Chapter Fifteen #2
“Hi.” I tentatively reach out, remembering how cuddly this cat was when I was in the stables the other night.
I should feel self-conscious, since I’m naked and have Liam’s cum still dripping down my inner thigh, but I don’t.
His gaze is hot and heavy, and there isn’t one glimmer of disgust or aggression in his eyes.
He must think I’m taking too long to touch him, because he shuffles forward and butts his head against my hand, chuffing when I scratch behind his ear.
“Fucking needy cat,” Liam grumbles, but when I look at him, although he’s frowning, his eyes are smiling like he’s trying to stop himself from laughing.
The cat’s tongue darts out, and then he scoots even closer to me, his head just about in my naked lap, but before I can push him, his tongue darts out, and he catches our combined release, which he eagerly licks up before moving toward my pussy.
My eyes widen with panic, and I push his head away, but a hand comes out and smacks him on the nose.
“Bad kitty. Your tongue will strip Colbie’s pussy, and then no one will be playing with it,” Liam scolds the tiger who snarls at him, but he sinks back onto his haunches.
There’s a pulse of magic in the air, and the tiger’s body contorts and shifts into a very naked Gryffin.
He grins at me like a naughty child, but his eyes sparkle with heat and desire.
He’s still lying on his stomach, but my hand is now threaded through his black streaked silver hair.
I go to pull my hand away, and he reaches out to stop me.
“Don’t stop, it feels nice,” he tells me, closing his eyes and leaning into my touch. I continue to run my hand through his wet hair, being careful not to catch it in any knots.
“What are you doing here?” Liam asks, leaning back, comfortable with his nudity.
“You’ve been gone for hours, and it’s getting late.
Although Colbie shifted into two new forms today, she needs to work on her primary form as well,” he tells us without opening his eyes.
I’m pretty sure if Liam invited him, he would climb into bed with us and remain here for the rest of the night, but unfortunately, too many people are relying on us at the moment.
Maybe one day we can return to the cave and have some fun, when I don’t have so many issues waiting for me to deal with.
I give him one more scratch behind the ear before stretching my arms and arching my body. I’m so comfortable and relaxed, I’m reluctant to leave, but duty calls. When I open my eyes again, both men are staring at my naked body.
“You guys have a little drool here,” I tease, swinging my legs to the side and looking around, but then I remember I have no clothes. Well, fuck.
“How about we head back to the pool, and you can try shifting into your tiger form for the swim back to the other side?” Liam suggests, nodding at Gryffin who quickly bounces up off the bed.
Holy shit. These men have incredible bodies.
Gryff isn’t as bulky as Brodie, Hunter, or Liam, but he still has a body made for sin, all sinewy muscles and silky smooth skin.
My eyes drop lower, and holy shit, it must be a shifter thing to have a huge cock.
It’s at least nine inches and rapidly hardening.
He looks down at it and shrugs unapologetically.
“You’re my mate, and you’re naked. I wouldn’t expect any other result anytime soon,” he tells me.
“I can’t wait to see your tiger, cookie.
Do you need me to go first and show you?
” He tilts his head to the side in a very feline movement, and I appreciate the fact that he ignored my blatant ogling of his body.
“Yeah, okay, show me your cat again and tell him to keep his tongue to himself.” Gryffin’s smile drops in disappointment, and I quickly add, “For now.”
He smiles, and I watch as his body contorts once more, fur sprouting over his skin as his body elongates and shifts.
“Doesn’t that hurt?” I ask Liam, and he shrugs.
“Not really. We’ve been doing it for as long as we can remember.
The mythical shifters say it’s agony the first few times they shift, but they adjust quickly and it becomes second nature.
Yours doesn’t hurt, does it?” he points out, and I wave a hand as Gryffin completes his shift, and his cat prowls around my legs, bumping into them.
I’m almost knocked off balance. I grab for his back to steady myself, and he chuffs like he’s laughing.
“No, but it doesn’t feel like that looks. One moment, I’m me, and the next, I’m something else.”
“Yes, your shift does look very different from ours. It’s like the magic explodes out of you, reforming your body at the same time. I wonder why that is…”
“Probably because the goddess just had to add one more thing for me to worry about,” I grumble, and there’s a tinkling of laughter that echoes around the cavern.
