Page 16 of Savoring Her Snake

“Fuck, Juliana,” I say, too late to dim the color. She closes the door and tentatively steps forward.

“What do they mean?” she asks softly.

“My life. My power.” I swivel my head, watching as she advances, my snake creeping to the surface.

“They’re beautiful,” she whispers, stopping in front of me. Her eyes flick up, and her hand reaches out.

“Don’t,” I hiss, grabbing her wrist. My eyes change, eliminating the color that makes them acceptable to walk among humans.

“Sorry.” We stand immobile, neither moving away.

I grind my jaw. “I’m having a hard time controlling my animal.”

“Why?” she asks, and I remove my hand.

“I don’t think you are ready for the truth,” I say.

“Hearing the truth would be a nice change,” she says dryly, her lips curving slightly.

“How much do you know about my world?”

“Not much. Stanly didn’t share anything but the fact that he is a coyote shifter.” She looks down my chest and back to my eyes. “Tell me.”

“Our world should be protected. It is against our law to reveal it to anyone. Stanly shouldn’t have shown you his animal. Most humans know nothing about us. It would cause panic, fear, and war if it was made public. We want to be left alone.” I ease closer, her chest a breath away. “My animal does not usually control me. He does not dictate my actions. I am a private man and don’t let many close, and definitely not in my home. There is only one reason a shifter should bring a human into their world.”

“What is it?” she asks, tilting her chin further.

“When a shifter meets their mate, and they are human.” I move my gaze to her lips. “It is up to the shifter to reveal our world and convince them to complete the mating bond.” I close my eyes, inhaling. “Your scent calls to my beast.” I open my eyes, aching to take her. “You are my mate. The one person the universe deems my equal in every way. I lied. I couldn’t bear the thought of you leaving my sight. Your brother is fine. He’s hurting but will heal. Hunter is upstairs and pissed I used him.” I lick my lips, an inch apart from hers, our breath mixing. “I crave you. I want to keep you here, with me, doing unspeakable things to you. Making you want me as much as I want you. If you leave and never return, I will follow you. I can’t live without you.” I whisper my lips against hers once, twice, and pull back. “I have been asked many times recently what my animal is, yet you haven’t asked. I would cause fear in those who know me, and terror to those who don’t understand me. This information I will give you freely. I am a snake shifter. I am rare and have been alone in this world for more years than you can imagine.” I pause, surprised she isn’t running for the door. “Is that enough truth for you?”

Chapter Five

Juliana

He’swaitingformeto bolt to the door. His eyes are glowing as bright as the blue tattoos on his chest. I should run. I should be afraid. Something inside urges me to listen, stay, and trust this beautiful man. The attraction is more than I have ever felt. His kiss barely qualified as one, yet it was powerful, making my body yearn for more. For the first time, I want to lower my defenses and trust Heath. He doesn’t want to hurt me; he could have done that numerous times. As he led me into his home, I felt like I was in a horror movie, and we all know you shouldn’t go into the basement. That is where all the murdering happens.

Surprisingly, his place is calm and cool and looks no different from any other home. His presence is powerful. I will regret it if I don’t explore what’s happening between us.

“I knew you lied. I lived with the best liar in the world and know the signs.” I trail my knuckle down the center of his chest and his skin seems to glow brighter, vibrating. The waistband of his pants stops my descent, and I drop my hand. “When I was ten, I came home from school and saw my gym teacher fucking my mom. He stuttered to a halt, and she encouraged him to keep thrusting as she waved me away angrily.”

“Jesus,” he hisses.

“At age twelve, I came out to get a drink of water late at night only to see a different man taking her on the kitchen counter. My dad was already out of the picture at this point. She didn’t even acknowledge my presence. I made a rule: my brother could not leave his room at night unless absolutely necessary. Sometimes it didn’t matter. It didn’t matter what time of day it was, but I tried to limit his exposure. I was thirteen when Mom announced she was marrying the counterman. He was wealthy, and she was thrilled. She packed us up, and we moved into his big house. It was like a museum. He wasn’t a bad guy, but he eventually tired of her spending his money and lying to him about everything. Unfortunately for him, he didn’t make her sign a prenup. Six months into the marriage, she took a chunk of his money.

“I thought she would finally be happy. She had money. Of course, it never worked out as I hoped. She went on vacation and blew a lot of it. While there, she met a nice, very young man. He heaped on the compliments, and she fell hard. She called me, very excited, ready to get married again. I wasn’t really listening since she left us at home, and I was trying to go to school and take care of Levi. She made the mistake of giving the nice young man access to her bank account; he cleaned it out. After that, she came home worse than ever. She resumed her mission to find a man who could satisfy her in all ways.

“It didn’t work. It never worked. The men she found were either worse than her or got sick of her shit. It’s sad. She’s sad, but a stranger would never see her that way. It’s never enough. From a young age, I knew I would have to hide anything of mine, especially money. My mom would search my room for cash when she was hard up. She hasn’t worked a day since as long as I can remember.” I stare over his shoulder. I have never told anyone about my life, and don’t know why I want to tell him. “I didn’t have friends in school. They knew what my mom was like. She loved to come to parent-teacher conferences. It was an opportunity to scope out fresh meat. She’s ugly inside, but her beauty is all over her face. It helped that several of her boyfriends paid for plastic surgery, so she doesn’t look her age.” I slide my eyes back to his face.

“Those are the highlights of my life. We would still be standing here days from now if I told you everything. I didn’t tell you for sympathy or pity. I want you to understand it is hard to surprise me. Seeing a coyote standing where Stanly used to be wasn't a big shock. Mom is a human, and she’s a horrible person. I’ve never seen love or been shown love other than my brother. He suffered the effects of growing up with her, and I think if I hadn’t been there, he would be just like her. Stanly is important to him. They met in school, and he is loyal to him because he gave Levi an escape from our life.”

“Where is your mom now?” he asks softly.

“Still in the game. Not happy and calling me to complain about her life and beg for money. Sometimes, it’s easier to give in. It’s just a temporary fix. I don’t think she will ever be happy or stand on her own. Levi avoids her as much as possible.” I drop my head. “She doesn’t love us, not how a mother should. I have always taken care of myself. I’ve worked hard for everything. That’s something she knows nothing about. I planned to go to college, saved for the first year of nursing school, and earned a couple scholarships that helped. I enrolled and had everything worked out. Unfortunately, my mom’s friend worked at the bank. My mom found my bank statement and decided she needed the money more. She came up with some emergency story and her friend gave her my money. She had a girls’ weekend in Vegas. I was infuriated. The only satisfaction was getting the woman fired, but I kind of felt bad. I know better than anyone what a good actress my mom is when she wants to be.”

Heath tips my head, his finger under my chin.

“Darling, I don’t pity you. I admire you.”

I step back, losing his touch.

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