Page 32 of Frostbite & Mistletoe
Fur prickled as it sprouted to cover her bare skin. Bones and muscles reshaped themselves as the world transformed around her. Colors became muted, but scents and sounds exploded into vivid life.
When her shift completed, she shook out her pale gray coat and bolted into the deeper snow, feeling gloriously alive.
There she waited for him.
Where Kymberlie’s shift was fluid and quick, Gabriel’s was a slow, painful affair. Bones cracked and reformed, muscles bulged and reshaped, his human form surrendering reluctantly to the predator within. Shapeshifting was never easy for ancient lineages like the sabertooth cats.
When he finally rose to his feet in his cat form, he was just as massive and magnificent as she remembered. His sabertooth form was twice her wolf’s size, a prehistoric apex predator that made her feel tiny and delicate.
Kymberlie yipped a challenge and darted deeper into the snow. Gabriel’s answering roar shook the air as he bounded after her, his powerful limbs carrying him forward in great lunging strides that ate up the distance between them.
She was faster, more agile, dancing through the drifts while he plowed through them with brute strength. Snow flew up around them in glittering clouds as they chased and circled. When he nearly caught her, she twisted away with a wolfish grin, her jaws wide and tongue lolling.
When he finally caught her, they tumbled through a deep drift. His enormous paw hooked her hind leg, sending them both rolling in a tangle of fur and snow. Kymberlie nipped playfully at his ear, and he batted at her gently, careful of his claws and strength.
In their beast forms, the complications of their human relationship fell away.
Here and now, they weren’t the fire marshal and club owner. Just two kindred souls playing in the snow, their beasts recognizing something in each other that their human halves kept trying to deny.
Gabriel nudged his massive head against her side and made a soft rumbling sound. Kymberlie responded by licking his chin and nuzzling his thick, shaggy golden mane. She leaned against him, and he rested his huge head on top of hers.
The tension that had wrapped around them earlier had dissolved, replaced by something warmer, something truer.
Then she heard the distant sound of an approaching truck. Was that Tyler? With her precious stove hood?
Reluctantly, they pulled apart and padded back to the parking lot.
But as Kymberlie picked up the pile of her discarded clothes in her jaws and nosed open the club’s front door, she felt lighter than she had in days. Whatever walls she and Gabriel had tried to build between them, their beasts had just gleefully torn them down again.
∞∞∞
Back inside the club, Kymberlie shifted back to human form, conscious of Gabriel doing the same a few feet away. Her transformation left her breathless, exhilarated, her skin tingling with lingering wild energy as she got dressed.
“Feeling better?” Gabriel asked, his voice rough-edged from the shift. He stood with his back to her, pulling on his jeans with quick, efficient movements.
He really had the nicest ass, round and firm.
“Yeah,” she said, tugging her knitted sweater over her head.“How about you?”
He gave her a long look, his eyes still showing a hint of amber.“That was… unexpected.”
“A good unexpected, I hope.” Kymberlie worked to keep her tone light even as she admired the heavy muscles of his back, and the way his broad shoulders moved as he pulled on his flannel shirt.
“Yeah. I think we both needed that.” The simple admission sent a flush of warmth through her that had nothing to do with the club’s new HVAC system.
For a moment, neither spoke. The only sound in the dining room was the soft hum of the appliances from the kitchen.
Gabriel turned to face her, now mostly dressed except for his unbuttoned shirt. Water glistened in his tawny hair, and a drop traced a slow path down his neck. Kymberlie tracked its journey with her eyes.
“Kymber.” Her name in his mouth was a caress.“About yesterday—”
“I was wrong to say the things I did. I’m sorry,” she said, not wanting to ruin the fragile connection they’d reestablished.“Last night—I made lasagna because I wanted to thank you for saving me with that new ventilation hood. When you didn’t show up, I thought you were mad at me.”
“No. Not mad. Just really sorry that I had to deliver bad news to you.Again.” He took a step toward her. She mirrored his movement, drawn to him as if by gravity.
They stood close enough now that she could feel the heat radiating from his body, and smell the lingering wild musk of his cat form.
Gabriel’s hand rose to brush a strand of damp hair from her cheek, his touch feather-light.“I was afraid you hated me for ruining your business. It killed me to see you crying like that.”
