Page 222 of Secret Shifters Next Door

Her eyes couldn’t have gotten any wider if she tried. I could hear her mumbling under her breath. “Holy shit, holy shit, holy shit…”

Her left hand shot up to her right cheek, and she pinched it hard. “Ow, fuck! I’m not dreaming? This is really real?”

I didn’t approach her. There was still a possibility of spooking her. Instead, I sat like a well-mannered family dog. I didn’t enjoy that mental comparison, but it was all I could think of. I shook my shaggy head to answer her question about it being a dream. She still looked like she was on the verge of going into shock. I was worried it really had been too much for her. I forced myself not to shift back yet.

Eventually, Celina stepped forward. Cautiously, she took a few steps and knelt in front of me. Her fingers, gentle and slow, slipped into the fur of my chest and caressed me.

“Is this okay? Touching you, I mean?” I nodded, and a look of wonder appeared on her face as she ran her hands through my coat. “I can’t believe this is real. It’s…” She chuckled. “It’s like I’m living inside one of my books. This is literally my biggest fantasy. Ever since I was a kid, I’d have all these big imaginary adventures, and all I ever wanted was for them to come to life. Now look.”

I gave a happy rumble and nuzzled my face against hers. She laughed and slid a hand across the top of my head. I licked the side of her face, and she erupted into giggles.

“Does it hurt when you change? I don’t have a high pain tolerance. If I end up doing this one day, I don’t want to be in pain.”

Her words slammed into me, igniting a hopeful spark inside me. She was insinuating that she would not only accept everything I’d told her, but that she might also accept me as her mate. I licked her again as she hugged my neck.

“I know what it’s like to have people leave because you’re a little weird. This is just a different kind of weird. I’m not going to abandon you because of this.”

I couldn’t help it anymore, so I shifted back to my human form. Celina yelped in surprise as my wolf fur became human flesh. Before she even realized what I’d done, I had her wrapped in my arms and was kissing her, intensely and possessively. I dominated her mouth with my lips and tongue. Instead of pulling away from my intensity, she clutched me and melted into the kiss, becoming one with me. My hands slipped across her hips and stomach. Celina’s fingers slid down my back and down to my hips and thighs. Things were getting hot. If we didn’t stop now, we’d hit a point of no return.

I pulled away, gasping for air, and pressed my forehead against hers. “We gotta stop. Otherwise, I’m going to lose control, and I don’t want your first time to be in the grass of a field. It sounds romantic in theory, but I have a feeling it would be uncomfortable and itchy.”

Celina laughed softly. “You’re probably right.” She sounded tired and worn out. “I think the shock of everything is catching up to me anyway. I need a nap or something.”

I could see in her face that she was right. She’d been through, heard, and seen a lot in only a couple hours. Her mind and body were ready to collapse from emotional and mental exhaustion.

“Let’s go. Come on.” I slid an arm under her legs and another under her back, lifting her into my arms.

She nestled her head in the crook of my neck as I carried her back to my truck. She was asleep before we even got there. I got her into the passenger seat and buckled without waking her up. I stood there and gazed at her. The serene expression on her face told me she was peaceful and at ease. I grabbed a hooded sweatshirt from the backseat and rolled it into a make-shift pillow to cushion her head for the ride home.

The whole way back, I kept looking over at her. It amazed me that she’d understood. Not only understood, but seemed excited and happy about it. Looking at things from her point of view, I could somewhat understand it. All the fairytales and stories that were so fantastic and unbelievable had become real. In one day, all the things that used to be dreams to her were now reality. Looking at it that way, I probably would have been pretty ecstatic, too. But because I lived in the world of the paranormal it was sometimes hard to see it from a human’s perspective.

We got back home, and I looked up the stairs at the window of Celina’s apartment. I needed to put her to bed, but the idea of her being away from me for very long was unfathomable, especially after the package Felicity had sent. Instead, I picked her up and walked her up the stairs to my apartment.

I settled her into my bed and pulled her shoes off, then I curled up next to her. Her gentle breathing made me smile, and I slipped away into a much-needed nap. All I could do was hope that, when she woke up, she didn’t have any second thoughts about being with me.

TWENTY-ONE

CELINA

Blinking my eyes open, I stared at the gray wall beside my bed. I’d had the weirdest dream. The details were fuzzy around the edges, but the basics still remained. I’d dreamed that Miles confessed to being a shifter, and that I was supposed to be his mate. It was literally like a plot from one of my books, only a tad crazier. I couldn’t remember ever having witches or crazy billionaires in my stories before.

Had I gotten drunk? Pounded through a bottle of wine then passed out? My dreams tended to be more intense when I was hammered. That had to be what caused the vividness of the fantasy.

The haze of sleep was finally starting to slip away, so I stretched out to clear it some more. When I felt someone move behind me, I froze. My eyes, still groggy from my nap, snapped wide open. The sound of Miles growling and rolling over brought everything back into hyper focus.

His arm was draped around my body, and his lips rested next to my ear. “Have a good snooze?”

I touched his hand with my finger, making sure he actually was there. His skin was warm and firm. Most definitely real. “It wasn’t a dream,” I mumbled.

“Nope.” Miles chuckled.

I rolled over in the bed, bringing us face to face. The movement was so quick and abrupt that Miles jerked away in surprise before relaxing again. He pulled me close, and the feeling of his arms around me helped calm my nerves, but I was still in shock.

My mouth opened, and words tumbled out. “You’re really a wolf shifter? Tate’s a dragon? What the hell are Steff and Blayne, then? Wait, holy shit, witches are real? Like for real, real? That curse? Did it make you want to be with me? Is that the only reason you like me?”

Miles shook his head, the skin between his brows creasing. “Hang on. One question at a time. First, and most importantly, no, the curse didn’t make me feel anything. That’s not how it works. All it does is force us together. Like luck on steroids. It brings us together and makes me aware of you. Without the curse, you never would have come to Lilly Valley, would you?”

I frowned and shook my head. “It was pretty random. How I ended up choosing this place, I mean.”

---