“You look it.” A dark voice called from the darkness and I screamed as my eyes snapped open.
I screamed again and dropped into a fighting stance, only to find Rowan on my sofa staring at me. I tossed my head, dropping the towel that I had wrapped around my hair to the floor. I nearly growled when I found him sulking in the dark, but I just stood up and patted my chest. Calm down. I shook my head and chuckled at my stupidity.
The feeling of soft skin on my fingertips had my hand freezing. Naked chest…
I slowly looked down, as if I was a human in one of their horror movies. When my eyes met the pile of towels, my mouth dropped open. My eyes landed on my naked and prominent chest, currently on full display, and I screamed again.
I snatched the towels and ran out of the room. Oh, my goddess. Kill me now. I crumpled on to the bed in disbelief. Did that actually just happen? “What the fuck am I supposed to do?” I dropped my head into my hands and groaned.
“I would put on clothes if I were you.” Rowan’s voice sounded right outside my door. His voice was low, gravelly, and filled with need. “I will give you a minute to get out here, fully clothed, or I will come in there, and then I have zero promises of what will happen.” I heard the creak of the wood on the other side of my door and I shivered. “Forty-five seconds, rabbit, I’m counting.”
“Fuck.” I stood and dropped the towels to the ground and rushed to my closet.
I heard a soft thunking on my door. “I can hear you moving, rabbit, but it’s not fast enough. Thirty seconds.” His voice softened. “Please, for the love of the goddess.”
I couldn’t tell if he was begging her for me to hurry or to slow down. I didn’t even know what I wanted.
Yes, you do.Nix offered. Then she pushed her thoughts into my mind. I was kneeling on the bed and Rowan was behind me. I was panting as her laughter shook me from the image.
“Oh, goddess.” Rowan’s nails trailed down the door. “Fifteen seconds, rabbit.” I whirled and slipped on a pair of tight shorts, and I grabbed a t-shirt, slipping it over my head just as the door busted open. I barely had time to turn, and I was in his arms. “I don’t know if I should be relieved or disappointed.” His voice was low as he dropped to his knees. He rubbed his face into my stomach, and I could feel the intake of his breath. “Goddess, you smell amazing.” But he looked up, with eyes full of heat. “But something is missing.”
“What do you mean?” I stared down at him as he leaned in, raising the t-shirt up inch by inch, and then his lips connected with the skin next to my belly button. I drew in a shaky breath. But even as I asked, I drew in a breath of my own, and he was right. Something was missing.
His scent was still missing.
“You smell wrong.” His voice was soft as he leaned in to kiss the other side of my stomach and I felt my center clench. I closed my eyes as need hit me and I felt my short dampen. I needed…him. His quick inhale had my eyes snapping to his, and I watched his eyes dilate. He could smell my need. “You shouldn’t smell like this.” His wolf flashed in his eyes, a blue so white it was jarring, but Rowan wrangled control.
“You don’t smell at all.” Nix flashed in my eyes and I dropped down. “Why can’t I smell you?” I leaned in and Nix pushed to the surface again. “Why do you hide yourself from us?” Nix’s voice was low, sultry, and full of the need I tried to hide.
His eyes searched mine, and he leaned in. “Because…”
She pushed forward. “Because why?” I leaned in and traced my nose down his neck, and he shivered. Nix darted in, pushing me back, and took complete control. “You are hiding my king, and while Amy is more understanding, I am not.” Nix pulled away from his neck. “She has been hurt, and I am now her protector. I won’t allow you to play games with her heart, king or not.”
“I’m not.” He shook his head, but Nix just tilted hers.
“You are. And I can’t tell if it is because you want her, and you are fighting it. Or because you enjoy the chase. But this can’t go on. I won’t allow you to shatter what she has rebuilt, brick by brick.”
“What is your name?” He leaned in, his lips a fraction away from ours, and my heart clenched painfully.
Nix lifted one of my curved brow. “You want my name?” Rowan nodded, but Nix leaned in and laid a soft, chaste kiss on his lips before she pulled away and whispered against his mouth. “You want my name, you crave my human, then prove you are worthy of both. I refuse to give an inch to yet another male unworthy of our attention.”
Rowan pulled back from my face and looked me in the eye. “Okay.”
Nix receded, leaving me panting and confused. “What?”
Rowan stood, and I nearly stumbled back from how fast he stood. “I said okay.” His smile was perfect. Everything about him was perfect.
I shook my head to clear it. “I’m confused…what?”
He laughed and then gripped me at my waist, pulling my body against his and he bent down, kissing my lips and making me nearly moan. His lips were soft, biteable, and I wanted to spend the rest of my night exploring them, but he pulled away. “You wolf has made a good point. If I want to earn her name, if I want anything from you, I need to prove it.” Rowan squeezed my hips,and I felt my eyes flutter from the slight pain. I was learning things about my likes, my needs, in this life I never explored in my last. I was a little lost in thought as Rowan stepped back.
I tried to grab at him but my hands met air. I shook my head to refocus, and I bit my lip to stop myself from doing something I would regret. I coughed and ran a hand through my hair. “What are you doing here?” I finally met his eyes. They were still full of need and I needed a little space from him. I turned away from him and grabbed some actual pajamas. I turned and looked over my shoulder at him. “Do you mind?”
His smile was roguish as he shook his head. “Nope, I don’t mind.”
I rolled my eyes and faced away from him, pulling my t-shirt over my head, and pulling on my tank top. “I’m going to need you to turn around. I need to change my bottoms.” The flash of need nearly stopped my breath, but I spun my finger in a circle and he reluctantly turned. I slipped my shorts off and slid on my jogging pants. I pulled my hair back into a messy bun. “So, why are you here?”
Rowan turned to look back at me. “I needed to see you.”
