“Oh my.” Martha sighed in delight as they finally emerged out of the jungle and into the sunlight again. “Would you just look at that.”
A glittering waterfall tumbled down the cliffs, casting sparkling rainbows over the worn rocks. Fifty feet below them, freshwater met the ocean in a spray of white foam. A tiny, perfect cove surrounded the waterfall, the lush emerald jungle spilling over onto the narrow strip of silver sand.
Martha’s warm hand crept into his. They stood for a while in silence, just looking.
Land and sea, water and air. The stream needed the rock to turn its eternal movement into beauty; the shore would be bare as bone without the water. It all came together in perfect union.
He looked at Martha, and knew that he needed her as much as the land needed the water, the water the land.
I will not give her up. There must be a way.
“Would you shift for me?” he asked.
She glanced up at him in surprise, startled out of her rapt contemplation of the waterfall. “You want to see my animal? Here? Now?”
He lifted one shoulder in a small shrug. “I have never seen a coyote.”
If he better understood her nature, perhaps he would see a way forward for them. He needed to know her secret soul if he had any chance of finding a way to bridge their two worlds.
Martha ducked her head, looking a little shy. “Well…okay then. But don’t set your expectations too high. Coyotes aren’t exactly majestic.”
Stepping back into the shade of the tree line, she kicked off her sneakers. His blood surged as she pulled her top over her head. It was all he could do to stay still. His hands clenched at his sides, itching to reach for her lush breasts.
From the swift downward flick of her eyes and sudden smug smile, she knew full well the effect she was having on him. She took rather longer than was strictly necessary about unfastening her bra, sliding the straps slowly down over her brown shoulders.
“You sure it’s my coyote you want to see?” she teased him.
“Yes,” he growled, hanging onto his self-control by his fingernails. “First.”
She turned her back on him, casting a coy glance over her shoulder. Bending at the waist, she pulled her shorts and panties down over her soft thighs. Her round backside rolled seductively at him, her scent beckoning from her exposed pink cleft.
That he could not resist. Without conscious thought, he was behind her, pushing her down to her hands and knees. She let out a triumphant giggle that turned into a gasping moan as he slid his fingers through her inviting folds.
She was already wet for him, slick and eager. She ground against him as he pushed into her with two fingers, his other hand reaching round to find her hard nipples. He clenched his teeth, fighting the urge to sink them into her shoulder as she shuddered around him.
She whined, spreading her legs wider, backside thrusting into the air. “More, Finn. I need you.”
He needed her, more than he could ever say. Shoving down his own garments, he mounted her, too blind with need to be gentle. Her hot depths welcomed him. She enfolded him like the sea itself, powerful and irresistible. The rhythm of her pulsing tides swept him helplessly to his own climax.
“Martha,” he gasped, spilling himself into her, coming home. “My mate!”
He collapsed down against her, only just managing to catch himself on his hands and spare her his full weight. Breathing hard, he leaned his forehead against her shoulder. She let out a contented hum, arching back against him.
“I win,” she said smugly.
He let himself smile, since she couldn’t see his face. “I would still like to see your coyote.”
She laughed, wriggling out from under him. “Well, since you asked so nicely…”
Pushing herself to her feet, she took a few steps away, holding eye contact. He drank in the sight of her naked, sweat-beaded skin, the soft curve of her belly, the beautiful lines that crinkled around her smiling eyes.
She shook herself, a whole-body shimmy. And in an instant, the woman was gone.
The breath sighed out of him. “Yes. That is who you are.”
She had the same laughing amber eyes, the same proud tilt to her head. Her alert ears were made to catch every sound, her slim muzzle to follow the faintest scent. Her lush fur hid a thousand subtle shades of sand and rock. She would be swift and silent in the hunt, subtle and relentless.
Her long tongue lolled out in an unmistakable smile. She trotted over, nudging her nose under his hand. He tentatively stroked her head, astonished by the texture. He’d never touched a furred creature before. Soft, so soft, but all strength underneath. So warm.