“Oh God,” Wade said, already human again before he could even think about it. “I’m sorry! I didn’t mean to scare you!”
She stared at him with saucer-wide eyes, clearly speechless ... and then broke down into uncontrollable laughter.
“I’msorry,” she said in between wheezes. “I thought you were writing a book!”
Wade blinked. “A book?”
“Or a screenplay! I thought you’d come up with this cool idea about people who could turn into bears, and you were writing something about it, and ... I have to sit down.”
There was a couch just a few feet away, but Mira folded up onto the floor instead. She pressed her fist to her mouth to catch the last few incredulous guffaws.
Wade sat down beside her. “I thought maybe you were friends with a werewolf,” he offered.
She turned her head and buried her face in his shoulder, her shoulders shaking with new I-can’t-believe-this-is-happening laughs.
“No wonder you didn’t want to talk about this in the restaurant,” she said finally. “So there are more people out there like you? People who can turn into animals? Of course you’d want to keep that a secret.”
“And you thought I just felt self-conscious talking about my fantasy novel idea,” Wade said, putting the pieces together. He had to laugh now too. “You were really encouraging!”
“If you wrote a book, I would absolutely read it,” Mira said, and then suddenly she lifted up her head and her lips met his.
Chapter Twelve
Mira could lose herself in this, in the hot glide and press of the kiss, in the way her eyes fluttered closed, blocking out anything but the sensations they were chasing together. She reached up, her hand finding his cheek. As she traced her fingers down and along his jawline, she felt like she would know him anywhere, know him blindfolded, as long as she could kiss him. As long as she could touch him like this.
Her plans for tonight had included sex, but now she thought she would be happy with hour after hour of kissing. She’d probably want to move on eventually, of course, but even as turned-on as she was, she wasn’t in any rush. Something told her that she didn’t have to hurry. Wade would be here. They would have time. Not every cookie had to be grabbed when it first came out of the oven.
Only one thing made her pull back, and she did it breathlessly and with a sharp pang of regret.
It did give her the chance to see what a glorious mess they’d already started making of each other, though. Wade’s hair was mussed, his mouth smudged from her lipstick. He looked as wonderstruck as she felt.
Mira couldn’t resist trailing her fingers through his hair. It was so soft, like short-cut silk.
“Before we get too carried away,” she said, like she hadn’t already been thorough swept—and kissed—off her feet, “can I see you as a bear again? I feel like I didn’t get to properly appreciate it. And you did want to show me.”
“I did.” Wade exhaled. He reached up for her hand, the one that was still entangle in his hair, and laced his fingers through hers. “I do. Just give me a second to catch my breath.” He grinned. “But my polar bear’s delighted that you asked.”
“It’s separate from you? Like a pet?”
He seesawed his free hand. “Not like a pet. More like—an inner voice. Like those old cartoons where someone has an angel on one shoulder and a devil on the other, only it’s not good or bad, it’s just human or animal, conscious mind or pure instinct. Shifters always have a human on one shoulder and an animal on the other. I can talk to the polar bear side. Technically, I guess I can talk to the human side too, but since that’s basically what my conscious mind is ....”
“It just feels like you thinking.”
“Exactly.” He let go of her hand and stood up, stretching. “The change will be fast,” he warned her. “I should have thought to tell you that last time. Sorry, I’ve never done this before.”
This had to be the only date where the guy who was apologizing for being too quick and admitting he was inexperienced was talking about revealing his secret ability toturn into a polar bear.
“I’m prepared this time,” Mira promised. “Go for it.”
Boom: polar bear. He wasn’t kidding about the change being effectively instantaneous.
As odd as it was to have a polar bear standing in her living room, Mira didn’t feel a single quiver of fear. Why would she? She knew that it was Wade. Even if his instincts were at the forefront in this form, he was still himself. If she needed any proof of that, all she had to do was remember how he’d turned human again the second she’d screamed. As soon as he’d realized how startled she was, he had wanted to make her feel better.
Those were Wade’s instincts. That was who he was, so it was who his polar bear was too.
Mira came closer, soaking in every detail of Wade’s thick, snow-white fur. His eyes and nose were both a velvety black, making them stand out vividly.
There was so much sheer power standing in front her. He washuge, his strength obvious even in repose. He must have weighed close to a thousand pounds, and she was amazed the floorboards weren’t groaning beneath him. She had seen polar bears before, but only on TV or from a distance, at a zoo. She had never been within inches of one.
