Naked as the day he was born, he stepped out of his truck and hung the messenger bag around his neck by its lengthy strap, leaving the bag hanging just over his abdominal region. His nostrils flared and he frowned. This is so humiliating. I must look like the world’s biggest d-bag right now.
Stretching his neck, he shook his head back and forth, swallowing hard as the shifting process began. Every nerve ending twitched and a pins and needles sensation pricked at his skin as hair follicles began to react, allowing rapid growth. His shoulders slumped forward as a sharp pain started in the center of his spine and flowed in both directions, resonating in his hips and neck simultaneously.
“Ugh,” he released his last human noise as his tongue swelled, forcing him to open his mouth. As always, the first ten seconds were miserable until a pervasive numbness took over, courtesy of a special gland unique to shifters. Davis didn’t feel his hands hit the ground, hardening into hooves, just as his feet were doing. His legs and arms stretched, growing in length and width.
With his eyes rolling back in his head, he sucked in as much air through his nostrils as he could—not that the useless reflex helped much, as his throat contracted, cutting off his airflow for a few seconds at regular intervals while a squeezing sensation plagued the last place to numb, his facial bones. The merciful blackness rushed his head, stealing his conscious mind for a few seconds while his neck elongated and his muzzle emerged. As everything fell into place, leaving Davis standing tall and strong in his equine form, his sight and hearing came rushing back along with feeling to his limbs.
Immediately, the urge to move became overwhelming and he began to trot, easily accepting the familiar feeling of his alternate form. The numbness had dissipated, leaving only adrenaline and enzymes that released a natural analgesic as powerful as Morphine but without the side effects. Soon, Davis had his bearings and was off, running through the cold, still night. He kept to the side of the road but near the shadow of the trees lining the rural street leading to Scarlett’s road. Good thing she liked the quiet of country living or he would never have been able to pull off this shift. The last thing he needed was some animal control officers chasing him down, but there was little chance of that around here.
Chapter Five
After the doorbell rang, Scarlett took her time making her way over to answer. She didn’t want to seem too anxious, even though her heart was beating a thousand miles a minute.
“Just a second,” she called out, slipping on her cardigan before reaching for the doorknob.
“Hi!” She started to greet Davis as she opened the door, but the smile she wore disappeared and her nostrils flared. “What the hell are you doing here?”
Tall and lanky with his dark hair combed back and meticulously styled, Robert stood on Scarlett’s porch, all dressed up in one of his hipster doofus outfits. He smiled at her, giving her his best puppy dog eyes. “I couldn’t let you go to your office New Year’s party alone. It’s been on my calendar for weeks.”
While standing in the middle of the doorway to block his entrance, Scarlett placed a hand on her hip. “Are you fucking kidding me? I told you never to call me again and you show up at my house?”
“We had a date,” he said, tilting his head and smiling in a way that just might have worked before she met Davis.
Now, even if the man of her dreams wasn’t on his way, Scarlett would have still stood strong against her cheating ex. Her weekend with Davis had helped her reclaim the self-esteem Robert had spent three years slowly leeching away.
“I broke up with you and despite the fact that you suck, you’re actually a pretty smart guy. You know good and well that being dumped means for you to fuck off completely!”
“Come on, baby, you don’t really mean that. I know I screwed up. I promise it will never happen again. I love you. We belong together.”
Was I really so easily manipulated by him before? Still livid, Scarlett took a deep breath. She needed to stave off any show of hot emotion. She wanted her ex gone before Davis arrived and the best way to make that happen was to be calm and cold. “I’m sorry, Robert, but I want you to leave.” Scarlett kept her voice as even as her anger would allow.
While looking as if he’d been punched in the gut, Robert asked, “Won’t you at least let me in so we can sit down and talk things out?”
Scarlett’s jaw dropped but she caught herself before lashing out. Placing a hand over her stomach, she pushed gently, trying to settle her nerves. Truthfully, she wanted to go bat-shit crazy on Robert and knock his ass down the porch stairs, but that wouldn’t solve anything. “No. We have nothing to discuss. Please leave now.”
Robert’s expression was a mixture of confusion and sadness. Apparently, he had expected her to fold. After reaching into his coat pocket, he retrieved a small box, wrapped in Christmas paper and topped with a red ribbon. “I bought this for you.”
Scarlett gritted her teeth angrily and glared at the box. She brought her gaze back to Robert. “I don’t want it.”
“Don’t you even want to open it and see what it is?”
She didn’t have to open it. Scarlett had been expecting an engagement ring for Christmas—her reward for losing weight. According to Robert, she hadn’t been good enough to be his wife at a size sixteen so he’d dangled the ring to get her to lose weight. How could I have let him treat me that way? She crinkled her nose and
