Keeping Dallas by Amber Kell

had supernatural genetics, they might be able to stay together much longer. Joy flowed through him.
    “What are you?” Laurence asked, not beating around the bush.
    Dallas refused to meet his eyes and stubbornly shook his head.
    This would be a harder task than he’d expected. “Okay, how about I go first? I’m a sorcerer,” he confessed.
    Dallas moved quicker than the human eye. Before Laurence could blink twice, his lover was standing on the other side of the room, panic making his breathing loud.
    Laurence slammed the office door shut and locked it with a wave of his hand. He couldn’t have Dallas leaving before they finished their conversation. He refused to lose his lover before he discovered Dallas’ true nature, and he didn’t want to lose it even then. They’d have a long discussion about keeping secrets after this.
    “D-don’t kill m-me, please, Master.”
    Dallas’ fear cut him to the quick.
    “When in our relationship have I ever harmed you?” Laurence demanded. “Have I ever done anything against your wishes?”
    Dallas took long slow breaths as if he was trying to regain his calm. “No.”
    “No what?” Laurence snapped.
    Dallas dropped to his knees. “No, Master.”
    “That’s right. I’m your master, and you’ve been keeping things from me, too, haven’t you.” Laurence relaxed on familiar ground. They could get through this. Once they finished confession time they could move on to salvaging their relationship. Laurence wouldn’t allow for any other outcome.
    He stood up. He couldn’t let Dallas find any weakness in him. He had a feeling his werekin would only respond to a strong man at this moment. “What are you?” he asked again. “And why didn’t you tell me?”
    “I-I’m sorry but they weren’t my secrets to share.” Dallas refused to meet his gaze and didn’t say anything further.
    Laurence marched across the room and forced Dallas’ chin up so he could look into his sub’s gorgeous, deceitful eyes. “Then you should’ve gotten permission to tell me. Unless you didn’t expect to stay with me long enough for it to be a problem.” That thought cut Laurence to the quick. Although he had been planning a long-term relationship with Dallas, maybe his feelings weren’t returned.
    “Oh, no, that isn’t it at all.” Dallas shook his head vigorously denying the accusation. “I was going to ask Rolf if I could tell you everything, but I thought it would be better to wait until after the wedding. He’s been temperamental lately.”
    “Marrying someone you don’t want to, tends to make people cranky,” Laurence remarked.
    Dallas’ forehead scrunched into little lines as he considered Laurence’s words. “You don’t think he wants to get married?”
    “Not to his fiancée. But I don’t care about him. Answer my question. What are you?” He felt a bit stupid not having known his lover had paranormal abilities, but Dallas had purposely hidden them from him and didn’t give off the right vibes for a magic wielder.
    “Step back, please,” Dallas requested in a shaky voice.
    Uncertain and more than a little nervous, Laurence moved away from his lover.
    A flash of light blinded him. When he finally blinked enough to clear his vision, a brown wolf stood where his beautiful Dallas had kneeled before. The animal’s powerful frame and crystal blue eyes were like something out of a wildlife film.
    “You’re beautiful in any form, aren’t you?” Laurence walked over to the wolf, hoping he wasn’t about to lose a hand. Tentatively, he reached out and brushed the wolf’s soft ears with the tips of his fingers. The fur had a rougher texture than he’d expected. Laurence laughed in relief when the beast nuzzled against him. In either form his lover yearned for his master’s touch.
    “Shift back,” he demanded.
    Another light flashed in the room and a kneeling man replaced the wolf.
    It took a minute for Laurence to gather his words together to form a