Chapter Ten
Freedom felt better than oxygen.
For the first time in what felt like years, Alex could actually shift again. The ability thrummed under his skin, begging to be used, like a muscle finally freed from a cast. Wade’s bedroom door clicked shut behind them, and before Alex could think about it too hard, he shifted.
One second he stood there in borrowed clothes that still smelled like coffee shop smoke. The next, soft fur covered his body and the world grew enormous around him.
Wade’s laugh rumbled through the room, warm and genuine. Giant hands scooped Alex up from the floor, cradling him against a broad chest that radiated heat through his fur.
“Look at you,” Wade murmured, fingers stroking along Alex’s back with surprising gentleness for someone who’d just demolished a coffee shop full of demons. “White as fresh snow. Softest thing I’ve ever touched.”
Alex’s nose twitched. Being a bunny came with certain indignities—the constant urge to thump his back foot, the way his ears swiveled toward every sound, how his whiskers picked up air currents like tiny antennae. But Wade’s hands felt incredible, working through his fur with careful attention.
“Those pink ears,” Wade continued, thumb brushing the delicate skin inside Alex’s left ear. “And these tiny paws. Christ, you’re perfect.”
Heat that had nothing to do with fur flooded through Alex. He shifted back, the change instant, leaving him bare-ass naked in Wade’s lap with those same careful hands now pressed against naked skin instead of fur.
“Hi,” Alex managed, supremely aware of every point of contact between them.
Wade’s pupils dilated, his grip tightening on Alex’s hips. “That never gets old.”
“The shifting or the nudity?” Alex let his weight settle more firmly against Wade’s thighs, feeling the immediate response through worn denim.
“Both.” Wade’s thumb traced the curve of Alex’s hipbone. “Though the nudity has certain advantages.”
Alex stretched, arms reaching overhead in a move that pressed his ass down harder against the growing bulge in Wade’s jeans. “Clothes are overrated anyway. They just get in the way.”
“Of what?” Wade’s voice had dropped an octave.
Instead of answering, Alex rocked his hips forward, a slow grind that made Wade’s breath catch. The friction sent heat pooling low in Alex’s belly, his cock already starting to fill.
Wade’s hands slid up Alex’s sides, mapping ribs and muscle with possessive strokes. “Thought you'd be exhausted after today.”
“Adrenaline's still pumping.” Alex leaned in closer, lips brushing Wade’s ear. “Unless you’re too injured to help me work it off.”
A growl vibrated through Wade’s chest. His hands dropped to Alex’s ass, squeezing hard enough to leave marks. “I’ll manage.”
Alex pulled back enough to work at the buttons of Wade’s shirt, revealing bandages Chase had wrapped around his ribs as soon as they’d gotten home. Purple bruises bloomed across his chest where lightning had struck. “These look bad.”
“Had worse.” Wade caught Alex’s wrists, stilling his hands. “They’ll heal.”
“Faster if you shift,” he pointed out.
“Later.” Wade released his wrists to cup Alex’s face, pulling him down into a kiss that tasted like copper and smoke.
Their mouths moved together, hungry and graceless. Alex ground down harder, chasing friction through the barrier of Wade’s jeans. His cock leaked against Wade’s stomach, leaving wet trails across bruised skin.