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“After you’re finished, like I said, your wolf will leave. He’ll tell you when you’re done. Obviously, if you’re feeling uncomfortable, you can call it quits at any time, but as long as you’re okay to keep going, wait for him to tell you he’s done. You know they can just keep going, right? It’s like they’re wearing a backup battery.”
Moriah nodded weakly, squeezing her thighs together again. Lowell had already displayed impressive stamina, and that was withoutthe benefit of the moon.He also said he was super horny. It’ll probably be different the next time. For as surprised as he had acted over her own two-year dry spell, Moriah couldn’t fathom how someone as handsome and cheerful as him wasn’t getting his dick sucked every time he stepped out the door.
“The one thing I will say, this will completely change the way you look at werewolves. There’s a guy getting his order right now; I always see him in here. I think he’s a fireman or something? He’ssosexy, and now all I can think about every time I see him is that he is probably fucking his wife into the following month every full moon.”
They dissolved into giggles over their cups, and Moriah held her breath, counting to three before she turned around. She was always hyper-conscious about being caught staring at people, being a human in a mostly nonhuman environment. She never wanted to cause offense, and erred on the side of caution.
She’d waited a few beats too long, for the man was already walking out the door, carafe boxes in either hand. He was tall and broad-shouldered, thick with muscle and dark-haired, and she couldn’t help but agree with her friend’s sentiment. It seemed like every werewolf she knew was tall, dark, and handsome.
“Just remember, they want you to be comfortable the whole time. I know it’s awkward and embarrassing to think about, and I’m not going to pretend that the first time wasn’t absolutely mortifying, at least at the start. That’s why the interview process was so important for us, to make sure we felt good about the donor we picked.”
“Oh, for sure,” Moriah sighed in agreement. “I’msoglad we got the awkwardness out of the way. And he’s just so nice and sweet . . . I haven’t been able to stop thinking about him, actually.” She laughed, ducking her head, raising her eyes in time to see her friend’s brow furrow. “But you’re right. I know the atmosphere itself is going to make it super awkward. I keep thinking about people watching us.”
Drea nodded. “You forget about it eventually, but that made me a little paranoid too. Sooo, did you pick someone who looks like you? Or at least looks like someone in your family?”
Moriah blinked. She was ashamed to admit the thought hadn’t even occurred to her. She hadn’t even paid attention to see if there was a wolf in the pages of the clinic’s catalog that resembled her physically, someone who may have possessed fair skin and red hair, or someone who had her green eyes. Lowell’s eyes were dark, nearly black. His hair was equally thick and dark, and his skin held the golden, sun-kissed glow of someone who had spent their summer poolside.
Or at least someone training for the Olympic swim team. Medaling twice, blowing it on his backstroke. She grinned just thinking of his quirky humor, wondering if it would be egregiously inappropriate to call him before the full moon.Maybe we could get together one last time and discuss the clinic procedure. . . or perhaps they could just spend time getting to know each other better, she thought.
In either case, he didn’t look at all like her, and she wondered which of their appearances their baby would favor. She tried to imagine a little girl with red hair and sparkling dark eyes or a little boy with her green eyes and his mischievous smile, and found it surprisingly difficult. In all the years she’d tried for a baby, she pictured herself with a bundle pressed to her chest, but very rarely was her mind’s eye able to articulate exactly what she would find once the swaddling was pulled back.
“Oh, um, no . . . I-I guess I didn’t. He doesn’t look anything like me,” she laughed weakly.
“Well, I guess that’s okay, right? How did you pick him? Something in his bio?” Drea grinned broadly. “Secretly hoping for a future surgeon?”
“No,” she murmured, letting out another awkward chuckle, “I-I guess I picked him because of his smile.”
“His smile?”
Drea sounded skeptical, and instantly, Moriah felt her hackles raise.
