3. Chapter 3
Jian
I showed Cody to the bathroom, brushing my teeth right beside him in a moment that was oddly domestic in a way that forced me to remember I’d just met this guy.
Sharing a bathroom should have been awkward at best. Just as I was rinsing my mouth, I caught movement through the small window above the toilet.
A familiar figure in flowing scarves and an impractical number of jangling bracelets strode up the path toward my cabin.
“Fuck. My mom’s coming.” I spat out my toothpaste and spun away from the window, adrenaline spiking through me. Had she heard the news already? She must have. Why else would she come to my cabin when she expected me at the main house in fifteen minutes?
Cody set his toothbrush down, looking confused and vulnerable with his rumpled blond hair and that damned panda costume bottom still clinging to his hips. He was cute, but he didn’t look like he’d just been fucked by a ravenous shifter who’d just found his mate. My lie was already falling apart.
I grabbed Cody’s arm and yanked him back toward the bedroom. “We need to make this look real. Now.”
“What? I don’t—”
I pushed him through the bedroom doorway. “Take those ridiculous pants off.”
Cody clutched the waistband of his furry panda bottoms. “I’m not—”
“You want to see a panda?” I backed him against the bed. “Take those off and kiss me. Just a sweet, romantic-looking cuddle on the bed. After breakfast, I’ll shift. You can pet me all you want.”
His blue eyes widened. “Promise?”
“Yes.” I ran a hand through my hair, hating how desperate I sounded. “Please, Cody. I just... I can’t disappoint my father again.”
Cody stared at me for a long minute. Okay, he mostly stared at my abs. And my dick.
“Fine,” he sighed, shoving the waistband down. “Whatever you need to make it look convincing.” He looked up at me, cheeks pink. The guy was pretty in a way that made something primitive stir inside me, all slender limbs and subtle curves.
I shoved him onto the bed harder than I’d meant to. He bounced against the mattress with a small “oof.” I followed, landing with my arms bracketing his shoulders, hyperaware of my nudity as my skin came into contact with his. His eyes traveled down my chest, his tongue darting out to wet his lips.
This wasn’t the romantic cuddle I’d planned. My body was responding to him in a way that made me pretty sure I wasn’t as straight as I’d thought, but it didn’t bother me. Most shifters weren’t, especially not when their animal selves got involved.
“What exactly are we—”
I didn’t let him finish. I crushed my mouth against his, telling myself that it was because he needed to look like I’d been kissing him. That was the only reason. The only fucking reason.
Except the moment our lips connected, my panda roared to life inside me. Cody’s mouth was soft, pliant, opening beneath mine with a startled gasp that I swallowed hungrily. He tasted of toothpaste and something sweeter that made my head spin.
I hadn’t meant to use my tongue. Hadn’t meant to groan when his hands tentatively settled on my shoulders. Hadn’t meant to press my entire body against his.
But fuck, I did all of it.
My cock hardened against his thigh, and the thin cotton of his boxers did nothing to hide his growing bulge. I ground down, chasing friction, forgetting why we were doing this in the first place. His answering moan vibrated against my lips.
My panda was alert and wide awake now.
Ours, it grumbled.
I pushed the voice away, but my body didn’t get the message. My hands slid up to tangle in Cody’s soft blond hair, tugging just enough to tilt his head back, exposing the pale column of his throat. I dragged my mouth from his lips to his jaw, then lower, tasting salt and skin.
“Jian,” he breathed, voice cracking. “What are we—”
“Shut up. I’m making it look real.”
I drank in the way he arched beneath me, the small, helpless sounds he made when I bit gently at his collarbone, the hardness between his legs that matched my own. I’d never been with a guy before, never wanted to. So why was this so fucking natural?
Ours, my inner panda insisted again, louder this time. Keep what’s ours.
I rocked against him again, unable to stop myself.
The friction was maddening—not enough and too much all at once.
Cody’s legs fell open, making space for my hips between his thighs, and it was the hottest thing I’d ever felt, his cock hard against mine, with only the thin fabric of his briefs between us.
I kissed him again, deeper this time, unable to stop.
His hands traveled down my back, fingers digging into muscle, pulling me closer.
When they reached the curve of my ass, he hesitated for a heartbeat, then squeezed, hauling me against him.
He arched up to grind his cock against my length, his body moving in a way that was pure primal need. He was stronger than he looked.
The way his body felt beneath mine overwhelmed my senses, making me forget why we were here, who was coming, why this was supposed to be fake. All I knew was I wanted more. Needed more. Needed to tear those boxer briefs off and feel all of him, skin to skin, nothing between us.
