“I could try to jog alongside you?” I offer lamely.
Flame stares at me for a long second, his dimples seeming to deepen. “Really? You would do that for me?”
“I… I would try?” I’m not in great jogging shape, mostly because I wasn’t allowed outside for prolonged periods in the village.
My skin was toofairfor farm work, thus they placed me in the fruit market instead.
I admit that aloud to Flame and add, “They would penalize me with more required entries if I burned my skin. Primarily because lotion was a premium item, not a basic resource item.” I clear my throat. “But anyway, yeah, I’ll try to keep up with you so you can run.”
I also kind of want tosee his jaguar.
How does that even work? Does it take time to shift? Do his bones break?
That last thought has my eyes blowing wide. “Wait, is turning into your animal painful?”
I think he was in the middle of saying something because his mouth is slightly open and he looks a little mystified by my random commentary.
But his surprise melts into another handsome smile. “No, sweetheart. It doesn’t hurt. Rejecting him is actually more painful than shifting.”
“So you’re in pain right now?” Because he made it sound like his jaguar was clawing at him to go for a run. And he’s clearlyrejectingthat need at the moment.
Flame cocks his head a little. “Well, slightly. But?—”
“Then you should shift,” I tell him. “Let your jaguar out. I don’t mind. I’ll try to keep up. It’ll be fine.” I’ll probably fall on my ass and make a complete fool of myself. But I’ve experienced worse.
Like what Timothy did to my throat yesterday, I think, shivering.That was definitely worse.
And I have bruising around my neck to prove it.
Why am I even thinking about that?My mind appears to be everywhere except where it needs to be—which is right here, in this magical jungle with Flame.
“Please shift,” I tell him. “I want to see your, uh, cat.”
He snorts. “It’s a lot bigger than a merecat, Alina.”
“Then show me,” I dare him, feeling bold despite my babbling idiocy. “ Let me see it.”
One of his dark brows wings upward. “A challenge?”
I fold my arms. “I’m waiting.” I’m not sure where this boldness is coming from, but I’m thankful for its return. Mostly because I thought this side of me had disappeared over the last week.
However, the part of me who stood up to the Viscount is now challenging the Shifter Fae.
And if the amusement in Flame’s expression is anything to go by, he approves.
“All right, little panther,” he murmurs, lifting his finger to draw a circle in the air. “Turn around.”
My brow furrows. “Why?”
“Because I have to undress to shift.” His hand drops to the top of his jeans. “Unless you want to watch?”
Now who is challenging whom?I wonder, swallowing.
“Right.” I spin around. Because I amnotready to accept that challenge.
Reaper’s nude state is still freshly ingrained in my mind. Adding a naked image of Flame to my head would probably make me physically combust.
Or melt.
