by Moxie North
“I’d love to see that when it’s finished,” Effie admitted.
“Oh you will,” Dax said confidently, cupping her elbow and leading her into the house.
“I will warn you that the house is rented and so is the furniture. So please don’t think my world revolves around beige, because that’s all you’ll see inside,” he joked.
Effie laughed at his clear embarrassment of his surroundings. She lived in a second floor shack with curbside furniture. She doubted his bland house could be shocking.
Chapter 19
Walking in, she looked around and took in a large living room with vaulted ceilings. Double French doors led out to the pool. There was a large bright kitchen. White cabinets and white appliances. But he was right, not even a throw pillow to break up the color palette.
“It’s a really nice house, Dax. Not you, but still very nice,” Effie said with a smile.
“I’m glad you like it. I want you to be comfortable here, at least until I figure out something more permanent.”
Effie figured he wouldn’t mind if she snooped around. There were three bedrooms. All with a queen bed and nightstand. Very bland, even the towels were beige. Finding what she figured was the master bedroom, Effie turned to find Dax watching her.
“Mind if I change in here?” she asked coyly.
“Of course not, need any help?” he said, his eyes sweeping the length of her.
Effie laughed, it was nice to see a man not hide his desire for her. It was radiating from Dax Hayes. He didn’t want to swim, he clearly had other things on his mind.
“I think I can handle this. How about you grab your trunks and I’ll meet you by the pool?”
“If I must,” Dax sighed and slowly walked into the closet dragging his feet and came back with a pair of swim trunks.
When he was almost to the door, Effie stopped him.
“Dax?”
Turning around he saw that she was slowly unbuttoning her shirt. “I might need a little help later getting my wet swimsuit off. Do you think you might be able to help me out with that?” she asked in her best sing-song voice.
Dax’s eyes flashed a strange yellow color that Effie figured must be a trick of the light. But the growl she heard come out of him was clear as day.
“Oh, I’ll be more than happy to provide any disrobing service you may need, sweetness.”
“Hmm, wonderful,” she cooed, then sashayed into the bathroom.
Once she shut the door, Effie covered her mouth as she laughed. Wow, she was having way too much fun. She quickly disrobed and slipped on her one piece with the side cut out. It was a daring suit for a girl her size, but she liked that the cutouts were right over her hips and made her bum look great.
Grabbing her sarong, she tied it around her waist and walked out to the living area. There she took a moment to watch as Dax stood by the pool wearing nothing but his trunks, his hands on his hips and looking out into the distance. He was muscled, but not bulky. His back was broad and tan, his arms thickly muscled but not huge. Effie wanted to lick straight up his spine.
He was tan, toned, muscles forming perfect smooth planes over his chests and shoulders. His abs were defined, cut deep. He had very little hair on his upper body, his leg hair was light colored which matched the pictures she’d seen of him. As he stood she could see his muscles flex under his skin.
Moving towards the open French doors, Dax turned around to take his first look at her in a swimsuit. Granted he’d had his head between her naked thighs just yesterday, but swimsuits were a bit of a fetish of his. They were meant to cover a woman’s nakedness but all it did was enhance every possible curve. He’d smelled her the minute she came out of his bedroom. His cat was thrilled that her scent would still linger there even after she left.
He knew she was looking at him. Dax was content to give her the time. Whatever his mate wanted was what he was going to give her. And if she wanted to stare at his body and hopefully get her libido ramped up, then he was a very patient man.
“Damn you look amazing,” he said low, his voice rumbling out of him. Her suit was white, with large cutouts over her sides that made his cat set up yowling in his head. She’d left the bandana in her hair and had slipped on a pair of large cat-eye sunglasses. She looked like a pin-up girl.
“You don’t look bad yourself, handsome,” she said, walking up to him. She raised her hand and ran it down the firm plane of his chest, letting her nails drag lightly over his skin. She watched him shudder and smiled up at him.
“Minx,” he hissed.
“Let’s swim,” she said, walking towards the shallow end. She carefully dropped into the pool. Dax noted this as she was clearly keeping her hair dry. He made sure to get in just as carefully and not splash her. Swimming up to her he wrapped her in his arms. Effie circled her arms around his neck and leaned in for a kiss.
Dax gave her what she was seeking. He kissed her hard, and let his hands skim down and cup her ass. Effie responded by swinging her legs around his waist and locking them behind his back.
Dax growled into her mouth as his cock surged to life between them. Effie wasn’t shocked, in fact she ground herself against him, seeking out more stimulation for their kiss.
Pulling back, Dax sipped at her lips as he said, “I thought we were swimming?”
“We are, well you are. I guess it depends if your feet are touching the ground,” she teased.
“My feet are on the ground, but yours aren’t.”
“Mmm, no they aren’t, they’re wrapped tight around this hunky guy I hooked up with yesterday. And right now there is a very hard reason for me to stay right where I am.” Effie leaned up to give him a slow, wet teasing kiss. She used her teeth to tug and nip at his lips.
Dax walked them up so that Effie was backed up to the wall of the pool. “We need to talk, Effie,” he said, moving his kisses down to her neck, giving his cat a taste of her skin. He dragged his teeth over her slick flesh, tormenting them both with the idea of biting into her smooth shoulder. Tasting her blood and bonding them for eternity was an all consuming drive.
