Free License to Shift by Kathy Lyons

that a lot.”

Chapter 7
    S ometimes the stars align, the fates are kind, and everything is exactly as it ought to be. Mark looked at Julie’s body and knew that God had given him a precious gift. If he didn’t take it with joy and gratitude, then he was a damned fool.
    She had said yes. He hadn’t even truly asked, but she had said yes, and so he’d carried her to bed. And now she sat before him with her glorious breasts pink and perfect in front of him. He could hardly breathe for that sight. But as he looked, she flushed hot and tried to pull in to herself. She curved her spine away from him, and her eyes canted down and away. He’d seen this reaction before, knew it for the idiocy it was, and he’d be damned if he let the most beautiful woman be awkward about who and what she was.
    “Mark,” she murmured. “I know I haven’t exactly got a runway model figure—”
    “Stop,” he said. Then he closed his eyes, inhaling her arousal but also the acrid bite of shame. Not of what they were doing, but of her own body. “From the moment I noticed girls, I thought I was weird because I hate delicate or thin.”
    “What?”
    He opened his eyes, then he pressed a tender kiss to her cheek. But this close to her, he had to lick her as well. And so he tasted her lightly, nibbling along her jaw while her breath stuttered hot and moist against his skin. “I liked curves.” Actually, he loved them. “Size and strength are beyond attractive to me.”
    She bit her lip. “Strength?”
    He pulled back enough to set his hands on her shoulders. “Strength,” he repeated as he gripped her. “I’m not going to hurt you if I get enthusiastic.” He grinned. “And I am extremely enthusiastic.”
    Her expression softened into gratitude, and that pissed him off. Damn it, he didn’t want her to be thankful that he liked her. He wanted her to understand that her body was amazing. To know core deep how beautiful she was.
    “Strength,” he repeated as he squeezed her frame. “And curves.” His voiced dropped into a low, growling purr as he looked at her breasts. They were large and flushed, her nipples dark and tight. He shifted his hands again, glorying in the weight of them, the sheer size. Oh, the things he was going to do with this much flesh. He pushed them together and groaned at the sight of all that cleavage. He wanted to bury himself there between her lush mounds. And he was going to lick, suck, and nip every sweet inch.
    He gently took hold of her arms and pushed them above her head until she could grip the headboard. “Don’t move,” he said. “If you can resist.”
    “Why not?”
    “Because I want to enjoy this.” He looked into her eyes. “I want you to know I love this.”
    He leaned down, taking the time to smell her skin. She had an artificial lemony scent to her that was probably shampoo or soap. But this close, he could smell the orangey citrus that came from her and the tangy spice of her arousal. He scraped his teeth across her flesh, tasting salt and sweet in equal measures.
    His hands shaped her, and he adored how she overflowed even his massive palms.
    The dark berries of her nipples called to him, so he tasted them next. They were large enough to tease with tongue and teeth, and she squirmed. Her back arched and her breath came in short, tight gasps he nipped her. But she groaned in hunger when he sucked. And best of all, her scent grew stronger each time he fondled her breasts.
    It was amazing, and he could have stayed there for hours. But another scent drew him downward. Pepper and spice and everything nice. He managed her shorts with ease, pulling them off her while she twisted toward the bathroom.
    “Condom,” she gasped. “My toiletry bag.”
    He didn’t like thinking of why she was prepared, but didn’t have a reason to object. It’s not like he could protect her in this way, not with his bear clamoring to impregnate her.
    Rather than give voice to his feelings, he spread her legs to