“There's a band called the Arrogant Worms playing at a bar downtown tonight,” Eric said casually.
“They are? I heard them once, they're great. I've never laughed so hard in my life.” Christian folded a T-shirt, and laid it with the rest. “We'll never get in, though, they're too popular around here.”
Eric leaned against the washing machine, and smiled. “Then isn't it fortunate that I have two tickets.”
Christian froze, staring at him. A shirt fell to the table as the witch pounced for a fierce hug; Eric just laughed, returned it, and pushed him back gently.
“Go shower and stuff.”
“And change, and get dressed... Um, I think Mark ordered in supper for three.”
“Mark knows. He told me you like the band, in fact. Don't worry so much.”
“Aren't you two just too clever. I'll get ready as fast as I can.”
“It's not quite five and they start at eight, you should have time. I'll finish folding these. Go.”
Christian kissed his cheek and scooted for his room. This particular shapeshift was becoming an easy one, and ensuring that he couldn't conceive took a few extra minutes. Kit showered, and dressed in snug black jeans and an androgynous short-sleeved turquoise top, with her necklace and her rainbow earrings. With her hair braided and her eyes lined with brown, she decided she looked right for a probably very warm and crowded bar. Her usual odds and ends went in her small black purse.
Eric was waiting patiently.
“We have lots of time, gorgeous. What say we walk, and stop for fries or something on the way?”
“Sounds great.”
Eric had mastered the wonderful evening out in all variations, Kit decided by the time they came home, much later, both still breathless with laughter.
“My room?” Kit suggested, and Eric nodded.
Upstairs, door closed, Kit stepped closer to Eric, twined her arms around his neck, and stretched a bit to give him a hungry kiss.
“That wasn't what I intended,” Eric protested.
“You've been spoiling me rotten taking me out, and you keep refusing to do anything more. It's tons of fun, but you are seriously beginning to try my patience. I didn't put all that work into learning how to shapeshift just so you could look, y'know. I could've created that particular illusion without even using magic, people do it every day and I’ve been doing that off and on for a long time. Are you going to take me to bed or not?”
That made Eric laugh, and lower his head to nuzzle at her throat. “Far be it from me to refuse a lady. Especially one who's so emphatic.”
“Finally!”
Alexandra, Kit concluded very quickly, was absolutely right about Eric.
“Eric?” she said softly, much later, snuggled contentedly against him.
“Mmhmm?”
“I know I don't know much except what I've learned from Lexa, and you're used to a kitsune, and if she's anything like Lexa then no human's ever going to match her, but...”
Eric interrupted her with a quick kiss; it was certainly an effective way of silencing someone, Kit reflected. “Whoa, stop. What's with the 'am I good enough?' junk from the one who just propositioned me? What makes you think I'm keeping score or making comparisons? Have you been?”
“No.” She'd been too busy learning what Eric liked and what made him respond, and trying to make him feel half as good as he was making her feel.
“Then why would you think I have, silly witch? As if you couldn't hold your own anyway. As for bringing Jade and Alexandra into this... sure, they're both perfect beyond what any human being will ever be. Jade's a two-hundred-year-old shapeshifter who's perpetually in heat, for heaven's sake, she is whatever she wants to be. I don't know lamias very well, but from what I noticed...” His voice shook, barely enough for Kit to hear it; gods, Alexandra had scared him badly.
“Perfect,” Kit said. “No body fur, minimal scent, can't get pregnant, and she's, well, very good at what she does.”
“I'm betting she doesn't have a single mark anywhere on that nice white skin, and she never gains or loses so much as an ounce.”
“Good guess,” Kit agreed, beginning to see where this was going. As much as she loved sex with either Mark or Alexandra, there was something satisfying about being here with Eric.
“They're real, but they're not.” Eric sighed. “I'm not putting them down, they're wonderful people, I love Jade dearly and I know how close you and Mark are. But ultimately, when it comes to sex, they're just not human. They're too perfect. I like the way you smell, I like hearing you get out of breath and feeling you get all sweaty just like I am.” He began lightly tracing lines between the small brown moles spotting Kit's tawny skin, and she shivered. “You don't change much when you shapeshift, you're still human.”
“There's less of a shock to my system if I keep changes to bare basics, and just do the exact female equivalent of how I normally am.” Which meant she was small-breasted, and there was a definite softness around her lower belly, and her skin certainly wasn't flawless or furless.
“Even if you figure out how to do other changes, don't for me, ever.” He chuckled. “It's kind of a contradiction, considering that I just don't seem to react to males, but I like you exactly the way you are.”
“Exactly the way I am, at the moment, is female,” Kit pointed out mischievously.
“Exactly the way you are is silly.” He hugged her against him. “And gorgeous. And awesome in bed. And real. So stop judging yourself by standards no human can possibly live up to. Be happy being you.”
Kit considered that. It really was too easy to think you knew what someone wanted, and to feel bad if you couldn't live up to it. Maybe people didn't always want what you thought they wanted.
It was too hard to think while distracted by the pleasant sensation of Eric's wandering fingers; she filed the idea to reflect on later.
“Besides,” Eric said quietly. “Look what happened last time I was in bed with someone. Given how close I came to a rather nasty death, it's a miracle I didn't get scared off sex forever. You just... feel safe.”
“And feel good,” Kit murmured.
Eric laughed, and kissed her again. “Anyway. To circle back around to what you originally started to ask... are you happy?”
“Very.”
“And I'm happy. Anything else is irrelevant.” He yawned, and tried to stifle it. “Except sleeping. Sleeping is definitely relevant, at this hour.”
Kit failed to suppress an answering yawn. “True.” She nestled close, pulled the blankets up, and closed her eyes. “Sweet dreams.”
“Oh, I'm sure they will be.”
