Head Hunter (City Shifters the Pack #3) - Layla Nash Page 0,71

buck naked, and winced. “Forgot the condom. Babe, I’m sorry.”

My heart stuttered, since it hadn’t even occurred to me when I pulled him on top of me, but I forced a smile. “It’s fine. I’m on the pill.”

Well, I had been on the pill. I didn’t think it was particularly effective when you forgot to take it every couple of days. But relief washed over Dodge so strongly I didn’t have the heart to tell him the specifics.

But I held out my hands so he could help me sit all the way up. “But that means you owe me a ride to the shower.”

Dodge scooped me up without hesitation, his hands wandering freely, and he whispered in my ear, “I could definitely use a ride in the shower.”

“There isn’t time for that,” I said, laughing. The man was out of control.

“I’ll be quick,” he murmured, and his fingers teased my ass and the backs of my thighs. “Besides, we still gotta get clean.”

By the time we stood under the stream of hot water and steam made the air thick and close around us, I lost whatever resolve I might have had to resist his murmured recitation of all the ways I turned him on. It also helped that I knew, without a doubt, he’d stop short if I told him to, and I didn’t mind being convinced. The odds of getting pregnant from just the two times without a condom were tiny anyway.

So we stayed in the shower until the water ran cold, and soaped each other up a couple of times, though we kept getting distracted by rubbing loofahs all over every inch of our already-sensitive bodies.

Dodge toweled me off and carried me out of the bathroom, apparently so I wouldn’t slip, and set me down in the middle of the room as he searched for clean clothes for me to wear. I definitely should have packed a bag before we left my apartment, though that would have been difficult to explain if Ms. Bridger’s guys saw it.

I finally helped myself to a pair of his clean briefs, pulling them on before putting on my jeans. From the light in his eyes, Dodge found it very distracting. Putting on my bra also took a great deal of his concentration, despite that I was the one doing all the fiddling. He gave me a well-worn shirt, soft from many washings, and stared hungrily as I pulled it on. The thing went practically to my thighs, but he watched me so intensely I figured there was a specific reason he wanted me to wear it. I also borrowed a pair of socks and felt like a complete ragamuffin when we finally opened the door and headed for the stairs.

A wolf-whistle, clapping, and general hooting greeted us from the living room. I wanted to flee back up the stairs as my whole face ignited. Dodge scowled and held me tight to his side, glaring daggers at the half dozen people who lounged about in the front of the house. Dodge muttered, “You can all fuck off,” as he half-carried me past them and into the kitchen.

He pulled stuff out of the fridge for breakfast, shaking his head, and rattled pans around to drown out the occasional giggle from the other room.

I wanted to hide under the table, since I could just imagine how loud we’d been all night long. “Oh my God.”

“It’s fine,” Dodge said, and paused in his breakfast-making to squeeze me close and kiss the top of my head. “They’re assholes but it stays inside the pack. They don’t get to tease me often.”

Stayed inside the pack? “I’m not used to living in such close quarters as an adult. Does every – pack live in a house like this?”

He shook his head, scrambling eggs, ham, and cheese at the stove. “We have a larger building with apartments and more room, a few miles from here. This is Deirdre’s house; Evershaw moved in with her when they hooked up, and he brought a few of us with him for security.”

“Oh.” I looked around, trying to figure out how someone as self-possessed as Deirdre felt about having her entire house invaded by a bunch of rowdy shapeshifters. I was about to ask when something brushed against my ankles, and I jumped.

Cricket had meandered into the kitchen and leaned against my leg, purring until it vibrated into me. I needed something to do other than stare at Dodge as he made me breakfast.