“Yes,” she said a bit more decisively, sitting up in her seat. “He has a gorgeous smile. It made me feel good as soon as I saw his picture. Too many of those guys look hard, like it was their corporate photograph. Are they too manly to smile or something? Are they still going to be pulling the tough guy routine when I’m with them? Why wouldn’t you smile for something like this?! You want some strange woman to pick you as the father of her child; why would you go out of your way to look as surly as possible? Why would I want to procreate with someone who looks like they’re going to yell at me through their picture? Sorben was hard enough for a lifetime. I can’t do something like this with someone like that; I just can’t.”
Moriah sucked in a long breath through her teeth, flushed from her outburst. She needed to start seeing her therapist again. She had initially thought she would need to go back to Bridgeton to find a human who would understand her and everything she was going through, but she’d decided to try someone local first, and it had been a perfect fit. She realized she picked people to be in her life based on ancillary traits, for her therapist had a wonderful, honking laugh, like a great goose, and it was what had sold her on seeing the Sphinx beyond their first appointment. All of this baby business was kicking up old feelings and fears again, and she ought to have someone with whom she could talk through things.You can call and make an appointment tomorrow.
“So yes, I picked him because of his smile. And it turned out to be a good choice because he’s wonderful. He’s funny and artistic; he’s traveled all over the world. He’s a little bit of a troublemaker,” she added with a laugh, thinking of the satyr’s car and Lowell’s utter delight at finding it still sandwiched between their two vehicles when they returned to the café’s small parking lot. “He lives overseas normally; he’s only here in the area because of the pandemic. He’s staying with family right now. No, he doesn’t look anything like me. I didn’t even think about that being a factor. He’s not a surgeon and didn’t go to an Ivy League school. He’s just . . . a sweet, normal guy. And he made me laugh more in the few hours we were together than I have in the last decade, so I think I made a good choice.”
“Whoa, what?” Drea cut in, her brows coming together. The gold markings around her eyes glittered in the overhead light, and Moriah felt heat creep up her neck again. “What do you mean the few hours you were together? You just interviewed him, right?”
“Yes! I did exactly what you said. I wrote up a whole list of questions for him and everything! We met at a little café; I made sure it was a public place, and—”
“Youmethim?! In-person?”
Moriah felt as though she had suddenly lost her ability to understand the common tongue.
“What?! You’re the one who told me to interview him! What do you thinkinterviewmeans?!”
Drea was holding her head, eyebrows still drawn together, her mouth hanging open.
“Okay, so let me get this straight . . . youmethim at a café, like physically in person, to interview him. I mean, great, I’m glad to hear that you wrote down some questions, that’s good, but you said you were together forhours?”
She wanted to fall through the floor.
She had doneexactlywhat Drea had recommended. Her friend had said to be sure to interview her donor, which she had done. She had prepared questions; she’d gone in prepared to determine whether or not he was a suitable donor candidate. Everything that had happened after they had left the café had been . . . well, a bit off script, she was willing to admit that. Butshewas the one who had started it while they were still at the table, she was the one who touched him first.But it was necessary! She bristled at her friend’s horror-stricken look. If she was going to be making a baby with this man, it was necessary to know what sort ofeverythinghe was packing.
“Oh my stars, Moriah, what did youdo?”
“I didn’t mean for it to happen!” she yelped, face flaming. “I mean, Idid. I didn’t do anything I didn’t want to do. I wasn’t forced into anything. But . . . he was so nice! And he’s so cute, gods, he’s so freaking cute. He’s super hot, he’s got a great body, and he’s handsome, you know? Like, from across the room, you see him coming and stop and think, ‘wow, that’s a handsome man.’ But then, up close, he has such a baby face. He looks like he’s ready to get into mischief at any moment, and I love that. He’s got such good energy, and I think he’s pathologically incapable of holding still, but . . . He made me laughso, so much, Drea. I haven’t laughed like this in years. Years! And he’s so interesting, he’s been all over the world! He’s a photographer, and he’s seen all the places I want to visit. I loved talking with him. He made me feel good. And I haven’t felt good in such a long time . . .”