Liam looks around, fully alert for any danger, while Gryffin plants himself in front of me and doesn’t move, a low growl coming from his chest.
“It’s okay, the goddess is fucking with me, ignore her,” I assure them, running my hands over his thick tiger fur. He really is gorgeous, white with black stripes and black tipped ears that are freaking adorable as he flicks them back and forth, searching for the source of the laughter.
“Not sure you should be talking about the goddess like that,” Liam says as he approaches me and tugs me back into his arms, giving me a kiss. “I don’t want to leave, but I know we have to. Promise me we’ll come back again.”
I melt into his arms, and Gryffin’s tiger paws at my leg, missing my delicate skin with his claws.
“Of course we can come back. You’ll sleep in my bed tonight?” I ask him, suddenly not so sure of what the protocol is, but I know I’m reluctant to let him out of my sight.
Liam beams at me. “You couldn’t keep me away. I’m sure your bed is probably big enough for all of us, right?” I think about my room, and although the bed is big, I’m not sure it will fit me and eight mates, but it’s definitely big enough for Liam, Hunter, and Micah, who won the earlier bet.
“Maybe not eight of us, but it’s fine for tonight,” I assure him before turning my attention to Gryffin, who is looking at me with round, pleading eyes.
I bend down and whisper in his ear. “You’ll get your turn soon,” I promise him, and it seems to do the trick. He spins and bounds off playfully, and Liam puts his hands on his hips and nods at me.
“Your turn.”
I’m slightly distracted by his beautiful body, but I shake my head and turn my attention to the task at hand.
I find the deep well of magic inside me and picture Gryffin’s tiger in my mind.
There’s a flash, and I squeeze my eyes shut.
When I open them again, I’m bigger and furry and on four paws.
My tail twitches behind me as I take my first careful step.
A roar echoes around the cavern, and a flash of white comes barreling toward me.
“Fuck!” Liam shouts and quickly moves out of the way as Gryffin pounces on me, taking me to the ground where he pins me with his giant front paws and starts grooming me with his tongue. Long licks sweep across my nose and ears as he rumbles his happiness.
My butt twitches, and my tail flicks as my tiger considers wrestling him, but after a couple of strokes of his tongue, she settles down, happily enjoying the care her mate is showing her.
What a freaking pushover. Though it could be worse, she could take a chunk out of him, and then I’d be stuck fucking Gryffin for the next however many hours.
I can’t say I’m not tempted to give her a nudge, but I know we don’t have time. Damn my morals.
“Oh, for fuck’s sake,” Liam grumbles and pushes Gryffin’s tiger, but he doesn’t move. “Jesus, dude, what the fuck have you been eating? You weigh a ton. Get off our mate. She needs to practice shifting.”
Gryffin gives me one more lick and releases me, prowling back and forth and nudging me with his head impatiently.
I gingerly get to my feet, unsure of myself, but it all comes naturally.
Just like being a polar bear in the water, being a tiger on dry land feels right.
I take a step, testing myself, and when I don’t stumble, I take another.
Gryffin stands next to me, his body brushing against mine like he’s going to catch me if I stumble.
The two of us follow Liam back down the tunnel to the waterfall.
Liam shifts into his bear and gives us both an affectionate headbutt before flinging himself into the water and disappearing.
We pause at the edge of the pool, but when Gryffin just leaps in and starts paddling, we follow him, trusting the two of them will keep us safe.
My tiger swims just as well as my bear did.
The giant, saucer-sized paws move through the water, propelling us forward.
We close our eyes and lay our ears flat as we go under the rushing wall of water, but when we come out the other side, we blink owlishly at the bright light, shake our head, and keep going.
“Finally,” Brodie calls from the edge of the pool. Micah, Gem, Brodie, and Hunter are all seated under a tree, but at the sight of us, they stand up and come over.
“Nice, a tiger form too. That makes all but my dragon and Gem’s phoenix, but we will have to try them another day.
I don’t think flying in the dark for the first time is the smartest idea, and we only have another hour of daylight.
” Hunter looks up at the sky, and when I follow his gaze, I see the sun has dipped below the tree line.
“We probably have enough time for you to change to the hydra and get a feel for it.”
I start to swim toward the edge, but Gem puts his hand up. “Why don’t you change in the water? The hydra is amphibious, so it should be just as at home in there as on land. Probably more so because its body is so large.”