Bruiser had left a bundle of clothes for me next to the door, along with the gift of his absence for a few hours.

He’d claimed to have business with a friend to attend to, but part of me wondered if he was just avoiding me. It might be for the best if he was.

I checked myself in the mirror, having applied some of Brick’s clay to my neck, checking all of my pheromone pores were covered.

The clay took a while to dry out properly, so I took my time inspecting the bundle Bruiser had left me.

My jaw dropped when I saw the sheer amount of clothes. There were at least five full outfits here, plus a couple extra tops, a jacket and a scarf. That must be Bruiser’s idea on how to muffle my pheromones.

I smiled, despite myself. It wouldn’t hurt to cover them up. While I knew Lily could release them on command – and also had the kind of personality that didn’t mind attracting every guy in her vicinity – I had no such control, and it often felt more annoying than useful. I’d caught Bastion sometimes looking bleary-eyed around me before I realized I was even affecting him, and he’d often scoot away from me with angry accusations and insults about my poison seduction miasma.

Part of me wished I could just slice them off or cauterize them shut. It wasn’t like I needed them with Brick. I’d checked he loved me without being under my spell before accepting being in a relationship with him.

Testing the clay was dry, I tried the clothes on for size, twirling in the mirror and feeling giddy at the reality of a whole new wardrobe. Everything fitted around my tail perfectly, and they all provided far more coverage than the crop top and mini skirt ensemble Lily had put together for me.

Heck, I’d probably be fine wearing most of these clothes in my old life!

This must’ve cost Bruiser a fortune, but I wasn’t going to complain.

He was apologizing for a reason. And this kind of apology certainly did make him harder to hate.

“Am I really that shallow?” I asked myself, wondering for a moment at the ease of buying my forgiveness. But then I pressed my cheek into my soft, brand-new scarf and laughed. “Stuff it, I don’t care.”

I heard the door to the room open and close, heralding Bruiser’s return.

“I brought food,” he called out.

My stomach growled. It seemed it was time to make peace.

I gathered my clothes and returned to the room, dumping them on the bed.

“It’s just meat and mash,” Bruiser said, holding out a plate. “I didn’t trust Kira’s stew of the day. Smelled like spoiled meat.”

I snatched the plate off him and sat as far away as I could manage, still wary of him despite the two layers covering up my pores.

“The clothes look nice,” Bruiser said.

I narrowed my eyes at him, and he sighed.

“I’ve known Brick a long time, Emma. I don’t want to be enemies.”

I ate in silence, not knowing what I could possibly say to him.

“I appreciate the clay,” he said after a while, glancing at my neck. I tugged my scarf up to hide it, uncomfortable with the way my skin prickled under his gaze. His eyes were a deep brown and reminded me vividly of the colour of his fur when he was in his bear form.

“I didn’t do it for you,” I said stubbornly. “I did it to keep you off me.”

“Emma, tell me what I need to do to make this right between us,” he said. It was a request, calm and reasonable. He didn’t seem the type to beg.

But it was all pointless, really. I didn’t want to make things right with Bruiser, I wanted to make them right with Brick - but I had at least twenty-three more days until I would get to see him again.

My lip wobbled.

“Are you going to cry?” Bruiser asked, sounding taken aback.

Well, if I wasn’t before, I sure as hell was going to now! Didn’t this idiot know that question was a catalyst for tears?

I looked away and rubbed my eyes.

“You’re really that mad at me?” he asked, approaching me carefully like you would a cornered animal, and getting down on one knee as though trying to make himself look smaller and less intimidating. He smelled like pines, and it churned my stomach when I felt the effect being able to smell him had on me.

“I’m mad at myself,” I hissed at him. “And I’d ask you to kindly keep your distance.”

He obeyed and gave me space, returning to his seat, but he didn’t touch his meal.

“Brick will understand,” he said after a moment. “He might be mad at me, but he won’t hold it against you.”

My eyes snapped to his, both wanting to throw something at him for guessing my pain correctly and to confirm my absolution.

