Chapter 17 Liza
LIZA
Ty had turned his back to give me as much privacy as I could have in the open air of a beautiful night, but the sexual tension was overwhelming, like another entity between us as we prepared to shift.
He was fully aware that I was stripping down to nothing, so I glanced up nervously as I slipped my panties down my legs. Still, he kept his back to me.
What if he turned around and caught a glimpse of my naked body before I shifted?
Part of me would be embarrassed like the proper virgin I was.
I would cover myself as best I could with a bent leg or an arm across my breasts, but there would be no covering the desire or the part of me that wished he would turn and take in every inch of my skin.
What would Ty think of my body? Would it live up to the expectations of a fated mate?
Expectations that he’d probably been holding on to since he was a teenager.
I was curvier than the average female shifter.
Maybe he wouldn’t like such a buxom body.
Maybe that was why he’d dated Cecily… or thought about dating her.
It wasn’t often I compared my figure or my body traits to someone else, but Cecily was long and lean and beautiful.
I was lesser, shorter, not so toned. It didn’t bother me, but it was true.
He didn’t turn around, so I shook off the idea of him seeing me naked for the first time and shifted as quickly as I could.
The familiar sensation of my wolf pressing forward washed over me as I embraced her.
Every cell in my body tingled with electricity, and for a moment, I lost touch with the physical world.
My vision blurred just before it intensified to a razor sharpness that made every color brighter, every edge finer, and amplified every scent.
Ty must have heard me shifting because he spun around to face me. To my surprise, he shifted abruptly, not even bothering to undress.
I supposed Keller money made it that much easier to replace clothing.
My eyes widened as I took in his strong stance. His wolf was the color of midnight, his brown eyes so deep and dark they were almost black. They sparkled with an enthusiasm that was, no doubt, aimed at my wolf.
His sudden shift confused me, but even more surprising was my wolf’s reaction to him.
She surged forward, ready to run with him in a way I hadn’t known was possible.
Her enthusiasm coursed through every vein of my being.
She wanted to explore more than just the territory.
There was an instant connection between us as our wolves communicated without words.
It was the first time our wolves had met since fate had brought us together. Instead of acting leery of the new and unfamiliar wolf, mine couldn’t wait to sniff and explore her mate.
Our wolves were eager to meet one another, which shouldn’t have been surprising. The magnetic energy between them was so intense that I didn’t have much control as my instincts kicked in. My wolf yearned for him.
I circled Ty, sniffing the air around his strong body. My wolf stepped closer, nudging her snout into Ty’s side. He didn’t seem to mind as my wolf rubbed against him.
He rumbled with pleasure before finally rubbing against me. The wolves wanted each other, so they naturally exchanged scents, covering themselves in it.
Ty nuzzled my neck with his nose, causing the hairs on my wolf’s back to stand to attention. My instinctive reaction was to bare my neck to him, so I turned my head to one side—a sign of submission.
Ty growled in response. He didn’t bite me, though. It wasn’t the time. Not yet. Instead, he buried his face in my neck and lightly nipped my skin before running off into the woods.
My wolf wanted him with an all-encompassing strength. There was something more than just physical attraction between us. It was as if we were two halves of the same being, meant to be together.
Even if I had wanted to stay still, my instinct to chase after him was too strong. My wolf shot through the forest, attempting to keep up with Ty’s longer stride as he zoomed in and out of the overbrush that covered the majority of the forest floor.
Just when I caught up to him, I nipped at his heels. He turned to chase me. We ran at full speed under the light of the moon without ever running into another wolf. The Keller property was massive, allowing our wolves to spend quality time together with no interruptions.
I could get used to this.
We ran for what felt like hours, chasing and playing like we’d known each other our entire lives. It felt comfortable. It felt like home.
Although there were no other wolves, we did come across other forest animals. An owl hooted overhead while he kept a discerning eye on our shenanigans. A family of deer scattered and ran in the opposite direction when we disturbed their sleep along a creek.
As I turned a corner, my eyes homed in on an injured rabbit.
I didn’t typically feed in my wolf form—it had just never been my thing—so I had no desire to eat the poor creature.
