"What? Why? I'm fine."
"Where did you get those bruises? Did one of my bookcases fall on you last week?"
I laughed. "Shifter metabolism, remember? I wouldn't still have bruises from a week ago."
"Then what happened to you?"
"Well, I might have gotten hit by a shark. They always say they hit like a Mack truck. That was not exaggeration."
"You got hit by a shark?" He screeched like my meerkat.
"Well, when you're playing with a shark shifter in the water, it happens."
Gabe stared at me with wide eyes as I explained what Bruce, Isiah, and I had done. After a moment, he grinned and waved his sparkling nails at me.
"Becca and I went to get manicures. Apparently, you boys decided to go for some full contact water sports instead."
"That's better than strippers, or gambling." Isiah had suggested both in the lobby, but my injury had ruined the mood on the beach, and no amount of debauchery would get it back.
"Do they hurt?" Gabe crawled out of bed and came over to me, tentatively tracing his fingers around the mottled bruises on my shoulder beneath my tank top. "This one almost looks like ameerkat." He tugged me to the full-length mirror on the closet door.
"Probably because I was thrown right out of my meerkat form."
"Seriously?" Gabe shook his head. "This is all new to me. Is this normal shifter behavior?"
I pulled him to the bed and tugged him into my lap. "Sometimes, shifting into our animal form helps us to heal. When we're forced out of our animal forms by an event, like getting hit by a shark, we might not heal so well when we shift into our animal forms the second time. That must be what happened."
He dipped his head with a solemn nod. "So, we won't be screwing around tonight. Got it."
"I didn't say that!" Not that I'd assumed anything resembling "screwing around," was an option tonight, but if Gabe was offering, I wouldn't let a few bruises stop me.
"You didn't have to." He poked at a bruise on the side of my pec, almost in my armpit, and I winced. "See? you don't have to say a word. You're still hurt. But if your meerkat wants to cuddle with me instead, I'm fine with that."
According to the old wives' tales my mom spouted without provocation, being close to our fated mates promoted healing, whatever that meant. My meerkat cringed at the thought of shifting in this hotel room, high up in the air. I was an underground creature. Still, the thought of cuddling in Gabe's lap while he read his book over the top of my head sounded oddly soothing. "Sure, let's try it out."
Gabe got to his feet, drawing my attention to the way his silk boxers clung to his delectable peach-shaped ass. As I peeled off my tank top and board shorts, I wished I hadn't been so rudely tackled. My meerkat form wished the same when I retook it for the second time after the incident. It still hurt.
Back home, I could scramble onto my bed without a second thought. This bed, with its plain frame and no footboard to climb, intimidated me. I must have hesitated a moment too long, because Gabe leaned over the side of the bed, his bouncing gold curls doing nothing to hide his laughter.
"Need some help?" He scooped me up with one arm, something I usually hated. The moment he made contact with my side, I went limp. His touch relaxed me like nothing else.
He pulled me into his lap. Usually, it would have taken me several long moments and tons of fidgeting to arrange my body in a tight circle. With Gabe, everything felt perfect the first time. He put me down in the right place, covered me with the perfect amount of comforter, and I snuggled down in no time. Soon I was sound asleep in my mate's lap.
11
GABE
Mika looked socute sitting in my lap. I almost didn't want to move, even though I could barely keep my eyes open.
I'd gotten to the end of my book, where the murderer had finally been convicted and the victim's family could rest knowing justice had been served. It was a good stopping point for the night.
Mika twitched in his sleep, his little paws moving, his ears flat against the sides of his head. He even made coaxing noises like a cat talking to its prey. I stroked my hand down his back, and he burrowed deeper into my lap.
This wasn't what I had expected from having a mate. Though I knew shifters existed, I never expected to have a mate who was also, not a pet, but pet-like.
He would hate it if I called him my pet, but he was the closest thing I'd ever had to one. My dad didn't allow animals in our house. Then I'd moved to an apartment complex that didn't allow pets, either. Besides, I barely fit in my one-bedroom efficiency. I couldn't imagine a cat or dog stuck in there with me, knocking things over with every turn. No, my life was not meant for pets, but maybe with Mika it could be. And no, I didn't mean having a meerkat on my lap. Hopefully one day, when we livedin the fancy exclusive gated compound he swore wasn't mafia-related, in a house with a picket fence and all the trappings of domestic life, perhaps then we could have a dog, cat, or both.
I shimmied down the bed until my head rested on the bank of pillows, and Mika lay on my chest. I tucked him under the covers to contain the scent of saltwater and fur. It wasn't altogether unpleasant, but it was strange enough to keep me awake.
