by E A Price
Isis let out a snarl of laughter.
Raf chuckled. “Yeah, I’ll admit I don’t know his dating history, but do you really think Cutter could ever have been besotted by her?”
Judy admitted that did seem fanciful. The wolf shifter wouldn’t have tolerated her superiority – it took a very sweet and selfless woman to put up with the cantankerous wolf.
“Okay, but, she did date Mason.”
“Before he met you.”
“I feel like an idiot,” sighed Judy and her bunny mewled. “I should just go home.”
Isis scowled at her mate. “See what you’ve done? You’ve made her all reasonable and…”
Her face flashed, and they all looked across the street. Indigo and Mason were slowly getting out of their car, while three men pointed guns at them.
Oh no, King Kong!
*
“Fucking pigs!” snarled one of the men holding guns.
His inner gorilla took exception. “Actually I’m a gorilla, and she’s…”
“Shut up!”
Mason groaned internally while his beast huffed. They were supposed to be there to pick up a guy dealing fairy dust – latest drug craze, where the dust gave the user an enormous magic high but had lots of nasty side effects. One effect was that the user thought they could fly and then they usually threw themselves off buildings.
They were expecting a teenage dealer – a college kid dealing to pay his bills. They were planning on catch him and get him to inform on his supplier.
They weren’t expecting to be accosted by three, oh no, four, another had turned up – weasel shifters armed with automatic weapons. They had just walked up to the car and pointed guns at them! Even Mason’s pessimistic nature didn’t predict it turning out this bad.
Mason flicked a look at Indigo. She was the one who came up with this tip. Apparently, she was just as reckless as she always was. Always half-assing her job and getting others into trouble. He thought of Judy who was so thorough and meticulous about everything. If only his boss would allow him to have his girlfriend on his team – he’d trade twenty Indigos for his little Cottontail.
“Move away from the vehicle,” sneered one of them.
Mason moved stiffly, considering his next move. Indigo looked furious. She was about to do something stupid, something reckless. Great.
His gorilla rumbled, but he paused as he scented something familiar. No, no, no…
“What the f…”
One the weasels looked down, and Mason’s eyes widened as he saw the small, red bunny pressing her paws onto the weasel’s shoe and wrinkling her nose.
“Shoo!” hissed the weasel trying to kick her.
His gorilla beat his chest in agitation.
“Get out of here!” hissed the weasel.
But before his foot could make contact with the little beastie, the bunny turned into a deliciously curvy woman who immediately kicked him in the crotch. He let out an oof and dropped to the ground.
A tiger roared, springing out of nowhere and flattening two of the other men, while Raf tackled the fourth. Mason quickly grabbed his own gun and pointed it at the weasels who were all trying to shift.
“Don’t even think about it,” he rumbled.
He kicked their guns away and waited while Indigo and Raf cuffed them. Isis remained in her tiger form, snapping her jaws at them, threating to go for their crotches. They looked worried that she wasn’t kidding, and that suited Mason just fine.
He stared at Judy, wondering why she was there, and, perhaps more importantly, wondering if he could poke out the eyes of every guy who got to see his lovely bunny naked. His gorilla beat his chest. My bunny! Mine!
*
By the time they had their perps in the back of a van, being taken to holding, Mason had managed to get Judy back into her clothes. He had sent Indigo back to the SEA building to process the paperwork – he wasn’t really interested in hearing how none of this was her fault. It was late; he would deal with that tomorrow. For now, he was still a little confused about Judy’s presence.
“What are you doing here, Cottontail?”
Judy gave him a forced smile. “Umm, aren’t you glad I was?”
Mason frowned at her while his gorilla grunted. He wasn’t glad that she could have been shot.
Judy dropped the smile. “Okay, so, it’s mostly Isis’ fault…”
His frown deepened.
“Okay, it’s my fault,” she said in exasperation. “I was worried about you and Indigo, and what she might try to do.”
He gave her a baffled look. “Me and Indigo?”
“Didn’t you used to date?”
His gorilla grumbled. “Sort of. We went out a few times. She said I was really boring and dumped me for a bear shifter.”
“Oh. She said you adored her.”
“Yeah, I remember she told everyone at the SEA I did. Surprised me when I found out. I was glad when she dumped me.”
Judy bit one of her infinitely kissable lips. “She hinted that she was going to try and steal you from me.”
“So what? Carrot muncher, I’m not a lipstick – she can’t take me.”
“I know, but you above everyone can understand why I feared the worst, right?”
Mason slanted his head to the side. It was true he was a generally pessimistic person. He wasn’t the type to have hopes and dreams. But then, in spite of his negativity, he had found his sweet bunny. In spite of always being a downer, she loved him, and that kind of helped him to see things more positively. For example, he was positive that he and Judy were going to spend the rest of their lives together – because his gorilla was positive that he would chase her to the ends of the earth if need be.