Effie didn’t want to talk, she was happy, content and very horny. She wanted to keep rubbing up against the hard length of him in the pool until she came. She was simple girl.
“Don’t wanna talk,” she breathed into his ear. She leaned down and gave it a nip. She felt his arms tighten around her.
“Effie,” he warned. If she kept that up he’d take her in the pool and worse he might not be able to control himself and not bond with her. He needed her to understand what having sex with him meant. She had to make the choice of forever with him. For him it was a done deal. She would always be his One. For a human, it was a much more complicated process.
Effie was still wiggling her hot pussy against his cock and he was losing the battle with his cat and his dick on the same side against him.
Chapter 20
Dax moved towards the pool stairs with Effie still attached to him. She was kissing down his neck, stopping to suck hard which made his cock flex between them.
He didn’t say anything to make her stop. He was worried the sound of his cat would be too close to the surface and she’d freak.
When he reached the stairs, he let go of one of her firm thighs to grab the railing and heave both of them out of the pool. Once they were out, he returned his hand to her ass and gave it a squeeze. Effie squeaked out her pleasure at the rough grab.
Walking them through the house, he didn’t care he was leaving a soggy trail behind them. He walked into his bedroom and strode up to the bed and pulled Effie’s legs from behind his back, she fell back onto the bed and looked up at him like a very seductive water nymph. Her skin was shiny and her white bathing suit was practically transparent. Her nipples showed through the fabric, dark and puckered.
Taking a few steps back, Dax put his hands on his hips and stared at the floor trying to gain control.
“Dax? Are you okay?” Effie asked, sitting up on the bed. From
the feeling of his erection she thought this was slam dunk. She was more than happy to be in his bed. He was sexy, smart, kind, and clearly thought she was the cat’s meow. But now he was across the room from her looking like he didn’t want to be with her.
“Give me a minute, baby. I’ve pretty much been hard as a rock since yesterday and my little brain is in control right now. I need my big brain on board so I’m over here getting a little perspective,” he explained.
He looked up to see Effie on the bed, dripping wet with her arms around herself. He could see the goosebumps forming on her skin in the cool air conditioning of the house. Turning into the bathroom he grabbed two fluffy towels and came back to her, wrapping one around her shoulders and using another to dry her legs. As he was kneeling on the ground he tried to figure out how to say what he needed to say.
Once her legs were dry, he gave each of her knees a kiss and moved back to his position across the room.
Effie was confused, her horny train had hit a brick wall when he’d dumped her on the bed. She still wanted him, but sensed that he needed something from her first.
“Talk to me, Dax. I’m kinda getting worried here,” she admitted.
“I’m sorry, I really don’t know how to do this as I’ve never had to before.”
Taking a shot in the dark, she asked, “Are you a virgin?”
Laughing, Dax said, “No, not a virgin.”
“Okay then, are you an alien sent down from another planet to breed with earthlings? I read a book like that once, it was hot,” she teased.
“Nope, not an alien. Good guess though. Okay how about I base what I have to say on how you react to big news. Are you an ease into it, tiptoe around it, use euphemisms kind of person? Or are you a straight shooter, hit you with the hard stuff, rip off the band-aid type?”
Dax figured this would narrow down the ways he could screw this up.
“I want honesty above all else, Dax. Tell me straight out whatever it is. I’m a big girl, I can take it,” she told him. She never liked when people hedged. It had always made her nervous, even as a kid. Too many adults talking about her behind her back or whispering when she was in the same room. Honest people she could read and trust, it was the only way she’d let her foster parents and Cassie in.
Dax nodded and turned walking into the bathroom, grabbed another towel and dried off as he slowly came back. He was really just buying himself some time to formulate his plan.
Dropping the towel he saw that Effie was sitting patiently, although there was an air of worry about her. He knew he was acting strangely, his cat was setting up a hissing fit telling him to get on with it. He wanted his mate too and he didn’t like having to hide from her.
Leaning against the wall, he crossed his arms over his chest and took a deep breath.
“Do you believe in the paranormal?”
“What like vampires and ghosts?” Effie replied. “I’m undecided mostly. Vampires probably not, ghosts? I really hope not, too many people are assholes when they’re alive, I can only imagine if they were dead.”
“What about things like…werewolves?” he hedged.
“Are you telling me you’re a werewolf?” she scoffed.
“No,” he said.
“Good, I was about to call the looney bin hotline,” she said laughing.
“I’m a shifter, a cougar to be exact,” he said, looking at her, no expression on his face. No laughter, no smile. Just him outing himself to his mate.
Effie was going to start laughing again, but something stopped her. He wasn’t smiling when he said that. He looked…what, serious?
“Dax?” she asked, her confusion was palpable in the room.
“I’m a cougar shifter, Effie. I share my body with another soul. I can change into a cougar whenever I want. Been one my whole life. I was matched at birth with the soul of a cougar. Other shifters are matched with their own animals. It’s who I am,” he explained calmly.
