in me?” I wagged an eyebrow as I sat up, my head spinning with the dichotomy of having been in my taller shifted form.
“A game plan.” He eyed me up and down before approaching me again, lips pursed in a soft pout that he pressed into mine. “And more garlic.”
I sank into the kiss, dissolving into his minty—“Did you use my toothbrush?”
“Where my mouth will go? Where I wantyourmouth to go?” Esmeray finished the kiss he started, tongue so warm, small, and agile.
“We shall get you your own, then. Do we know where your belongings went?” I whispered against his lips and pulled away, willing my burgeoning hardness away.
“I’m unconcerned,” Esmeray said, pushing back against my mouth for another deep kiss, our shadows thrown up against the wall, one atop another, a pantomime of the kind of sex that I’d not had in years.
I didn’t argue until he pulled away and pointed at the bed my head and neck no longer occupied. “The bed situation will need to be rectified.”
“I suppose it will.” I sat up, eyeing the length of my stacked beds. What surprised me, though, was that my more-human form felt cohesive, pleasantly whole. The state of being in my giraffe partial state, the most I could ever shift, always settled me and required no effort, aside from inconvenience, to maintain. My human form drained mana and power, or at least ithad.
“I don’t feel strained by maintaining my human form… Is this your doing?” I reached up to massage the stiffness of my human neck, enjoying the compactness and more personable side.
Esmeray’s brow furrowed and head tilted. “Hybrids aren’t often taught about mateship.”
“We are. People don’t generally willinglymatewith a hybrid. Thus, our moniker.” I gave him a flat-lipped smile that tugged my cheeks unpleasantly.
“So, all you know is that peopledon’tmate hybrids?” Esmeray hid a sniff of laughter in his voice.
“They don’t matemongrims.” I ran fingers through my hair.
“Suffice it to say, true love’s kiss can turn any frog into a prince. You’ll find your humanoid form is more stable. Theheart aligns with what your mate wants most.” Esmeray sighed. “Honestly, you’re fortunate I’m half succubus.”
“Explain.” I slid to the edge of the bed and took a freeing breath.
“Succubi are very well educated when it comes to mateship, marriage, and love.” Esmeray strode over to stand before me, hands on hips. His orange eyes soaked me in, roving my form with a rather studious expression. “You sacrificed a lot for me, and the least I can do is love you for who you are.”
He sank to his knees before me, staring up at me in a way that reminded me of how people looked up at my giraffe form. Eyes pointed skyward, but where they normally held sick curiosity, judgment, or shock, Esmeray only hadcomplicatedwritten in his eyes.
“And who am I?”
“That remains to be seen, mage. But I know you are kind. You risked your eternal soul to make sure it was what I wanted. You risked my father’s wrath. Thank you for giving me that choice, mage, and for tolerating Ausmius.”
I flicked a casual glance at our vividly fornicating shadows. “Are both of those Ausmius or…”
“That is difficult to… Yes and no.” Esmeray glanced away to watch the show. “They are both Ausmius, but my shadow is a reflection of parts of me and yours is now Ausmius giving life to parts of you.”
A tangle of legs and arms flailed on the wall like a freshly thwacked spider.
“Is that position possible?” I changed the subject, not wanting to tread into the territory of our burgeoning bond.
He studied them for a long moment. “Probably?”
“Lube is important.” I couldn’t take my eyes off the display. I wondered if part of what he said really meant that our inner selves desired that.
“Hmm. Unless one makes plenty of that, themselves.” Esmeray’s taunt made the skin on the back of my neck prickle.
“Do you?” I raised an eyebrow and stiffened only slightly…in more ways than one…when he slid into my personal space.
“I’ve been known to, but it’s been a while. I’m picky about my partners.” Esmeray’s eyes bored into me, two embers burning from his pale face.
“We’ll take things slow.”
“Not too slow, I’d hope. We only have a day and a half or so before our time is up,” Esmeray said. Just moments ago, he’d been ready to jump me, and before that he was ready to leave. The hot and cold nature of his attempts showed me a male who wasn’t certain of what he wanted.
