A Bit of You (22 page)

They had some horses, but the land itself was mostly raw and unblemished.

The six thousand acre spread, nestled between the mountains in Northwest Colorado, was about the only place the whole group the size of Levi’s family could get together. It wasn’t like they could have a beach party. The thick forest, full of Aspens, pines and firs was the perfect place for the snow leopard shifters to run and hunt, although summer was a bit warm. It was better than having the reunion in winter, since snow leopards mated from January through March. Best to avoid any potential early mating cycles when the group all got together.

“I am
so
glad the reunion’s over with,” his brother Oscar muttered. Levi glanced at him and Oscar rolled his blue eyes. “Please. It’s good to see everyone, all sixty-two of them or however many there are now, but geez, it’s also good to see them all leave.”

Levi snorted even though he did agree with Oscar somewhat. “You know you had fun wrestling with the cousins.”

Oscar snorted delicately as he shook his head. “Yes, right. I’m just a wild and crazy wrestling fanatic.” He held up his right hand, wiggling the two fingers he’d caught in a trap years ago. “And these are my secret weapons. Makes my foes scream in horror every time I threaten to poke them.”

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“Cut it out, Oz,” Levi scolded, glaring at his younger brother. Oscar was delicate and fair, blond headed and pale blue eyes, whereas Levi was tall and bulky, his hair a dark auburn mess and his eyes a muted greenish-grey. Oscar was—there was no other way Levi could think to describe it—beautiful. No one even noticed his missing fingertips besides Oscar. Not anymore at least. There’d been a few rough years when Oscar had been younger, though. “You make yourself sound like some kind of monster and you’re not—as long as you get your caffeine,” Levi teased.

Oscar rolled his eyes and huffed as if he didn’t believe a word Levi said, but the pink flush spreading over Oscar’s cheeks told Levi his brother had at least heard him.

“Do you want help cleaning your place up?” Besides the main house, a sprawling ranch-style with five bedrooms, there were five smaller cabins scattered over the property, one for each of the siblings.

Well, Jenny’s was vacant now since she’d got married, although there’d been talk of adding onto hers should she and Mark decide to move back. As usual, though, during the week of the family reunion, they all shared their cabins with whichever family members wanted to bunk with them. Levi had ended up with several of his male cousins camped out on his floor. It had been fun but exhausting—and messy. He might just need a backhoe to clean his place up.

Oscar shook his head. “Nope. I didn’t have very many people staying with me. Some of the younger kids.” He smiled then, looking happier than Levi had seen him in a while. “I bet they didn’t make near the mess the guys made at your cabin.”

“No shit,” Levi grumbled. “I think there’s enough beer cans to start my own recycling centre. And don’t even get me started on the bathroom.” He shuddered, not entirely faking it. Some of his cousins were slobs to the extreme. Next year they could sleep outside.

Oscar raised an eyebrow. Levi could see the offer coming and shook his head. “Nope, my fault for not making the morons clean up after themselves. I’ll handle it after I have a run.”

“Do you want some company?” Oscar asked. “I was going to go read for a while, but if you want, I could come.”

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“Nah, its fine. After all the togetherness this past week, I could probably use a little time alone.” Despite the fact that snow leopards—the non-shifting kind—were solitary creatures, Levi’s family was close, often going out together to hunt or just to run.

As the sun began setting, he felt strangely edgy, unsatisfied and almost as if his skin itched from head to toe. It was a weird sensation and one he’d not encountered before. The Aspens and pines called to him, promising relief in their shade, in the soil beneath his paws.

Levi shook off his melancholy thoughts and grinned at Oscar. “I’m in a weird mood anyway. Would you let everyone know I’m going out?”

“Sure.” Oscar eyed him for a few more seconds then turned and loped up the pebble path to the house. Levi sighed and rubbed the back of his neck, observing the pink and orange colours fading in the sky as the sun began to sink further behind a mountain in the distance.

If he was honest with himself, he thought he might be feeling a little envious of some of his cousins. He’d listened as they talked about boyfriends and girlfriends, even one night stands, but it was the ones who had somebody special, or somebody potentially special, that Levi was jealous of. A petty emotion, one he wasn’t proud of, but he wanted such happiness for himself.