“How can you know that?”

“Because it was my fault,” Bruiser said with a shrug. “I didn’t realize you couldn’t control your… well. I should have checked.”

My eyes dropped to the table.

Brick had told me once that I couldn’t control my drives. I still didn’t understand it, really.

If you spot this story on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

“There’s a theory that with how complicated the world is, each animal, the ecosystem, the magic system - that there has to be a creator out there who put it all together. Intelligent design,” Bruiser said, giving me a sympathetic look. “Sometimes I think if that was true, this creator must be a real jerk.”

James’ face jumped to mind, and I burst out laughing. When I managed to get control of my laughter, I shared a tired grin with Bruiser. “You’re right, he’s a total jackass.”

Maybe Bruiser wasn’t such a beast after all.

I picked at my dinner, shooting thoughtful glances his way. He was right that I didn’t know him. But Brick did, and Brick liked him. He had also gone out of his way to apologize - and not in a half-assed way either.

“You seem to know a bit about succubi,” I stated hesitantly.

“Hmm,” Bruiser nodded thoughtfully. “I was in love with one once.”

My jaw dropped. “I thought we were supposed to be like a rare species or something! Both you and Bastion? And you’re on a team together?”

“Yeah, well,” he shrugged.

“Wait, was it Lily as well?” I asked suspiciously.

“No,” Bruiser laughed. “Lily’s not my type. Too controlling. She was called Elise.”

“Was?” I hesitated. “What happened to her?”

“Necromancers happened to her,” he answered darkly.

I inhaled sharply. The Necromancer Wars had been mentioned before. They’d almost wiped out my kind.

“Yeah,” he said, looking into the flames in the fireplace. “It’s not a pleasant story. I prefer to think of the good times.”

“Sorry,” I chewed on my lip. “So, you were… you were in a harem?”

“Yup,” his eyes flickered over to her. “I’m not usually the domesticated type, to stay in a home permanently. Shifters generally like to roam and spend more time in our animal forms than human. But she made it tempting. It was nice to have a home to return to, anyway.”

I sank into silence, thinking about the way Lily structured her harem - she had some full-time lovers that stayed with her permanently and helped run her store, and others that came and went but returned home to her to ‘pay their dues.’ I wrinkled my nose at the thought.

“You seem like you’re fresh out of the forest,” Bruiser said after a moment. “You don’t know a lot about how things work yet, do you?”

I shook my head. “There’s… a lot to pick up.”

“I’m sure,” he agreed. “You can ask me anything you need to. I’ll do my best to help.”

“You… you said before that I needed to wrap up my neck to keep myself safe from you. Did you mean that?”

Bruiser cleared his throat. “Well, it certainly makes it easier to control myself when I can’t smell your pheromones, although I can still smell your attraction.”

I gasped and clamped my legs tightly shut, mortified.

“It’s in your sweat. You can’t hide it that easily,” he said apologetically. “It’s easier for me to ignore in my bear form, so if it ever gets too much, I can shift. But…”

A thrill ran down my spine. “But?”

“It’s important for you to know yourself. If you feel attraction, you shouldn’t fight it. It’s a tremendous waste of energy.”

“I’m not cheating on Brick!” I fumed at him, my eyes flashing.

“I never said you should. I’m just saying you should stop fighting what you’re feeling. You can still set boundaries, and choose not to act on your feelings, if that’s what you want, but refusing to acknowledge them is destined to be fruitless.”

“Is this your own opinion, or advice from experience with a succubus?” I asked hesitantly.

“Both. You can choose to ignore it, but that’s my advice if you want to take it.”

I watched him push his chair out and stand up to his full height, stretching his back muscles until they popped and cracked.

I remembered what he looked like naked, and I felt warmth stir within me again. Even in his loose, white shirt, I could see the lines of his muscles in its silhouette.

