Chuck scratched his head and then laughed. “I only know one thing for sure and it’s that I’ve been waiting all my life for you to love me the way I love you.”
Hildy lifted a hand and swept it around the room. “This is the life I’ve chosen to give myself to. Whether I’m somewhere else or in Assley, I’ll have to deal with shifting problems and healing challenges. This life is messy and complex and demanding of my time. Do you really want to share it with me? I’ll never be able to give you anything that could pass as normal.”
Laughing dryly, Chuck lifted one shoulder. “For a couple of years, I think I’ve had what most people call a normal life. It’s very lonely when you’re not sleeping next to the person you love with all your heart.”
Hildy moaned softly and wiped at her eyes. “I don’t deserve you, Chuck. I never have. Some part of me knows for sure that I’m not nearly as nice or as good as you are. You have to understand what you’re getting with me—I would have turned your shifter king into a toad and been proud of it. Do you really want to tie yourself to someone like that?”
Chuck laughed again and walked closer. “Well, if you’re giving me a choice, I think I’d rather tie you to my bed and not let you out of it for about three months. But then again, I’ve read couples should save the kinky stuff until things get stale in a relationship. I can’t imagine things getting stale with us though. Can you?”
“You do know I’m older and more experienced than you, right?”
Chuck smiled and nodded. “I know you’re more experienced. I’ve known that from the start.”
Hildy’s hands went to her hair. She yanked two handfuls in frustration. “By the Ancients, I have got to do something about this stuff soon.”
Chuck snorted. “I’ll say. I’ve had a bear-sized boner ever since you got back to Assley.”
Giggling, Hildy shook her head. “I was talking about my hair.”
“What’s wrong with your hair?” Chuck asked, studying the top of her head.
Belly-laughing over his reaction, Hildy went to Chuck and took his hand. “Come on, Big Guy. Let’s get something to eat before you have to collect the cubs.”
“I’m not collecting them. They’re staying with Charlie. He built a sheet tent in the living room and they were all in it when I left. Looks like I’m all alone tonight.”
Hildy shook her head slowly. “No, honey, you’re not going be alone tonight… or any other night.”
“I don’t care if you have honey or not, Hildy. I’ll bring some by next time I visit. I want to be here with you.”
“Somehow our conversations always end up confusing me,” Hildy admitted.
Chuck laughed as he lifted a hand to her cheek. “Welcome to my world,” he said. “Of course, it might help if the blood would stay in my brain when you’re around. Let’s work on that happening soon, Ms. Shifter Whisperer.”
Hildy giggled again when her bear tossed her over his shoulder and carried her up the stairs.
Chuck insisted on loading the dishwasher after dinner. Needing a shower, Hildy dropped her over-sized clothes into the hamper. Now she was officially back to either blankets or Morgana’s blue gown. She washed her hair and conditioned her unruly locks as best she could. Coming out of the tiled enclosure, she found Chuck waiting with one of her new plush towels. She felt a moment’s concern about him seeing her without clothes, but instead of arousal lighting his eyes, he wrapped her up with an earnest look on his face.
“That look does not bode well for you fulfilling my fantasies. What’s wrong?” Hildy asked, lifting a hand to Chuck’s handsome jaw.
“Charlie only tattooed his girlfriend on his arm. You’re tattooed with reminders all over. Do the marks hurt?”
Hildy looked down at the marks visible outside the towel. “Not as bad as they did at first. My tattoos are part of my agreement with Gaia. Each inch represents a different power I will have access to using. The thrill of that is worth the pain.”
Chuck bent his lips to a long line running from her collarbone down over her arm. Hildy shivered at the sensual assault.
“It’s going to be difficult for me to go slow. I’m a big old bear shifter of a man. Does that scare you?”
Hildy giggled and her knees buckled. Chuck caught her close as she fell against him. His words had the most amazing effect on her. “Nothing about you scares me. I’m powerful,” she whispered back.
“And extremely tasty,” Chuck added, his lips retracing the same trail.