Maybe if I got out more, went to the bigger cities…
Holton was the nearest town, and calling it a town was charitable. There was one blinking light and a diner that looked decrepit but served the best Mexican food ever. A couple of gas stations, the bare makings of a town, really, and not much more. There wasn’t even a school. The few kids in Holton were either bussed or driven to the next town over, Blankenship, where they joined other kids gathered from tiny towns in the area. Still, it wasn’t bad. The people of Holton were generally good-hearted and friendly. It was just lonely for a gay man in this area.

Shaking his head to snap himself out of the impending pity party, Levi crossed over to a pouch tied to a pine. He stripped then stuffed his clothes in the bag before dropping to his knees. As the sun said its final farewell for the day, Levi pressed his palms to the cooling earth and gave himself over to the change. Shifting wasn’t instantaneous or painless, but the freedom he had in his feline form was worth any price.

His groan morphed into a mewl as bones popped and muscles rearranged themselves.

His jaw ached, his entire skull throbbed then the pain vanished like a bubble bursting.

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Euphoria replaced the agony and Levi chuffled, the comforting sound tickling his nose as he exhaled. He arched his back and twitched his tail, then with a playful growl he was off, bounding into the woods.

His eyes easily picked out the trail he wanted to take despite the darkness made even more so by the heavy foliage. Within minutes he was deep in the forest following a promising scent for dinner. The rabbit was fast, but not fast enough, and Levi pounced, making the kill quick and as painless as possible.

With his stomach full and his paws licked clean, he lolled on the ground for a while, soaking in the peace he always found here. If he wasn’t quite as at peace as usual, he was still okay. Levi knew he wasn’t an asshole. He was happy for his cousins, and maybe, if he was lucky, he’d find his own special man. Of course, the man would have to be
really
special—

special enough not to look at Levi and judge him by his appearance as so many others did.

Levi may have been big at six-one and a little over two hundred pounds, and he may have had rough-hewn features. He’d been told a couple of times his height and build along with his looks made him appear more masculine than the average guy. Looks and all the rest were deceptive, though. None of it meant he was some big dumb brute who wanted to shove down smaller men and fuck them until they screamed.

On the contrary, Levi kind of wanted to be the shoved guy, wanted a little tussle and battle before having another man’s strength hold him down. He didn’t want violence, not force or rape or anything like that. It was a muddle in his mind at times, but what he wanted was someone strong enough to overpower him, but gentle enough not to do so if Levi didn’t want to be overpowered. He thought he’d like it, but considering he’d always topped except for one disastrous attempt at bottoming years ago, Levi suspected his fantasy would be better remaining just a fantasy.

Still, even in his leopard form, the thought of being taken was arousing. He imagined a strong body on top of his, rutting into him, shoving him against the ground with each thrust. Levi mewled and clenched the muscles around the pulsing centre beneath his tail.

God, but he was randy tonight! If he didn’t know better, he’d think he was in heat, something that definitely didn’t happen to the males of their species.

Of course, it probably had a lot more to do with his right hand being his best buddy for the past year. Levi chuffled and rolled onto his belly. He contemplated shifting again just to beat www.total-e-bound.com

off and relieve the pressure in his balls, but considering the pain of shifting, he probably wouldn’t feel like beating off then. Instead he let the streams of moonlight filtering through the leafy branches bathe him and lull him into a light doze. It was contrary to his nature, at least as a snow leopard, but the night breeze was cool, and he was relaxed, so Levi went with it, wrapping his tail around his body and tucking his head between his paws.

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About the Author

A native Texan, Bailey spends her days spinning stories around in her head, which has contributed to more than one incident of tripping over her own feet. Evenings are resounds for pounding away at the keyboard, as are the early morning hours. Sleep?

Doesn’t happen much. Writing is too much fun, and there are too many characters bouncing about, tapping on Bailey’s brain, demanding to be let out.

Caffeine and chocolate are permanent fixtures in Bailey’s office and are never far from hand at any given time. Removing either of those necessities from Bailey’s presence can result in what is known as A Very, Very Scary Bailey and is not advised under any circumstances.

Email: [email protected]

Bailey loves to hear from readers. You can find her contact information, website and author biography at
http://www.total-e-bound.com
.

Also by Bailey Bradford

Southwestern Shifters: Rescued

Southwestern Shifters: Relentless

Southwestern Shifters: Reckless

Southern Spirits: A Subtle Breeze

Southern Spirits: When the Dead Speak

Southern Spirits: All of the Voices

Southern Spirits: Wait Until Dawn

Southern Spirits: Aftermath

Southern Spirits What Remains