Page 5 of A Husband for Max

“It’s you who will need to be sure after this.”

I was careful as I extracted myself from his hold, pulling my pelt back over my shoulders. It was hard to be graceful in a small bath but I was small enough and my body knew what to do when my feet hit the water. It was like coming home.

Even as I turned to face Max, the change was happening. I was larger as a seal, but it was in a different way, and I could hear my joints pop and shift as I grew. Most supernatural shifters were larger than the animal they became, and harbour seals were not known for their small stature.

My pelt melted into me, the prickle of fur covering my skin only lasting a moment, and I folded my legs as if to kneel. It brought me closer to the water and my fins began to shape.

The change was usually instantaneous. We were known to move from one shape to the next quickly; a defence mechanism. Orca liked to surge onto land; being able to change to human legs quickly had been a must for my ancestors. But today I let it come slower. I wanted Max to see me. To know what he was getting into.

Colours disappeared from my sight; I missed that more than anything else. Not being able to blink meant I didn’t miss a moment of Max’s widening eyes, of his hand going to his mouth. The surprised gasp was at least better than a scream.

Fear inched through me and I fought with my instincts. I wanted to thrash and surge out of the bath. To swim and get away from what was threatening me.

Stamping it down, I grunted, trying not to sound terrified. That would not be a good sound for a seven-foot seal that was now in Max’s cramped bath.

“Are you...” The words were muffled by his hand but they weren’t angry. More awe filled. “Are you a Selkie?”

***

To say I was surprised was an understatement. There was a giant aquatic creature in my bath. I would have been worried about my mental health if I wasn’t at least shocked. But I’d felt that there was something different about Tesh from the moment I’d picked up his coat. Or skin, I guess? I started wracking my brain for what I remembered of the myth.

“And I returned your skin, didn’t I?”

Big black eyes watched me move. I guess I was slower than usual; startling such a large creature didn’t seem like the best idea. I could tell he understood my words, though. It was still Tesh in my bath, after all.

From what I remembered, Selkies weren’t exactly treated the best by humans. They had a lot fewer fairytales than mermaids and most of them suggested lives of slavery were all that waited for a Selkie whose skin was in human’s hands.

“You don’t owe me anything, Tesh. Doing the right thing doesn’t mean you have to do anything for me.”

At this, the seal in my bath trashed and grunted. I didn’t have to understand ‘seal’ to know he didn’t agree with what I was saying. The way he snorted, whiskers shifting out, made me chuckle, and I squatted in front of him, bringing our eyes to the same level.

“Can I touch you?”

His teeth bared and Tesh’s whole body surged as he appeared to nod. If there was more room, I could imagine him clapping those large fins. I desperately wanted to watch him in the ocean. Tesh must move like the waves.

There was nothing about his movements that were negative, and I reached out, smoothing down the fur. It was just as silky as when I’d put it over his shoulders at the cafe. There was an almost irresistible urge to rub my face against it. I was grateful I didn’t embarrass myself, though. I kept the urge to simply running my hand down his side and meeting his large eyes.

“I swear, this is all I want from you, Tesh. Just knowing I could help is enough.”

I averted my eyes at the popping and cracking of bones and sinew. Watching it once was enough.

“I don’t agree with that.” His voice sounded off. The change was only half complete. The seal skin still covered parts of the human form. Perhaps his mouth was still full of teeth if the shift was only partly complete? “I want to do more than that.”

The words reminded me I’d never had time to dress after Tesh had knocked on my door. I was kneeling beside the bath in just a thin pair of sweats. And the way Tesh’s eyes were blown wide had less to do with his animal nature and more to do with something that was very human. I knew desire when I saw it and parts of my body were not having any sort of problems with it.

There was just something about the boy that I couldn’t quite shake. Something that had more to do with the human I’d seen in him rather than the creature.

It was overwhelming, and I couldn’t bring myself to move away when his warm palm touched my chest again. Right above my heart.

I had to lick my dry lips to get any sort of moisture back to them. Tesh swayed with the movement, hungry eyes zeroed in on my mouth. We hadn’t even kissed yet and my primal brain was already imagining him spread out on the bed. Would he taste like the sea?

“Okay.” My voice splintered when I spoke. “I want more than that, too.”

The pointed teeth bit into his lip, and he stood slowly from the bath. The seal skin retreated more from his body, the colour and texture becoming more human by the moment.

“Wait.” I reached out, gripping his wrist, feeling more manic by the moment. I didn’t even recognize myself anymore, and it was more than a little frightening. Tesh’s head cocked to the side as I searched for the words I needed. “You don’t have to change back completely. If you don’t want to?”

It sounded lame to my ears, but Tesh’s eyes widened and his nostrils flared. He shivered, and the change came to a stop. Parts of his skin remained as the silky pelt. I could see the seal still in his eyes. And his teeth, when he smiled, were still sharp. That part of him never seemed to change, even when he was as human as possible.

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