the bottle and wondered again what he was doing. Should he go after Levi? But what did he have to offer?
Nothing, really, is what he kept coming back to. But if he stayed here, maybe found work and became a productive member of society again, then he wouldn’t be such a bad bet. And this was a small town, so chances were good he’d run into Levi here, sooner rather than later.
Just the idea of seeing Levi again set Lyndon’s pulse to fluttering in a way he’d have been embarrassed about if anyone else had known. He tucked the conditioner under his arm and picked out a shampoo and soap. Some hideously expensive toothpaste and a few other things to groom himself with, along with a six pack of sodas and snacks, and Lyndon was looking at a little over thirty bucks in products he could have got cheaper at a real store.
The clerk snapped his gum and held out his hand. “That’ll be thirty-two twenty-three.”
Lyndon eyed the man, his name tag proclaiming him to be Craig. He looked young, but not much younger than Levi, maybe. But what would Lyndon ask him? And was Levi out here? Lyndon put thirty-three dollars in Craig’s hand and almost yelped in surprise when Craig tickled his palm.
Craig winked at him and gave his crotch a lascivious look. Lyndon was torn between feeling flattered and feeling dirty. He settled on grabbing his bag and bolting from the store. Craig could do whatever with his change.
It wasn’t until he was back in his room, reluctantly washing away the scent of Levi’s cum, that it occurred to Lyndon he might have over-reacted to Craig’s come-on. The clerk had been cute in a pixie-ish sort of way, but Lyndon’s stomach had fairly turned inside out just from Craig’s touch. Weird, considering he’d fucked much less attractive men before, but the truth of his reaction was even stranger, and more than a little scary.
Craig had touched him, and Lyndon’s mind and body had rebelled, even his cat had rebelled. He didn’t want to be touched by anyone other than Levi. It was the truth, and he wasn’t sure what he was going to do about it.
Chapter Five
Levi spent a good hour or more lying on the ground trying to make sense of what had happened. Eventually, he forced himself to get up and debated shifting again, but he didn’t have the energy. Giving in to the urge pushing at him, he followed the cougar shifter’s trail, able to pick out broken branches and crushed leaves, the pawed clumps of dirt where the other cat had high-tailed it off the property. His senses weren’t quite as sharp as when he was in snow leopard form, but they were good enough that Levi found the place where the man’s scent, still somewhat fresh, headed back towards Holton. Levi was tempted to keep following him, but what would be the point? He’d been left behind, after all, and Levi did have his pride.
The trip back to his cabin left Levi a confused mess. Part of him still wanted to chase down the cougar shifter, but another part, the more insistent part, wanted to go home and revel in the memory of what had happened between them even while Levi cursed the man for running away. That was what he’d done, tucked his tail and hauled kitty ass like Levi had turned into a lion or whatever it was that could eat a cougar. And what had he said?
Like Levi even had to think about it. Cougars aren’t known for sharing. Levi snorted as he opened the door to his cabin, forgetting the place was a disaster until he went inside and it wasn’t. “What—”
Oscar came out of the bathroom, wearing long rubber gloves and holding a toilet brush. He looked at Levi and wrinkled his nose. “My book was beyond boring. You smell like semen.” He sniffed and his eyes bugged as he pointed the wet brush at Levi. “And not your semen, not just, anyway! What the heck happened?” He came closer, waving that nasty brush.
Levi stepped back and pressed himself against the door. “Why are you here so late? It has to be after
Eden Winters, Parker Williams