“Easy to do. I, myself, have been quite distracted. And was a little later than I could’ve been this evening because I got engrossed earlier.” He kneaded my feet, and a little more tension drained out of my body. “A person’s animal is almost always chosen by genetics. More often than not, if a person has two strong wolf parents, the child will be a strong wolf. If they’re weak, the child’s power will be weak. Same with dragons, bears, whatever. Occasionally a latent gene presents itself within a child, though. Two wolf parents turn out a bear. Or a dragon. Typically, the child will stay with the parents until they come of age, since the first few years as a shifter are all about learning one’s animal—how to shift and share space. After that, most often the child will be grouped with similar animals so they can learn more about that animal. Dragons aren’t much for packs, so a dragon would not understand the pack mentality of wolves. And vice versa. So usually dragons are sent here, since this…used to be the largest collection of dragons in the world.”
“Do shifters tend to mate with like animals?”
He washed water onto my exposed areas, probably getting rid of the suds. His palms touched down on my knees, and he gently pushed them apart. Nervousness swirled in my belly.
“Oh, Finley…seeing you so vulnerable and nervous, trusting me completely to take care of you… You’ll be my undoing in this life.”
His body lay on mine, his hard cock rubbing against my clit. I moaned softly as his lips touched mine. His kiss was soft and sensual, his tongue lightly skimming across my bottom lip but not darting in when I opened my mouth to him. Instead, he continued to use his lips, sucking a little, nibbling, teasing. He’d taken the note.
“Why are you smiling?” he murmured.
“You’re a quick study.”
“For the first time in my life, I’m listening to the teacher.” He backed off, his hands flowing down over my body and back to my legs. His forearm came across my thigh, and my butt rose a little on reflex. The water line now cut across my pussy, tickling.
“Oh wow,” I said, wiggling just a little, wanting to reach down and stroke. I resisted, though, knowing he’d get to it. Wanting him to remain in control.
He applied something cool to my mound and beside my folds, probably shaving salve.
“For the more powerful shifters, yes, they absolutely mate with their animals in mind,” he said. “They seek out shifters who have the same animal and a similar power level. The goal is to produce the most powerful shifter possible.”
“But if power is the most important factor, then it shouldn’t matter if the offspring’s a wolf, a dragon, or whatever.”
“You’re forgetting that often beasts are sent to be with like beasts. So if a dragon and a wolf mated and had a wolf offspring, the wolves would get a powerful shifter instead of the dragons. Not to mention the parents might have to send their offspring away.”
“Ah. Gotcha. So it comes down to shoring up strength within the kingdom.”
“Yes, princess. Now you have it.”
Cool metal touched down on my upper thigh, right beside my folds. It scraped across in little brush strokes, shearing me like a sheep.
“Why are you embarrassed?” he asked in a subdued voice, and the mood in the room changed dramatically. Tingles crawled up my body, and I involuntarily parted my knees just a bit more.
“I’ve let things grow a little wild since my ex. And before that, it was just a trim job. I didn’t realize…”
“I’m no ladies’ man, but only a fool would complain. I’m only doing this because you asked for it.”
He was absolutely a ladies’ man, but he didn’t need to charm or cajole for it. He just had to show up. His stellar body, his large frame, his power and strength, his severe attractiveness—all he had to do was walk into a room, and every woman there would take notice. He could probably insult a woman, and she’d willingly come to his bed. I was guilty of it, surely. I had definitely tried to push back, but I couldn’t deny I was all too happy to get this delicious alpha between my thighs. Damn my animal for rubbing off on me.
The metal continued to glide, not touching anything distinctly pleasureful but sending shivers racing across my flesh all the same. His diligence, focus, and clear attention to detail were obvious as he went back over certain areas, heightening my anticipation for his touch, the sensations of the moment. My body quickly keyed up, all my attention on the feel of that blade and his fingers as they pulled the skin taut or braced against my inner thigh. In a strange way, this was more sensual and erotic than anything I’d yet experienced.