“I shift into a mouse. Remember? What would you have me do, scamper the hippo to death?”
“Good point.”
“Damn, I want to go home.”
Posy’s lungs were ready to burst. You want to go home? She’d never run so fast in her life.
“Is this what life on your planet will be like?”
“Hell no. Normally I’m the one doing the chasing. This sucks.”
They paused to catch their breath at a small waterway. Posy flopped onto the bank. She caught her reflection in the water and on hands and knees gaped at her image.
“Oh my God, my hair. It’s like it went on a wild vacation without me. I have dirt for war paint. And my teeth, oh, my teeth, yuck.” Her hand shoved her wayward boob back into her bra. “Even my tits are trying to get away. I’ve shifted into an Amazon warrior.”
Maximus hauled her to her feet. “You can’t shift.”
“Then how can I be with a shifter?”
“Posy, if you aren’t meant to be with a shifter the beam won’t allow you to go to my planet.”
“Really?” Hope at last.
“Really.”
Andro came flying to a stop mere feet from them. He shifted to human form and dropped to his knees.
“Tac says the beam will be here tonight. His calculations were off because this shift has been so damned screwy. Once we get on our planet he wants you to make certain this one is yours and mate with her or all hell will break loose. Every lone shifter on the planet will think she’s theirs.”
“Excuse me.” Posy stood tapping a foot, arms crossed over her chest.
“Duck,” Maximus yelled.
Posy dropped as his fist came up. He smashed a massive snake in the mouth. The snake hung limp from the tree. She growled at him.
“Who’s the one in danger now? Snakes eat mice.”
“I told you, shifters don’t eat shifters. It wouldn’t stop him from biting me.”
Maximus grabbed her hand and tugged her to get her moving. Andro shifted into a cave lion and followed. Around every turn she waited for something to jump out at her. She stopped short and groaned.
“What?” Maximus asked.
“I forgot my purse. We need to go back. My passport is in it.”
“You don’t need a passport to get to Ricafa, just me and a moonbeam.”
Would you like to swing on a star, carry moonbeams home in a jar … nope, not working for me.
“You really expect me to believe we’re going to fly a moonbeam to a different planet?”
“Yes,” both Maximus and Andro said.
“Posy, you’ve seen us shift. How can you doubt the moonbeams exist?”
True enough.
“If we keep a steady pace we’ll be at the river by dark,” Maximus said.
“If there’s an eclipse won’t it be too dark to see?” Posy asked.
“Not these moonbeams, they’re special,” Andro said.
She wished he wouldn’t talk in lion form. She was doomed to listen to animals talk for the rest of her life. How are you today, Mrs. Gorilla? How are your paws feeling, Mr. Lion? She groaned as they continued on. Maximus held her hand, and she worried he’d shift.
“We’re being followed,” Andro said.
Posy balled a fist, but it was Tac who burst through the foliage. He joined them in wolf form. His gaze was everywhere. To their left was rustling, then more to the right. The entire jungle came alive. The sky overhead darkened. The moon was beginning to shine, and as it did ripples of moonbeams danced across the water. Posy was tingling everywhere. The tug of some phenomena was hard to resist. As they made their way closer to the water’s edge she pressed against Maximus, and the sensation of his heat was strong.
Molecules danced around them. Her hair ruffled from a breeze. The air grew sweet. Her flesh quivered when her bare arm pressed to his. For an instant Maximus was familiar. His breath became hers, and his scent filled her.
What’s happening to me?
“Maximus?” she whispered.
A smile split his lips. “I knew it.”
“Run,” Tac yelled.
A thundering of footsteps behind them made Posy gasp, and Maximus yanked her into his arms. He ran across the water. Looking down she could see the animals shift one by one as they flew higher. Their shifter forms changed as they were swept higher. All shining with bright shadow outlines. They were beautiful. Posy sucked in air as she was transported across the water to the air into the heavens. The arms holding her grew massive. When they landed she was under a beast, flat on her back, lightheaded. Posy lay gapping up at a pure white saber-toothed tiger. She had never encountered anything so large. And scary as shit. Long fangs were inches from her eyes.
