him. “Have a seat.”
“You want to show me something here?”
He nodded, very solemn. Excitement danced down her spine
along with a hint of nerves. He was a firefighter, a community hero, her
cousin’s friend. She knew she could trust him, but out in the forest she felt
primitive, aware of her delicacy next to his brawn.
Taking out her water bottle again, she sat on the stump. He
said nothing more, just started to shuck his clothes, a Ladder Company One
T-shirt and cargo shorts, blue-boxer briefs, hiking boots and athletic socks.
“Mmmm,” she said, feeling a sensation very different from
heat exhaustion. She could find the energy to take that strong cock into her
and roll around on the ground a little. That patch of grass to her left might
have enough spring to be comfortable.
She glanced up, expecting to see a condom in his hand, that
dirty grin back on his face.
Instead, his torso bent forward. His nose elongated.
Cracking noises shocked her into immobility. They emanated from his body. His
hands became paws and she could see a tail emerging. The water bottle dropped
from her hands, spilling its contents. Her mind froze. All she could do was
watch. When a wolf stood proudly in front of her, more beautiful than any
creature she’d ever sketched, she rocked back, fell off her stump. As she
scrambled back, he padded toward her. Much of his mass had dissipated in the
mystical transformation, but he was still huge.
She held back a scream as an odd thought grabbed her barely
functioning brain. He was still gorgeous, similar to the wolves she’d sketched
over the past eight months. She’d never been so close to one before. Would he
attack? Were all the wolves she’d seen shapeshifters, maybe people she knew?
None of them had attacked. She couldn’t gather enough muscle control to move,
even if he wanted to hurt her.
No, he stopped a foot away, waited for her to approach.
Somehow, she knew this was a test, the biggest she’d ever faced.
C’mon, Olivia, your future is now. What did
she want? To be alone or to be embraced in a pure, mystical love by a genuine
shapeshifter? One she was crazy hot for? Really liked? Had spent the past two
years fantasizing about in her lonely bed, only to discover the reality was far
better than anything she’d imagined?
She didn’t even have to marry him. That took her anxiety
down a notch.
She reached out her hand, touched an ear and stroked his
fur. The wolf put its nose against hers then stepped back. She held her breath,
waiting, itching to reach for one of her pencils.
As quickly as he’d begun it, he reversed the transformation.
When he’d finished, Smokie lay on the ground, panting.
“You’re a truly gorgeous wolf,” she marveled, finding her
tree stump again. Her legs felt absurdly weak.
“You weren’t scared.” His expression showed pride in her for
her strength.
“I was terrified,” she admitted, “but you behaved perfectly.
So pretty.”
He pushed into a sitting position. “I prefer handsome,
rugged, dashing.” He trailed off when she left the stump and crawled toward
him, poked him in his very human belly.
“I don’t think I ever appreciated this six-pack until now,
outside, in the sunlight.” She noted that, just below his fantastic abs, his
cock was thickening and lifting in front of her gaze as she stroked the springy
hair on his lower belly. Her fingers itched to move down.
“See something you like?” His voice had gone hoarse and she
knew he meant more than he said.
Did she like him? Of course, but something had been holding
her back from seeing him as more than a hook-up. His age? His dangerous job?
The fact of his secret shapeshifting self? “I see everything that I like,” she
admitted honestly.
“Checking me out in wolf form didn’t seem to bother you.”
“I think it’s cool.” She laughed. “I’d rather you turn into
a wolf than a jerk.”
“The Brotherhood is pretty flexible. We aren’t forced to
turn by the full