“There's a band called the Arrogant Worms playing at a bar downtown tonight,” Eric said casually.
“They are? I heard them once, they're great. I've never laughed so hard in my life.” Christian folded a T-shirt, and laid it with the rest. “We'll never get in, though, they're too popular around here.”
Eric leaned against the washing machine, and smiled. “Then isn't it fortunate that I have two tickets.”
Christian froze, staring at him. A shirt fell to the table as the witch pounced for a fierce hug; Eric just laughed, returned it, and pushed him back gently.
“Go shower and stuff.”
“And change, and get dressed... Um, I think Mark ordered in supper for three.”
“Mark knows. He told me you like the band, in fact. Don't worry so much.”
“Aren't you two just too clever. I'll get ready as fast as I can.”
“It's not quite five and they start at eight, you should have time. I'll finish folding these. Go.”
Christian kissed his cheek and scooted for his room. This particular shapeshift was becoming an easy one, and ensuring that he couldn't conceive took a few extra minutes. Kit showered, and dressed in snug black jeans and an androgynous short-sleeved turquoise top, with her necklace and her rainbow earrings. With her hair braided and her eyes lined with brown, she decided she looked right for a probably very warm and crowded bar. Her usual odds and ends went in her small black purse.
Eric was waiting patiently.
“We have lots of time, gorgeous. What say we walk, and stop for fries or something on the way?”
“Sounds great.”
Eric had mastered the wonderful evening out in all variations, Kit decided by the time they came home, much later, both still breathless with laughter.
“My room?” Kit suggested, and Eric nodded.
Upstairs, door closed, Kit stepped closer to Eric, twined her arms around his neck, and stretched a bit to give him a hungry kiss.
“That wasn't what I intended,” Eric protested.
“You've been spoiling me rotten taking me out, and you keep refusing to do anything more. It's tons of fun, but you are seriously beginning to try my patience. I didn't put all that work into learning how to shapeshift just so you could look, y'know. I could've created that particular illusion without even using magic, people do it every day and I’ve been doing that off and on for a long time. Are you going to take me to bed or not?”
That made Eric laugh, and lower his head to nuzzle at her throat. “Far be it from me to refuse a lady. Especially one who's so emphatic.”
“Finally!”
Alexandra, Kit concluded very quickly, was absolutely right about Eric.
“Eric?” she said softly, much later, snuggled contentedly against him.
“Mmhmm?”
“I know I don't know much except what I've learned from Lexa, and you're used to a kitsune, and if she's anything like Lexa then no human's ever going to match her, but...”
Eric interrupted her with a quick kiss; it was certainly an effective way of silencing someone, Kit reflected. “Whoa, stop. What's with the 'am I good enough?' junk from the one who just propositioned me? What makes you think I'm keeping score or making comparisons? Have you been?”
“No.” She'd been too busy learning what Eric liked and what made him respond, and trying to make him feel half as good as he was making her feel.
“Then why would you think I have, silly witch? As if you couldn't hold your own anyway. As for bringing Jade and Alexandra into this... sure, they're both perfect beyond what any human being will ever be. Jade's a two-hundred-year-old shapeshifter who's perpetually in heat, for heaven's sake, she is whatever she wants to be. I don't know lamias very well, but from what I noticed...” His voice shook, barely enough for Kit to hear it; gods, Alexandra had scared him badly.
“Perfect,” Kit said. “No body fur, minimal scent, can't get pregnant, and she's, well, very good at what she does.”
“I'm betting she doesn't have a single mark anywhere on that nice white skin, and she never gains or loses so much as an ounce.”
“Good guess,” Kit agreed, beginning to see where this was going. As much as she loved sex with either Mark or Alexandra, there was something satisfying about being here with Eric.
“They're real, but they're not.” Eric sighed. “I'm not putting them down, they're wonderful people, I love Jade dearly and I know how close you and Mark are. But ultimately, when it comes to sex, they're just not human. They're too perfect. I like the way you smell, I like hearing you get out of breath and feeling you get all sweaty just like I am.” He began lightly tracing lines between the small brown moles spotting Kit's tawny skin, and she shivered. “You don't change much when you shapeshift, you're still human.”
“There's less of a shock to my system if I keep changes to bare basics, and just do the exact female equivalent of how I normally am.” Which meant she was small-breasted, and there was a definite softness around her lower belly, and her skin certainly wasn't flawless or furless.
“Even if you figure out how to do other changes, don't for me, ever.” He chuckled. “It's kind of a contradiction, considering that I just don't seem to react to males, but I like you exactly the way you are.”
“Exactly the way I am, at the moment, is female,” Kit pointed out mischievously.
“Exactly the way you are is silly.” He hugged her against him. “And gorgeous. And awesome in bed. And real. So stop judging yourself by standards no human can possibly live up to. Be happy being you.”
Kit considered that. It really was too easy to think you knew what someone wanted, and to feel bad if you couldn't live up to it. Maybe people didn't always want what you thought they wanted.
It was too hard to think while distracted by the pleasant sensation of Eric's wandering fingers; she filed the idea to reflect on later.
“Besides,” Eric said quietly. “Look what happened last time I was in bed with someone. Given how close I came to a rather nasty death, it's a miracle I didn't get scared off sex forever. You just... feel safe.”
“And feel good,” Kit murmured.
Eric laughed, and kissed her again. “Anyway. To circle back around to what you originally started to ask... are you happy?”
“Very.”
“And I'm happy. Anything else is irrelevant.” He yawned, and tried to stifle it. “Except sleeping. Sleeping is definitely relevant, at this hour.”
Kit failed to suppress an answering yawn. “True.” She nestled close, pulled the blankets up, and closed her eyes. “Sweet dreams.”
“Oh, I'm sure they will be.”
