My heart hurts when I think about how wrong everything could have gone. I mean, they were alone in the woods. They were alone in the woods and we all could have just died. I hate myself for fainting when my kids changed into bears. Hate it. I hate knowing that I’m the reason my kids were able to run free and loose.
If I had just kept it together for a little while, then everything would have been okay.
But I couldn’t.
It makes me feel weak and crappy to know just how close to danger my kids really were. More than that, I feel truly lucky that Heath was there to rescue them.
He saved them when I couldn’t. I’ll always owe him for that. I turn around, fully ready to go check on the boys, when he stirs.
“Hey,” I hear his voice behind me. It’s still thick with sleepiness, and I turn around to look at him. He’s standing right behind me. I have no idea how he moved so swiftly or so silently. It must be a shifter thing.
He’s wearing pajama pants and nothing else. Not that I’d want him to be wearing anything but this.
If he were my boyfriend, I’d never want him in anything else but this. I have no idea how his girlfriend managed to leave him. She’s crazy, or an idiot. Probably both. He’s wonderfully handsome and sweet as pie.
“Hey.”
“How’d you sleep?” He asks. He’s keeping his distance, I notice, and I kind of respect that. Maybe he doesn’t want me to feel pressured or cornered. Perhaps he doesn’t want me to feel like I’m being preyed upon.
Either way, I take it upon myself to take the first step forward.
He looks at me, carefully keeping his eyes on mine. I know why. I’m aroused at the sight of him. It feels naughty, actually. Bad. My nipples are hard, I know, and they’re straining at the t-shirt he gave me to sleep in. I’m not wearing a bra.
There’s literally nothing between the two of us except this thin strip of cotton. If I reach for him and pull him close, if I touch him, then I’ll be able to rub my breasts against him. Suddenly, that’s actually what I want. I want to feel him against me. I want to purr like a kitten.
Oh, I want him.
“I slept fine,” I finally whisper.
Heath growls. He actually fucking growls at me, and now it’s his turn to step closer. My heart races, and I feel like I’m in the middle of a game of sexual chess. Who’s going to move next? What will happen when they make their move?
More importantly, am I a pawn or a queen?
He reaches for me, showing me that he’s not afraid to go after what he wants, and he grabs my waist. I look up at him and smile. I’m excited and interested in what he’s doing. I want him to pull me closer so I can rub up against him.
I don’t have to wait long. Heath grabs me by the hair and tugs my head back. Then he kisses me on the neck and down to my shoulder, where he bites me, nipping at my skin.
I groan, letting out a sound I didn’t even know I could make.
“Oh, do you like this?” He murmurs, chuckling against me. He looks up and I nod fervently.
“Yes. Yes, I like it.” I spit the words out quickly, as though if I don’t get them out fast enough he’s going to stop, but he only smiles.
“Good,” he says, and then he pulls away.
He presses his lips to mine and kisses me deeply. I’m even more aroused by his kiss than I thought I could be.
Is it because we stayed up talking so late?
Is there more to it than that?
“Theresa,” he murmurs against my mouth.
“Heath.”
“I want you,” he growls, and oh, I want him so much, too. I want all of him. It’s a terrible thing, really, because we’re strangers. In my books, the characters get together so quickly. They fall in love fast and hard and wonderfully, but this?
This isn’t a book.