Page 18 of The Hummingbird’s Gift

He stepped forward with his front paw, inching toward the nervous coyote. Size was a human concern and his bobcat didn’t care. He just wanted Rohahen to feel comfortable again.

He threw back his head and yowled, the tribe joining in with cheeps and howls and shrieks until their voices filled the night. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Kayla flapping her wings and then taking off to sail over the houses and past the forest. Shifters followed her, scurrying and loping and fluttering in the twilight.

Tier bumped against Rohahen’s muzzle with his head, twisting his neck around to get closer and extend the contact.

Rohahen held still, his posture still subservient. Tier repeated the motion on the other side. Rohahen leaned into him and he pushed back. The coyote’s tail began to slowly wag, and Tier felt like he’d won a prize.

He nipped a little at Rohahen’s flank, bounded a few feet away, and came back to repeat the process.

Rohahen needed only one more invitation and then they took off toward the line of trees, side by side. They raced through the forest, Tier’s nose telling the stories of animals that had passed through, plants that were bitter and sweet, places that his tribe had been and trees that they had marked.

When Rohahen tried to move away from him, he nipped at his heels and herded him back.

The other shifters eventually scattered, some going off on their own hunts, and some chasing each other back home to warm beds and sleepy children.

But Rohahen was his. As a bobcat, he knew this instinctively.

Now that they were alone, he nipped playfully at Rohahen’s fluffy tail. Rohahen darted forward, looked back to check Tier’s body language, and then leapt ahead.

Rohahen was fast, maybe one of the fastest carnivores in the tribe, and he led Tier on an enjoyably challenging chase. Every time that Tier thought he almost had him, he would slip to the side, or leap over some impossible object, or tumble over and come up behind Tier only to dart off in another direction. It was exhilarating.

They raced into a grassy clearing and Rohahen surprised him again by stopping with a quick twist of his body. Tier overshot and then circled back. He growled and Rohahen immediately lowered his head and wagged his tail at a low angle in happy submission.

Tier licked his snout, getting Rohahen to look up at him. Tier let his tail communicate for him, the high angle showing his dominance and the fluid, slow wag showing that he still wanted to play.

Rohahen rushed him, rolling him onto his back. Though Rohahen was twice his weight, Tier used the momentum to carry them back up and pinned him. They wrestled like that, nipping at each other, twisting out of holds and then attacking again. They were well matched in competition, or maybe Rohahen was just letting him win. He felt joyful and free.

He pinned Rohahen again, but instead of fighting back, Rohahen twisted to lick his teeth. It wasn’t a cat gesture, but he’d seen wolves and coyotes do it often enough to recognize it as a gesture of submission and affection. He opened his mouth, letting Rohahen in and confirming his dominance and approval. It was nothing like a human kiss, more like a hug or an arm around someone’s waist.

It did make him think of kisses, though, and everything else he could do in his human form.

He shifted on a thought, the brief ache and reshaping leaving him disoriented for a moment. When his new senses came back to him, his nose and ears were muted and his skin much more sensitive. Rohahen was already shifted and naked underneath him, his dark, smooth skin glistening in the moonlight.

Tier kissed him hungrily, his flesh feeling alive everywhere that they touched. Rohahen was strong and soft in all the right places. Tier ground against him, their rapidly growing cocks rubbing together with a tender, desperate pleasure.

Rohahen’s kisses were demanding and needy. He swallowed them up, their tongues tangling together. He gripped the back of Rohahen’s neck, tangling his hands in his hair and taking over the kiss. Rohahen relaxed beneath him, yielding control, just like he had always imagined.

This was what he needed. Rohahen was everything he needed.

He had meant to talk about this, to tell Rohahen everything that he meant to him, his hopes for their future, and the discussion with the Elders. But Rohahen’s mouth was too sweet, his moans too alluring, his cock too hard where it rubbed against Tier’s own. He might have been able to hold back if they were clothed, but naked he didn’t have a chance.

He would just have to let Rohahen know how much he wanted him in other ways.

He deepened the kiss, aligning their bodies together and rejoicing in every place where they touched. He was starved for the taste of his skin, ravenous to touch him everywhere.

Rohahen pushed on his shoulder, and Tier turned to the side to give him space, to let him touch anywhere he wanted to touch.

But Rohahen wasn’t caressing him, he was pushing again. Pushing him away.

“Stop, wait,” Rohahen panted. “We have to…”

Tier kissed him again and Rohahen clung to his shoulders, making the most beautiful whimpers.

Then he pulled back sharply, repelling Tier with more force, though still not enough to actually dislodge him. “We have to talk.” His chest heaved as he sucked in air. “You have to… I mean, I need to tell you…”

Tier shook his head. He didn’t want to stop touching Rohahen, now that he finally had him in his arms. “I already asked the Elders about you. They said it’s OK. I’ll make the whole tribe understand.” Rohahen was his, now.

“You did?”