On the return trip back to her throat, his tongue got involved too. Hildy squirmed inside the towel.
“Chuck, this is torture. Please take me to bed. I want to be with you.”
Chuck pulled his shirt off before raking her towel entirely out of the way. When she was naked once more, Hildy stepped forward and pressed her lips to his muscled chest.
Since she was a teenager, Hildy had been on the hunt for a sexy shifter. Now she realized her search had been no more than a way to stall. A big part of her had been waiting for Chuck to grow up, which he had done in some spectacular ways.
Hildy smiled and ran her hands over the muscles she’d been admiring. “Gaia made you about as perfect as a man could be made for me. I hope one day I can be your idea of perfect.”
Chuck grinned. “You already are, babe. You’re the most beautiful mate any shifter could ever ask for in the world, although I do think it’s time to set your cave look aside and become the fashionably savvy witch you were meant to be.”
Wrinkling her nose at her alleged mate’s lecture about her appearance, she stared up into his face. “I thought you didn’t care about my hair. Is a lecture your idea of sexy pillow talk? Because if it is—epic fail, dude.”
Laughing, Chuck ran a hand over her fluffy, wild locks. “It’s not a lecture. I didn’t want there to be any other secrets between us. I’ll love you no matter what you do or don’t do to your hair, but it’s important to me that you love yourself completely. It’s part of my job as your mate. Remember one thing though—I’m meant to be a bear, not a toad. We need to be clear about that.”
Her laugh rang loudly through the room. By the Ancients, Chuck always made her laugh. “If we’re going to be mates, you shouldn’t have to be afraid of me. How about this? I promise never to turn you into a toad. If I get that mad at you, I’ll let you know and we’ll work it out.”
“Thank you,” Chuck said in relief. “Can we get back to the sexy stuff now?”
“If you’re done lecturing.”
“I’m done with everything except getting inside you.”
Hildy giggled in happiness when Chuck lifted her into his arms for a kiss that made all kinds of promises. He walked them out of the bathroom and to the four-poster bed, sliding them onto the mattress as nearly one unit.
“You were so worth waiting for,” Chuck whispered.
Hildy tugged until he lay on her. She needed to feel his weight—to know this was going to happen. “You were worth the wait too,” she whispered back.
When Chuck kissed her again, he stole her breath. The moans he pulled from her in passion sent pink glitter into the air. Love bloomed inside her. Power flowed between the two of them.
Hildy had always heard that making love to the right person was magical. Lucky, lucky her to finally learn that it was true.
Hours later, a loud noise startled Hildy awake from a sound sleep. She sat up in the bed and looked around in the dark. The noise seemed to be near her—in fact, the noise seemed to be next to her. It turned out to be Chuck… and he was snoring loudly.
“By the Ancients, bear. How am I supposed to deal with you making that racket every night?”
She laughed at herself and at Chuck, then nudged him with a hand to get him to roll over. Chuck grunted and turned slightly, but not by much. The snoring continued, but it had gotten a bit softer.
“I’m going to need earplugs,” Hildy said out loud.
“And probably soundproofing too. You both moan a lot. Thought you mig
ht want to know in case Chuck and the cubs move in with you.”
Hildy’s head swung toward the speaker. Her eyes peered through the darkness. “Who said that? Who are you?”
“Stop fretting, Hildegard. If you used all your senses, you’d have already known I was here and that it was just me. Or at least it’s part of me. This is my favorite human form. I thought it would be easier than coming here as a big ball of light. I wouldn’t want you to think I was an alien or something else weird. You’d be surprised about how many people think that about my true form.”
The outline of a woman grew more evident as she finally materialized next to the bed.
Hildy searched the woman’s energy for clues to her identity. The realization came slowly. “Gaia?”
“In the flesh—temporarily.”
“I…” Hildy began and then felt cool fingers press against her lips to stop them from moving.
“Stop. I’m not here for anything negative. You get enough lectures from all the well-meaning people in your life. I stopped by to finish activating your power. A happy week or two with your bear would have gotten it done more naturally, but you don’t have that kind of time. The shifters need you at full power tomorrow. A showdown is coming.”
