Page 30 of Shifted Desire

You know what? I’ll put it on the kink negotiation list I send rather than assume. It’s been too long since I’ve had sex with someone who knows about monsters, and therefore is safe to shift around. It’d be a relief not to worry about slipping up and letting them feel the full intensity of my need or get asked why I’m not worried about STIs or getting pregnant because I have a magic tattoo that handles that shit.

Nathan may think I’m doing him a favor, that our agreement is all about giving him the relief and help he needs to soothe his wolf, but it’ll have perks for me too. I’ll try not to be too obvious about them, since I prefer to have the upper hand in our dynamic, but getting fed regularly by a trustworthy, hot, well-endowed monster is like hitting the jackpot. It means I can get off the terrible apps and stop spending nights with random hookups who half the time leave me unsatisfied and feeling gross.

Gods, this is awesome. What a great day.

I struggle to wipe my smile away as I head inside, going to the kitchen to grab some water and a snack before I go up to my room to work on the contract. When I close the fridge door, Dad is standing there as if he popped up out of nowhere.

“Fuck! Dad, you can’t do that, I almost threw my yogurt at you.”

He grimaces. “Sorry, peanut, I thought you heard me.”

I definitely didn’t. My damn father and brother both have natural obfuscation magic, and it makes it so they accidentally sneak up on you when they’re deep in thought or anxious about something.

I cross my arms over my chest. “What’s up? Why are you skulking around?”

He snorts at my call-out. “Come on, you know why.”

My stomach jolts, and for a split-second, my brain convinces me that somehow he knows what I did with Nathan. That he used some kind of scrying magic to look in on the interview and saw me with his best friend’s dick down my throat.

I scowl at him to disguise my panic. “No, I don’t!”

He shakes his head at me. “The interview! How did it go?”

“Oh.”

Get your shit together, Samantha! I can’t freak out every time someone mentions something about Nathan, or this will never work. You’d think I hadn’t finely honed my skills of deception sneaking around in high school. Don’t blow this before it even starts.

I set the yogurt down and peel off the foil lid, using that as an excuse to look away and calm my racing heart. “It went okay.”

Dad groans. “I know you’re the mysterious badass of the family, but you've gotta give me more than that. Do you think you got the job? Did he like the pancakes?”

I’d laugh at him worrying about his pancakes in the same breath as wondering if I have a job, but I’m still too tense. “Not sure about the pancakes. I’ll have to check with him when I start next Monday.”

Dad’s brows shoot up. “You got the job?” He beams at me, and I scramble to push the yogurt to the side so it doesn’t get knocked over when Dad tugs me into a hug. “Of course you did! I knew you’d be a great fit. You’re so smart and capable. Nathan is lucky to have you.”

There’s a pang in my chest at his praise. I squirm out of the hug and huff. “Yeah, yeah, it’s definitely that and not because he feels sorry for me.”

Dad frowns. “Stop it. You know you’re perfect for the job.”

I am. In more ways than he needs to know.

“True, I am pretty perfect.” I pretend to flip my hair over my shoulder, and Dad chuckles.

“You are to us,” he says fondly, and ugh, there goes my chest again, love and guilt constricting in a tight ball. “We should celebrate! Would it be too weird to invite Nathan out to dinner?”

“Uh, yes,” I scoff, searching for an excuse why we can’t all hang out together. I settle on the professional angle since Dad appreciates a good work ethic. “It’s going to be awkward as hell to spend time together with him and the family, now that he’s my boss. I need some separation between my work life and social life. So if you and Mom want to hang out with him, that’s fine, but I’ll make other plans so it’s not…weird.”

And so they can’t tell we’re fucking.

“Oh…I hadn’t really considered that.” He visibly deflates a little.

I place a hand on his shoulder, hating seeing him disappointed. Hating even more that I’m the source of that disappointment.

“It’s a good thing. You and Mom have a life, and I don’t need to crash every aspect of it because you’re being kind enough to let me stay here for a while. Hang out with Nathan as much as you want. I have plenty of things I can go do.”

I’m stretching the truth, since I don’t have much of a life right now, but I’ll figure it out. Pick up a hobby. Go to the gym more. Drive to Moonvale and harass Max. Anything other than being here when Nathan is around.

“Honey, this is your home for as long as you want it to be. You know you don’t have to make yourself scarce.” The concern and kindness in his voice make me feel awful.