“Plus, I could understand why you may want affection from someone else since I’ve kind of been ignoring you.”
“No, you haven’t,” he said mildly.
“I have. I forgot Valentine’s.”
Mason smiled. “So what?”
Judy chittered in frustration. “So, you remembered, and you were sweet and got me a beautiful gift. But I’ve just been focusing on being an agent and not you, but you’re so important to me. But, I’ve always wanted to have this wonderful career, and I just want to be the best I can be and…”
“Judy,” he rumbled, and she quieted immediately. He rarely used her name. “I knew exactly who you were when I fell in love with you, and you are the best girlfriend.”
“That’s not true,” she muttered.
“Fluffy ears, do you ever wish I was more fun? Less negative? Less annoying? Do you wish I would change who I am?”
“Of course not,” she cried quickly as if this were an absolutely awful suggestion.
His gorilla grunted in amusement. “Because…” he prompted.
“I love you just as you are, and I don’t want you to be anyone other than who you are – even if you are kind of annoying.”
The last part was said with a mischievous smile, and Mason snickered, drawing his mate into his arms.
“There we go then.”
“I’ve been an idiot,” she murmured, rubbing her cheek against his chest. “I shouldn’t have let Isis get into my head.”
“Yeah, never to listen to Isis.” That was always good advice.
“I don’t know how Raf manages.”
“Well, he probably loves her just as she is.”
Judy giggled. “Happy Valentine’s, King Kong.”
“You too, twitchy nose.” But then because his gorilla demanded it he added, “By the way, you scared the crap out of me tonight.”
“So did you,” she murmured. “I thought for sure they were going to kill you.”
His gorilla hooted. “Maybe we should go home and get naked?” he suggested hopefully and was thrilled when Judy chittered and wriggled out of his arms so she could run to his car.
“Didn’t you come in your car?” he asked as he caught up.
Judy gave him a pained look. “Yes, but Raf and Isis are in the back o
f it, and… I’m a little afraid of what I’ll see. I’m just going to leave it here, and possibly buy a new car when they’re done.”
Mason let out a hoot of laughter. “Let’s go home, Flopsy.”
“Wait,” she breathed, taking one his hands. “Will you marry me?”
He looked at her in surprise. “What?”
Her nose twitched as she gave him such an earnest look. “Will you? I want to marry you, and I want to bond with you.”
His beast whooped. “Yeah, okay,” he mumbled.
“Yeah okay?” she repeated. “That’s all I get?”
“Yeah, definitely,” he said forcefully, “you just kind of took me by surprise.”
“Well, I just realized that I’m in love with the most amazing guy on the planet and for some reason, he’s head over heels for me…”
“Damn right,” he said with feeling.
“And I realized that I never want to be apart from you. I want you to be mine forever.”
“I already am,” he told her sweetly and then added, “but yeah, if it’ll stop you begging, I’ll marry you.”
Judy giggled and leaped on him. “We’re getting married!” she called into the night. “King Kong and Cottontail are getting married!”
Not even the shouts telling her to shut up could dampen her mood.
Mason chuckled and kissed her. It turned out to be a pretty perfect Valentine’s after all.
*
Isis nibbled on Raf’s ear. “See, everything worked out,” she purred. “Good job I made Judy stalk him.”
Her mate chuckled. “Sure.”
“Sometimes doing things my way works.”
Raf kissed her neck. “Sometimes, but I really don’t think you needed to terrorize my ex-girlfriend.”
Isis made a small sound of indignation that Raf didn’t believe to be genuine for a second. “I would hardly say I terrorized her.”
Raf ran his hand up her thigh, “She has a restraining order out on you.”
Isis sniffed and her tiger, Ms. Kitty, curled her lip. Neither had any remorse for the woman – she kept calling Raf, wanting him to be her shoulder to cry on after her boyfriend dumped her. Isis just made sure the woman knew what happened to women who foolishly tried to get close to her mate. Bad things. Bad, bad, bad things.
Isis traced her finger over his chest and gave him a thoughtful look. “Do you ever wish I was different? Less… well, less me?”
“Not for a second,” he chuckled.
Ms. Kitty purred like a kitten. “Really?” she asked as happiness fluttered in her heart.
She wasn’t much given to introspection, and would never ask anyone else whether they thought she should change. She could give two figs what anyone else in the world thought – screw them all! But Raf was different. He was the only person she could and would ever be truly vulnerable with, and she felt lucky to have him.
Raf rubbed his cheek against hers, the same way Ms. Kitty always liked to whenever Isis shifted. “Life would be far too boring without you. I love you, and I always will.”
“Me too,” gushed Isis, beaming at him. “Okay, enough lovey-dovey talk, now lose those damn pants!”
Rawr.
The end
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