Chapter 21
Effie froze. He was telling her he was an animal, or that he could change into one? She should have known, handsome, rich, charming, sexy as hell, and certifiably crazy. Damn, her jackpot just went straight out the window.
“Shit, Cassie always told me the good ones are either married, gay, or dead. She forgot to mention wacko.” Sighing, Effie stood up and started picking up her clothing. She’d have to call a cab to get home.
Dax saw the disbelief pass over her face and he expected her to get angry or laugh at him. But the quiet resignation really freaked him out.
“Sweetness, please don’t go. I’m not crazy, I swear. I can prove it!”
Effie turned around and gave him a look of utter annoyance. “What, are you going to wave a magic wand and turn into a tiger?”
“Cougar, actually,” he quietly corrected.
“Whatever!” Effie flipped her hand into the air, turning back to her clothes.
It was now or never. Dax stripped out of his shorts and gave his cougar the lead. A shimmer of sparkling light washed over Dax as his cat came forward. He shook out his coat and gave a stretch in his skin. Remembering they weren’t supposed to scare her, his cat sat back on his haunches and gave a loud purr.
Effie spun around and let out a yelp, “What the fuck!” She clamored up the bed with her back to the headboard. There was a very large, very real mountain lion sitting across from her. Then she mentally corrected, cougar. Wait, what was the difference? Damn she’d have to Google this when they let her out of the asylum.
“I’m hallucinating or I’ve been roofied.” She covered her eyes like it would make it go away. Then she realized she really needed to keep her eyes on the giant cat in the room.
“This can’t be real,” she whispered. Her heart was pounding out of her chest and she had the urge to cry. Her emotions were bouncing back and forth and she really didn’t have a clue how to pin them down.
“Please don’t eat me. I’m really sure that I would not enjoy that at all. How about I make you a deal, big kitty, I put on my clothes and walk out of here and we both forget this ever happened.”
The cougar that had been sitting, now stood up on all fours and walked over to the doorway and laid itself across the threshold. Giving her a look that told her he didn’t accept her deal.
“Fine,” she mumbled, then wrapped her arms around her knees. “Great, scared lady, big cat, showdown. It’s like a bad reality TV show.”
The cat’s ears perked up a bit at that. Effie was trying to wrap her head around the possibility of this being real. Sexy millionaire Dax Hayes was a werecougar? Effie wasn’t even sure that was a real thing. What else could people turn into? Bunnies or birds? Who would want to be a bunny? Damn, she needed to get a grip. What if this was real, what if her sexy sorta boyfriend was inside the big cat lying on the floor.
“Dax?” she whispered, feeling like a total idiot.
The cat flicked his head up and made a huffing sound. Then he stared at her, his eyes shining bright at her.
“Damn,” she whispered. Those eyes looked like Dax’s. But they couldn’t be, could they? She glanced up when the cat purred loudly. As she watched, the air around the cougar started to shimmer. Colors spun around it, then in a blink, Dax was sitting on the floor, very naked.
Dax sat still watching Effie’s eyes bug out then tear up. But being Effie, she took a couple deep breaths and squared her shoulders before offering up, “You have got to be fucking kidding me.”
It wasn’t a question. It was very much a statement. Dax didn’t blame her, he could only imagine how this must look. But honesty was what she wanted, he just hoped this wasn’t the worst she could have expected.
“Effie, baby, tell me what you’re thinking,” he said calmly. Not spooking her was really high on his priority list right now. Also he was totally naked, which although he was confident in his body, put him at a slight disadvantage.
“Give me just one second,” she said, holding up the index finger on her hand. She then proceeded to drop
her head to her knees and start muttering. Dax couldn’t make out everything she was saying, but he heard the words, ‘twilight motherfucker and why me,’ but on the plus side she hadn’t bolted yet.
Effie finally managed to stop swearing in her head and out loud and lifted her eyes to Dax. “What’s your middle name?”
Not expecting that to be her first response to him being a shifter, he asked, “Why?”
“Because when I lay into someone I find it very useful to have their middle names,” she explained calmly.
“Montgomery,” he sighed.
Taking a deep breath she let herself vent, “Dax Montgomery Hayes, I am a reasonable woman. I’ve seen a lot of shit in my day. In fact, I’ve lived through most of it. But how dare you get me to have all these mushy feelings for you without telling me you’re a cat! I mean really! Would I have invested all these feelings for you if I had known?
I’m not sure, but I’d have at least been able to factor in the idea of my future partner, husband, or whatever into the equation. Does anyone else know about you? Is this some secret I’ve just been missing out on? Like jeggings? Which I’m not really missing out on, but they are comfy,” she added looking a little distracted.
“No, Effie. You aren’t the only one who didn’t know. We have to keep our kind a secret. Can you imagine if people knew? They like to see them in movies and books, but real life isn’t so easy. Humans frighten easily and that’s no joke. We have survived this long by living quietly and not declaring who we are. We like it that way. It’s safer for our families and very much safer for our young. They are the most vulnerable to people who don’t understand.”
Effie contemplated that, being different, even a little different wasn’t easy. People always judged fast and harshly in her experience. And babies, who wouldn’t do whatever it took to protect their children?
