Page 68 of Stubborn as a Shadow

I’d always suspected being physically attracted to someone—and therefore wanting to leave the lights on—would be thebiggest part of having sex with someone. After that, did anything else matter? I mean, sex looked like a lot of fun. Who wouldn’t want to taste all the colors in the rainbow if given the chance? But suddenly I found myself wanting my first lover to want to be withme, not just some random body with a cock and a hole.

I sighed and bit down on the candy.

“Don’t do that,” Nelson said. “You’ll break your teeth.”

“Fine.” I sighed.

He was probably right. I’d never broken a tooth, so I didn’t know if my magic would heal it or not. As a shifter, I could heal from most injuries, but magical dental work might be asking too much. It was probably better not to risk it.

I went back to sucking on the candy, rolling it around in my mouth, slurping on it… Hard candies were kind of boring to eat, they took so long to dissolve, but the sugar was a nice boost to my magic, so I didn’t mind too much.

Nelson made a strange noise. I glanced over to find him staring at my mouth. He looked away when he realized I’d caught him. I wished I knew why he was acting like that.

Maybe he was feeling a surge of magic after eating the mushroom soup earlier. I knew I was. This influx of sugar sent my magic tingling along my skin. It wanted to roll around in it, revel in it.

The sun was down now. The landscape beyond the window was dark and quiet. It had been for a while. I doubted anyone would come out here at night. We were all alone.

Could I shift?

“What are you thinking?”

Nelson’s question drew my gaze away from the window. “Why?”

“Your skin has a rainbow sheen. Your hair and eyes always have an iridescent glow, but this is the first time I’ve seen it on your skin. Unless it’s a trick of the fire?”

I rubbed my arms. Sometimes I hated how my body exposed my unicorn-ness. “I was wondering if it would be safe to shift. We’re alone out here and it’s dark, so I don’t think anyone will see. It’s just been so long…” I cut myself off. That just sounded like I was whining.

Gary was a whiner. He always whined about wanting money or not getting enough respect or how Violet should be grateful he wanted her back. I hated whiners.

Nelson met my gaze. “How long has it been since you shifted?”

“Two years,” I whispered.

Nelson sucked in a sharp breath. “That long?”

“I haven’t shifted since my uncle died.”

“You were caged for two years?” He frowned. His hand clenched and unclenched at his side. “Why haven’t you shifted since you escaped?”

“Violet thought the people who trapped me might sense my magic or something. You know, because it’s so unusual.” I jiggled my foot.

Nelson took my hand in his. “It isn’t healthy for you to go so long without shifting.”

I stared at the way his fingers rubbed circles over my skin. I loved the gentle way he cradled my hand in his. I swallowed. What were we talking about again?

“I know,” I said eventually. “I just couldn’t put Violet in danger, because if she was right…”

“Ogden had a tracker embedded under his skin,” Nelson said. “Did you have something like that too?”

I nodded. “I got rid of it right away.”

Nelson nodded. “Right. So, if they put a tracker on you, they probably can’t trace you any other way.”

I turned my hand in his and squeezed his fingers. “You really think so?”

“I do.” He squeezed back.

“So I could shift?” I whispered, punctuating my question with a shaky exhale.