Well, at least I’m not afraid of mice anymore.
Her heart pounding, Posy tried to breathe, but it wasn’t happening. His fur waved in a gentle sway in a come-hither motion.
“I’m back,” Maximus sang in a sing-song. His warm breath washed over her, and his long fangs glistened in the moonlight.
Posy fainted.
****
As he knew they would the other shifters gave Maximus a wide berth now that he could shift properly. No one was stupid enough to take him on. Not even Danner, the once elephant now mammoth. All of the shifters regained the natural forms of their animal shifter. Tac was in dire wolf form but twice as large.
“Is she yours?” Tac asked.
“Yep.”
Maximus kept his teeth bared. He was positive Posy was his. The moment she had said his name on Earth at the moonbeam he knew she’d sensed she was his, but she was so confused. That was all it took, recognition, even a glimmer was a ball of light. His shifter was thrilled. He tossed back his head and roared. Posy lay motionless. Maximus chuckled as he nuzzled her cheek. All he had to do was convince her they were meant to be. And mate her. With ease he slipped her over his back and swaggered away from the other shifters. In this form she would be safest until he could get her home.
There was growling coming from the giant gorillas. They snuffed and snarled but made no move to rush him. Maximus wouldn’t eat another shifter, but he would kill one to protect his mate. Though killing was a rare occurrence on his planet, it was an unspoken necessity, if confronted and it was sensed a life was in danger. There never, in any incident, had been a case of a mate being killed by another mated shifter. The problem would only arise with unmated shifters and only if they took things too far. Andro walked with Maximus a short way. When in human form on his planet he also stood six foot six. Blond, blue-eyed, he looked the same only much larger.
“Aren’t you going to see if one of the females brought back are yours? Maybe from another area?” Maximus asked.
“They aren’t. The only scent I catch is Posy’s, but we all know why. I’m disappointed, but right now you need some help with your mate. Tac says he can send me to the alternate Africa next month. Ciafra is said to be a little less wild than Earth. I can go alone.”
“I’m sorry things didn’t work out for you, my friend.”
Andro snorted. “They worked out. You’re alive and not a mouse anymore. I can finally say it. You looked so adorable.”
“Stop.”
“Beady wittle eyes and paws. Smoochable.”
“Seriously?”
“I don’t know why Posy wasn’t smitten.”
“She was afraid she’d have mouse babies.”
Andro roared with laughter. Maximus cringed. “A litter of mice. Now that would be cute. You could call them Scamper, Twitch, Poopy—and you can better believe their mother would be screaming their names.”
Maximus’s home was high in the trees. Each shifter had their own section while the larger shifters remained on the ground in massive caves holding numerous families. All shifter children were safe from harm. There were no meat-eating shifters on the planet. There was no segregation. All children played together. Normally the planet was one big happy family.
Mating sessio
ns were a bit tricky, though. Posy was the first mate match for anyone in a long time. Maximus could smell the tension in the air. Andro paused near his home and cast a glance at Maximus.
“Should I hang around?”
“No, this will be interesting enough.”
“If you need me, roar.”
Maximus laid Posy on his bed of stuffed grass. He would have liked to have food waiting for Posy when she woke, but he couldn’t leave her. He could roar for Andro, but that would mean Andro would have to leave the tree houses. Maximus preferred his friend stay close.
When settled and quiet Maximus was able to drink in her outstanding beauty. The long flowing dark hair spread beneath her was satin soft when he trailed his fingers through her tresses. He smiled when he noted her one boob had managed to escape its confines. Many if not most of the females went shirtless. He hoped Posy would. Her breasts were magnificent.
Posy stirred, and he smiled at her. She offered a tentative smile in return.
“You were a tiger.”
“I am a tiger.”
“You seem bigger.”
“I am bigger. A little taller, a lot broader. We’re on my planet after all. I don’t need to tone down my animal magnetism.”
