“Not really. We need to do this now, more snow is coming in an hour or so,” he said as he watched the darkening sky.
“But I don’t know what to do,” she whined as she began to strip, mimicking his actions.
Nerves had her acting a little bratty, but she could hardly blame herself. The last few hours felt like some kind of crazy dream.
“Love, you will be fine,” he rubbed her shoulders and she leaned into him longing to feel his weight atop her once more, “I promise, I will do anything and everything you want me to, but right now it is time you meet your Tigress.”
She growled impatiently and huffed as he turned her around to face out towards the frozen Pine Barrens.
“It’s cold.”
“Forget the cold, sweet, close your eyes. Look deep within yourself. She is there. Waiting for you, love, let her out, let her know what you want. Remember she has a voice and a mind, but you share the same soul,” his voice was hypnotic as he whispered into her ear.
Violet’s rational mind wanted to scoff at the ridiculousness of it all, but there was something else inside of her. And that something was very interested in what Dean had to say in that deep, rumbling timbre that was both soothing and arousing at the same time.
Violet decided to follow her instincts. She closed her mind off to the doubt and her pesky rationale. She didn’t need that anymore, not here, and not with him.
Instinct, nature, fate, hell, maybe even her boss or just the universe at large had all convened to bring her to this exact moment in her life. It was time she stepped up and away from the drudgery that was her previous existence.
In these last few hours with Dean, Violet had felt more and done more than she had in the entirety of her thirty years on Earth. She trusted him. Crazy as that sounded, she did. With her body, her mind, and yes, even her heart. There was something so refreshingly honest about him.
“Just breathe, love,” he whispered and she felt her limbs go soft and heavy as her trust in him allowed her to relax fully.
Expelling a breath, she finally saw her, a beautiful sleek Tigress with shining golden-orange fur and inky black stripes. Her beast was magnificent. Beautiful and graceful as she stepped forward inside her mind’s eye.
Let me in, her Tigress pushed the thought into her head and suddenly she was propelled forwards, slumping on her bare knees in the cold snow that had fallen on the deck.
“That’s it, mate. You can do it. Don’t fight her. She is you, let her in, accept the change,” Dean talked her through the worst of it, and finally, when her skin ached and the sounds of her muscles tearing and her bones breaking and reknitting no longer echoed in her mind, Violet stood.
The world was slightly askew when she opened her Tigress’ eyes. It was sharper, like switching from regular old television to high definition, she guessed and chuffed at her wayward thought.
“You are beautiful, my Nari, as I knew you would be,” Dean knelt before her, waiting until she bumped his shoulder with her big head to touch her.
He pressed a kiss to her head and stood up in his nudity. She recognized the hum of magic now, saw it even as it worked to transform him from man to beast in the blink of an eye.
Violet grunted at that. Her own change had been painful and much longer. Not at all easy like his looked.
It will get easier with time, little one.
Violet snarled and stopped in her tracks. To hear his voice so clearly in her head felt strange, though not unwelcomed. She narrowed her eyes and flicked snow in his direction with her long tail.
You could’ve warned me about that.
About what?
That you can read my mind when I’m like this, I mean what if I was thinking about how hot you are, or what if I was thinking about another guy.
At that, Dean roared loudly.
No other. Mine!
Okay, easy there, buddy, I was just kidding.
Sorry. I am afraid my Tiger is very possessive of you, Violet. Joking about other men is probably not a good idea.
Really? Well, how about this? Is this a good idea?
She used her massive paw to toss a huge wave of snow at Dean’s Tiger’s face before vaulting over the fence and out into the woods.
The air on her fur felt divine as did racing over the mounds of snow and tangled roots and limbs. She smelled everything, like everything, from field mouse droppings to larger animals like deer and bears that had passed along the way. Mostly though, she scented her mate, and her Tigress approved wholeheartedly of him.
Her Tigress chuffed and teased him, loving the strength and energy of her other self. She frolicked happily in the woods, chasing and being chased by Dean for what seemed like hours but couldn’t have been too long before he led the way back to his cabin.
We want to be back in time for Santa, don’t we?
She snorted at him but was happy to be headed back. Truth was, being a Shifter was exhausting.
Don’t forget dessert, she thought at him and got the distinct impression her mate had been thinking the very same thing.
Grrr.
Chapter Ten
Dean wandered up to the loft where he’d left his exhausted mate sprawled out on the bed with a ridiculously satisfied gleam in her eye.
It was well past midnight, and still he was starving for her. Always would be, he thought with a grin and sent another prayer of thanks to the universe for blessing him with his Violet.
Fated mates were rare and cherished among his kind, now their kind, he corrected himself, and he would never forget how blessed he truly was to have her.
“Shit,” he grunted, almost losing his grip on the plate of dessert he’d promised her earlier that evening.
“Mm, do I smell watermelon and chocolate?”
“You do and some other bits of goodness here and there. Sit up, love,” he gestured to the headboard and Violet gave him a saucy growl before rolling over, to crawl up the enormous bed giving him one hell of a spectacular view, even if she was somewhat hidden by the silky sheet.
He sat down next to her scooching her over with his hip and held the plate just out of reach when she went to snag a bit of chocolate sauce.
“Un uh, you get dessert, but I get to feed it to you,” he said and loved the way she faux pouted at him.
“Okay, but you better gimme some chocolate before I hurt you,” she teased.
Dean took a slice of strawberry and dipped the tip into the bowl of melted dark chocolate, blowing on it before holding the treat to her kiss-swollen lips.
“Mmm,” she moaned and took it in her mouth causing him to have all sorts of naughty thoughts regarding other things he’d love to see slip between her lips.
Next was a thin slice of watermelon that he rubbed with a slice of lemon then coated with ultra-fine sugar before feeding it to her.
“Ohmygawd,” she moaned around the mouthful and once more he found himself hard pressed to ignore the almost torturous level of arousal she evoked.
Next was a cherry he’d pitted himself, covered in melted white chocolate, followed by a peach slice dipped in lemon and sugar, and a plump raspberry delicately dredged through the melted milk chocolate and sprinkled with Himalayan pink salt.
All the while she moaned and licked at his fingertips. Every scrumptious morsel was nothing compared to the act of watching her enjoy each bite.
By the time she patted her tummy, Dean didn’t think he could stand up straight. He placed the near empty dish on the floor, save for the small bowl sugar and a slice of lemon.