Page 18 of Gift Wrapped

It’s the twenty-first century for crying out loud. I am a strong, independent woman and I have been taking care of myself for years now. I don’tneeda man to rescue me. But dear lord does it feel good to have Wilder do it anyway.

So yes, I push back. My pride won’t allow anything else.

I start undressing in front of him as I walk out of the beautiful white house built into the side of a hill, hoping I can get a rise out of him. When I turn back to look at him, he is gone. I push aside the disappointment I feel and allow my ligress to push forward. I have been shifting for as long as I can remember and although it doesn’t hurt there is still some discomfort as my skin and bones shift and contort before my paws hit the ground.

I can feel the magic working its way through my system, healing me. I hear a door slam in the house and if I could, I would smile. Maybe, I do affect him after all.

I don’t think about that for too long. My ligress is ready to take off and explore the island. The greenery is lush as we pad our way around the house. Shifting here is different than it was at home. I had to shift quickly in the city and get it over with, always simply pacifying my beast. Now, we walk around leisurely, smelling flowers, feeling the sand beneath our paws, and breathing in the fresh air.

My ligress smells fresh water and bounds in that direction and soon we find a small waterfall nestled in between the greenest trees I think I’ve ever seen. It doesn’t take her a moment to jump into the water, cooling us down in the tropical heat.

After what can’t be more than fifteen minutes, she exits the pool and pads her way back to Wilder and the pretty white house. She couldn’t be bothered about anything, tail swishing and purring loudly as she lays out on the deck to dry in the sun.

“Fuck me. You’re stunning,” Wilder says when he finds us laying in the sun.

My ligress purrs louder at his words, stretching out her limbs.

“May I touch you?” His hand hovers over my left flank.

Usually, my animal doesn’t like being touched. She has been that way since I can remember. But she doesn’t seem to mind Wilder, as she rolls to her back and presents her belly. Confusion rolls through me at her actions but Wilder only chuckles before hunching down and rubbing the soft fur. He runs his fingers through it reverently, seeming to enjoy it just as much as we are.

“I’ve never seen a liger, much less one that’s a shifter.”

My ligress takes pride in the fact that she is his first and I mentally snort. This man is nothing like us. He isn’t inexperienced and he sure as shit would never be afraid to say what he wanted.

After long minutes of basking in his attention, he stands and places a towel I didn’t see he had on a chair.

“When you’re ready I will be inside. There are some things we need to talk about.”

My ligress yawns lazily as she rolls to her side and starts washing her paw. She’s ignoring him, unhappy that he has stopped giving her attention. Wilder must pick up on this because he leans down to scratch behind her ear.

“I’ll see you again soon beauty, but I need to talk to Lake.”

She purrs loudly at his words before standing.

As Wilder moves back into the house she allows the shift to fall over us and in moments I am myself again. Well, sort of at least. My mind whirls with confusion as my ligress continues to purr in my mind, her satisfaction palpable. It’s the first time in my life that my animal has behaved this way and it’s disconcerting, to say the least.

Grabbing what I originally assumed was a towel, I find that it is indeed a robe. Shrugging it on, I sinch it around my waist and take a deep breath before going to find Wilder. But my attention is drawn by the explosion of red, gold, and green that has transformed the room.

“What did you do?” I gasp.

“Didn’t do a thing, he replies. “Graciella, my housekeeper came over and did it.”

“Wilder.”

“I know you love Christmas and I want you to enjoy your time here.” He doesn’t say anything else by way of explanation.

I see my cell phone in his hand and move toward him. I need my phone to letDomBraeknow that I have gone out of town for a while and ourdatewill have to wait for a while. I hope he is willing to wait.

“Before I give this to you, we need to talk,” Wilder says before gesturing to the seat across from him.

I frown and want to argue but I can see this is going to be something I need to be seated for.

Wilder Smith

When I walk out of the house after Graciella leaves, I only want to see if I can spot Lake. I don’t expect to find four-hundred-pound golden beauty sunbathing on my deck. She is exquisite and I can help but want to touch her. What catches me off guard is her ligress’s willingness to allow me, making herself vulnerable and exposing her soft belly to me. I get lost in the softness of her fur, the loudness of her purr, and the way her color shimmers in the sunlight. Her stripes are much lighter than mine but no less pronounced on her lighter coloring.

Her ligress has clearly figured out that I am her mate. I wonder why Lake hasn’t clued in yet?

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