Free Wanted: Wild Thing (Midnight Liaisons) by Jessica Sims

I so hideous even to him that he wouldn’t look at me? My pride, already battered, hurt worse than my newly transformed body.
    To make matters even worse, Hugh wasn’t hideous in the least. Since his gaze was averted, I openly stared. His chest was broadly massive, and lightly furred with that same stripey coloration his hair had. I’d missed the chance to stare at his privates, I realized too late, so I ogled his legs instead. They were thick and strong, and surprisingly long, given the barrel-like massiveness of the rest of his body. His powerful thighs flexed as he turned to reveal a tight, delicious ass that made me feel all kinds of wild longings. I wanted to touch him for some reason, and my hand lifted involuntarily. He was sinfully gorgeous naked.
    And I . . . was a scaly beast. I lowered my hand.
    “Can you walk now?” Hugh asked. “We’ve much ground to cover.”
    “I can walk,” I said, my words slurred around my fangs. “Where are we going?”
    “To my tribemates.”
    “Lead on, then.”
    He nodded and tilted his head, his messy hair rippling in the breeze as he sniffed. His eyes gleamed, reflecting the low light, and I wished that changelings had shifters’ gifts. My hearing wasn’t extra keen, I couldn’t smell anything on the air but moss, and I still couldn’t see more than a foot in front of myself.
    I loathed every bit of being a changeling. There were no advantages. None. I might be stronger, like Hugh had said, but it just meant that I could harm a human man if I tried to have sex with him and he wasn’t my True Love.
    And really, who would want to touch me in this form? Hugh was barely human himself, and he couldn’t even look at me. I choked back my bitterness and followed behind him.
    We moved through the swampy growth of trees, and the farther we moved inward, the more confused I became. This was the fae realm? I’d pictured something far more civilized. Delicate buildings and cultured gardens. The terrain we were slogging through was wild and a bit disgusting, quite frankly.
    Was Hugh lying to me? Was he leading me somewhere to trap me? No, that didn’t make sense. Hugh said he never lied, and whatever Finian had promised him, he wanted it badly enough to sell me out.
    I said nothing as we trekked through the underbrush, my clawed feet sinking into the murk with every step. I focused on Hugh’s flexing buttocks ahead of me, the occasional glimpse of his cock and balls between his legs. It made me blush even as it fascinated me, and I wanted to stare at them. Was that weird? Did it even matter?
    All of a sudden Hugh halted, his hand extending out to stop me.
    I was so focused on his tight ass that I didn’t notice and ran smack into that big hand. I gave a yelp of surprise, even as he flinched away.
    And seeing that flinch? Just made my heart sink a little more. A hard knot formed in my throat.
    “Silence,” Hugh whispered.
    I waited anxiously, staring at him, since I couldn’t see a thing in the fog.
    After a long moment he lifted his head, testing the breeze, and looked over at me. “We are being followed. Something is downwind.”
    “Finian?”
    His mouth curled into a sneer, huge fangs on display. “He would never come here of his own accord.” He gestured for me to follow him as he launched forward.
    I trotted behind him as best I could, unable to stop peeking behind me out of anxiety. Was something hunting us? Was it one of Hugh’s people?
    Hugh halted again.
    I jerked to a stop behind him, glancing around. I saw nothing. I looked over at Hugh again. “What is it?”
    He stared at the thick bushes ahead of us, not moving a muscle. I followed his gaze, curious.
    An enormous shape moved forward and I gasped, staggering backward. “Oh . . . shit.”
    A rhinoceros on steroids headed toward us. It was like nothing I’d ever seen before. Even in the low light, I could make out a huge, bulky body, the head lowered. It was as big as an elephant, maybe bigger. Shaggy