Tiger's Mate

Chapter 27 prt. 1

•Katski•

I couldn't remember ever feeling that way. I dreamt in my sleep of myself and a black wolf running through the trees in a world made just of ourselves and utter freedom. Though my eyes remained closed as some part of my brain knew I was currently sleeping on the rollout mattress inside our tent, the dreaming side of my mind made me see trees and uncharted paths along branches and soil as realistically as if I were there in the flesh — or fur, in my case.

I woke to consciousness when I felt warm skin beneath my cheek. The scent of forest and mint wafted up my nose and I naturally I took a deep inhale of the savoury and relaxing aroma. The next thing that left my lips was a content sigh as my still half dream-ridden mind honed in on the woodsy scent of bark and pine. Earthy. Comfortable. Safe. God, it was a smell I could get used to for the rest of my life if I had to.

With that thought I began to blearily blink open my eyes.

I felt my eyelashes flutter as my heavy lids fought just to close and go back to sleep again, but one meagre glance at then tan ivory skin under my resting face and they shot wide open. I was laying on Ethan. Definitely not how I had gone to sleep the night before after we had gotten back inside our tent.

Another thing to note; Ethan slept shirtless. It hadn't even a problem during the night since both of us were already so tired it was hard to get caught up on little details — but now that I realized I was laying on his chest, the little detail suddenly became much, much more apparent.

My damn face began to feel strangely hot — was that normal? And as my gaze travelled subtly up and down the sculpted tapestry of his upper body, that temperature began to increase dramatically. I immediately berated myself for blushing like such a schoolgirl. I was no 'high-school sweetheart' with a crush on the bad boy. We were both supernatural beings that could shapeshift into huge beasts, both belonging to separate species and clans that were led by even more shapeshifting beasts, and Ethan just so happened to be a very antisocial type wolf with hot looks a mad set of abs and— Goddamn it.

I squeezed my eyes shut and subtly hurried my burning face in the crook of Ethan's shoulder where I was laying. Jesus Christ he smelt good.

Laying there and feeling his natural warmth so close to my skin, a recollection of last night resurfaced in my mind as I remembered how nice it had felt to have him holding me close as I lay on his lap. At first I had done it just to see what I could get away with — if the untouchable Ethan Dreyer would have let a werecat use him as a personal pillow. I guess I shouldn't have been surprised when he didn't put up an argument, or even try to push me off.

It was nice, had felt so comfortable, and strangely natural. And it was a quiet victory of mine to get to see him be the big softie he secretly was underneath all that dark, intimidating aura.

I said I loved him. Jesus fuck I had really let that slip. And after telling myself I would wait so I didn't scare him off. So much for that.

I could most definitely tell that Ethan had been more than a little rattled — though through the words he both spoke and left unspoken, I could understand why. It was all just...new, wasn't it. New and frightening.

I felt bad for bringing it up in the first place, for more or less putting him on the spot like that out of nowhere.

He hadn't been able to say it back.