The woman stopped talking and stared into her eyes. Hildy swallowed and never looked away.
“Now I’m going to take my fingers off your mouth and you’re going to keep quiet for me while I do this, okay? I don’t want your bear to see me. I need all my energy for what I have to do.”
Hildy’s head moved up and down while she stared back. When the woman removed her fingers and swept a hand out, the blanket folded gently away from Hildy’s body. She spoke in a soothing, rhythmic language as she moved her glowing hands over Hildy’s marks. She made sure each one faded before moving on.
It was a bizarre ritual and seemed like a dream to Hildy. Finally though, in the light of Gaia’s glowing hands, Hildy noticed her body was now as smooth and unblemished as it had been before Keera’s work. But if her druid marks were now permanently absorbed, why didn’t she feel any different?
Maybe that was just the silly human in her talking. What had she expected from sharing power with the mother of the Earth? Something unusual, but she knew healing magic was often far too practical to put on a big show.
“There,” Gaia said as she finished. “And tell Morgana next time you see her that I really liked what she did with your bedroom. That goddess has excellent taste. You’re fortunate she still cares so much about you.”
“I like her too,” Hildy said, her voice a squeak. “Will you… will you come back and see me?”
“Child,” Gaia said, cupping a hand to her cheek. “I will come on the wind whenever you call. I will be in the magic that flows from your fingertips. We are part of each other now. You are one of my chosen. I will never, ever be out of touch with you. And you will never be alone again in this world.”
Hildy felt tears welling in her eyes. One drop leaked out and ran down her cheek. “Thank you, Gaia. Thank you for everything.”
“Thank you for daring to share your heart with the world. It takes a lot of bravery to love with your whole self,” Gaia said.
Chucked snored loudly then and made them both laugh. It broke the seriousness of the moment and gave Hildy an excuse to swipe at the tear.
“Bears snore,” Gaia said fondly, letting her hand drop away. “All shifters have a flaw that comes from their animal side. Be grateful for your bear, Hildegard. There are a lot worse flaws than snoring.”
Hildy giggled. “Everything else about Chuck is perfect. I’m sure I’ll get used to the noise.”
“You will,” Gaia said with confidence, smiling through the dark. “I have to go now. Good luck tomorrow.”
There was a shower of silver and gold sparks as Gaia pulled her energy from the room. Hildy heard strange noises coming from the rest of the house. It sounded a bit like fireworks were going off everywhere, even outside.
Because it was Gaia, she didn’t bother to check. She trusted the Great Mother with everything in her life. She just hoped the Great Mother’s grand exit didn’t bring all of Assley running.
Chuck snored once louder than before and then rose up in the bed. He looked over at her and his sleepy look made Hildy giggle.
“Hi, Handsome.”
“Hi back. You’re even more beautiful to me now than you were before. Did I hear someone talking in the room?”
“Yes,” Hildy said, rubbing his arm. “Gaia came to visit me. She left just now in a shower of sparkly fireworks. Everything’s okay though, so you can go back to sleep.”
“I have a better idea,” Chuck said sleepily, rolling over onto his mate who giggled as he settled himself into place. “I love you, Hildy. I like waking up with you next to me.”
“I like it too,” Hildy said softly, cupping his beard-rough face with one hand. She shivered when Chuck growled low and bent to lick her throat. “Uh… Chuck?”
He lifted his sleepy head and stared into her eyes.
“This might be a crazy question at this particular moment but do you know anything about soundproofing?”
Hildy squealed when her bear mate dipped his big head and nipped her shoulder. Chuck swallowed her next squeal with a mind-bending kiss.
The soundproofing was going to have to be something she used her magic on later.
Much, much later.
13
Despite his outstanding lovemaking, sleeping next to a snoring Chuck proved to be very challenging. His snores kept waking her up and the net result was Hildy not getting much sleep.
It also didn’t help her tiredness when she woke up to a thousand animal sounds echoing up through the house from the basement. It was like everyone in the healing room was talking all at once. Worse—now she was hearing them inside her head as well as with her ears.
