A Wolf in Hiding - Charlie Richards Page 0,9

you to start calling me that.”

Elroy opened his mouth, then shut it just as quickly. Finally, he squeaked, “Wh-What are you talking about, Rueben?”

Rueben’s lips tightened into a thin line. “Dermot. Please say it.”

“D-Dermot,” Elroy whispered obediently.

“Dermot Reever.”

Elroy gulped before parroting Rueben—Dermot. “Dermot Reever.”

“Thank you, Elroy. I know you don’t understand, but this is important.” Rueben—Dermot rubbed his thumb along Elroy’s jawline, sending delicious tingles down his neck. “Right now, Camilla thinks you’re in a cabin with the park ranger who found you. The rainstorm created a rockslide, and we’re currently trapped.” Dermot teased that same thumb along Elroy’s lower lip. “Once everything is explained and you have accepted your new reality, you can see her again. I hear Bart is with her, keeping her calm. People in my pack are monitoring. You can even use a radio phone to talk to her soon, once explanations are done.”

Taking in the heated expression on Dermot’s face as he continued to trace over Elroy’s features, the dull ache in his leg began to be beaten out by a different kind of throb. His blood flowed south, causing his dick to stiffen. He felt his heart pound in his chest as a desire to beg for a kiss swelled within him.

“Oh, baby,” Dermot whispered on a groan. “I love the way you’re looking at me, and I want to kiss you so damn badly. May I?”

Elroy stared up at the man in bed beside him. Before the guy’s death, he had fantasized about this sort of thing happening. Well, not the broken leg part, but he’d wanted Dermot to notice him, to pursue him.

At the time, Elroy had felt guilty as hell about it, since he’d been in a relationship.

Except now, I’m not.

There were still so many questions Elroy needed answers to, but with his body beginning to burn with desire and his fantasy man holding him in his arms and all but begging to kiss him, Elroy couldn’t help himself.

“Yes.”

With a groan, Dermot lowered his head and sealed his lips over Elroy’s. The man teased his tongue along his lower lip, and he immediately opened to him. Elroy welcomed Dermot’s tongue, happy to slide his own along it.

Dermot’s masculine flavor burst across his senses. He tasted of coffee, a sweetener, and something inherently all Dermot. While Elroy had never cared for coffee, he suddenly found the flavor okay when on Dermot’s tongue.

Sliding his left hand up, Elroy threaded it through Dermot’s thick hair. He found the strands soft, pleasing to touch. Cradling Dermot’s head, he tilted his own just a little and deepened the kiss, pushing his tongue into the other man’s mouth.

Feeding him a growl, Dermot met him thrust for thrust as their appendages dueled.

Fire coursed through Elroy’s body as he gave as good as he got. His cock ached beneath the blanket. He began to shift his hips restlessly while moving his bandaged hand to his groin, searching for pressure.

Pain exploded up his left leg.

Gasping, Elroy tore his lips away from the other man’s mouth. He turned his head and moaned…and not the good kind. At the same time, his hand in Dermot’s hair clenched.

Dermot grunted, probably from Elroy yanking his hair.

As spots danced across Elroy’s vision, he sucked in a noisy breath, struggling to breathe for more than one reason.

“Shit, baby. I’m so sorry,” Dermot rumbled, petting his face, neck, and chest. “I shouldn’t have let that get so out of hand. I just—Gods, you’re so fucking sexy. I—” Dermot groaned again as he continued to touch Elroy, obviously trying to soothe him.

“It’s okay,” Elroy managed to say on panting breaths. Forcing his eyelids open, he smiled wryly at a worried-looking Dermot. “Never felt anything like that from a kiss before. Went right to my little head.” Appreciating that his dark skin would hide his blush, Elroy admitted, “When admiring you in the halls of the courthouse, I sure never expected chemistry like this.”

Dermot’s expression sobered a little even as he returned Elroy’s smile. “Can’t believe you were in the courthouse, and I missed you. Damn.” Then he shook his head as he added, “And we have explosive chemistry because we’re mates, Elroy.”

Recalling Dermot calling him his mate once before, Elroy asked, “What’s that mean?”

After taking a deep sigh, as if gearing himself up for something, Dermot let it out between pursed lips. “Elroy, I am a wolf shifter. A paranormal being that can turn into a wolf at will.”

Dermot rubbed his palm over Elroy’s chest, perhaps attempting to