Jude didn’t wait to be asked again and made for the tent, but he didn’t zip it up all the way. He watched as Mack stripped off his jeans and jocks, his body fit and lean and golden brown, except for the paleness of his ass cheeks. Someone spent more time almost naked than he’d let on.
As if sensing Jude’s gaze, Mack turned, giving Jude an eyeful of his junk before he walked out of Jude’s line of vision. For several heartbeats, Jude didn’t move. Then he figured it was safe to come out of the tent.
A large cinnamon-colored bear was ambling away.
Fear spiked through him, even though he knew it was Mack and Mack’s brain was in there. How would he know it was Mack returning? “What’s the signal?”
The bear stood on its hind legs and gave Jude what appeared to be the middle finger with both front paws before dropping to the ground and continuing on its way.
Jude guessed that wasn’t natural bear behavior, but he really had no idea. He glanced around the campsite. He was totally alone with not even his phone for company.
Mack ran, and he scratched, and he re-marked what he considered his territory. He didn’t smell any other bears in the area, which was a relief. There was something so right about being able to bound through the woods on four legs. Even better when there weren’t any humans about. He had the forest to himself.
Except for Jude.
Jude lingered in his thoughts even when he should think only of finding the perfect tree to rub against. The witch’s rapid, lust-filled heartbeat had given away that he’d been watching from the tent. Jude knew what he was and still wanted him. And Mack didn’t know what to do with that.
The sun was high as Mack circled back to camp. He had no doubt that a creature that could track his truck to his house could find them out here. It was better to pick the location of the fight than to get ambushed, and out here innocent, non-paranormals wouldn’t get in the way or get hurt.
He approached the camp quietly then sat and watched Jude.
Jude sat by the fire, but he wasn’t napping or reading one of the cheap thrillers that Mack had thrown in the bag. Sitting and reading by the campfire was another thing Mack loved to do when he went camping. Usually he’d get himself a fresh fish or rabbit for dinner, but he didn’t think Jude would appreciate the effort, so he hadn’t bothered. Sparks trailed over Jude’s skin, and the campsite smelled like a storm. A sapling was now a twisted burned matchstick, and there were scorch marks on the ground. He hadn’t seen or heard anything, so Jude must have kept his storm small.
Mack got up and meandered toward the campsite. Jude stood, his fingers crackling with static. His hair had lifted, and his eyes were bright. He looked dangerous.
And hot.
And Mack was in entirely the wrong body to be having those thoughts. He stood and gave Jude the finger.
“I think it was both paws,” Jude called.
Mack growled, a low rumble that had the power to make people run—he really tried not to chase them, most of the time. Jude spread his hands, and white arced between them. Mack put up both paws, middle claw extended.
Asshole.
But there was no hiding from Jude now. Mack should’ve shifted behind the bushes and walked back to the clearing as a man. He didn’t need any heightened senses to see the curiosity in Jude’s electric-green eyes.
“If I pat you, will you bite me?”
It was so very tempting. But there were other things he’d much rather do to Jude. No one who’d seen him as a bear had ever looked at him with anything other than fear, or the desire to kill him and claim the trophy. To other bear shifters he was nothing special.
You don’t like the wild. Why do you like me? But Mack shook his head. He wouldn’t bite Jude and he didn’t want the witch to fear him.
Jude took a few more cautious steps closer. “I’ve only ever seen bears in zoos. You seem bigger.”
He wasn’t that big. His father was massive. He didn’t move as Jude stepped within touching distance. For half a second, he was tempted to roar, just to see if Jude would run, but he didn’t.
Jude reached out a hand and touched the fur on his shoulder. Mack swung his head around. The least Jude could do was scratch his ears. Jude’s eyes widened, but he seemed to get the hint, because his fingers found the spot, and he scratched.
No one had ever done that, and Mack leaned into it, enjoying the touch.
Jude started to smile. “I can’t believe I’m touching a bear.”
You aren’t, dumbass. A real bear would’ve mauled you by now.
But for Jude, who lived in a city and didn’t like ‘the wild’ as he called it, this was probably as close to nature as he liked to get.
Jude brushed his fingers over Mack’s snout. “Your eyes are the same.”
Mack licked Jude’s hand. Even like this the witch’s skin tasted good. His nose was more sensitive than even his human nose, and Jude’s worry and desire eddied around him.
“Can I watch you shift this time? I won’t interrupt you. I swear.”
No. Shifting wasn’t a trick he performed for people. The body did things. It warped and twisted, and for a moment he was half man, half bear before the shift was finished. He didn’t want anyone, especially not Jude seeing him like that. But Jude had already seen him stuck with paws, and he hadn’t run away in horror. He’d been there to help. It was Mack who’d pushed him away.
Jude’s hand fell away. “Or not.”
The brightness of Jude’s eyes shuttered, and even though neither of them moved, Mack could feel the gap widening like a maw that would swallow them both. He didn’t want
