“At first,” Clara began, “I was pretty freaked out because I had no idea shifters even existed. But then I thought of how much I cared about him. It didn’t go so well when he bit me and claimed me as his mate. I thought I was going to change into a wolf, like him. I freaked out. But in all honesty, he needed my help. I couldn’t let him deal with all the shit he was going through by himself. That was when I realized that even though we hadn’t been together long, I was head over heels in love with him.”
“Wait, back up. You said he bit you? What do you mean by that?” Gina asked, thinking back over her amazing encounter with Nick and his fascination with nibbling on her neck.
“It was the weirdest thing. His canines lengthened, and he sunk them deep into my neck. I could feel him drinking my blood.”
Gina gasped. “What the fuck! Like a vampire? Wait, are vampires real too?” She wasn’t sure she wanted the answer to the question that had already popped out of her damn mouth.
“Yeah. They are real. And yes, it was just like that. It’s part of the mating process,” Clara explained.
“Did it hurt?” Gina asked with a shutter.
“I thought it would, but honestly, I’ve never come so hard in my damn life. Holy hell, it was amazing.”
Pure and unfiltered shock stunned her. There wasn’t a single word that popped into her head as a reply to Clara’s confession.
“Ha-ha. Seriously. The look on your face is freaking priceless. I’m just saying, don’t knock it till you try it. Once you go shifter, you never go back. I don’t know about Nick, but it’s like Clint can read my mind, and he gives me everything I could ever want or need in the sack.” Clara giggled.
“Oh, God. She isn’t even remotely kidding,” Annie said as she jumped into the conversation. “I used to date Dennis before Rick, and let me tell you, both men are incredible lovers, but Rick … whew, girl. My head feels like it’s going to pop off my body every time we have sex.”
“So, amazing sex is pretty much a given with shifters?” Gina laughed.
“Have you ever had any better sex in your life than you did with Nick?” Annie leaned against the counter and crossed her arms over her chest.
“Nope.” Gina didn’t even have to think about it. No man she had ever been with could compare to what she shared with Nick.
“Give him time. I agree with Clara. Shifters are weird as fuck when they find their mate,” Annie said, pushing away from the counter.
“I’m not his …”
“Uh-huh. Sure, sure.” Annie slipped into the kitchen and ended the conversation.
ChapterFourteen
Blinded by the morning light and a decapitating hangover, Gavin Stunch stumbled across the room and out of the back patio door of his trailer. Spotting a cooler, he fished around the sloshing ice water, searching for a beer.
“Damn it,” he growled, coming up empty-handed. The sun and humidity created a hellishly steamy sauna, which made his insides churn almost worse than his hangover. The midsummer Louisiana heat was no fucking joke, and today was no damn different.
Effortlessly lifting the cooler over his head, he dumped the contents on his aching head. “Daisy, get me a beer!” he shouted.
A woman hopped around the living room, attempting to get her crocs on. “I’m not getting you jack shit. Besides, you drank them all last night,” she hollered.
God, he hated her screechy voice. “Where the hell are you going?”
“Home. I can’t believe I ended up here with your toxic ass last night. Don’t fucking call me anymore,” she said, slamming the screen door behind her as she left.
“You’ll be back. You always come crawling back when you need a real man. Bitch!”
Daisy meant absolutely nothing to him. She was just another person he knew how to manipulate for his own needs. Their entire relationship, if it could even be called that, was a summary of how he treated everyone. People were just a means to an end.
Staggering back into his trailer, he found half a bottle of stale, warm beer and eagerly choked it down. He pulled a dirty tank top over his head and pulled back his greasy hair. The familiar rumbling of motorcycles approaching caught his ear. Stepping out onto his front deck, he spotted three bikes roaring down the dusty country road toward his secluded trailer.
A burly, bearded, leather-clad man stopped short of driving up onto the porch. “Hey, boss. There’s something you should know about.”
“Go on, Mule, spit it out.”
“Someone new showed up in town.”
“Someone new? Tell me why I should give a damn.”