Posy blinked as though chasing sleep, and Maximus turned her face with a single finger to her jaw.
“You are my mate. Do you feel it?”
“I can still picture you flying through the air waving itty bitty mouse feet.”
“You’re such a romantic.”
“Then I can picture your massive paws on either side of me sinking into the ground because of how heavy you are.”
Posy froze when a mammoth trumpeted. A return roar quieted the noise, and Maximus was happy Andro was keeping watch. She gazed up at Maximus.
“You’re a lot cuter than before.”
“It’s my shifter hormones. They’re kinda in overdrive.”
“So instead of mouse babies I’ll have saber-toothed tiger babies?”
“No. The babies will be human like you. They won’t shift for a while. Normally they shift at puberty. That’s when Daddy comes in handy. A saber is a little cocky, but very respectful of their mother, Daddy makes certain.”
“Who’s going to protect human babies on this planet?”
“We all do. Remember, vegetarian.”
“All of you?”
“Every last one.”
Maximus leaned down to kiss her. He expected a right cross at any moment and was happy when her hands stayed by her sides and she let him explore her mouth. When the kiss broke she seemed a bit dazed.
“I’m not dreaming. This is real. It’s all been real.”
“Every moment.”
“So tell me, what happens to your clothes when you shift? Suddenly you’re wearing clothes, but your shifter is, well, naked.”
“The garments aren’t of your world. My shifter absorbs the material until needed, but we don’t need this material for our planet. We wear very little on my planet. It stays warm all year round unless you’re a polar bear shifter and like the snow areas. I like snow areas at times. We can vacation any time we choose.”
“Don’t you work?”
“Work is a nasty thing humans developed. We have no need for money. Our planet provides all the food we need. The water is fresh. We live in relative harmony.”
“Sounds fun and boring.”
“We shapeshift. Many animals work on your planet. You have police dogs and horses and other such animals for special services. Pack mules, really anything you desire, but for them they do what they do because they love their human. They get paid in love, affection, food. At least I hope they do.”
“But you have a leader. Tac. Is he like a commander-in-chief, president?”
Maximus traced a finger from her jaw to her shoulder, watching for any sign of protest, but she made none.
“There is a dominant we turn to for signs. A very old and wise shifter. Tac is more an organizer.”
“You can keep going.”
Maximus hovered his hand over her exposed breast. He sucked in his breath when flesh met warm skin. Her melons made him salivate. Her nipple puckered when he rolled it between his thumb and finger.
“How do you know I’m yours if I’m receptive to any shifter?”
“Your blood time stopped before the others. I was almost positive when we left Earth, but the second my paws hit my planet surface it was clear. Your scent is unmistakable.”
“We’ve been running and traveling for a while now. I think we both smell a little odd.”
“I know you want to wash, and so do I. Come on.”
Maximus took her by the hand and pulled her to her feet. The long hall of wood areas, both open and sheltered, rose higher as they walked. Posy’s socks were shredded. She wouldn’t need them on his planet. Maximus heard the teeming water before they saw it. The board planks beneath their feet became damp. Each sheltered area was covered with massive roots natural to the tree formation. He herded her ahead of him and stripped her shirt from behind as they moved towards a fast flowing water fall cascading over rocks in a shelter high within the trees. The shelter stopped when they came forward, bursting into the sunlight. Maximus gulped the water greedily, watching as Posy did the same. The water was fresh and cool. The rising sun was growing hotter.
Posy gasped when Maximus gripped the waistband on her jeans and yanked them off. They stood facing one another. Maximus lifted his hand to cup her chin and pull her closer. He dipped his head to capture her lips in a kiss that burned its way into his belly. Fire raced through his veins.
“I’ve waited so long for you.” His voice was ragged when he stopped to breathe. “You are more than the beauty I envisioned in my dreams. More than anything I thought I would be lucky enough to have found. I love the way you defend yourself. The way your toes wear tigers. Your strength makes my strength that much more powerful.”
