nodded.
“I need to strip. Look the other way.” His lips curled up, and I nodded again, but didn’t move. He waved his fingers in a circle, and I tried to focus. Turn around. I moved to face the sofa and stared at the slightly faded cushions. How long would it take? Was he really going to change into a wolf? Anticipation skittered through my bloodstream, but for some bizarre reason, I was no longer scared. Nervous, yes. My palms were sticky, and my heart was racing, but I wasn’t afraid of him.
Behind me, I heard a rustle of clothing. A soft swish , that could have been a T-shirt dropping to the floor. A rasp and scrape, repeated, and two thuds . His boots. The sound of a zipper, and then another rustling noise, the sound of denim being shoved down.
He’d be standing there naked. How pervy would it be if I turned to look? Very, I told myself firmly. I had to wait until he’d changed , however long that took. Something occurred to me. “Levi? I never thought to ask. It doesn’t hurt does it? When you, uh…”
A sharp yip was my reply, and my heart almost stopped. Hauling in a ragged breath, I counted to three in my head and then turned around.
Levi had vanished.
A wolf sat in his place.
My mouth was as dry as the Sahara, and for a second I felt light-headed. How was this even possible? Everything I thought I knew was false. A memory of Becca flashed in my head, her sobs when she told me how she’d caught her boyfriend with another girl. “I saw them together,” she’d cried. “No matter what I do, I can’t un-see them.”
I couldn’t un-see this.
The wolf looked the same as the beast I’d released from the pound. Staring at him, I realised how freakin’ big it was. Handsome too, with thick, dark fur, and the same brilliant blue eyes as Levi. Well, duh. This was Levi.
He took a step toward me, and then flopped to the floor, to roll onto his back. Lying there, mouth open and tongue lolling, he looked harmless, and very friendly. What would his fur be like to touch?
“Can I stroke you?” He stretched out, the picture of innocence. His jaws were huge, and the teeth long and deadly, and if he wanted to, he could snap my wrists without even thinking about it. Even so, I still wasn’t scared. I should have been running away, screeching, but I wasn’t. Deep inside me, buried and locked down tight, was a spark of recognition. An awareness. Levi had talked about bloodlines, and Dad’s heritage.
My father’s words were: My taid was a half-breed.
If my great-grandfather had wolf-blood in him, that meant I had a trace of it too.
I dropped to sit on the carpet, and reached out to touch Levi’s head. His ears were like velvet, the fur thick and soft, and I ran my fingers down his neck, to dig into the ruff. He made a rumbling noise of pleasure, and I gazed in awe. This was Levi. He was beautiful. How could Dad think him to be a freak?
He rolled to lie on his stomach, and then, without any warning, he just dissolved into a glorious rainbow of shimmering sparks. I sat spellbound, not daring to move, to even breathe. Next thing, Levi lay on his front, buck-naked, my hands on his bare shoulders.
In human form, he was even more devastating to my overloaded senses. Acres of tawny skin lay there, mine to touch. A tribal tattoo snaked down his spine, and another wrapped around his upper arm. He shifted position to rest his chin on his hands, and he looked up at me, the image of devilment.
“It doesn’t,” he said.
Huh? “Doesn’t what?”
“It doesn’t hurt. That’s what you asked, a minute ago.”
I had, before my entire knowledge of science had been blown out of the water.
His skin was warm. I could touch him all day in either form, if he’d let me. Without thinking, I stroked the inked characters down the line of his back, tracing them with my fingertips. “I don’t know what to say.”
“You’re still here. That’s a good place to start.”
Chapter Eighteen
“How do you do it? The
“I need to strip. Look the other way.” His lips curled up, and I nodded again, but didn’t move. He waved his fingers in a circle, and I tried to focus. Turn around. I moved to face the sofa and stared at the slightly faded cushions. How long would it take? Was he really going to change into a wolf? Anticipation skittered through my bloodstream, but for some bizarre reason, I was no longer scared. Nervous, yes. My palms were sticky, and my heart was racing, but I wasn’t afraid of him.
Behind me, I heard a rustle of clothing. A soft swish , that could have been a T-shirt dropping to the floor. A rasp and scrape, repeated, and two thuds . His boots. The sound of a zipper, and then another rustling noise, the sound of denim being shoved down.
He’d be standing there naked. How pervy would it be if I turned to look? Very, I told myself firmly. I had to wait until he’d changed , however long that took. Something occurred to me. “Levi? I never thought to ask. It doesn’t hurt does it? When you, uh…”
A sharp yip was my reply, and my heart almost stopped. Hauling in a ragged breath, I counted to three in my head and then turned around.
Levi had vanished.
A wolf sat in his place.
My mouth was as dry as the Sahara, and for a second I felt light-headed. How was this even possible? Everything I thought I knew was false. A memory of Becca flashed in my head, her sobs when she told me how she’d caught her boyfriend with another girl. “I saw them together,” she’d cried. “No matter what I do, I can’t un-see them.”
I couldn’t un-see this.
The wolf looked the same as the beast I’d released from the pound. Staring at him, I realised how freakin’ big it was. Handsome too, with thick, dark fur, and the same brilliant blue eyes as Levi. Well, duh. This was Levi.
He took a step toward me, and then flopped to the floor, to roll onto his back. Lying there, mouth open and tongue lolling, he looked harmless, and very friendly. What would his fur be like to touch?
“Can I stroke you?” He stretched out, the picture of innocence. His jaws were huge, and the teeth long and deadly, and if he wanted to, he could snap my wrists without even thinking about it. Even so, I still wasn’t scared. I should have been running away, screeching, but I wasn’t. Deep inside me, buried and locked down tight, was a spark of recognition. An awareness. Levi had talked about bloodlines, and Dad’s heritage.
My father’s words were: My taid was a half-breed.
If my great-grandfather had wolf-blood in him, that meant I had a trace of it too.
I dropped to sit on the carpet, and reached out to touch Levi’s head. His ears were like velvet, the fur thick and soft, and I ran my fingers down his neck, to dig into the ruff. He made a rumbling noise of pleasure, and I gazed in awe. This was Levi. He was beautiful. How could Dad think him to be a freak?
He rolled to lie on his stomach, and then, without any warning, he just dissolved into a glorious rainbow of shimmering sparks. I sat spellbound, not daring to move, to even breathe. Next thing, Levi lay on his front, buck-naked, my hands on his bare shoulders.
In human form, he was even more devastating to my overloaded senses. Acres of tawny skin lay there, mine to touch. A tribal tattoo snaked down his spine, and another wrapped around his upper arm. He shifted position to rest his chin on his hands, and he looked up at me, the image of devilment.
“It doesn’t,” he said.
Huh? “Doesn’t what?”
“It doesn’t hurt. That’s what you asked, a minute ago.”
I had, before my entire knowledge of science had been blown out of the water.
His skin was warm. I could touch him all day in either form, if he’d let me. Without thinking, I stroked the inked characters down the line of his back, tracing them with my fingertips. “I don’t know what to say.”
“You’re still here. That’s a good place to start.”
Chapter Eighteen
“How do you do it? The
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