Laughing, Amelia waved and headed outside, eager to get home and check out those shifter novels. Despite the lecture she gave herself, she was ridiculously excited to read one, and see if anything matched up with her own observations.
Amelia peered at her makeup in the mirror, finally giving a satisfied nod as she put her glasses on. She hadn’t tried anything ambitious, not wanting a repeat of the first time she applied makeup, but she paid attention last night when Cammie did it. Cammie blended the foundation really well, added a touch of powder, also well blended, and she moved the mascara wand up and down in the tube, clearing the excess mascara off. Amelia had felt certain she could emulate it, and she was pleasantly surprised with how well it turned out.
Seth called about a half an hour ago to see if he could stop by for dinner, right as she was finishing up the shifter novel on her laptop. The book Werepanther’s Baby was so good, she hadn’t been able to stop reading it. The problem was, out of all the shifter novels she found online, the one she just had to read was a book about a pregnancy and a baby.
Maybe she was going to start her monthly early, and she was just hormonal. She’d heard some women get a little crazy during that time of the month. She never had, but surely that’s what this was, because this sudden interest in marriage and babies was absolutely crazy.
What was even crazier was so many of the details in the book matching up with her own observations. It made what her uncle said about the Rocky River fighters feel so much more real. Of course, just because she read it in a fictional novel didn’t mean it was true. But she couldn’t help hoping it was. And it wasn’t even because of her research, or the scientist in her needing the answer to the question of what Seth was. It was because there was something about the thought of shifters, something about the thought of Seth shifting forms to an animal, that was incredibly hot. It woke some primal urge and need inside her, something she never imagined she’d feel.
Rolling her eyes at her thoughts, she gave her outfit a once over to make sure there were no wrinkles or stains, and went to the kitchen to finish dinner. Earlier this afternoon she put together a pan of lasagna using her mother’s recipe. She was glad she’d taken the time, since Seth was coming to dinner. Taking it out of the fridge, she popped it in the oven. It was a delicious recipe, and it made her feel a little closer to her mother, like she knew her a small bit. So she made it fairly often, and had it perfected now.
She wished she knew more about her mother, but she died when Amelia was small. She had nothing of her, knew nothing of who her mother had been. All she had was this lone recipe, and as silly as it sounded, she made it when she wanted to feel like she had her in her life.
Looking down, she contemplated changing into something sexier than capris and the clingy pale pink top, and then shook her head, exasperated. She wasn’t yet sure about whether she wanted to go there with Seth, since doing so would risk her heart, and here she was, worried about looking sexy. Enough of this.
The doorbell rang and she took a deep breath as she wiped her suddenly sweaty palms on her pants. She walked to the door and opened it, finding Seth on the porch, a bouquet of wildflowers in his hand. Heart warming as he handed them to her, she lifted them to her nose and inhaled shakily, her pulse racing at the sight of his smile.
“Oh Seth, they’re beautiful,” she said, standing
back so he could come in.
“They’re just some flowers I picked on the side of the road, nothing special,” he replied as he shut the door, never taking his eyes off her. “I’m glad you like them.”
“They’re special to me. I love them,” she said, impulsively reaching up and kissing him on the cheek in gratitude. She’d never received flowers before.
Eyes instantly filled with heat, he hooked an arm around her waist before she could pull away, and drew her in closer. “You look amazing,” he said, voice deepening, eyes dropping to her lips.
She reflexively wet them, watching as his gaze followed the path her tongue took. “Thank you,” she whispered breathlessly. “You don’t look so bad yourself.”
What a colossal understatement. He was nothing short of mouthwatering. His chocolate brown hair was gleaming in the light, and he’d trimmed his beard enough that it looked more like designer stubble. His chiseled lips stood out even more without a full beard around them, and she watched as he swiped his tongue across his full lower lip, leaving it glistening. She longed to feel his mouth against hers, and even as she had the thought, he slowly lowered his head, clearly giving her time to pull away. As if. She needed to kiss him like she needed her next breath.
The breath left her lungs in a whoosh as his lips touched hers, brushing back and forth. Her body already felt like it was lighting up from the soft caress, and her eyes slid closed as she wrapped her arms around his neck, flowers still clutched in her hand. Applying more pressure, he parted his lips, and she did the same, pressing her body against his as he gave her open-mouthed kisses.
Her free hand delved into his hair at the same time his hands gripped her hips, and she gasped as he pulled her in tighter, his erection pushing into her stomach. She wasn’t a very accomplished kisser, or much else when it came with sex, but despite her lack of experience, a heady thrill shot through her body as he responded to her.
He passed his tongue across her lips, and she felt the tingles from that touch down to her toes as she parted her lips wider, granting him access. When his tongue swept inside, she moaned, blood boiling in her veins. Sparing one last thought for her inexperience, feeling a flash of worry and praying she didn’t do something like slobber on him, she shut her thoughts down and let herself get lost in his kiss.
Feeling bold, she rubbed her tongue against his, basking in his flavor. Mint, and a taste that was all his own, he was delicious, and she reveled in the fact that she now knew what he tasted like. Groaning, he tightened his grip on her hips, his kiss becoming wilder and more out of control. Their tongues tangled together, and one of his hands left her hip, trailing up her side, stopping just below her breast. Blood inflamed, she arched her back, rubbing her body against his in encouragement.
She thought she was ready for it, thought she was prepared to feel him touch her. But then the unthinkable happened. He brushed his thumb across the underside of her breast, and despite expecting his touch, she jerked in surprise, mouth automatically closing.
Her mouth closed while his tongue was still inside her mouth.
Body jerking at the feel of her teeth biting his tongue, Seth pulled away with a curse. Turning beet red with mortification, she dropped the flowers, and her hands hovered in the air like they wanted to touch him, fluttering madly. This was so much worse than slobbering on him.
“Oh God, Seth, I am so sorry! I didn’t mean—it was an accident—bloody hell, I’m a wee idgit. I’m really so sorry—”
“Hey, Amelia, slow down, honey,” he said, stepping close while avoiding the flowers, and taking her hands. “Stop apologizing. You didn’t hurt me. Actually, your teeth barely grazed me. It just took me by surprise, is all. Honest, it’s totally fine.”
Searching his eyes while her cheeks burned, she found nothing but honesty. Her eyes slid closed, and she pulled her hands away from his to cover up her face. “I’m so mortified. I don’t have all that much experience with kissing, but I imagine not even many kissing virgins bite their partner’s tongue.”
“You don’t have much experience, really? You could have fooled me. That kiss was absolutely amazing,” he said, his voice ringing with sincerity.
Peeking out from between her fingers, she said tentatively, “Seriously? I thought my inexperience would be glaringly obvious.”
He reached up and gently tugged her hands away. “It really wasn’t. And it’s probably a good thing it happened, because that kiss was quickly leading to more, and we’re not ready to go there yet. So, really, good job with cooling us off.”
His lopsided grin was endearing and full of warmth, and she found herself smiling in return. “There were probably better ways of slowing us down, but I take your point.” With a gusty exhale, she looked down, taking in her scattered flowers. “I better get these into water.”