on his lips, that slightly full lower one tempting her to indulge. “I agree we’ve been rushing, but I can’t slow it down when I’m with you. Any ideas?”
“No hanky-panky for the next week,” Desiree said, though her leopard was in rampant disagreement. It wanted Felix. Wanted to bite and lick and mark. “We date like we’re fourteen-year-olds on our first dates.”
Lines marred Felix’s forehead. “No.”
“No?” She put her hands on her hips. “I’m trying to figure out a solution.” Attempting to give the trust between them time to build to the point where they could try sexy things again without worry. Because she wanted to try all kinds of sexy things with Felix. All kinds.
“Sixteen-year-olds,” he said. “Who aren’t ready to go all the way. Nothing below the waist and the throat’s out for now.”
A smile built inside her. “Done.” Entire body relaxing, she allowed herself to caress him with her eyes, saw his breathing alter, sensed his scent change as he became aware of her petting gaze. “I want to lick you,” she said on a purr. “But there shall be no licking tonight. Sixteen-year-olds do not lick at the start of a date.”
“Want to watch a movie together?” Felix asked, his rich brown eyes meeting her own for a single, glorious second as, around them, the trees rustled in a cool night wind.
“Yeah,” she said and turned to the tree. Claws out, she clambered up and was on her porch before she remembered her date wasn’t a cat.
She peered over.
Standing at the foot of the tree, the large trunk bare of any handholds, Felix scowled and sliced out his claws. As she watched, he copied her ascent exactly, using the same grips, the same foot brace positions. He wasn’t anywhere near as agile as even a young leopard, but he made it to the porch without slipping.
“I knew you were smart,” she murmured, “but that was phenomenal.” She knew the speed at which she climbed—that he’d been able to separate out the movements and remember the precise order . . . wow.
A flush on his cheekbones, but his smile told her it wasn’t embarrassment. “I like watching you,” he said, and her heart melted into goo.
This was ridiculous. She was a tough-shit soldier. Acting like a teenager. And it felt really good. Slipping her hand into his, she tugged him into her home. It was simple—a two-level aerie, though the second level was only a large, shallow step up from the first. The first level was a living room slash dining area slash kitchenette, with the bedroom on the second level.
Instead of a wall, she’d opted for curtains to block out her bedroom. Most of the time, the curtains stayed open—those who visited were her friends and family. Today, however, she walked over and let them down. It was too distracting to have the bed in her line of sight while a half-naked Felix was prowling around her living area, his eyes wolf-amber with interest.
He stopped in front of the wall she’d covered with framed snapshots of family and packmates. “Is this your sister?” he asked with unerring accuracy, zeroing in on an image of a laughing young woman with wild curls she wore in a short, bouncy cut. “Same green eyes.”
“Yes—her name’s Sonal; Sonu to pretty much everyone.” Desiree felt a deep tug of love inside her for the sister who’d been her chatty little shadow throughout childhood, and with whom she still had a fierce bond. “She’s off roaming now, seeing the world, meeting other packs, and, to our mother’s despair, bungee jumping off bridges.”
Felix turned his head. “Did you do that, too, when you roamed?”
Laughing, she admitted the truth. “Yes. That’s where Sonu got the idea!”
Desiree’s roaming days had been a time of play, but they had also seasoned her, given her leopard room to grow. And as she’d told Felix, it had only been fun because she’d known she could return to DarkRiver at any time. Pack was home . . . and this man—beyond the sexual heat between them—aroused the same feelings of belonging and comfort and peace in her.
Because she couldn’t be near him and not touch, she put her hand on his lower back.
He stiffened.
Dropping her hand at once, she said, “What?” She hadn’t thought that was a sensitive zone, but she’d never dated a wolf before.
Felix’s muscles remained tense as he said, “I had an ex who used to touch me there, just like that. She hurt me.”