Page 27 of Claiming Her Cougar (Shifting Pines #2)
“Your parents are here? Were you expecting them?” he whisper-shouts. Not that it matters. Mom has superior wolf shifter hearing. We’re not keeping anything from her.
“Of course not! They weren’t supposed to get here until Tuesday. If I knew they were going to be here, you wouldn’t be!”
The flash of hurt that crosses over his face squeezes my heart. Damn.
I reach out and rest my hand on his chest. “Hey, I didn’t mean it like that. It’s just awkward to be in the shower with a man and have your mother knock on the door.”
Nodding, he covers my hand with his and gives a light squeeze.
“Sounds like we have thirty minutes at most to get out of here. Can I use your shampoo, please?”
“Yeah.” I hand him the bottle and hold out my hand for a dollop as he gets his. We switch places so he can rinse the lather from his locks as I shampoo mine.
Since he’s finished first, Liam exits the shower, pressing a soft kiss on my bare shoulder as he passes by and dries off.
I rinse my hair and don’t bother with conditioner.
I know I’ll regret this decision, just one of many, but I don’t have time for all that.
I’ll braid it later, and that will be good enough.
Turning off the water, I open the shower door and step into the towel Liam holds open for me. Wrapping it around me and grabbing another towel for my hair, Liam laughs.
“Someday, I swear we’re going to have uninterrupted time together. In a bed.”
I laugh too. “Hashtag goals.”
We dry off, and Liam pulls on clean boxer briefs he had in his bag as I enter my bedroom to grab clean clothes.
“Do you want me to stay?” he asks.
I sigh. “Will you be offended if I say no? It’s nothing personal. It’s just…this is awkward, and I don’t know what Mom’s going to say or what Dad knows.”
“I get it. This isn’t the first impression I wanted to make on your parents, anyway.” He sits on the corner of my bed to pull on his socks and shoes. He bounces slightly and grins. “The mattress feels good. Hope to test it in the future.”
My cheeks flush, the curse of being a redhead. There’s no hiding my embarrassment.
“If you don’t get out of here before my parents return, you may not be alive to try it out.” I say while stepping into black yoga pants. I grab a hoodie that says, “Addicted to Love Stories” and pull it on, taking a moment before popping my head through in hopes the flush to my cheeks subsides.
Liam is fully dressed and running his fingers through his hair to give it some order.
“Your hair curls! I love it!” Reaching up, I finger one of the curls forming along his neck. This time it’s his turn to blush.
“Yeah, when it gets too long, it does that. I need to get it cut.”
“No!” I cry. “It’s adorable.” I imagine a little boy with copper-tinged brown curls and bright blue eyes and—I gasp. No, no, no, no. I can’t think about precious little boys with curls and mischievous glints in their eyes. Not going to happen. Can’t happen.
“You okay, Mallory?” Liam asks, concern clear in his voice.
I cough to clear the frog that has leaped into my throat. “I’m fine.” I don’t think my smile is convincing, but Liam lets it go.
“Okay, I’m going to head out. Text or call me later?” Grabbing my hand and leaning forward, he brushes a quick kiss across my lips.
It’s too quick. I wish we could linger. My parents have the worst timing. I guess it’s better they came home when we were only in the shower and not in the middle of making the most of my mattress.
“I’ll walk you out.” I lead the way down the back stairs, stopping at the bottom to look around and make sure we’re alone.
“They aren’t here,” Liam says behind me. “I’d smell them. If I wasn’t distracted earlier, I would have noticed your mom as soon as she entered the house. I’m sure she scented me right away.”
Great. She has to know he’s a cougar. Not bad enough to have a man in my shower, but for him to be a cougar shifter will bring some questions, I’m sure.
“Right.” I pull open the back door and turn to Liam. “You can get to the rink okay? It’s right through the trees there. You have your keys and stuff?”
He steps closer to me and wraps the arm not carrying his bag around me. “Give me a kiss, and I’ll have all I need.”
I stand on tiptoe to press a kiss to his jaw.
He tightens his grip and adjusts the angle of his head to kiss my lips, lingering.
With a sigh, I reach up and run my fingers through his damp curls.
I open my lips and run my tongue along his bottom lip.
I hear a rumble, almost like a purr, and it makes me smile.
Instead of accepting my invitation to deepen the embrace, he breaks it and steps past me to the deck outside the kitchen door.
In his eyes, I can see his reluctance to leave warring with his determination
“I’ll see you tomorrow night. Call me. Please.” He gives a sheepish grin. He’s learning commands don’t work on me.
“Yeah, see you tomorrow. Drive home safely.”
He lopes off toward the rink, stopping at the tree line to look back at me and wave.
I raise my hand to return the gesture and watch him slip into the trees.
Just a minute or two later, I hear the powerful engine of his Bronco come to life and watch the headlights as they drive through the early twilight December brings to southern New Jersey.
I close the door and sigh. My parents will be home soon, and I am not looking forward to that conversation.