Page 96 of Wedding the Werepanther

Shadow

After dinner, I ask Kayla to put on the summer dress she wore to the handfasting. She comes back downstairs with its flirty hem floating around the top of her thighs, and I suppress a groan. Goddess, that dress is a work of art, showing off her long legs and deliciously plump thighs. It doesn’t even matter that I’ve already seen her naked. The constant tease that the skirtmightfly up and show something holds me riveted.

“You look divine.” I pull her into my arms and twirl us onto the shadow roads, enjoying her soft laugh as I dance our steps along the path I desire. In only a few seconds, we emerge into the real world in front of the waterfall that gives the town its name.

The slanted, late-evening sun of a prolonged summer day strikes the falls in a glitter of diamonds. The sweet, piercing notes of birdsong rise above the constant splash of the water. Agentle breeze carries the smell of pine and water and the fainter trace of rabbit.

Yet none of it is as lovely as the sweet lavender scent of my wife.

Kayla’s head swivels. “Are we meeting people here?”

“Most decidedly not.” I crouch to remove my boots. “This date is forus, remember?” It’s a hint of what’s to come once we’re released from Victoria’s marriage contract, a promise that we can enjoy all the things we’ve been doing, but we’ll do them purely for ourselves.

Including, I hope, binding ourselves together forever. After watching several videos of humans proposing to their chosen mate, I’ve crafted my own proposal. I also picked up the rings from Bling It On. I’m ready, more than ready, to ask my witchy beauty to be mine. This weekend can’t come soon enough. I groan internally, imagining knotting her and finally making her mine.

But for now, we’ll play our delicious game of hands and mouth. Goddess, I love Kayla’s mouth.

She balances with a hand on my shoulder as I lift her foot and slip it free of its shoe. My thumb brushes the inside of her ankle, and her audible inhale makes me smirk.

Standing, I yank my shirt off and drop it onto a clump of ferns, along with my phone. Then I pull her into the shallow end of the pond until we’re wading ankle-deep.

“So whatarewe doing here?” she asks, her voice a little breathless.

I lean close to purr in her ear. “Someone promised me skinny dipping.”

“I did not promise you that!” She bats my arm with the back of her hand.

I snag it out of the air and bring it to my mouth, teasing her knuckles with lips and fangs. “You mentioned it, which is as good as a promise when talking to a cat.”

“As if you need an excuse to get naked.” My witchy beauty tries to sound stern, but the twitch of her lips gives her away.

When I pull her further into the water, she glances down. “Your pants! They’re getting wet.”

“Since you insist.” My hands frame my noticeable bulge for a second before I pop the button and slide the zipper down. I strip the pants off and toss them onto the bank.

“You’re naked again,” Kayla whispers, her gaze focused on my erection, which swells under her attention.

“If you keep looking at me like that,” I growl, dragging my thumb across her lower lip, “there will be zero swimming involved.”

“Is that such a bad thing?” she teases.

“It is if we’re going to make this a proper date.” I studied several videos. Humans like to be wooed, like to see the other person make an effort to enjoy their company for more than sex.

Kayla deserves such wooing.

“Swim with me.” I step backward past the drop-off, and the water goes over my head, surrounding me in liquid coolness that cuts through the lingering heat of the day. It takes several kicks to break through the surface and constant work to tread water—shifters are muscle-dense compared to humans.

It’s worth it, though. My witchy beauty floats in front of me, stripped of her dress, her lacey undergarments soaked to enticing translucence. Wet-darkened hair clings to the sides of her face, and she pushes it back, making her lush breasts bob in the most fascinating way.

Then she strokes forward, headed for the waterfall, and I follow until we skirt the rim of the splashing falls. Kayla plays agame with the water, swimming forward and back, and I mimic her, the edges of the pounding water dancing over our skin.

Then we play a little game of cat and mouse, taking turns diving at each other. I might have shifter strength and speed, but Kayla is such a natural in the water we end up fairly evenly matched. Delight fills me as she turns into a slippery, giggly mermaid, who moves through the water with ease.

After a while, she swims over to the cliff face beside the waterfall and clings to a rock to rest.

I hang from the one beside her.

“I haven’t done this in ages!” Her eyes gleam. “I forgot how fun it is!”