A Wolf in Hiding - Charlie Richards Page 0,14

a vampire wipe the encounter from their mind.”

Gasping, Elroy tensed…which sent a shard of pain through his leg. He hissed and forced himself to relax.

“You okay?” Dermot swept his gaze over him as he grabbed his hand and massaged his palm. “What happened?”

Elroy scowled at him. “You just dropped the vampire bombshell without a second thought.”

For a second, a grimace twisted Dermot’s features. “I’m sorry, baby.” He brought Elroy’s hand to his lips and kissed his knuckles. “I didn’t think.”

“I’m guessing there are still many things you need to explain.”

Dermot nodded, worry filling his brown eyes.

Realizing that accepting Dermot, accepting a life with him, Elroy would be joining a whole new world, he tried to decide if he wanted that.

Is this one man worth turning my life upside down?

Then Elroy met Dermot’s deep, earnest gaze. The man—shifter—hid nothing from him. He was open and honest, displaying his desire and hope, his worry and fear, even the concern and tension. Unable to hold Dermot’s gaze as his mind whirled, Elroy glanced down…and remembered the man was naked.

And he’s still hard as nails.

Elroy’s mouth watered with the desire to suck Dermot’s massive pierced rod. He wanted to slip his tongue beneath the hoop in his glans and tug lightly. His fingers twitched with the need to rub those balls and discover what they felt like.

Would they—

“Oh, gods, baby. Please, stop lookin’ at me like that,” Dermot rasped, snapping Elroy’s attention to the pained look on his face. “Or let me touch you, please you. Or touch me, or—”

“Yes,” Elroy hissed, interrupting him.

Dermot’s eyes widened. He swept his tongue out and whetted his lips, then swallowed so hard his Adam’s apple bobbed. “Yes?” His voice had deepened, turning gruff.

The sound of it sent a shock of lust to Elroy’s balls, and he realized he was once again hard as nails.

Oh, yeah. I don’t mind a little shake-up to my life to experience what Dermot is offering.

“Yes, let’s do this. Let’s figure this out,” Elroy continued, unable to help how breathy he sounded as his excitement mounted. “I know it won’t be all roses. It won’t be easy, but I’ve wanted you for so fucking long, and when I thought you’d died—” Elroy paused and swallowed hard.

Elroy had never admitted it to anyone, but his heart had ached. In the privacy of his shower, he’d cried. Although Elroy hadn’t understood it at the time, he did now.

This man is the other half of my soul.

“Oh, baby,” Dermot murmured roughly. “That will never happen again.” Reaching into the nightstand, he pulled out a tube of lube and tossed it on the bed. His dark eyes glimmered with lust as he raked his gaze over Elroy’s blanket-covered body. “You’re mine, and I’m yours, my mate. Soon, we will be one.”

Then Dermot gripped the blanket and carefully pulled it off him.

Elroy noticed the red briefs he wore…and they were not ones he recognized. Snapping his attention back to Dermot, he lifted his eyebrows in silent question. He couldn’t quite help the way his mouth opened and closed, no sound escaping him.

Dermot chuckled huskily, his brown eyes twinkling. “I admit I have already seen every inch of you, baby.” He placed the rucked up blanket on the boot box at the end of the bed. Returning his focus to Elroy’s face, Dermot told him, “I’m the one who found you, soaked and injured. I carried you here and removed your wet clothes.”

Clearing his throat, Elroy murmured, “I’m grateful you did.”

“Me, too.” Dermot roved his gaze over Elroy, a thoughtful look stealing over his features.

“What is it?”

Elroy barely resisted the urge to cover himself. He knew his body was strong and toned from working out at his home gym. While Elroy didn’t think he held a candle to Dermot, he’d had enough people compliment him that he felt pretty comfortable in his own skin.

Dermot smiled at him. “Admiring what’s mine while trying to figure out the best way to do this so we don’t cause you undue pain.”

Right. A broken leg.

Glancing around the bed, Elroy nibbled his bottom lip for a second. “I have no idea how I’d get the underwear off,” he admitted. He grimaced as he returned Dermot’s look. “As much as I don’t want to wait, I’m just not sure.”

It had only been two days since he’d busted up his leg, after all.

“The way I mentioned earlier is still the best, I think,” Dermot replied, smiling hungrily at him. “However, if you end up in pain,