Nova slowly reverted to her human form in the backseat of Cannon’s car before realizing she had left her clothes out in the alley somewhere. Unable to believe her crummy luck, she let out a steady stream of swears.

Cannon glanced back at her through the rearview mirror. “Are you okay?” he asked. He then shook his head. “That was a stupid question. Of course you’re not. What the hell happened back there?”

Seeing a discarded jacket balled up on the floor under the passenger’s seat, Nova tried to sit up and reach for it, but a sharp pain shot through her leg where Julius had bitten her. She flinched and swore again. “That asshole. I’m going to kill him myself!”

“You guys take sibling rivalry to a whole new level. Do I need to take you to a hospital?”

“No,” Nova said. “I’ll heal soon enough. Just take me home.”

However, when Cannon parked the jeep, they were not at Nova’s cabin. Rather, they were at Cannon’s place, on the opposite end of the Windego grounds. “Julius will come looking for you at your place, right?”

Nova figured it was likely that he would look for her at Cannon’s place too, but she refrained from pointing out the obvious, simply not having the energy. Stupid Julius ruining everything.

Cannon hopped out of his jeep and then came around to the back to open the door for Nova. She became painstakingly aware that she was naked again. “Geez—I should have at least made you buy me dinner first before getting to see me naked…twice.”

Cannon smirked, grabbed the jacket Nova had failed to secure, and draped it over her. “If it makes you feel any better,” he said, “I did buy you a beer first.”

Nova gave a half-hearted laugh as Cannon proceeded to pick her up and carried her into his cabin’s front door. When he needed to retrieve his key from his pocket, they made an awkward maneuver in which he managed to balance Nova on his hip like a toddler. Once they made it inside, he gingerly lowered her to her feet. “Can you stand?”

Nova tested putting pressure on her injured leg. “Yeah, a little bit. It’ll be back to normal within a half-hour or so.” She looked around, taking in her surroundings. Cannon’s apartment was neat and tidy, with minimal furnishings and an earthy color schemes. “Not much for decorating, huh?”

Cannon shrugged his shoulders and tossed his keys onto a nearby coffee table. “Well, the initial plan was to find a nice girl for that kind of thing someday.”

“The initial plan?” Nova said. “What’s the plan now then?”

Cannon scratched behind his ear. “I guess that’s still the plan. It just hasn’t happened yet, as you can see. Besides, I’m not in a rush. Frankly, I have no need for decorations. I keep to myself mostly. These walls don’t see many visitors.”

Nova raised an eyebrow. “Oh really? Are you sure I won’t run into some local young women who won’t say otherwise?”

Cannon laughed, and Nova noted that he didn’t answer the question. “You hungry?” he asked, changing the subject.

Nova shook her head. “No. Food is the last thing on my mind right now. But I am still naked under this raggedy old jacket—so if you could help out with that, I’d appreciate it.”

Cannon held back a grin as his eyes involuntarily traveled Nova’s body from head to toe. She caught that look of lust in his eyes again.

“Right,” he said. “I’ll be right back.” He disappeared around a corner, leaving Nova standing in the living room, staring down at her dirty toes on the plush carpet. Dried blood trailed down her leg from where Julius had bitten her, and she reeked of old garbage. It hadn’t been the first fight she’d had with Julius. Even though they were twins, they were still somewhat normal siblings, so fights were bound to break out from time to time. However, she couldn’t recall ever fighting him with so much intensity. Their fights were usually the result of being annoyed with each other, not intentionally trying to hurt each other.

She shuddered, wondering how much longer the fight would have gone on had Cannon not come to the rescue. What kind of condition would she and Julius have left each other in if they hadn’t been interrupted?

Nova didn’t want to think about it.

Her mind began to race again, thinking about what she was possibly going to do about Julius. Thinking about it was giving her a headache though, and she desperately wished for a distraction, even if only for a little while. She had been on an emotional rollercoaster the past two days, and she wasn’t sure how much more she could take.