I wasn’t used to this feeling of…. Of instalove. I thought it was just a thing reserved for movies and books. With James, I’d kind of fallen into dating him by default. The other friends in our group had paired off, and we were just the only two left. Then when it had come time to finding an apartment, it was down to pure economics. I found moving in with him less repulsive an idea than paying twice as much rent. And we’d gotten on alright, when he wasn’t wasting money or forgetting to clean up after himself.

I’d never met a guy that I felt that I just wanted to taste with every fiber of my being. Then again, I’d never met Ryan Gosling or Jason Momoa in person either.

“How would you advise I do that?” I asked.

He gave me a curious look. “You want to take my advice?”

“I’m considering trying it.”

“Come stand here in front of me,” he instructed, and I stepped closer to him, looking up into his face. “Give yourself a moment. Just feel what you feel, don’t overthink it.”

He really was quite handsome, with his strong features softened by his long hair and beard. I hadn’t noticed when he’d been threatening me, but his eyes were kind, and his mouth had the ghost of a smile at the edges. It was nothing like Brick’s smug smiles and roguish grins, but more the smile of a man who had been happy once but couldn’t fully embrace the feeling in the present. I felt warmth rolling off him and felt the urge to step in closer and wrap myself up in his heat. My tail twitched in agitation behind me, but I kept my feet glued to the floor and my hands by my side.

“I can smell your attraction,” he informed me, and I burned with embarrassment. “I know it’s there. You’re not giving me any new information by telling me. Put it into words and find acceptance. You’ve got nothing to lose.”

Nothing to lose? What about my dignity and pride?

“There’s nothing wrong with feeling attraction to another person,” he said soothingly. “Just accept it.”

“I’m attracted to you,” I said. “I can’t help it, but I am.”

“And now, tell me you don’t want anything to happen between us.”

“I don’t… I don’t want to…” I paused and felt the truth of it burning in my soul. “I don’t want to act on it.”

“Now tell me you don’t intend to act on it.”

So, he had recognized my lie.

“I don’t intend to act on it.” That was easier, even if it was easier to direct it to his chest than his face.

He lifted a finger to my chin and tilted my face back up to look at him.

“Tell me you don’t want me to act on it, either.”

I swallowed as my stomach shifted. I couldn’t make the words come out.

“You really are beautiful,” Bruiser said softly, his finger slipping from my chin. “When is Brick due back again?”

“End of the month.”

“Damn,” he cursed. “Maybe it would be better to just go sleep with Bonaparte.”

“What?” I blinked, uncomprehending what he could possibly mean by that sentence. “Who is Bonaparte?”

“He’s the friend I mentioned earlier,” Bruiser said, stepping away from me. “He’s a dire-weasel and a good friend. Shifters have the ability to speak with animals, so while you might struggle to communicate with him, I can talk to him as easily as I can with you. He’s sleeping in the stables.”

He whipped his shirt off and started to undo his pants and I inhaled sharply, unable to tear my eyes away from his hair-covered torso. He could be a pin-up model for a sexy lumberjack calendar. If he was January, I don’t think I’d ever get past page one.

“What are you doing?” I whispered, trembling with unwanted feelings as my eyes followed the progress of his pants as they slid down his legs, revealing his buttocks and his strong, muscular legs. I’d taken one step closer to him before I’d even realized it, drawn in by his animal magnetism. “Why are you getting naked?”

He gave me a warm laugh. “I already spent my ripped clothes budget on you.”

Then he shifted back into a bear.

A stared at him for a moment, still trying to absorb what had just happened, but then he lumbered his way over to me and pressed his wet nose into my palm.

It was easier, looking at him like this. It was still him. He had that same wild intelligence in his eyes, and although his form was changed, there was something I could recognize in his expression and essence.

His long pink tongue flicked out and licked my hand, and then he ducked under my fingers, moving past me towards the door. I ran my hand across his furry head and down his back, recognizing the coarse hair that I’d fisted my hands in earlier that evening as it tumbled down his neck.

He paused at the door, and it took me a second to realize he wanted me to open it. I turned the handle and pulled it back, watching his large backside disappear down the stairs.

I closed the door behind him and turned back to the empty room, alone again.