With aching slowness, he stretches forward and tentatively rests his fingers on my head, between my ears. Instinctively I arch into his touch. My eyes roll closed at the simple pleasure of his hand on me as he sinks his fingers into my soft fur. When he begins to lightly scratch behind my ear, I can’t help but purr. Fuck that feels good.
He accepts me. Accepts me as my leopard.
262
Kaden
I should be freaking out, right?
The voice in the back of my mind keeps trying to tell me this is insane, that I should run from this room and to not stop until I’m in my car again and driving as far away from here as possible. But that little voice can go fuck itself. As impossible as all this may seem, something deep inside me knows it’s true. Something feels so right, like uncovering a memory that had been buried deep, it feels like something I have always known on some level.
She’s beautiful. As a woman she is absolutely stunning but shifted into her snow leopard she is breathtaking. Her coat is impossibly soft beneath my hand, and the contented purr she lets out when I scratch lightly behind her ear sends a wave of contentment through me like I’ve never felt before. In this moment, I know there is no other choice for me. I would follow this woman anywhere. I may not know what being part of this world entails, or how my life will change, but I would give anything to spend even an hour with this woman in my arms. A certainty that runs bone deep sinks through me, I would go to the ends of the earth to be with her. I’d do anything for her, to be with her.
“Okay.” I say, trying to convey the finality of my decision in my voice as I meet those glowing blue eyes. Her head tilts to the side, considering me for a moment, before she nods her large head. Ava stretches to her feet and bends to nudge my knee with her forehead, signaling me to stand. With a brief chuckle I press up to my feet and watch as she rubs against my legs for a moment before walking to the door. Apparently, we’re leaving. I don’t know why that strikes me as funny, but I can’t resist the smile tugging at my lips as I walk to the door and step out onto the small porch of the treehouse.
The sun is just starting to come up, turning the edges of the sky the slightest shade of purple where it peeks through the trees. I swear I can hear Ava pad quietly down the stairs in front of me, but when I look down to see her, there’s nothing there. Spinning on my heel I check to see if she is still in the tree house, but once again, there’s nothing. Well, what the fuck. Annoyance and worry battle in my system as I descend the few steps to the forest floor and head off in the direction I hope the cabin is in.
Before I can even make it back to the lake, Ava reappears next to me, walking quietly by my side, shifted still. I can’t blame her for not shifting back to human, walking barefoot through the woods wouldn’t be high on my priority list either, but just casually hanging out with a snow leopard will take some getting used to.
Eventually we make it back to her cabin and she quickly dresses in the clothes she left by the barn. I attempt to make a joke about taking the Vette for a joy ride back into town, but all she does is shoot me a playful growl and an eye roll as she tugs her shirt back over her head.
I have to admit, the fact she is so confident in her body and being naked doesn’t seem to faze her at all, is a giant turn on. That longing I felt back in the treehouse when she shifted? That was a completely platonic feeling, a longing to be with her and experience things through her eyes. The longing I’m feeling right now as she covers up those perfect tits is entirely differently, and wholly NOT platonic. I’ve been hard as fuckin steel inside my too tight jeans since that damn kiss, and being cooped up in my car, surrounded by her scent for almost an hour, just might kill me.
Thankfully we make it back into town without incident, though I only lasts about five minutes into the drive before I lost the battle to keep my hands to myself. We drove the rest of the way with my hand on her knee, my thumb tracing gentle circles over her jeans. When I first reached for her, Ava tensed and went silent, but she quickly grew accustomed to my touch and even ended up wrapping her arm around mine and tracing matching little circles across the top of my wrist with her delicate fingertips.
When we were about 20 minutes outside of town, Ava explained that while we needed to talk to Neo, bringing me to the clubhouse with no warning might not be the best idea. I have to say I agree with her, I like my life and would like to keep living it thank you very much. When I mentioned that to Ava it earned me a slap on the arm and sharp admonishment that the Brothers “aren’t that bad.” Yeah, gonna have to take her word on that one for now. Knowing