Mate, the panda whispered.
Footsteps on the porch jerked me back to reality. My mother would be through the door any second, and while I needed this to look convincing, I didn’t need her to catch me fucking Cody senseless.
As a knock rang out through the cabin, I yanked the blanket over us, covering us. “We’re coming, Ma?”
The door creaked open, and footsteps echoed through my small living room. “Where are your manners, Jian? You can’t just yell ‘Come in’ instead of coming to the door.”
“I said ‘We’re coming,’ not ‘Come in!’” I shouted as I adjusted us to be in the more romantic, cozy position I’d originally envisioned—me on my back, with him snuggling against my side.
As her footsteps approached, I gave him a soft, sweet, appropriate kiss, then dragged his leg over my hips to hide the way the blanket was tenting around my hard-on.
“Hold on, Ma, we’re—”
Before I could finish, my mother appeared in the doorway, her flowing scarves settling around her like colorful smoke.
“Crap!” She slapped a hand over her eyes, bracelets jangling. “I’m so sorry, Jian! I didn’t realize you had company.” She lowered her hand, her expression morphing from embarrassment to delight. “Oh! The Li family was right! You found your fated mate!”
“Umm...” For once, I was at a loss for words.
“Li Zixuan called last night. Darla told him everything.” She beamed at us. “Sorry to interrupt, I just rushed over to find out if we would have another guest at the breakfast table. I’m Marissa Wei, Jian’s mom.”
“Cody Finch.” Cody gave her a cute little wave.
“Cody. How lovely to meet you.” She moved forward like she was going to shake his hand.
“Ma! You’re being awkward.”
She laughed, waving me off. “Oh, sorry. I’m just so thrilled. I knew there was a reason you never connected with any of the girls we introduced you to! You were waiting for fate to intervene and introduce you to Cody.”
“Um. Yeah. I’m sure that’s it.”
“I can see the bond forming,” she said with a wistful sigh. “Anyway, I only stopped by to let you know that breakfast will be ready in fifteen minutes. We have plenty, so Cody is welcome to join.” My mother backed toward the door, still grinning like she’d won the lottery.
This lie was the worst idea I’d ever had, and I’d had a lot of bad ideas in my short life. And I was starting to suspect the lie was confusing my panda, too. That would explain how irritating he was being.
I glanced down at Cody. No wonder my mom was convinced we had a mate bond; he looked thoroughly debauched; hair mussed from my hands, lips swollen, a pink mark blooming on his neck where I’d sucked too hard.
As I met his eyes, he smiled shyly and snuggled closer.
I cut my inner voice off before my panda could get too happy about the cute cuddling.
Cody was not my mate. I was horny, and this mate talk had confused my panda. Nothing more.
Still, once we were alone again, I hauled Cody closer, burying my face in the crook of his neck.
His skin smelled like sleep and arousal, a combination that made my cock twitch against his thigh.
I breathed in more, trying to stop a soft moan of pleasure from slipping from my lips. He smelled like home.
I lifted my head to find Cody staring up at me, blue eyes wide, lips parted and kiss-swollen. Beautiful. Delicious. Mine.
His left eyebrow tilted up. “So. Why are you lying to your family?”
Irritated by the blunt question, I rolled off him, instantly missing his warmth and his scent, but fighting the urge to go back. “It’s complicated.”
“Okay, Mr. Complicated. Is it also a dangerous truth?” His voice had a teasing quality that told me he wasn’t buying any of it, and his cheeky smile made me want to kiss him.
He propped himself up on one elbow. “We’ve got fifteen minutes.
You could climb back on top of me. You know, to practice.
Or establish the intimacy we need to look like a fake couple. ”
“Intimacy?”
He nodded. “It’s science. The number one way fake boyfriends are discovered is when they act weird about casual touches.”
“That’s science?”
“Of course. I wouldn’t lie to you to get more hot-as-fuck kisses.” Cody burst out laughing before he’d even finished his statement.
I bit back a smile and stood, tugging on his hand. “Come on. Let’s take a shower.”
He followed willingly, stumbling a little. I yanked open the shower door and reached in to turn on the water, then turned back to him.
“Why do I just follow you everywhere?” His voice cracked, and his cheeks went pink as I yanked off his shirt. “I think your sexy body is scrambling my brain.”
I didn’t want to admit that my brain was scrambled too. I wasn’t sure if it was his beautiful body or if it was the cheeky way he challenged me at every turn that was doing it for me.