Page 7 of Love, Clumsily (Fur Real Love #2)
He kissed me back, gentle and sweet, a sharp contrast to the wild passion of moments before. When we separated, he said, “How are you being so calm about this? Most people would be freaking out.”
“Oh, I’m definitely freaking out,” I assured him. “But in a good way. And honestly, after my last relationship, finding out you turn furry once in a while is kind of refreshing. At least you’re never boring.”
He laughed, the sound rumbling through his chest and into my back. “That’s one way to look at it.”
“How long…?” I gestured vaguely.
“Will we be stuck together? Not long. Maybe another few minutes.”
“No, I mean how long have you been a werewolf? Were you born this way, or…?”
“Born,” he confirmed. “My whole family is. We’re one of the oldest packs in this area.”
“There are more of you?” I asked, fascinated.
“Mmm. My parents, my sister, a few cousins. And some friends who are like family. We’re small but tight-knit.”
“So that’s what you meant about the meat not all being for you,” I realized. “Pack dinners?”
He nodded. “We eat together a few times a week. More around the full moon.”
“Wow,” I said, trying to process this new information. “So there’s a whole werewolf community in Pine Haven that no one knows about?”
“Some people know,” he said. “Like Sara at the bookstore—her wife is one of us.”
“Sara!” I exclaimed. “That’s why she was being all cryptic today when I was talking about you.”
He tensed. “You were talking about me?”
“Only good things,” I assured him. “Well, mostly I was complaining about how you wouldn’t sleep with me, but now I understand why.”
He relaxed, his thumb stroking over my knuckles. “I wanted to. So much. I was just afraid of what you’d see. What you’d think.”
“And now?”
“Now I’m afraid you’re going to want to do this all the time, and I’ll never get any work done,” he said, his tone light but with an undertone of genuine wonder, as if he couldn’t believe this was really happening.
I laughed. “That’s a distinct possibility.”
I felt the knot beginning to subside, and Mason carefully pulled out, both of us wincing slightly at the sensation. He immediately pulled me back against his chest, one arm draped possessively over my waist.
“So, I have about a million questions,” I said, settling into his embrace.
“I figured you might,” he replied, pressing a kiss to my shoulder. “Ask away.”
“Do you turn into a wolf every full moon, or can you control it?”
“Both. The full moon makes the change mandatory, but I can shift whenever I want otherwise. It gets easier with age and practice.”
“That was you in my yard last night, right?”
He sighed. “Yes. I wanted to check on you, but I didn’t want to just show up at your door. Sometimes it’s easier to think in wolf form, and I was trying to figure out how to tell you the truth.”
“So much for that plan,” I teased.
“Yeah, you kind of blew up my carefully constructed revelation,” he agreed, nipping lightly at my ear.
“Sorry about that,” I said, not sorry at all. “Next question: Can you give the bite to turn someone, or is that just movie stuff?”
He stiffened slightly behind me. “It’s… complicated. Born wolves can turn humans, but it’s dangerous. The person might become a wolf, or they might die, or something in between. It’s not something we do lightly.”
“Interesting,” I said, filing that information away for later. “Okay, important question: can I pet you when you’re in wolf form, or is that offensive?”
His startled laugh was warm against my neck. “You can pet me. Most wolves actually like it, though we’d never admit it to humans.”
“Excellent,” I said, already imagining running my fingers through his fur. “Next question: does sex always end with the whole knot situation, or was that a special occasion?”
“Not always,” he said, and I could hear the smile in his voice. “It’s more likely around the full moon or during… intense emotional states.”
“So I rocked your world, is what you’re saying.”
He tightened his arm around me. “You have no idea.”
We continued like that for a while, me asking questions and Mason answering patiently, his hand tracing lazy patterns on my skin. As the afterglow faded, practical concerns began to surface.
“I should probably clean up,” I said reluctantly, not wanting to leave the warm cocoon of his embrace.
“Mmm,” he agreed, making no move to release me.
“That means you have to let go,” I pointed out.
“Five more minutes,” he murmured, pressing his face into my hair and inhaling deeply. The gesture should have seemed strange, but knowing what I now knew, it was actually kind of endearing.
“Are you smelling me?” I asked.
“Yes,” he admitted without shame. “You smell amazing. Like home and heat and mine.”
“Yours, huh?” I smiled, warmth spreading through my chest that had nothing to do with his supernatural body heat.
“Mine,” he confirmed, tightening his hold briefly. “If… if that’s okay with you.”
I turned in his arms to face him, our noses almost touching. “More than okay,” I said softly. “But you know this means you’re mine too, right? Wolf and all.”
The smile that spread across his face was brighter than the sun. “I can live with that.”
As I looked into his amber eyes, still slightly glowing in the dim light, I realized something important: my quiet, peaceful life in Pine Haven had just become a lot more complicated, a lot more dangerous, and infinitely more exciting.
And I wouldn’t have it any other way.