My eyes fluttered open, then went wide. “Let me go!” I screamed, struggling against the giant’s grip.
“Mase, I need you to calm way the fuck down.”
Wait—that voice…Okay, so it was rough, butfuck, I knew that voice as well as I knew my own.
“Kip?”
“Yeah, it’s me. I know you have questions, and I swear I’ll answer them once we get out of here. You know, out of the fire?”
I knew we had to get out. Bits of ceiling were falling, setting other things alight, the heat…
The problem? I was staring at Kip with new eyes.
He wasn’t wearing clothes, and his body, so much bigger than when he was in human form, was covered in thick deep blue scales. My gaze drifted downward and I swallowed hard. There was still a very sizable lump in his crotch area, and I wanted to see it desperately.
Kip snorted. “You aresucha perv, Mason. We’re up to oureyeballs in a literal fire and what areyoutrying to do? Get a peek at my cock.” He nudged me. “Focus. You can get your hands on it later.”
Even when he was…whatever he was, he was still my Kip. And I was going to hold him to that.
Then it hit me. “Well, if you’reyou, then who the fuck were you dragging?”
He lifted the body up by the ankle and I saw the soot-covered face of the unconscious man.
“Jerome?” At least, Ihopedhe was unconscious.
“Yup. We know who started the fire. Call Billy Joel.”
“You owe me a huge explanation,” I snapped.
“I do, but I repeat, we need to get out of here. Can you stand?”
“Yeah, I think so.”
He hauled me to my feet. “Listen to me carefully. I’m going to pick you up, then we’re going through the back door. Are you ready?”
I nodded.
“Mason, I asked a question. Are you ready?”
Somehow, with that growly voice, his being bossy was even hotter. “Yes, Kip.”
And then I was off my feet and tucked lovingly under one arm, the other around Jerome. “Hold tight.” Then he rushed forward.
All manner of things went through my head.Thiswas how he’d beaten Alpha Donnelly.Thiswas how he’d held me against the wall and fucked me.Thiswas how he’d cradled me to him, keeping me from harm and night terrors. It didn’t matter what form he took.
This was my Kip.
We smashed through the back door and into the yard. I watched, both impressed and horrified, as Kip changed. The scales receded, the wings drew back inside his body, and the shiny red eyes became the cool blue I knew.
He dumped us both on the ground. “Play the worried spouse,” he whispered.
“Oh, Kip!” I wailed. “You saved me. You can’t die!”
He rolled his eyes. “I said play, not overact, you ham.” But he reached for my hand and gave it a squeeze. “I was so afraid you were inside.” The words came out raw.
Before I could say anything, firefighters and EMTs swarmed around us. They gave all three of us oxygen, although my wolf was already cleaning the char from my lungs. I wasn’t sure what Kip was, but I hoped his body was doing the same. His skin was gray, and burn marks dotted his arms and face.
“What happened to your clothes?” Henry asked.
