The Last Warrior (Shifters Unbound #13) - Jennifer Ashley Page 0,54

is me admitting there’s a strange beast inside me.”

“There’s a strange beast inside me, and he’s not pretty, as you know. If you think about it, there’s one inside us all, but we fight it so we can live in the world with everyone else. So we won’t be truly alone.”

Rhianne rubbed her hands against a sudden chill. “You’re trying to placate me.”

“Maybe, but that doesn’t mean what I say isn’t true.”

She let out a breath. “What do you want me to do? Take off my clothes and see if I shift again?”

Ben’s eyes filled with heat that seared her. “The taking off the clothes part sounds fun. But I don’t think that’s all there is to it.”

“What if I … I don’t know.” She waved her hands. “Get stuck halfway in between? Or what if I can change and try to fly, and then can’t figure out how to land? Tuil Erdannan are fairly indestructible, but falling a few hundred feet to the hard ground would not be good.”

Ben leapt down from the rail, landing lightly on his feet. “I think that whatever your animal can do, you just do. Like Jaycee running so fast. Or Tiger being the crazed fighting force he is. Or Zander being a pain in everyone’s ass.”

Rhianne appreciated that he kept trying to make her laugh. “Is being a pain in everyone’s ass a trait of Zander’s animal?”

“Hell, yes. Polar bear. Mightiest land animal on the planet, and Zander knows it.”

“I thought that was the elephant.”

Ben’s grin warmed her through. “I’ll tell him that. Anyway, what I had in mind was to help you find that beast inside you. Help you learn about it and figure out how to work with it instead of letting it scare the crud out of you.”

“How? I never knew I had this—thing—in me at all.” Rhianne plucked at her shirt as though the eagle lurked beneath it.

And yet … How many times when she’d been absorbed in her studies or while gazing at the marvel of a nebula, had she sensed another presence, one strong and wild, that seemed to be so close? Her skin would tingle, as it was doing now.

Rhianne had always pushed the sensations aside, dismissing them as imagination or exhaustion.

Ben moved to stand next to her. “Trust me, I’ve had to tame this thing inside me from the beginning. Not taming it cost me dearly. I’ll never, ever let myself lose control again.”

The anguish in him touched Rhianne, made her want to comfort him. She was curious about what had happened, but his body was tight with tension that warned her off.

“How are you going to teach me?” Her voice was quiet.

Ben’s amusement vanished. “It won’t be easy. You’ll have to trust me, to put yourself entirely in my hands. Can you do that?”

Rhianne had put herself into his hands that morning, and it had been the best moment of her life. Not what he meant, she knew.

“I don’t know,” she confessed.

“Good.” Ben gave her a nod. “If you were certain, I’d know you were overconfident, and this training session would crash and burn. Let’s start.” He took a step back, a ghost of his grin returning, and pointed at her. “Strip.”

Chapter Thirteen

Ben waited, certain Rhianne would punch him between the eyes, turn from him in high dudgeon, and stalk away.

His breath stopped when she grasped the hem of her T-shirt and smoothly pulled it off. She wore a camisole beneath that clung to her curves, her nipples shadowed outlines on the creamy fabric.

Training, Ben reminded himself as his gaze became glued to the camisole. This is training. She needs to figure things out, not be fondled.

But damn, it was going to be hard to keep his hands to himself.

“Let’s go down on the grass.” Ben tried to make his voice brisk. Go down. Had that been a slip? “Easier to work there,” he added hastily.

Rhianne didn’t notice his gaffe, or perhaps Tuil Erdannan didn’t use the phrase. She gracefully descended the steps, stretching in the sunshine, face lifted to the sun.

Ben got rid of his shirt and sat on the bottom step of the veranda to unlace and kick off his boots. He slid out of his jeans and joined Rhianne on the grass in his underwear.

He liked the quick flicker of her eyes as she gave him a once-over, not unhappy with what she saw.

“Come on,” he said. “Pants too.”

Rhianne removed the high-heeled sandals from her feet. Ben could not stop himself