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Bruiser grinned. “Do you mind if I shift? She might as well; she’s halfway there.”

Uriel opened and closed his mouth. “Okay. But wait for me to get her clothes off first, I don’t want her to be trapped in them when she’s shifted.”

“Of course.”

Bruiser watched as Uriel carefully eased the clothes off Cassie and her wings. Uriel was so careful with Cassie; she meant a great deal to him.

Somehow, that made the flames in Bruiser’s core burn hotter.

“Okay,” Uriel said quietly, his heart pounding in Bruiser’s ears. “You may... shift whenever.”

Bruiser leaned in, looking into Uriel’s eyes. “You know that I won’t take her away from you, right? At most, I’d negotiate for a 50-50 split, and only if you allow it.”

Uriel bit his lip. Then he blew out a breath, and nodded.

Bruiser leaned in, stealing a kiss from the corner of Uriel’s lips.

“What?” Uriel squeaked.

Bruiser grinned and pulled away, his own stomach flipping. He set Cassie gently on the floor. Then he shrugged out of his clothes, moved the furniture to give himself more space, and reached for the burning flames in his core.

Leathery wings unfurled from his back. Horns grew from his head, and his face elongated into a snout. Scales bristled all over his changing body, limbs growing shorter, his tail stretching out behind him.

Bruiser rolled his shoulders and flexed his muscles. Now that he was in his other skin, Uriel and Cassie looked tiny next to him.

Uriel stared, his gaze trailing over Bruiser’s body and wings, to his snout.

“Do I look good?” Bruiser asked hopefully, his voice a low rumble.

“You... look like a dragon,” Uriel muttered. He couldn’t hide the way his heart skipped. Bruiser grinned.

Cassie gave a tiny, high-pitched roar. Then she shifted into a tiny emerald dragon, looking like a smaller version of Bruiser. Bruiser could’ve melted.

“Awww, look at you,” Bruiser purred, lowering himself to the floor so he could meet her gaze at eye-level.

He roared quietly, his dragon breath buffeting Cassie in the face.

Instead of falling back, Cassie grinned her toothy dragon grin, and roared back.

She was adorable. Especially when she grabbed his paw and began to gnaw on it.

“Fuck,” Uriel whispered. When Bruiser sneaked a peek, he found the mage wide-eyed, staring at them both. “What have I gotten myself into?”

“I got into you,” said Bruiser’s mouth.

“Ugh!” Uriel scowled. For a moment, it looked like he was going to kick Bruiser. “That was terrible.”

“Bet you’ve never heard anything like it.”

“It sounds like one of those terrible pickup lines, from the butlers’ pink book,” Uriel muttered.

Bruiser coughed discreetly. “You realize that you’ve just jinxed yourself. Now my butler is going to show up.”

Uriel’s eyes widened. “Oh, Hell.” He buried his face in his hands. “I’m going to keep him out of the cabin.”

He swept his hands around. The air rippled in an expanding sphere, all the way to the walls of the cabin and beyond. It was amazing. Not many mages could do spells without incantations or runes. “I’ve set up a shield. He can’t come in.”

“Sounds good,” Bruiser murmured.