Page 8 of Wedding the Werepanther

After shoving some of the more problematic words back into the drawer, I slap the rest onto the front of the fridge. “Can you use this? If it works, I’ll get you more words.”

Words that sure as shit aren’t “throb.”

Magic hovers all around me, but nothing happens. After half a minute, the front door bangs, and we go into the hall to find the photos spelling out:“No. It’s not connected tome.”

“Okay. So the front of the refrigerator is a no-go, but putting the magnets directly on a wall should work. Hmm.” I tap my lip, spinning slowly in place. Problem. Victoria doesn’t have any metal walls. “Maybe I can order something online.” I search on my phone, dismissing one thing after another.

“I have an idea.” Shadow grins. “Why don’t we try to find a magical solution instead? After all, she’s a magical house.”

“You havegotto be kidding me. Of course, we should use magic.” I slap a palm to my forehead, then look at him. “Can you do it?”

“Not me. I don’t have that kind of magic.”

“That’s the second time you’ve said that, so I think you need to clarify exactly what kind of magic you do have.” First rule of gaming: learn the parameters of your party’s powers.

“I’m a fae shifter.” He gives an easy shrug. “Most of my magic is tied up in my ability to shift.”

“Into a werepanther.”

He nods, and a burst of magic pulses outward. From one second to the next, the gorgeous fae is replaced by his werepanther form. He’s now seven feet tall and covered in long black fur that shades to silver at the ends, just like his hair. His face is halfway between man and cat, and still handsome. Unlike the sexy catgirls you see in video games, he’s fiercely muscled like a fighter, his clothes stretched to their limits.

He’s still sexy as hell, though, not gonna lie.

And if my hand drifts forward to stroke across his forearm, fingers tangling in the unbelievably silky long fur? That handclearlyhas a flipping mind of its own. So much so that when I try to pull it away, it ignores me and continues to pet the werepanther.

With another flare of magic, he returns to his fae form, my misbehaving hand now touching warm skin. A low growl, morefelt than heard, rumbles from him, and his green eyes spear into mine with an intensity that takes my breath away.

I jerk my hand away and take a half step back. “That’s uh…” I lick suddenly dry lips. “That’s really something.”

“That’s not all I can do,” he rumbles. “I can also shift into a panther, my original cat sith form.”

“An actual big cat?” My eyes go wide. “Can you show me?”

“I’m more than happy to.” His smile grows wicked as he plucks at his shirt. “But that shift will destroy my clothes, so when I change back, I’ll be naked.”

“Do it!”Victoria spells out.

“Shouldn’t you be all old-fashioned and prudish?” I ask her.

“Please.”The pictures move, spending only a few seconds on each group of words before shifting to the next. She’s getting faster with practice.“Why does each new generation of humans think they invented sex?”

Shadow throws his head back, a deep, rich laugh rolling from him as his eyes blaze with amusement.

It’s so loud and infectious, a chuckle bursts from me. I slap a hand over my mouth, but it’s too late. Bending over, I laugh so hard my stomach muscles start to hurt as loud hiccupping noises escape between gasps for breath. I haven’t laughed like this in years, and now that I’ve started, I can’t seem to stop.

After several long minutes, I finally slow down enough to straighten.

Victoria spells out,“Was it something I said?”

And I start laughing again, but softer this time. Less out of control, thank god.

“I love your laugh. You should do it more.” Shadow grins at me, flashing his fangs, his eyes full of warm approval.

I have no idea how to handle that and hurry to change the subject. “So, magic. You can do something else, right? Like when you took me and Skye to the dress shop really quickly?” His helpallowed my friend to get ready for a romantic date on Valentine’s Day.

“Yes, cat sith are the only fae to walk the shadow roads. We can cross large distances in a fraction of the normal travel time. In times past, we were the messengers of Faerie, and now that the doors between the realms have reopened, we will be again.” His shoulders straighten. “I’m the messenger for Earth.”

My mouth drops open. “You mean you’re constantly visiting Faerie?”