Next time I wake it’s to the smell of bacon from the kitchenette and Vera wearing nothing but my sweater while she cooks me breakfast. I hook my hands beneath my head to watch, feeling like one very lucky bear.
My phone buzzes on the nightstand, and I ignore it at first, but as soon as it stops ringing, it starts up again.
With a sigh I check it only to find my father’s number on the caller ID. I don’t feel much like dealing with his bullshit right now, so I turn the phone onto Do Not Disturb and turn my attention back to my mate. “That looks delicious.”
She turns in surprise. “How can you see what I’m cooking from there?”
I chuckle. “Who says I was talking about the food?”
She laughs and leans over to get a plate from the cupboard under the sink, flashing me her pretty pink pussy and making me groan out loud. Impossibly I’m hard again. You’d think I hadn’t spent most of the night inside her. “I think you shifted into a succubus, not a fox. You’re about to milk my soul out through my cock.”
She adds another two eggs to the pan. “You know, I heard someone say that the mate of the guy who owns these cabins is a succubus. They said she used to cause all sorts of trouble for all the monsters in town before she was mated.”
“The blonde we met yesterday?”
“Yeah.”
I shrug. “Trouble? I only had eyes for you.”
She hands me a huge plate of bacon and eggs, which I devour before I pull her onto my face and devour her as well. When she’s looking thoroughly satisfied, I pull her to her feet. “Come on. Get naked. Let’s go get acquainted with your fox.”
TWENTY THREE
Vera
It’s cold in the woods outside the cabin. The place is owned by a fellow shifter, so nudity is to be expected, but I have regrets. My nipples pebble into tight buds, and my teeth clack together as we stand in the sad rays of dappled sunlight.
“You won’t feel it once you’ve shifted,” Bas tells me reassuringly.
“Just as simple as that, huh?”
“I believe in you.” He takes my hand in his. “Can you feel me through the bond?”
I try to concentrate, but I’m distracted by the way my toes feel like ice cubes, and a cold breeze rustles the few leaves left on trees.
“Come on, Ver. You’re not trying.”
“What if I can’t do it?”
He squeezes my hand. “You can. I’m going to shift. I want you to listen through the bond and see what it feels like, then try it yourself.”
“OK.” I shut my eyes, focusing on his big, warm presence in front of me. I get a little distracted by the shape of his body. Reaching out toward him and opening myself up feels like running phantom hands over all my favorite parts of him, like his belly and thighs and his huge pecs and—
Bas groans. “A little less focus maybe.”
I giggle.
Then I feel it. There’s a sizzle of energy that bleeds into me. Excitement that makes something inside me leap and howl. Bas grows and grows until he’s towering over me. His body stretches and grows fur. I feel as if I’m growing larger too, but when I peek, I’m still just plain human me.
Bas drops to all fours in front of me in full bear form. His breath is warm on my hand as he huffs against my skin as if he’s saying, ‘See? Easy.’
I scoff. “Yeah, easy for you.”
He prods me with a wet nose.
I jump. “Alright!” I shut my eyes again and try to reach for the energy I felt when Bas shifted. I remember the shape of it. The feel of it coursing through my body. For a moment it wells up, building pressure like an oncoming orgasm. Then, just like that, it’s gone again. Dissipated. Lost. I’m left standing in the cold, shivering.
I let out a dejected sigh. “Nope.”
