Page 5 of It’s A Little Bit Bunny (Fangs on Ice #4)

Four

Jules

O h no.

With Nikolai near and being weirdly…fascinated with the young human, I hadn’t paid much attention to my mask.

“I am sorry,” I breathed, prepared to watch him lose his composure and run away in terror. The way he stared at me reminded me of a bunny frozen before the snake.

The human—Nikolai—took a few deep breaths.

“We should get inside before we get drenched.” He gave me a small smile that I tried to imitate. Only now, after he mentioned it, did I hear the soft pitter-patter of the first raindrops on the canopy of leaves over our heads.

“Yes.” I led the way to my front door, only remembering my manners just as I was about to let him into the entrance hall. “Are you scared of animals? My pet, he can be a bit much. He gets very excited.”

“Never met a dog I didn’t like.” There was that half-smile again, the one that made my stomach swoop. Barnabas wasn’t even remotely close to being a dog, but it would be fine, I hoped.

I called Barnabas after I had closed the door behind us. It took only a few seconds for his mismatched feet to scramble down the stairs.

“Holy shit.” The human gasped before dropping to his knees. Seeing him there unearthed an unexpected but burning desire for him to repeat that for me.

“Hi, baby. Oh my God, who’s a good boy,” Nikolai crooned, petting a wriggling Barnabas between his little antlers. My Wolpertinger was blissed out with joy, grunting and huffing when Nikolai scratched his wing bases next.

I think I’d enjoy being called a “good boy” too.

“He’s so adorable, Jules.” The equally adorable human raised his eyes, his face falling for a moment before he caught himself. “It’s kinda weird to see a different face every time I look at you.” His nose scrunched up and I stared and stared. If I committed his expression to memory and hoped I would never forget it.

“Everything all right?” Nikolai asked me. “Do I have dirt on my nose?” He raised a hand and rubbed its tip. It curved up a bit. “Himmelfahrtsnase,” that’s what they called it. I suppressed a chuckle. It felt like I had ascended to heaven. This beautiful creature in my home was treating me as an equal not like an abomination.

You’re staring and haven’t said a word in a minute, Jules!

“Yes, of course.” I cleared my throat. “Can I offer you something to eat or drink? It will be some time before we can go back out there.”

“All right, buddy.” With one last pat on Barnabas’ back, he rose to his feet. “I’d love something to drink, thanks. I finished my bottle over an hour ago.”

“The kitchen is through here.” I led him down a hallway to the east wing. “Are you sure you don’t want anything to eat? You must be hungry.”

A sturdy human like you.