Page 71 of Dreamscape Therapies

"You're so..." He hesitates, searching for the right word. "Beautiful."

He reaches toward me cautiously, his fingers brushing over the skull resting against my now-gaunt face. A bright laugh escapes him as his hand travels lower, gliding over the thick pelt covering my shoulders. He buries both hands in the fur with obvious delight.

"So soft."

I huff through my nose, sending a small puff of warm air into the space between us.

"I was expecting to be intimidated," he says absently, still running his fingers through my fur. "I mean, yeah, you're enormous, but you've got puppy eyes."

I make an offended noise deep in my throat.

Jay immediately bursts out laughing. "Don't take offense. I'm sure plenty of people would find you terrifying if they randomly ran into you in a dark forest, but there's not a single thing about you that scares me, Jagiya."

I growl low in the back of my throat, doing my best to look offended even though I secretly love the fact that he's not afraid of me. The smile spreading across Jay's face tells me he knows exactly how little his teasing is bothering me.

Then that smile turns mischievous.

"I've got an idea."

I tilt my head, waiting for him to explain.

He takes a careful step backward until his back meets a tree, never breaking eye contact with me. "If this is still just a dream, and what we do here doesn't count out there," he says, his voice dropping into something low and suggestive, "I want you to hunt me."

For a moment, I simply stare at him as shock rolls through me.

"What?"

"I want you to chase me."

He laughs as he steps around the tree and bolts into the woods before I can say anything else. His laughter echoes between the pines as he disappears from sight, and I stay frozen in place for exactly five seconds before instinct takes over.

My ears prick as I listen for every footstep and frantic heartbeat, and suddenly the entire forest seems to unfold around me in perfect detail. Every sound is sharper. Every scent is stronger. I can hear the rustling leaves beneath Jay's feet and smell the familiar combination of lavender and warmth drifting through the trees.

There.

I launch forward, the ground rushing beneath my claws as I weave effortlessly between the towering pines.

Jay's laughter rings out somewhere ahead of me.

"Oh, gods! You're so fast!"

I catch sight of him just as he barely manages to dodge one of my clawed hands. He darts around a massive oak, stealing a quick glance over his shoulder with a grin.

Big mistake.

I surge forward, closing the distance between us in seconds. Jay lets out an undignified yelp when I intercept him before he can dodge again, the momentum carrying us both toward another large tree. He lands against the broad trunk with a surprised laugh while my massive shifted form boxes him in without actually pinning him down.

His breathing is quick from the run, his chest rising and falling as he looks up at me, while mine remains steady. Apparently sprinting through the forest at full speed doesn't even raise my heart rate anymore. Jay, on the other hand, can make my heart pound with nothing more than a smile.

I lower my head until his forehead rests against the skull covering my face. He reaches up automatically, burying both hands in the thick fur around my neck as his fingers move gently through it.

"You're so beautiful in this form," he whispers.

My heart skips a beat.

Of course it does.

I can run through a forest like some kind of supernatural predator without breaking a sweat, but one kind word from this man is enough to leave me completely undone.