14. Davien

Chapter 14

Davien

"Guess what today is?"

I opened my eyes to find Errol leaning over me and grinning.

"Too early to be awake on a weekend day?"

He nudged me. "No silly. It's fruit day."

Yippee! My unicorn was excited.

Now that Grams was able to stay by herself overnight, Errol and I spent more evenings together. I'd been planning on taking him to the orchard for a while, and today was the day.

About time . My beast wasn't a happy camper, because while we had shifted during that time, it had been rushed, after work or when we grabbed an hour at lunch. But with the drive there and back to the office, he couldn't graze and wander the rows of trees. Instead, it was a snatch-and-grab and back into my skin.

"Great. Can I go back to sleep or are we getting up early this morning?"

Errol answered by yanking the covers off and tapping his watch. "The early bird gets the worm."

I made a face, hoping there were no worms in the fruit because my beast would freak.

"I'm guessing there's no breakfast in bed today."

"Toast and coffee. One's made, the other isn't," Errol shouted over his shoulder as he left the room.

I trudged into the bathroom, inwardly excited Errol would meet my unicorn but wishing I could have slept in. Work had been a beast this week.

There is no other beast in your life but me!

You're right.

As I drove through the city streets, Errol was bouncing in his seat beside me . "I'm so excited to be in a place where you're so happy, plus we get to pick yummy fruit and make pies later."

Hmm, I suspected once he'd caught a glimpse of my unicorn, the fruit picking, eating, and baking might be forgotten.

"This is lovely." He had the door open before I'd stopped the car, and he twirled around, arms outstretched. My unicorn was pleased he loved the place because it was special for us.

Maybe I could go outside the orchard with both you and Errol watching me , he suggested.

My shifter friends said I was a fuddy daddy not allowing my unicorn to frolic in nature because I was scared some wild animal would attack him. They might be right, but it was our life, my life, not theirs.

Taking Errol's hand, we strolled through the rows of trees to the more secluded area where my beast fed.

Errol did a 360. "This area is different from the rest of the orchard. There are many varieties of fruit here, rather than a row of one and then another." He leaned over and sniffed a flower. "And there are flowers here."

He picked up on that. Good.

"That's part of what I want to show you."

I pulled my shirt off my head, but my mate ignored me and grabbed a fistful of cherries. Ruby-red juice ran over his chin as he sucked the flesh and spat out the seeds. With his stained mouth, he looked as I did after my unicorn had eaten.

"These are delicious." He held out fruit in his palm, but I was anxious to get on with the reveal.

"Why have you taken your shirt off?" He shaded his eyes. "Did you bring sunscreen?"

"Nah." I wriggled out of my jeans.

Errol closed one eye. "Here? Someone might see." He unzipped his pants.

"No. Not sex."

"Then what? Sunbathing? We could have done that in your garden."

"I'm going to show you a part of myself you've never seen."

He tapped his lips. "Pretty sure I've licked, touched, grazed, fondled, been in, or been penetrated by all of you."

How wrong he was.

"Sit." If he stood, he might keel over. This wasn't as if I was showing him my cock for the first time. His brain would refuse to believe my beast was real. It might be easier for other mammal shifters because they had wild counterparts. Unicorns were… unique.

I am!

Tossing my clothes on the grass, I stood before my mate.

"I'm not like you."

He eyed my cock. "Mmmm, you're bigger, and I love every inch of you.'

"Hold that thought."

Flashes of silver and pink slithered over my skin, and the horn protruded from my head. Errol sat unmoving, not even blinking, his nails embedded in the dirt. A tail sprouted from my rear end, and my beast took over so I was no longer in human form.

I wasn't sure what I'd expected from Errol but definitely not him frozen. But my beast wasn't concerned, insisting on grabbing the last remaining cherries from the trees.

We had to shift back because Errol might need medical attention, but as I tried to wrench my human self away from my beast, my mate said in a monotone, "Grams was right."

He rubbed his tattoo and studied it. "He's identical." Pushing himself off the grass, he added, "The universe knew from the time we were born that we were meant for each other."

That had my beast pause, and he stopped eating and nudged our mate.

"And Grams played a part." He stood beside us and raised a hand. "May I stroke you?"

My beast bobbed his head.

"All my life, I fantasized about meeting a unicorn, knowing they weren't real, but you just made my dream come true."

Can we go outside the fence? my unicorn begged. There are some berries out there I can scent .

I gulped, almost taking back my skin. But the area outside the orchard fence wasn't a forbidding forest with yelps and howls and large beasts' shadows looming under the trees. I could do this maybe.

I can do it , my beast replied. This is on me .

New beginnings for both of us, huh? I hoped I hadn't made a terrible mistake as my beast made a flying leap over the fence, and Errol unlatched the gate and followed us.

Yum. The best berries I've ever tasted .

Errol stood beside us, not speaking, his shoulder brushing over my unicorn's flank. When my beast was done, we returned to the orchard and I took my skin.

My mate hugged me as I struggled with my briefs. "What are you?"

We sat on the grass, and I explained shifter history.

"I'm so excited that out of all the people on earth, I get to be one of the few who has met a unicorn."

"One of the very few," I assured him. "While today was special because you met my beast, we passed another milestone." I explained to him all about mates and shifters. It was a lot to take in. He asked some questions, but mostly listened. I'd been so worried about this conversation and it ended up working out so beautifully.

"Ready to go?" The bugs were starting to get annoying.

"No, we can't go back empty-handed." Errol grabbed the baskets he'd brought from the car.

We filled them, in between kisses and fondling, and as we put everything in the car, Errol asked, "Do we tell Grams?"

I suspected she had an inkling, but while she didn't have heart disease, she was elderly and I didn't want to shock her.

"Let's wait and celebrate you knowing who I have inside me."

While shifters didn't reveal their beasts to humans, unless they were mates or they stumbled upon one another accidentally, I didn't think Grams would announce to the world she had a shifter grandson-in-law. Unless she mixed up her meds again.

Humans wouldn't believe Grams and hopefully any shifters who witnessed her big announcement would look kindly on her, as she was elderly.

"Celebrate how? You're dressed." He lunged for my crotch.

"At my place."

"Fine," he huffed, reminding me once again of my unicorn.

On the drive home, Errol wasn't content to wait for our celebration. He leaned over, unzipped my pants and brought out my cock.

"Someone will see us," I hissed, as we were on the outskirts of the city.

"So? What are they going to do?" He tugged my dick, and the car swerved as I almost lost control.

Errol let go of my length. "Your super-speedy reflexes aren't because you play video games. I've never seen you play or juggle."

I explained it was a shifter ability, just as catching minor ailments seemed to be.

"Wow! Will I develop that skill, being a shifter's mate?"

"Sorry, they're not transferable."

"Damn." His hand made its way back to my length. "Oh no, the fruit!"

A quick check in the rear vision mirror told me the baskets were secure.

"We can't have sex ‘cause we have to take these to Grams."

Double damn! "But what if we made jam instead of giving her the fruit for pies. Or could make the pies too and present both to her." Choose the one where we didn't have to spend hours in Grams's kitchen.

"We could. But I did tell her we were going to the orchard you'd been wanting to show me since forever."

Ahhh, she understood. I was sure she did.

"Something tells me she'll be more than happy with jam and pies." The fruit wouldn't spoil between now and tomorrow.

"Now where were we?" Errol shoved a hand in his pants, and when he brought it out, it glistened with slick. He slathered it on my cock before stroking and pumping it.

"Maybe we can pull over somewhere." I wasn't going to make it all the way home.