Page 30 of Arctic Panda's Secret Mate
“As opposed tonon-magicalshifters,” Haisley said dryly.
“Well, we’re all magical, I guess,” Tristan said with a little chuckle. “Mythicalshifters. Like, dragons or mermaids. And there’s this one otter at the resort who can take her clothes with her, but no one is sure how or why.”
Haisley blinked at him. “Dragons andmermaids?” How had she gotten to the point whereotterwasn’t a surprise?
Tristan nodded.
“Are there fairies? Gnomes?” Haisley felt a little disconnected, like anything was possible.
“Not that I know of. There’s a mage, though. He’s a dragon.”
“Oh. Okay.” Just adragon.
“Can I show you now?” Tristan crossed his arms and grabbed the bottom of his shirt suggestively.
Haisley slowly nodded, then turned around reluctantlywhen he went ahead and pulled off his shirt. She had a brief glimpse of his stomach, as muscled as his arms, and had to imagine the rest as she heard him unzip his pants and pull off his shoes. She stared fixedly at the trivet she still held and tried not to let her brain fill in too many gaps.
“I’m not going to be able to speak to you,” Tristan cautioned, when she heard him stepping out of his pants with the rattle of a belt buckle. “But I’ll still be me. I won’t hurt you.”
Haisley heard a stool scoot on the kitchen floor, and then there was ahuff.And another. She turned slowly.
Tristan was a panda bear.
Haisley had still been half-expecting this to be some kind of elaborate joke. Maybe a hidden camera sort of thing, or a gotcha moment where he’d be dressed up in a fursuit or a black and white flannel onesie.
But no, he was actually a real and whole panda bear.
He was, as warned, a little bigger as a bear than he was a man, and most of all, “You areadorable!”
Photographs of pandas couldn’t capture the sheer plush of their fur, or the curious character of their expressive and comical faces. Tristan’s paws were enormous, the size of dinner plates, and he had them on the counter before him. He picked one up and turned it to give a very human shrug, wiggling his ears and licking his own nose.
His clothing was folded neatly on the stool that he’d shoved aside when he shifted, and Haisley felt like her knees were weak enough to need to sit there, so she moved them to the counter so she could.
“Can I touch you?” she asked, when they had stared at each other for a few moments.
Tristan—Haisley had no doubt that it was him—shoved off from the counter and thumped down on fourlegs, then walked up to her like he was a dog expecting pets. A really big dog, with a coat of fur like a buffalo.
Haisley touched his head cautiously. His fur was coarse and dense, more like sheep’s wool than a stuffed animal, and it had a spring to it that suggested inches of depth. Tristan huffed again, and his breath was warm over Haisley’s other arm. “I just want to hug you,” Haisley admitted. “You look like the giantest, cutest teddy bear ever.”
To her alarm, Tristan sat back on his haunches and lifted his front feet into Haisley’s lap. They were heavy even without most of his weight on them, and his whole head was right there for hugging.
Haisley knew better than to approach wild animals. She spent plenty of time telling tourists that they shouldn’t try to pet the moose that frequently wandered through the yard.
But Tristan was not a wild animal, and Haisley could not resist. She leaned her head onto his and snuggled him close. He snorted and rubbed his face into her. “How are you socute?” Haisley asked. “I mean, you were before, but this is next level!”
The timer for the cookies went off then, startling them both, and Haisley very suddenly had a lap full of very naked man.
“Sorry, sorry!” He scrambled back as Haisley pushed away and nearly toppled herself off the back of the stool. “Let me just…”
They both reached for his clothing, Haisley to throw them at him, and they tangled together in his unfolding pants. Tristan snatched them over himself, and Haisley turned away to silence the shrill alarm, trying to keep the burning memory of his gorgeous body at bay.
She heard him dress behind her as she got the bar cookies out, careful not to turn too far as she put them onthe cooling rack. Her hands didn’t shake, but it felt like her whole core was trembling a little. It had been a long time since she’d seen a naked guy that wasn’t on a book cover, and she was embarrassingly interested in seeing more of him.
And she’d seen enough that she knew he was pretty interested inher.
“Sorry about that,” Tristan said. “Let’s just…ah…how long do those need to cool?”
“Not as long as I will,” Haisley blurted. She was immediately mortified and cast around for something else to say. “Let’s put the baskets together while we wait.”