Cannon returned with an oversized t-shirt, some shorts, and a pair of flipflops that were too big for Nova’s feet. “I hope these will do,” he said, handing them to her. “The bathroom is over there.”

“Thanks,” Nova said, taking the clothes. The clothes were freshly washed, evident by their aroma of fabric softener. Nova felt dirty just holding them. “Do you mind if I take a shower?”

“No. Go ahead. You need it, no offense.”

“Ha ha,” Nova said, heading to the bathroom.

She flipped on the light-switch and closed the door behind her. The floor tiling was cold on her bare feet as she caught a glimpse of herself in the mirror. She stared for a full minute, dumbfounded. “Oh…my…God.”

The door swung open and Cannon appeared. “What? What is it?”

Nova jumped. “Good lord, can’t you knock first?”

“Sorry. I’m a little on-edge. I thought something was wrong.”

“It is,” Nova said, turning back to her reflection. Her complexion was pale, her hair oily and tangled, she still looked like a racoon around the eyes, and there were scratches and bruising along her neck and collarbone, curtesy of her fight with Julius. “I’ve been walking around the past two days looking like a homeless prostitute.”

“Oh,” Cannon said. He ran his hand through his hair. “I thought I left the toilet seat up and you fell in or something.”

Nova looked at him and blinked. She snickered, the hilarity starting low in her belly and then rising upward into a full and hearty laugh straight from the chest. She doubled over, laughing so hard that Cannon couldn’t help joining in. When Nova stood back up, she wiped tears from her eyes, pleased that they were from laughter rather than anger. She couldn’t remember the last time she’d had such a good laugh.

Cannon walked off.

“I’m sorry,” Nova called out to him. “I didn’t mean to laugh at you like that—I just thought it was funny, that’s all.”

“And I was just going to get you some bath towels,” Cannon said once he returned.

“Oh,” Nova said. “Yeah—I’m going to need those. Thanks.”

Cannon chuckled and shook his head. “Well, I’ll just wait out here,” he said, and closed the door again to permit her privacy despite having seen every inch of her body multiple times.

Nova shed the jacket Cannon had given her and headed to the shower, turning on the water and letting it run for a while to warm up. Then she stepped inside. Her leg was already feeling better, and as she lathered her skin with soap, she noticed that the numerous scratches she’d endured were just about gone as well. Thank God for good shifter genes.

She studied her leg carefully. Julius’s teeth marks were still there, but at least the bleeding and pain had stopped. And it no longer hurt to put pressure on the leg. It would be good as new by morning.

The warm water feeling like heaven on her body, Nova gave a pleasurable sigh as she began lathering her hair, washing out all the dirt and oil that had gathered in it. She then scrubbed her face, and let the water wash away the old smudged mascara.

When she had completed her shower, Nova Windego felt like a new woman. This time, when she looked in the mirror, she recognized the person staring back her. With the absence of her makeup, she looked younger—almost like she did in her teens.

She ran her hands through her wet hair, finger-combing away the tangles, and then she dried off with the towel Cannon had provided. When she put on his oversized t-shirt, she breathed in its scent again. When she stepped into his shorts though, they fell to the floor, the waistband too big to grip her small waist. She picked them up from the floor and then exited the bathroom.

Cannon sat on the couch, watching TV. He looked up at her and smiled. “Nova Windego is back in town.”

She smiled, took a bow, and tossed his shorts back to him.

“Uhm…okay. I guess the t-shirt is long enough. Who needs shorts?”

“They’re too big, you goofball,” she said.

“Ohhh,” Cannon said, and then laughed. “That makes sense.”

Nova huffed and rolled her eyes, though good-naturedly. Then her expression suddenly turned serious. “Thank you, Cannon. Thank you for doing this for me.”

He put his shorts on the table next to him, stood up, and stuffed his hands into his pocket. “No problem,” he said, shrugging his shoulders. “You’re the boss’s daughter, after all.”

Nova inched towards him. “By any chance, is that the only reason you’re being nice to me? Tell the truth.”

