done that. I just…” It was a common pack gesture of affection. Another act she’d watched, but never engaged in. Like all her important firsts, she’d wanted it to be with him. “I move too fast.”
His low chuckle wound through her. “Too fast? I don’t think so. That’s the first time you’ve cuddled with me outside of sex and I want more. Best way to wake up ever.”
Shock slammed through her. He’d been waiting for her to touch him outside of sex? She had never considered he might want more from her in that way. Pack females did not usually initiate touch.
Her gaze found his.
“Is that a pack form of touching?” he asked.
“Yes. A…a sign of affection.”
His gaze heated. “Now I like it even more. Do it again.”
For such a fierce man, he could be so sweet.
Her gaze stayed locked with his as she tucked her new coverings and boots to the side. Then she leaned forward, inhaling his scent as she skimmed her nose across his collarbone.
“Yes, wild thing. Just like that.”
Confidence growing, she brushed her nose against his throat. Up his jaw. The scent of him, the taste of him, filling her with a sense of rightness.
“Now, it’s my turn.” His lips grazed hers.
She stilled. The sensation was strange. Nice.
This was not a practice her pack indulged in. The mouth was the gateway to the spirit and viewed as too dangerous to allow someone else access. But Grif had already pushed his way inside her and seen her weaknesses. If this was something he liked, she didn’t mind.
He drew back. Intent emerald eyes studied her. “Have you ever been kissed?”
Was that what that was? She shook her head.
A flash of guilt, then pain, flared in his gaze. He was growing easier to read now that she knew him better.
“I should have done this way before.” He cradled her face between his big hands. “But then again, we’ve done everything ass backward, haven’t we?” He cleared his throat. “Close your eyes.”
His low command curled through her, making her woman’s center throb.
Her compliance was instantaneous. She trusted him in this.
Still, she startled when his lips brushed hers once more.
“We Others do this even when we’re not going to have sex.” His lips moved against hers as he spoke. “It’s a form of affection, too.”
Affection. Her belly fluttered as she soaked in the sensation and the implications. The warm heat of his lips skimming over hers made hers tingle, but compared to the sensations he’d provoked elsewhere with his hand, his mouth, and his cock, it was less than expected.
He chuckled. “Not what you thought, huh?”
She opened one eye. Shrugged.
His eyes darkened. “How about this?”
He slanted his mouth over hers. His tongue flicked against the seam of her mouth, then one of her fangs, tracing it as if it were precious. She shivered, opened eagerly. There was something so beautiful and arousing about trusting another with the entrance to your soul. Both of their vulnerabilities on display.
His tongue slipped between her lips, the taste of him exploding inside her. A claim. A siege. A shock of rich sweetness that went straight to her blood.
The tingle inside her exploded into a frantic drum beat. Her body went wild. Her need ferocious. With a moan, she leaned into him, greedy for more, latching her fingers behind his neck while she wound her body around his.
“I like this kissing.” She spoke the words against his mouth.
He half chuckled, half groaned. “Me, too, beautiful.”
His hands roamed over her skin, stoking her need. Until she was panting and desperate for him to ease the fire inside her once more.
“Touch me, too, wild thing.”
That’s right. She was still learning. Still coming to terms with the fact that he wanted her touch as badly as she wanted to give it to him. She had never thought such a thing would be.
Set free, her hands relearned him as well.
Until she was grinding against his thigh in frantic need.
A few small shifts in position and his hard shaft was against her center, exactly where she craved him most.
Between soft moans and desperate pants, she managed a single thought. “I…I thought you say kissing not always lead to sex.”
He gave her a wink. “That’s true. But if done properly it damn well should.”
Silly sounds bubbled up from her throat, almost a song. Playfulness with another soul.
Another first.
35
“It’s through here.” Eyes bright with excitement, Nayla gestured to Sharluff to lead the way.
Once the feathery beast had given a yip and barreled forward,