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“And Donald?”
“He wants to show some of my work to his clients.”
“I told you people would want it.”
“You’re biased.”
“I’m not.”
“You’re in love with me. It amounts to the same thing.”
His arm circled my waist. I took a moment to enjoy the voices and laughter filling the gallery while people moved between paintings that had once existed only in my head.
Someone tapped a spoon against a glass, and conversations faded as Belinda looked directly at me.
Apparently, it was time for the artist to say a few words.
“Don’t leave my side,” I whispered.
Pascal’s hold tightened. “Never.”
The instant the front door closed behind us, Pascal was no more.
His skin darkened beneath my hands, warmth giving way to shadow as his clothes fell away and his body stretched upward. Horns curved from his head, his eyes ignited red, and a tail lashed behind him hard enough to knock an umbrella from the stand.
“There you are,” I said. “I’ve missed you.”
Caligo smiled, revealing teeth far sharper than anything Pascal possessed.
Then he growled.
Every hair on my body rose, and I took one cautious step backward. “Cal?”
He lunged.
I bolted down the hall with a startled yelp that dissolved into laughter. Claws raked the wall inches behind me as I veered into the living room, almost losing my footing. We both knew Caligo could have caught me within seconds. The only reason I reached the other side of the room was that he enjoyed the chase as much as I did.
I vaulted over the sofa. His tail curled around my ankle, but loosened before it could bring me down.
“Cheating!” I shouted.
“Cheating would require rules. We never set any.”
I slipped free and ran for the stairs. A snarl followed me, low and animalistic, the sound vibrating through the house and going straight to my cock. I dreaded to think what my neighbors thought went on in here. Thankfully, none of them had been brave enough to ask. I made it halfway up the stairs before shadows poured across the wall beside me.
Caligo materialized on the landing above.
“Fuck.”
I spun, but he dropped down behind me, one arm locking around my waist as he lifted me clear off the floor. I kicked and laughed while he carried me the rest of the way, his claws slicing through my shirt as though it were paper.
“I liked that shirt.”
He threw me onto the bed. “You have plenty more.”
I barely had time to turn over before he came down on top of me, huge and dark, his glowing eyes alight with both lust and love. His tail wound around my thigh and pulled my legs apart while his claws stripped away what remained of my clothes.
This was the truth of us. Pascal holding a wineglass beneath gallery lights had been useful. The suit, the polite smile, and the careful performance of humanity were all necessary pieces of the life we showed everyone else.
