He knew how close she was to snapping.

  Each of his movements was slow and calculated as if he was trying to do everything he could not to spook her.

  Smart man.

  That seemed to get her out of the blurry cloud of need caused by the encompassing sense of anticipation for the hunt.

  She raised her hand and grabbed Liam’s, shaking it with—maybe a tiny bit too much—enthusiasm.

  “Nice to meet you, Liam,” She said, her hand still in his, not wanting to break the contact that was making warmth spread through her arm and through her body.

  When she finally let him go, she still could feel the warmth of his fingers wrapped around her hand like a phantom presence.

  “Nice to meet you too. I hope you don’t mind, I might stick to you like gum to the sole of a sneaker. I wasn’t aware I needed to come with a plus one,” He said in a conspiratory tone.

  It felt like the whole point of that sentence was to make her smile, because he wasn’t phased at to realize that everyone present had heard when he uttered those words.

  Mickaela caught the smirk on her sister’s face before it disappeared.

  Yeah, everyone had heard that, and if Mickaela didn’t know any better, she would have bet her little sister was trying to play matchmaker.

  They were the only two single people of the whole party after all.

  It was such a bad idea. If only her sister knew what she really needed with a man, she wouldn’t even think to try playing matchmaker.

  How would it work anyway? She’d ask them if they liked to be chased or if they agreed not to be on top? Yeah, it sounded fucked up and a bit too blunt.

  A bit too blunt for Mickaela for sure, certainly not for Astrid though.

  Mickaela was so glad she had never said anything to her sister about her peculiar tastes. She could imagine her sister asking every male she met all those personal questions without a second thought.

  “I would say I would have loved to know too, but I actually knew and still didn’t realize until I got here,“ Mickaela said under her breath.

  Liam gave her a sympathetic smile.

  “Maybe it’ll suck a bit less with you here,” she said wistfully.

  “Or maybe we could leave them here and run away,” Liam answered her with a devious smile.

  Run away.

  Oh, God.

  Calm down Mickaela, he didn’t say he would let you chase him. He didn’t. He’s just being nice and you can’t just pounce on him because he used words that trigger your instincts.

  Breath in. Breath out.

  Mickaela repeated the breathing technique twice more before answering.

  “And miss all the chocolate?”

  “Chocolate can’t be that important,“ Liam told her.

  “Blasphemy,” Mickaela said vehemently and everyone around them turned in her direction.

  “Sorry not sorry,” she said to no one in particular, “he said chocolate isn’t important!”

  Mickaela heard Rose and Astrid gasp.

  “He definitely needs punishment,” Rose said while looking at her nails, “do we need ropes? I know where to find some.”

  Cupid answered her with a downright wicked smile and Mickaela wondered if there wasn’t more to what Rose had just said.

  “I’d shift out of those,” Liam said calmly before taking a sip from his glass.

  When did he get a glass? Was it wine? And why didn’t Mickaela have one too already?

  Then it registered.

  Shift.

  She turned her eyes in Liam’s direction.

  “What are you?”

  She knew she was out of line and she sounded more like Astrid than herself but she didn’t care. He was too close and his smell hadn’t stopped making her poised to run.

  She needed to know if she was going crazy or if it was just a matter of pheromones.

  “Noa didn’t tell you? I thought since most of you are magical he would.”

  Liam shrugged and looked in Noa’s direction. The man was engrossed by Astrid and wasn’t paying much attention to his friend.

  “Oh well, I guess he had something or someone else on his mind and didn’t think to tell anyone,” he said casually. His voice was like a caress on Mickaela’s skin.

  Why on earth did he have to have such a deep voice?

  “What do we have here anyway?”

  His question snapped Mickaela out of the trance his voice had lured her in.

  “Well, I know for sure we have a Leprechaun. I’d bet he’s the real deal,” he said pointing at Cupid. “Athanaël comes from a dark place but I don’t know where, his girlfriend is a witch for sure. She carries that spicy scent so specific to them. I don’t think those two have magic of any kind,” he shook his head in Carla and Rose’s direction, “and you three, I can’t know for sure, but you all have that dangerous aura around you, even though Astrid’s is lighter.”

  He was good. How could he feel that Astrid hadn’t fully embraced her shifter’s side was beyond Mickaela’s comprehension but he was so close to the truth for everyone.

  Mickaela reduced the distance between them and held her breath.

  Yeah, she had trouble keeping her thoughts together when she was close to him, she wasn’t going to tempt Fate.

  “Athanaël is a succubus demon, Isis a witch, you’re right, Carla and Rose are human, and Cupid, well, he’s Cupid, part-time prick part-time love idol.”

  She had purposefully left out what Sebastian, Astrid, and she were and was expecting him to notice.

  “I guess you asked first. Want to know?” He asked in her ear.

  He was way too close. WAY too close. Goosebumps spread on her skin and her body grew taut. Even her damn nipples stood to attention.

  What magic did he wield over her?

  Seeing as he was expecting an answer and how she couldn’t open her mouth or else she would lick the side of his throat, she nodded.

