he spent with her. God, he wanted to protect and take care of her so badly he vibrated from the need of it.
She made a little whimpering sound in her sleep and pressed closer. Gunner held her tighter in return. Luna was petite and curvy, and right now her soft, round hips and breasts were plastered against him. He glanced down at her, and his mouth literally watered from the desperate need to taste her skin, her lips—shit, every inch of her sweet little body.
The fact that he had to take this slow was torture. It also soothed him, because he would do anything for his female. If he had to walk around with blue balls for months, fucking years, if that’s what it took for her to accept him, he would.
With another sweet little sound, she bent her knee, her thigh moving up over his hip. Jesus fucking Christ. He could feel the heat of her pussy, could smell her heady scent. She was…fuck, she was turned on right then. He’d bet his incredibly hard, aching dick, she was wet.
He groaned under his breath. What if she never wants you back?
And, of course, now he desperately wanted to know what she was thinking about to make her body react like that. Who was she thinking about? Did she actually want Azel? Was it more than his blood she craved?
Grinding his teeth, he sucked in a sharp breath through his nose. No, no fucking way did she have feelings for that sick fuck. All he could do was hope that her reaction was from being so close to her male. That being pressed up against him this way was having the same effect on her as it was on him.
Luna stilled in his arms.
She was awake.
Her head tilted back, her gaze sliding up to his.
“Hey,” he said, his voice sounding utterly wrecked.
She licked her lips and looked away, at his chest, his shoulders, his arms. “I-I’m sorry…I’m not sure how I…” She tried to move away.
Gunner held her firm. “It’s fine.”
She blinked up at him in that slow way of hers, and Gunner got caught up in the vibrant color of her eyes. They were brighter, darker after feeding, and so pretty he couldn’t look away.
“I don’t usually move in my sleep, I’m not sure how I—”
“I like you close like this. Close to me.”
Her brow scrunched. “You do?”
She was all sleepy and warm, her face soft, lips puffy. Christ, he wanted to kiss her. “Yes.”
“But last night when I offered to—”
“Do you like it when I hold you, love?” He didn’t want her thinking about that, getting it all twisted in her head.
She stilled, and her hand resting against his back moved, gliding over his skin. His demon purred, and he couldn’t stop his own shudder from the pleasure of it.
Another slow blink. “You like it, don’t you, when I touch you like this?”
“Yes,” he said. He wasn’t going to push her for more, he meant that, but he wasn’t going to lie either. She didn’t fully understand how relationships worked. Azel had only taken from her. Vampires were known for their lack of emotions, for being cold and distant. Luna was half vampire, add in being at the mercy of that sick fucking angel, and her confusion made sense. “You’re soft and smooth, and your skin is warm after feeding from me. I like the way you feel pressed up against me.”
“That’s why you wanted to hold me as payment?” she asked, frowning. “Because you like hugs?”
He wanted to smile and cry at the same time at her confusion. “First answer my question. Do you like it when I hold you like this?”
Her eyes kind of glazed over, as if she was assessing her own body’s response. “I…I do, yes.” Surprise flittered over her features. “I feel warm as well, and your body…it’s hard and muscled. You feel…strong. I like…” Her hand slid over his side and around to his stomach, gliding up his chest, resting over the angel brand there. “Yeah, I definitely like the way you feel pressed up against me as well.”
Jesus, she was killing him. He cleared his throat, so damn rough with lust, he was surprised he still had a voice at all. “That’s why I asked to hold you. Hugs make us both feel good.”
Her eyes narrowed.
He knew what she was thinking almost instantly. The whole payment-for-feeding-her thing. She was worried the balance was off. That he was still giving too much.