His inner shifter wanted to howl, but their first time was special. He couldn’t devour her. Heart racing he tempered his control. He needed to be sweet and caring, gentle, loving…
“Yikes,” he blurted.
She was all over him. The buttons on his shirt went flying when she ripped it off. She grabbed his pants and yanked them down not bothering with the button or zipper.
She’s an animal, and I’m the shifter.
His shoes and socks went sailing over the railing. It didn’t matter. He didn’t need them anymore. Naked they stood studying one another. He lifted his other hand to cup both her cheeks as water trailed lines down her rosy flesh. The water then slid across his knuckles to drip to her shoulder.
Posy’s skin was white as cotton balls in most places. Soon she would tan under the planet’s sun. Maximus captured the image in his mind. He too was white, in his shifter form. His tanned body was a contrast to hers.
“I want to make you my mate.”
Rock hard he stood, heaving, awaiting her response.
Chapter Seven
Everywhere Posy gazed her sight was greeted by breathtaking beauty. Mangos and coconuts hung in trees. Rows of pineapple littered the ground. Trees of nuts hung heavy with bounty. In the distance a fish jumped in a pond. The waterfall was sheltered enough no one could see them, but Posy could see beyond the vines and rock crevices to an open field. Mammoth grazed with giant elk, massive panthers, and giant lions. Both old world animals and new lived in harmony.
Amidst the numerous animals were children of all ages. All were happy, smiling. A few rode the beasts or tussled. A small toddler crawled all over a massive sloth, which lay unmoving in the sun. There were animals she had never seen, different breeds of fantastical color, moving gracefully. Never had she perceived such a beautiful place.
Maximus dropped his hands to his sides letting her make the decision. Every word he spoke was perfect. He wasn’t ogling her boobs. He wasn’t whispering dirty words. She wanted to see his body and gazed on perfection. Her heart was hammering. Maximus was right. Sh
e knew now that they were on his planet they belonged together. She wasn’t just his mate, he was hers. The feeling gave her a sense of relief. She was where she belonged. She stepped into Maximus’s open arms. Cradled next to him she melted as she fit perfectly against his solid muscle.
“Yours is the only flesh I will ever indulge in,” Maximus whispered in her ear.
He latched his full lips onto her throat and suckled. Her knees went weak with his power. No longer a mouse and in his element, Maximus didn’t need to shift to show her he changed. The arms of a confident man held her harder. She reached to grip his hair loving the wetness as drops drizzled over her skin.
Maximus turned her and pressed her against the soft moss. Water flowed gently over them in the new position. With a knee he spread her thighs. The head of his cock pushed against her heat demanding entry. With a thrust he was deeply buried within. Posy shook with anticipation as he pulled from her and bucked again.
One hand found a breast, and he lifted her to suck hard. Her legs were wrapped around his waist. Back and forth she swayed as his thumps turned to thundering thrusting. She wanted more and told him so. Maximus chuckled and eagerly accommodated her. Her ass cheeks were crushed to the rocks behind her keeping her in place. She was trapped, and his hands gripped her breasts working her nipples. Each movement brought their lips together, sealing their joining. Tongues intertwined, drinking from one another, then allowing cool water to rush down and over their throats.
She gripped his shoulders, admiring his build. His muscles flexed with his motion. Her insides were in flames. This was the mate she needed, wanted. Powerful, respectful, a demanding lover who gave of himself. When he released his exquisite torture of her breasts, he crushed her body to his. His chest was bare of hair, and she ran her hands over his back. Her breath caught, as did his.
She screamed when she came, and Maximus roared, the sound startling her. She’d forgotten he was a tiger. When they separated he settled her onto her feet, and she clung to him. He licked the water flowing over her. Cool wetness washed his seed from her and him. Posy went down on her knees wanting him hard again. She gripped his cock. There was no hair anywhere on him. She washed him with the water, then closed her lips over his cock. His powerful hands gripped her shoulders as he rocked in a gentle fashion. With both hands she worked his shaft in delight. He was huge and built for her.
Her Mighty Shifter Page 5