her fingers against his fur. If he wasn’t careful, he might start to enjoy Claire’s soft touch.
No. The only touch he should ever enjoy was his former mate’s. To allow anyone else such intimate privileges would violate his mate’s memory.
Aidan increased his trot. The car wasn’t far. Once they reached it, he could blindfold the female, turn up the stereo, and ride the rest of the way home in silence.
Of course, the human was probably stubborn enough to yell over the music. The image of the female yelling while blindfolded nearly made him smile. Not that he would ever admit to it.
Forcing his face into a badass expression, Aidan guided Claire through the woods and toward the car. He may never take a mate again, but once he dropped off the human, he needed to find a female to ease his tension. His inner cougar’s need for sex was messing with his brain. There was no other explanation for why Aidan suddenly wanted the human to pet much more than his tail.
~~~
Claire couldn’t resist stroking the fur under her fingertips. Sure, the fur wasn’t as soft as a domestic kitten’s, but it wasn’t too rough, either. Since this was her first time touching a real-life shifter while in animal form, she wasn’t going to complain.
Aidan moved and she tried to keep pace. Dodging the trees and undergrowth were difficult and made her glad she’d worn sensible boots and jeans instead of the slacks and dress shoes her coworkers had suggested.
Claire might have lived in a city just south of Seattle for the last five years, but she’d been born and raised in Western Washington State and loved hiking. Only an idiot would hike in heels.
Well, at least an idiot by Claire’s standards.
No doubt, Kian would understand. If he turned her away for not showing up in a pants suit, then he wasn’t the type of shifter she could see her organization working with. As desperate as she was to gain DarkStalker’s support, Claire wasn’t about to beg anyone’s forgiveness to make it work. After all, she fought for equal standing. She wouldn’t be intimidated by a shifter.
Another two minutes, and they broke through the dense forest into a clearing. Sitting in the middle of it was a little black car.
The cougar stopped, turned, and tugged his tail. After releasing it, the cougar grew into the shape of a man again. Careful not to glance down, Claire asked, “Do I want to know where you kept the keys?”
Rather than answer her, Aidan went over to a tree, reached up, and retrieved a small bundle of clothes. She resisted tapping a foot as the shifter dressed. While she’d experienced her fair share of people ignoring her over the years, for some reason Aidan’s silence irritated her more than usual. After all, she’d just stroked the fur of his tail. In shifter circles, that was nearly as intimate as a body-to-body hug.
Aidan pulled out a set of keys from his jeans pocket and glanced at her. “If you want a ride, then hurry up and get in.”
Unlocking the car, he slid into the driver’s seat before Claire could so much as move a toe. Judging by his behavior, Aidan Scott was used to giving orders and being followed without question. If he were human instead of shifter, she would resist him on purpose just to rile him up. In her experience, male egos needed poking every once in a while.
However, garnering any kind of shifter support was difficult, let alone an entire clan’s, so she half-ran to the passenger’s side. The engine was already running by the time she clicked her seatbelt. Looking over at the shifter, he held up a pink sleep mask. “Put this on.”
She raised an eyebrow. “Is that really necessary? Considering we trekked through the wild forest just to reach your car, I have no idea where we are right now.”
“You might once we reach the road. Now, put it on or I leave you here and you can find your own way back.”
She stared but the shifter never flinched. With a sigh, Claire took the mask. “Why
No. The only touch he should ever enjoy was his former mate’s. To allow anyone else such intimate privileges would violate his mate’s memory.
Aidan increased his trot. The car wasn’t far. Once they reached it, he could blindfold the female, turn up the stereo, and ride the rest of the way home in silence.
Of course, the human was probably stubborn enough to yell over the music. The image of the female yelling while blindfolded nearly made him smile. Not that he would ever admit to it.
Forcing his face into a badass expression, Aidan guided Claire through the woods and toward the car. He may never take a mate again, but once he dropped off the human, he needed to find a female to ease his tension. His inner cougar’s need for sex was messing with his brain. There was no other explanation for why Aidan suddenly wanted the human to pet much more than his tail.
~~~
Claire couldn’t resist stroking the fur under her fingertips. Sure, the fur wasn’t as soft as a domestic kitten’s, but it wasn’t too rough, either. Since this was her first time touching a real-life shifter while in animal form, she wasn’t going to complain.
Aidan moved and she tried to keep pace. Dodging the trees and undergrowth were difficult and made her glad she’d worn sensible boots and jeans instead of the slacks and dress shoes her coworkers had suggested.
Claire might have lived in a city just south of Seattle for the last five years, but she’d been born and raised in Western Washington State and loved hiking. Only an idiot would hike in heels.
Well, at least an idiot by Claire’s standards.
No doubt, Kian would understand. If he turned her away for not showing up in a pants suit, then he wasn’t the type of shifter she could see her organization working with. As desperate as she was to gain DarkStalker’s support, Claire wasn’t about to beg anyone’s forgiveness to make it work. After all, she fought for equal standing. She wouldn’t be intimidated by a shifter.
Another two minutes, and they broke through the dense forest into a clearing. Sitting in the middle of it was a little black car.
The cougar stopped, turned, and tugged his tail. After releasing it, the cougar grew into the shape of a man again. Careful not to glance down, Claire asked, “Do I want to know where you kept the keys?”
Rather than answer her, Aidan went over to a tree, reached up, and retrieved a small bundle of clothes. She resisted tapping a foot as the shifter dressed. While she’d experienced her fair share of people ignoring her over the years, for some reason Aidan’s silence irritated her more than usual. After all, she’d just stroked the fur of his tail. In shifter circles, that was nearly as intimate as a body-to-body hug.
Aidan pulled out a set of keys from his jeans pocket and glanced at her. “If you want a ride, then hurry up and get in.”
Unlocking the car, he slid into the driver’s seat before Claire could so much as move a toe. Judging by his behavior, Aidan Scott was used to giving orders and being followed without question. If he were human instead of shifter, she would resist him on purpose just to rile him up. In her experience, male egos needed poking every once in a while.
However, garnering any kind of shifter support was difficult, let alone an entire clan’s, so she half-ran to the passenger’s side. The engine was already running by the time she clicked her seatbelt. Looking over at the shifter, he held up a pink sleep mask. “Put this on.”
She raised an eyebrow. “Is that really necessary? Considering we trekked through the wild forest just to reach your car, I have no idea where we are right now.”
“You might once we reach the road. Now, put it on or I leave you here and you can find your own way back.”
She stared but the shifter never flinched. With a sigh, Claire took the mask. “Why
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