Her breath came out in a rush of white vapor. She shivered. He brought his hand up to the nape of her neck to ease the tension out of her.
“First, I want you to learn to control your body temperature. When you get cold or hot, you can regulate it to be comfortable.”
Her eyes went wide. Surprise. Shock. Like he was giving her a gift. His fingers tightened on her neck and he brought her closer to the shelter of his body. She had a way of looking at him that made him feel as if he was the only man she ever saw. Or would see. He liked that a lot. He had never considered what the reality of having a lifemate would be like, but he was learning. Emotions got in the way of rational thought.
“I can fly. By myself?”
He nodded. “There are a lot of ways to do it, but the easiest is to take the form of a bird. We use owls at night because they are more common. Owls are found anywhere. As long as you know which species is native to the area, no one will ever know you are even in their neighborhood.”
Her eyes were shining up at him. He couldn’t stop himself. He wrapped her up in one arm and pulled her tight against him, fitting her into his side. With his other hand he tipped up her face and brushed a kiss over her mouth. He couldn’t stop there, not once he got the taste of her. She was so addictive. He didn’t want to go into a village full of humans with her. He wanted to spend a few risings in bed with her. He poured that into his kisses, letting her know without words just how he felt.
Teagan blinked at him when he lifted his head, making him want to groan in frustration. Another thing that happened with emotion was the loss of his great control over his anatomy. She seemed more in control of his body than he was. The moment he pulled her close, or she got that dazed, confused, sexy look on her face, his body went as hard as a rock.
“I love when you look at me like that,” he admitted.
She smiled at him and touched the pad of her finger to his mouth. “I think your lips should be bronzed or something. Really, Andre. You’re smiling, but you have no idea.”
He had an idea because he felt the same way about her mouth—her entire body—but especially her mind. He loved the crazy way her mind worked. He never knew what she was going to say, or think, next. She made him laugh. He’d lived centuries and he hadn’t known he could laugh. She’d given that to him. That gift. So many gifts and she still had no idea what she was to him. What she meant to him.
He would guard her, protect her and the only way he could do that was to make certain she was with him at all times. He couldn’t chance her running around the mountain in the daytime when anything could happen to her and he couldn’t save her. She would come to understand the need once she’d spent time in his world and had come to terms with it. Right now, he knew, she couldn’t help feeling he’d betrayed her.
Kissing him the way she did, even knowing she was upset, that she was afraid and felt he had deceived her, was a miracle in itself. He was a man who had given up on miracles. He’d given up on life. He’d thought to die with honor, and in that moment of absolute despair that he would have to continue, she had come to him with her laughter and kisses and a bright, bright light that shone from her soul.
“So how? How do I go from this . . .” Teagan swept a hand down her body. “To that?” She pointed to the sky.
“I will show you first. And then I will talk you through the steps.”
She nodded, her lower lip caught between her teeth. He could see the flash of fear in her eyes, feel it in her mind, but she wanted to know how to fly. She wasn’t about to allow fear to stop her from learning. Andre felt his heart flutter and the knots in his belly he’d had since he’d risen loosened a little. Teagan faced life head-on. His Teagan.
He brought her hand up to his mouth and pressed a kiss to her knuckle because if he kissed her mouth they wouldn’t be going anywhere other than back inside the cave. Dropping her hand, he stepped back, giving himself room and her space. He didn’t want her to panic when he shifted form.
“The change always starts in your mind, Teagan. Stay in mine and see the image I project. It can be anything from putting clothes on to taking them off. Shifting is more difficult in the beginning because you have to have your image in perfect detail. You will learn how to do that and it will become second nature. You will no longer have to think about it, your body will just do it.”
She nodded, but she took another step back. He didn’t like that, but gave her the space.
“Sivamet, if this is too soon, there is no need to start yet. I can take you to the village. You will enjoy that as well.”
She took a breath. “I want to learn. This is something that would go on the pro side of being like you. I have to have a lot of pros right now, Andre.”
He smiled at her. He couldn’t help it. She was so adorable. So determined. He didn’t think a man could love a woman more than he did Teagan in that moment. He didn’t wait, because she only had so much courage and she’d already faced so much.
Andre deliberately pictured the owl in his mind. He chose the medium to large Ural owl because he was certain Teagan would have seen it numerous times. Grayish feathers, dark eyes, no ear tufts, chest heavily streaked in gray and white. A good four-foot wingspan. Fierce. Free. Beautiful in flight or sitting quite still, waiting for prey. They punched with their talons and protected their territories, nests and owlets with a ferocious and very aggressive single mind.
He gave her the information as well as showing her the feather structure and detail. As he did, he reached for the change, the shift to that amazing creature’s form. He was lightning fast as a rule. He could shift in midair in the blink of an eye. He’d been shifting for centuries and it was second nature to him, but he did this one slow so she could see it happening.