  “Don’t laugh, Skadi, I’m the Easter bunny.” His smile and his amusement at how he had explained what he was could be heard in his voice, “Just a really big Easter bunny.”

  He took a step back and winked at her.

  “What? You’re a bunny shifter?” Mickaela asked dumbfounded.

  He shrugged unapologetically.

  “A six-feet-two bunny but a bunny shifter still.”

  What the hell? Was he really as tall when he was shifted?

  Mickaela couldn’t believe what he had just told her.

  Chapter 5

  When the hero shouldn’t want to be hunted

  Liam's POV

  Liam didn’t know why he had called her Skadi—not that she actually seemed to have noticed anyway. Scratch that. He knew exactly why he had called her that.

  At first sight, she looked like the sweet school teacher that she was in her flowery dress, with her long blonde hair and plump lips, then when you least expected it, you got ensnared in her deep green eyes and you could read in them her will, her power and her strength.

  Added to that the feeling that she was a predator through and through, Liam’s brain had conjured the Norse goddess of hunting.

  “How can a bunny be six feet two?” She whispered under her breath.

  Liam wasn’t sure that she had wanted to let those words slip through her lips but he was glad nonetheless. At least he could explain. Not that it would prevent her from actually laughing.

  “Every generation, in each bunny shifter’s family, one gets to keep their size in their animal form. It’s probably where the Easter bunny legend comes from. One of my ancestors might have liked to hide things in gardens and it all started like this. Not that I hide chocolate in gardens, no one has done that in a very long time.”

  Mickaela laughed. One of those deep laughs you can’t control and that was music to Liam’s ears.

  “Astrid is going to be very sad that she didn’t ask you to hide the eggs and chocolate…” Mickaela started to say before stopping herself, her gaze darkening and her whole body growing still.

  He could clearly see the hunger on her face. He had no doubt she was the goddess of hunting right in this instant, and maybe, just maybe, he wouldn’t mind being what she pursued.

  What a fucked up thought! He was here imagining her chasing after him, forcing him to the ground, and riding him.

  For all he knew, maybe it had been the chocolate that had triggered her hunger. Not that he believed that was the case, but he couldn’t be sure.

  “So what are you?” He asked, trying to diffuse the situation and bring her back to a normal state. Not one where she was seconds from running.

  “Puma,” She said, still half dazed.

  Oh, yeah, that explained things.

  Bunnies were a standard meal for pumas. Well, more like hares, but the result was all the same. Genetically she was wired to eat him.

  And stupidly, he really wanted to be eaten.

  Chapter 6

  When it’s hunting time

  Mickaela's POV

  “Shouldn’t we search for the eggs now?”

  Mickaela was saved by her sister when she asked to start the hunt. It finally snapped her completely out of her fantasies. She needed a hunt, and she would get one. Not totally the one she dreamed of, but it would do and maybe it would shut down all those thoughts swirling in her mind about getting Liam naked and underneath her.

  Keep hoping it’ll work, Mickaela, you’re doomed.

  Oh, yeah, she had a feeling she was truly and utterly doomed. Liam had no right to smell so good.

  Even when he left her to get another drink, it felt as if he was still here with her. His scent was still mingling with her own and driving her crazy.

  She was going to go nuts if she didn’t manage to corner him before the end of the day. Yes, that was what she needed, a quick hookup to get him out of her system. Then she would feel better and her body would stop begging her for another kind of hunt.

  Mickaela stored the idea at the back of her mind as she walked to where her sister was making huge waves with her arms explaining where there would be eggs and chocolate, and where there wouldn’t be at all.

  Liam was following her and from the corner of her eye, she could see that he wasn’t paying one bit of attention to Astrid’s explanations. No, his gaze was locked solely on her.

  She felt herself blush.

  Why did she blush? Hadn’t she entertained the idea of having sex with him less than a minute ago?

  If she was starting to blush just because some handsome man was looking at her, there was no doubt anymore. She needed to get laid. Her silicone battery-operated boyfriends weren’t cutting it anymore.

  “Everyone, have fun and don’t forget, no one, I repeat, no one gets between Mickaela and her prey, even if the prey is made of chocolate,” Astrid said as loud as she could without yelling.

  It made most of the people in attendance chuckle and her brother laugh out loud. Let them believe Astrid was joking. Sebastian knew and that was why he laughed so loud.

  Mickaela heard him whisper to Carla “No for real, don’t, you could get hurt”.

  It was a wise comment. Mickaela was ready for battle.

  Noa whistled and everyone scattered in search of the goods. Mickaela didn’t care for what her sister had hidden in the vicinity. She knew Astrid, and the best chocolates were at the end of the garden, maybe even in the forest. She ran.

  She ran as far as she could from the house and from the dangerous bunny shifter who was part of every single thought she had since she had gotten a whiff of his scent.

  It worked well for a time.

  But not for long.

  She had only found three eggs—one of them being Astrid’s work—and a piece of chocolate shaped like a bunny—how Fate was laughing at her right in this instant—before she felt a breeze scented just like Liam.

  Had he run so fast that she hadn’t seen him? It shouldn’t be possible.

