Chapter 13
Chapter
Thirteen
Liv
We have sex in the shower and then again in my bed before we fall asleep, and I’m in such a bubble of orgasms and sexiness that I nearly forget about my big problem.
The problem that created the best night of sex I’ve ever had in my life.
The reason I’m craving this man’s cum like it’s an IV.
I wake just after midnight, drenched in sweat. Austin is fast asleep beside me. He can’t see this. He can’t see me turn into a fucking animal.
But I don’t know how to control it. I don’t know how to stop it.
Suddenly I’m filled with fear at the idea of what I might do to him if I shift with him here. Will I hurt him? When I’ve been in cougar form, I’ve only wanted to run, to be free. I’ve never wanted to hurt anyone.
But I also know that when I’m her, when I’m my cougar, I’m not me. I’m not human. I’m wild, and I think like a wild animal, not like Liv. Like something else.
I roll off the bed and onto the floor, and then I feel the shift start to happen. I watch with awe and horror as my claws extend, my hands turn into paws, and my senses heighten. I’m suddenly so aware of Austin’s scent, the warm, safe, woodsy smell of him.
“Liv?” he calls out sleepily. “Are you okay? Did you fall out of — holy fucking shit!”
He scrambles in the bed, pulling the comforter up to his face.
Relief floods through me as I realize — I’m not going to hurt him.
“Liv!” he calls out. “Liv, are you okay? There’s a… a fucking mountain lion in here! Liiiiiv!”
I take a step back — on all fours — and blink at him, hoping that he’ll understand. That maybe he’ll recognize me. That maybe I won’t have to explain this in the morning. Maybe he’ll just know.
Or maybe, and most likely, when I get back from my run, he’ll be gone.
And this, what we have, what we had, will all be over.