He laughed. “Well—I also sort of threw your brother across an alley, so I’m not sure I can really claim being nice to you just because you’re the boss’s kid, can I?”

“True.” Nova bit her bottom lip, thoughts of Julius returning.

“Can I ask you something?”

“I’m wearing your t-shirt and you saved me from getting killed by my brother. That gives you a pass to ask me a question.”

Cannon nodded. “I hope that gives me a pass to get an answer as well.” He took a deep breath. “Can you tell me exactly what the issue is between you and your brother? Why is he such an asshole to you? You guys are twins. Seems like you should be best buddies. Or is that only true for same-sex twins or something?”

Nova shook her head. “I’m sorry. I don’t want to talk about it right now. I wouldn’t know where to begin. I don’t even want to think about it.”

“Well—if you ever decide you want to talk about it, I’m here. I can be a nonjudgmental ear…I…what? What’s wrong?”

Nova had moved dangerously close to Cannon, her brow furrowed in concentration. “Please don’t mention anything about my brother right now,” she said in a low voice. “He’s the last person I want on my mind.”

Cannon swallowed, his Adam’s apple bopping in his throat. He nodded. “Yeah. Okay. Sure.”

Nova wrapped her arms around him, intending to just get a hug. But somewhere along the way, she realized she wanted more than a hug.

She wanted a whole lot more…

She pressed her lips to his, tentatively at first. When she did it a second time, she allowed herself to linger, exploring the curve of his mouth. She parted his lips with her tongue, and not before long, he didn’t hesitate in the slightest to return the kiss. He brought his hands to her hips, gripping them firmly as they both deepened into the kiss, drawing it out as if neither of them ever wanted it to end.

Nova was the first to pull back. Breathing heavily, Cannon kept his eyes glued to her, an unmistakable hunger animating his expression.

Nova pulled off the oversized t-shirt she wore. Cannon’s eyes roamed her body again, as if for the first time and Nova relished at the feeling of exposing herself to him, intentionally for once. Slowly, she reached forward, pulling at his belt-buckle before unfastening it. With no objections, Cannon pulled his own shirt over his head and tossed it to the floor. When Nova tossed his belt to the couch, he lifted her off her feet. She wrapped her long legs around his waist, and he carried her to his bedroom, only pausing to flip on the lights.

“Lights on?”

Cannon gave a devilish grin. “Do you have any idea how beautiful you are? I want to see everything.” He lied her down on the bed, his comforter soft and fluffy on her back. Hovering over her, he stepped out of his pants and boxers. She took a moment, appreciating his form and how he stood at attention, wanting her so badly.

She ran her hand over his body as he descended upon her, picking up the kiss from right where they’d left off in the living room. Cannon eventually broke the kiss this time around, groaning as her hands worked the erect length of him.

He nuzzled his face into her neck, kissing and sucking the delicate skin there before working his way downward. Nova arched her back, gripping at the sheets around her with one hand and moaning in pleasure while running her fingers through Cannon’s hair with the other hand. Her desire mounted so high she thought she was already in danger of exploding.

Cannon slowly worked his way back up. Nova gripped his strong shoulders, pulling him down to her. Holding on to him, she rolled over so that she was on top. She then sat back on her knees, enjoying the way he stared up at her and let his hands explore the upper half of her body. Unable to resist any longer, she guided him into her, gasping at the pressure as he filled her from inside.

“Damn,” she breathed.

“This is good,” he added.

“I knew that you were hot, but holy…” She tossed her head back in ecstasy. His paced quickened and he held her hips as she worked into a steady rhythm. Just as she was on the edge of her first orgasm, he swiftly switched positions with her.

“Hey!”

“Didn’t I tell you? Foxes as sly, and I want to watch those breasts as I pound into you.”

Well hell, Cannon was controlling in bed. Perfect.

Nova watched his hungry eyes as he thrusted into her again and again until she felt her body beginning ton convulse. His warm seed began to fill her and for the first time ever she wondered about a pack of her own. Maybe Cannon could finally be the one to make her settle down. Maybe.