Making her grumpier than ever, she finally noticed Chuck was missing. There was no note of goodbye—no thank you for the best first time a bear could ask for.
What was she? Some one-night mate stand?
A trip to the bathroom confirmed that a night of lovemaking had not been kind to her hairstyle. This morning her frizzy locks looked she was wearing a cheap wig. Zapping herself bald was appealing but it didn’t seem right to use her new Gaia-blessed power on such a petty thing.
She returned to the bedroom and searched for her clothes but couldn’t find any of her blankets. She searched for Chuck’s clothes too, but couldn’t find those either. Some mysterious housekeeper had taken those and the used towels away.
Outside of wrapping herself in a clean bath towel or a sheet, it seemed Hildy was destined to be naked today. No way was she wearing the dress Morgana loaned her. She couldn’t afford to have it leave her in the buff with no warning. Hildy resigned herself to wearing the bath towel until she saw Fat Bastard dragging a bag to the bed.
“Here youse some real clothes, dumplin’ cheeks. It’s a mother humpin’ freakin’ zoo down there already. Hurry.”
Hildy nodded, lifted the bag to the bed, and rummaged through it. There were three pairs of used yoga pants and some sports bras. Digging to the bottom, she found a pair of shoes her size.
Her eyes narrowed as she looked at her familiar. “These are not my clothes and were never my clothes. Where did you get these?”
“No idea. They was left on the porch by a person who remains unidentified at this time. Youse name was on the bag.”
Hildy looked back at the travel bag that she knew cost a cool five hundred in cash. “That’s not my name. The bag says Prada on it.”
“Dat’s not youse name? Most of your clothes had that name on it. Me and the boys assumed it was youse secondary moniker. Hildy Prada Her Witchy-ness Nice Bosom.”
Huffing at his ass kissing, Hildy rolled her eyes. “The clothes in the bag are not Prada. They’re off the rack.”
“Well, youse better put them on yer rack, doll muffin’. Weeze already filled all dem cages this morn
ing while youse was sleeping off yer bear-nookie hangover. And speaking of racks, the boys and I all agree yers looks much better without dem druid designs marking the creamy beautifulness dat is yer tatas.”
“Out!” Hildy yelled, her voice echoing as if she’d called a power word. “And shut the door behind you. If I catch you spying on me again, you and the boys will be singing soprano before the sun sets.”
Fat Bastard laughed and hauled his big kitty butt out of the room as fast as his legs could run. She had enough to deal with. Her perverted familiars needed to clean up their act.
Like she’d warned Chuck, she hadn’t matured into a person nearly as nice as he was. She and Carol had been tough since they were ten. The Jezibaba had made sure of it.
And she was sick and tired of things not going her way.
She was stomping around the bedroom when she realized the animals in the basement had shut up too. Quiet reigned once more in her house but Hildy wasn’t fooled. Any peace in Assley was temporary.
She yanked on a pair of yoga pants and chose one of the more supportive sports bras from the pile. She went to the bench at the bottom of the bed and sat to put on the shoes—without any socks. Her benefactor obvious didn’t believe in those or panties.
On her feet again, and mostly presentable now, Hildy took a deep breath and prepared herself to go deal. She had no time to be mad at Chuck and no time to be upset about having the worst morning after the best sex of her life.
“What is it with this freakin’ place? Every day there’s some emergency. Can’t a witch have a freakin’ cup of herbal tea and start her day like a normal healer might do? It’s not like I got a lot of sleep last night. It’s not like I haven’t been worried every day about not being able to solve the shifting problem. Is food before I work too much to ask?”
Her hands went to her hair in frustration and her fingers tangled in the poof ball of frizz on her head. It was all she could do not to zap herself bald. “I can’t stand this anymore.” She dug through the Prada duffle on a hunch and yelled “Ha!” when she found a cloth headband that matched her bra. She pulled it on and went to the bathroom mirror.
Whole Lot of Shiftin' Going On Page 9