  She was a puma shifter, and there was no reason for a bunny shifter to go faster than her.She had never heard of a bunny going faster than a puma in the wild, so it couldn’t be possible, right?

  A six-feet-two bunny wasn’t possible in the wild though …

  And if she believed Liam, that was what he was. So maybe, just maybe, he could be faster than she was.

  The exhilaration that thought triggered in her heart was downright sinful.

  If he was faster, she could hunt him and it wouldn’t be too easy. She would have to use her brain as much as her speed.

  It rendered her even giddier than she was this morning with the initial thoughts of the egg hunt.

  Easter hunt this year was full of surprises.

  Would he notice if she chased him?

  Chapter 7

  When the hero cheats a bit

  Liam's POV

  Liam hadn’t been able to help it. He had to tease her.

  Even though he knew he was playing with fire, he needed to know how she would react if he offered her a hunt.

  It was easy though. His big size—which prevented him from shifting anywhere he wanted—had come with perks. He could outrun almost anyone in either of his forms.

  Even a puma.

  Not that he would say that to anyone though. It was a highly well-kept secret in the bunny shifter community.

  Why? He didn’t know. He just knew it was quite useful, especially when he was late for work.

  It had been useful for something else. When he met Noa for the first time, he was boxing underground in London. It hadn’t been his official job, but it had been the way he earned the most money at that time. And that speed of his had been the reason why no one could beat him. It had been the reason why the Leprechaun hadn’t stood a chance on that fateful night that had sealed their friendship.

  Since then, Noa had wanted a rematch—twice—and each time he had gotten the Leprechaun on the ground in under three minutes.

  After the second time, Noa stopped saying it was pure luck and conceded that he had been beaten by a bunny. Thrice.

  He was still sore about those losses and would never speak of boxing again.

  But that wasn’t his focus today.

  Today’s focus was the fact that he had purposefully passed Mickaela at full speed, almost slowing down when he had been less than a foot from her.

  There were high chances that she had smelled him on his way, and he really counted on that.

  Call him a masochist, but he really wanted her to finally embrace her instinct and chase him.

  He stopped behind a tree almost half a mile away from where he had passed her, he strained to hear her coming.

  Nothing.

  Liam waited a bit more and then he heard it, or more like felt it. The slight tremor resonating on the ground was the only proof that someone was running in his direction.

  Let the show begin!

  He waited a few extra seconds and when he felt like she wasn’t too far anymore he started to run again. He didn’t run at his top speed, just fast enough to give Mickaela the impression that she could catch him.

  He could hear the trees rustle at his back, the pounding of her feet on the grass, and could almost make out the beats of her heart as she ran after him.

  Liam slowed, looked over his shoulder, and caught her eyes before running faster again.

  They weren’t in Astrid’s garden anymore, hadn’t been for a few minutes already when he slowed down again, faking exhaustion. He paused and ran again, slower this time.

  When he saw Mickaela enter the clearing he stopped in, he ran faster; but not fast enough though.

  He had tried to make it last, but had obviously miscalculated how fast Mickaela was, and he found himself face down in a beat, with Mickaela on top of him.

  He felt himself grow hard.

  Shit, shit shit.

  Hunting was usually just a game for most predators in their human form. He needed to calm down or he was going to make it weird.

  Oh, he enjoyed a little game of cat and mouse, or well, of puma and bunny, but it couldn’t be more.

  It was the first time they met and he wasn’t about to make her feel uncomfortable.

  He needed to think about ugly and gross things. His grandma’s bunion, his nephew’s gear after soccer, pineapple on pizza …

  Yeah, that did it.

  It was a relief that his body was back to normal when Mickaela forced him to turn under her.

  She sat on his abs and looked at him hungrily as she grabbed his shirt.

  Well, if she kept looking at him like this, he could think about any and all the gross things he wanted, it wouldn’t last long.

  He tracked a bead of sweat from her temple to the side of her jaw, then to the side of her throat, before it glided on her front and slid between her breasts.

  He had never wished to be sweat, but right in this instant, he felt envious of a single drop of salted water.

  He wanted his tongue to travel her body the same way.

  Ugly thoughts.

  He needed ugly thoughts.

  Mickaela’s breath was ragged, making her breasts push against the neckline of her dress.

  Why was she so enticing?

  Liam shouldn’t be looking at her this way, he shouldn’t. He raised his eyes to hers and kept them there after that thought crossed his mind.

  By the time Mickaela’s breath was back to normal—and his too if he was honest with himself, he hadn’t realized how fast he needed to run if he wanted to keep this hunt running—she seemed to realize where she was, and what she had done.

  She coughed and raised to her feet, holding a hand for him to grab.

  “Sorry, don’t know what came over me,” She said while her face turned to a shade as red as tomatoes.

  Oh, he knew exactly what had come over her but he wouldn’t be an ass by criticizing it in front of everyone. Instead, he chose to ease her mind and take it easy on her.

  “That was fun. Maybe not the landing,” he chuckled as he finally grabbed her hand and she pulled him to his feet.

 

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