take this all the way, claim full sexual skin privileges, she eased back.
Those skin privileges would take time and intense trust on Felix’s part.
In bed, he’d be more vulnerable than he’d ever before been, reliant on her word that she wouldn’t use her dominance to force compliance. It was something she’d never before considered, and it made her realize just how much courage it took to be a submissive in a predatory changeling pack, how much heart.
Nuzzling the side of his face as he stroked his hand over her nape, she said, “Want to shift and go running together?”
• • •
Felix’s wolf adored running with Desiree. He was bigger than her as a wolf, but she was so sleek and fast that when they raced, it was an even competition. He even beat her a few times, and she pretended to sulk. It made his wolf bare its canines in a laugh, but only when she wasn’t looking—the animal wasn’t yet sure she wouldn’t take the sight as a challenge. A physical fight between them could have only one ending.
He might be bigger, might even be stronger, but he wasn’t a predator. Not in that way. Desiree was built to protect those she called her own, built to fight claw and tooth, built with the ruthless ability to take down anyone in her path. Without her ferocity and that of the other dominants, her pack would be easy prey for their enemies.
The two of them ran across the mountains of the Sierra Nevada and he showed her places she hadn’t known existed, for this was wolf land, Felix’s backyard. When the moon came up, they sat on an outlook and watched it spotlight the world. He was sorry when they had to return because it was time for Desiree to do her security rotation, but as they shifted back into human form and dressed with their backs to one another in an unspoken courtesy, he was happy. And terrified.
Whatever he’d felt as a naive eighteen-year-old, it had been a pale shadow of the emotion now growing inside him. He’d been a boy then. Young and fragile hearted and eager as a puppy. With maturity had come knowledge about himself, as well as an increasing depth of feeling. He no longer bounded like a puppy, had learned to shield himself against hurt, but the way Desiree touched him, the way she treated him . . . it made the puppy want to come out of hiding. Made him want to rub his cheek against her, let her nuzzle at his throat, trust her.
Shivering at the idea of her lush, persuasive mouth on his throat, he’d buttoned his buff-colored shirt halfway when she prowled around to face him, her walk lazily feline. “Let me,” she said and took over the task. “You are so built.”
He blushed, as he seemed to be doing permanently around her. “What I do, the work, it’s physical.”
She petted her hands over his chest after finishing with the buttons. “Oh, I know. I watch your butt when you bend over to haul those big seedling pots around.”
Skin heating even further, Felix dared narrow his eyes, though he could only hold hers for a split second. “Stop teasing me.”
A husky chuckle. “But it’s so much fun.” Petting hands on his chest again. “I love how you blush. Makes me want to bite you.”
His cock grew hard between his legs once more. “I think you need to get bitten,” he muttered, his wolf peeking out from between its paws to see if he’d offended her.
Desiree threw back her head and laughed, the sound wildfire around his senses. “Dare you,” she said afterward, green eyes sparkling.
Felix almost did it, almost trusted her to purr rather than strike out at him, but it was too soon. His wolf froze and so did the man. Sliding her hand into his, Desiree squeezed. “Offer’s open. Anytime you want.”
• • •
Felix couldn’t stop thinking of Desiree’s words, her voice, her scent as he got to work the next morning. She’d kept his hand in hers as they walked back to the others, making her claim on him clear. As a result, he’d been on the receiving end of more than a few winks and wolf whistles since then. It was all good-natured and he managed to hold his own, shooting back a few one-liners himself. That is, until Hawke appeared and angled his head toward the trees in a silent order.