When I raise my head again, I see Beau has zeroed in on them, too. And I hear his breath coming heavy and rough.
I picture his dark head bent to my breasts, gently sucking them, one then the other. My hands tangling in his hair, my nose full of his scent.
Now the apex of my thighs starts to tingle as well.
Well, this is awkward.
“—refreshed,” he says.
“Huh?”
“You look refreshed from your shower.”
“Oh.” I’m stupidly disappointed.
I fuss with my bangs. My wet hair is clinging to my face. “I must look a sight.”
He shakes his head. “Not at all. You a redhead?”
“Kinda. More black than red, I guess.” I force my fidgeting hands down by my sides.
“Bare feet…so tiny,” he says wonderingly. “They shouldn’t be bare on the parking lot though. You might step on something sharp. Broken glass or worse.”
“They’re stronger than they look.” I try to sound offhand, but his scrutiny is making me a little panicky. It’s not that I don’t like it. I’m just not… used to it.
“Thanks for the shower.”
He breaks into a grin as if he’s relieved by the change of topic, too. “You’re very welcome.” He gestures to the table. “Let’s eat now.”
Belatedly, I notice that the table is stacked with a ton of food. Sausages, bacon, eggs, toast. Beau was cooking up a storm while I was getting clean.
I slide into my seat and stare at my heaped plate. “This…this is all for me?”
He gives a deep, throaty laugh. It’s a nice sound, and I think how I’d like to hear it some more. “Girl, I can hear your stomach rumbling from here. Dig in.”
So, I do. Things like this were rare treats on the territory. Most of the time, me and the other non-shifting species were lucky if we got fresh meat at all.
I feel like I’m eating like a beast, but I can’t help myself. I’m so damn ravenous. After that awful humiliation and rejection, I lost my appetite and didn’t eat for days. But looks like it’s returned with a vengeance. I don’t look up until I’m done, and then it’s with a flood of embarrassment.
Beau has cleared his own plate and he’s watching me with kind eyes.
“What happened, girlie?” he says.
I take a deep, in-out breath.
“My pack… I had to leave… my mom. She’s not—” I break off with a sob, bury my face in my hands as the last few days hurtle back to me.
“Hush, everything’s going to be okay now.” He takes one of my hands and draws it away from my face. Electricity fizzes and jolts. It’s too much—him touching me—and I almost tear my hand away.
“Easy,” he murmurs. Holding it in his own, huge one, he rubs his thumb back and forth across my palm. I close my eyes, focus on breathing, and the jolts soften into tingles. His touch is doing me good. Underneath all the trembles, it’s soothing.
“You lived in your pack, away from the human world, didn’t you?”
I nod. Swallow hard. “Always. But I… I had to leave…” My voice is tight, constricted with the sobs that are threatening to break out. I fight to get it back under control. “I was in danger.”
A low, rumbling growl rolls up from his chest. “What kind of danger?”
I clench my jaw. There’s no way I can tell him what really happened. How a guy, not even one tenth as attractive as him rejected me publicly.