Its back legs were fanned out behind its body.
I couldn’t tell if it had broken its back or simply hurt its legs trying to escape from some predator.
Either way, the rabbit was suffering. It looked miserable and eyed me with complete terror. I could sense that it wanted to be put out of its misery.
For as long as I could remember, I’d always been sensitive towards animals. I would insist that my parents pull over on the side of the road if we came upon an injured creature that had unsuccessfully attempted to cross a busy highway.
In my human form, all I could do was offer the animal some comfort.
Now and then we’d find an animal that had a chance of survival.
The local vet was on a first-name basis with my family.
We’d show up with some helpless animal in a shoebox or large plastic crate a few times a month; me with tears rolling down my cheeks and my parents patiently explaining that we’d found it on the side of the road.
As I stared at the rabbit, its breath becoming shallower and more erratic, a single teardrop fell from my eyes. I had to end its life, and that realization killed me inside.
Just as I stepped forward, prepared to do the right thing, the rabbit seemed to jolt, his heart beating faster as his breathing became steady and deep. Then, as if it had never been injured, it hopped off into the woods.
My legs refused to move. I stared in the direction the rabbit had disappeared. What had just happened?
A light rustle and whooshing sound brought me out of my stupor. I turned to find Ty staring at me in his human form. He was as naked as the day was long.
Shit. He was going to find out. There was no way left for me to hide it, and quite frankly, I was tired of trying. What I was, who I was... there was no going back now. Ty had seen whatever he’d seen, but looking at him now, there was no way I could honestly believe he didn’t know.
My knee-jerk reaction on any other day with any other person would have been to panic, but there was no time for that. Ty Keller stood before me, a Greek god. Correction: a naked Greek god. And goddamn, he was glorious.
He was all muscle and sinew and chiseled chest and broad shoulders.
His toned legs were tanned and powerful, his feet planted firmly on the ground as he eyed me curiously.
His arms were strong and well-defined, lending themselves to the sculpted lines of his torso.
A light sheen of perspiration glistened on his skin.
I allowed my eyes to drift down to his core, and my breath caught in my throat. His cock was thick and long, partially erect in the night air. Even him partially erect was impressive, maybe even a little bit daunting.
Seeing Ty completely exposed stirred something deep within me. Lust. It overtook all of my senses as I stared at him, drinking in the hard lines and the hard… everything. I breathed deeply, his scent on the air all around me.
His pheromones were so strong that my entire body clenched, and I trembled with need.
I didn’t only want him—I needed him.
Ty’s eyes widened as he followed my gaze down his body. I had been staring at his manhood. In one fell swoop, he was kneeling before me. “Shift, Liza.”
Fuck. If I shifted, he would see me naked. There was no way around it. I was too shy for that, but my wolf would never disobey her mate. She forced me to shift by pushing me to the surface, and I was helpless to stop it.
Panting, I got to my feet, slowly raising my eyes to meet Ty’s gaze. My body burned up as if I were standing next to open flames. There wasn’t much that could hold me back as I imagined jumping Ty, pressing my naked body against his and urging him to have his way with me.
His eyes blazed. “You’re in heat.”
I shook my head. I couldn’t be in heat. I had medicine… But he was right. My heat was supposed to come today. Even though I had done exactly what the doctor instructed and picked up the prescription that was twice the strength of my last one, there was no mistaking what was happening to my body.
Why was I in heat?
I inhaled and searched Ty’s eyes. The longing between us increased as we stood in such close proximity to one another. The scent of Ty’s lust filled the air, almost dropping me to my knees. I’d never wanted someone so much in my entire life.
I’d never even seen a naked man before; not in real life. Sure, I’d done my research when I pleasured myself, but this man was more exquisite than any in a magazine or video I’d found on the internet. Tyson Keller was the real deal. In living color.
A familiar sensation of my own juices moistened my inner thighs. Ty stepped closer as if he could see the lust dripping from my core. “You smell like the sweetest temptation. If I were a lesser man, I would back you against a tree, wrap my body around you and ravage you right here and now.”