Page 27

“I told you to go home,” Garner snapped again, this time sounding less annoyed and more… nervous? I couldn’t quite tell.

There was a full-grown naked man standing in his doorway, and nobody seemed as concerned about that as I felt they should be. How did he even get here? Was he wandering around like this? Was nude jogging a thing?

I flinched at the thought of my family jewels bouncing as I ran. No, thank you.

“Do you want me to get you a towel or something?” I asked, because what else could I offer? Hospitality seemed like the only rational path forward, because at least it had some semblance of rules. Even if my brain was short-circuiting and I had about a hundred and twelve questions, I didn’t think I’d have the nerve to ask why he was standing there with his dick out.

But Booker just shook his head. “Yeah, no. I don’t need a towel.” His voice was calm. Almost too calm. And he didn’t even pretend to get a bit of modesty.

“My brother needs me to go home,” he continued, “but I needed to come here and give my brother a push. He can be so stubborn.” Booker rolled his eyes, a gesture I didn’t fail to see because my eyes were on his, unwilling to look anywhere else.

Then, without warning, Booker wasn’t standing there anymore. One second, there was a man. The next, on the floor in his place, was a fox. A real one. Cute and furry and not a man.

The creature trotted off into the back yard like this was just any normal Tuesday. Like he hadn’t just shapeshifted into woodland wildlife in front of my face.

I gawked at the spot he’d vanished from like I could rewind time, watch it play out again, and make it make sense.

“Did we have any special mushrooms in dinner?” I muttered. “Because something’s not— I…” I stammered, unable to even finish the thought.

The next thing I knew, Garner’s arms were around me, his warmth enveloping me. He pulled me in, holding me close, his cheek pressed against mine.

“Don’t be scared,” he whispered.

“I’m not scared,” I said honestly. “Confused, yeah. Maybe a little scared, but not that kind of scared.” Even with all of this, the worry over him not wanting me rose above all else. “But mostly confused.”

“Let me show you something.” He pulled back just enough to look me in the eye. “Do you trust me?”

I nodded. My heart was trying to beat its way out of my chest, but I did trust him. He would never hurt me. Even if I was nothing more than a fuck buddy to him, I knew that was true.

“I do trust you.”

“There were no mushrooms of any kind in dinner,” he said. “No drugs. No alcohol. Nothing. Let me show you.”

He stepped away, and I felt the absence of his touch like a sudden chill. He went to the door, shut it, and pulled his shirt off.

“I’ve seen that before,” I teased weakly. I had. A lot. Not that I was complaining.

“Stop looking at me like that,” he groaned. “You’re making this harder.”

“What way?”

“Like you want to lick me from head to toe.”

I grinned. “I don’t know if I can control that… because I do.”

He sighed. “Do me a favor, sweetheart. Hold on to that, okay?”

“Okay,” I agreed, but my voice wavered. I could feel something coming, something I hadn’t prepared for, and nothing could have.

He stripped completely, eyes on mine the whole time. He was shaking slightly. “Remember… no matter what…. I’m still me, okay?”

I nodded, bracing myself.

And then, just like his brother, one moment he was a man, and the next, he wasn’t. He was a fox. Beautiful, sleek, and real.

I stumbled backward until I hit the wall. I stared at him, at his small body and wide eyes, and tried to process it all.

His words echoed in my mind:I’m still me. Don’t be scared.