Then she adds, “You recognized me. You made me feel safe.”
The relief that washes over me feels like a thousand pounds falling from my shoulders. Our bond must be a lot stronger than I thought. One of my biggest fears when shifting is what I might do to those around me, yet my selfish desire to push it off until the last minute only puts those I love in more danger.
“I’m glad you felt that way with me, but that doesn’t mean you’re safe around the others. I don’t want you going back to the camp.”
Her eyes narrow in scrutiny.
I never want to be the type of man to tell a woman what to do, but this is important, and I need her to understand. Yet right now, I can hardly hold my eyes open.
“I’m sorry. I’ll explain everything, just—” I give myself a once over, “can I take a shower first?”
Her face softens and she grabs a towel out from the small closet beside her. She knows this house like she knows her own, and now it’s hers too.
“Just sit right there,” I say, pointing to the edge of the tub. “I’ll be five minutes.”
My en suite bathroom is slightly smaller than the guest bath, but it came with a miniature clawfoot tub customized to fit the space. I heard the previous owner’s wife had severe arthritis and needed the tub to soak her aching joints, but I’ve yet to use the thing. Now I can’t stop myself from visualizing sharing it with Raegan.
Raegan’s cheeks go pink, and I can sense she’s about to protest, but I stop her by saying, “Just close your eyes if you don’t want to look.” Though by the subtle shift in her scent, I think she does.
I immediately start stripping away my damp and reeking clothes, not waiting to see if she’s going to stay, but once I climb into the shower and close the curtain, I take a quick peek to see her sitting stiffly on the edge of the tub.
My shower curtain is mostly opaque, but the top third is somewhat see-through, like looking through fogged glass. I can make out the outline of Raegan’s form outside the shower, but I can’t see the details of her face. Just the thought of her being only a few feet away while I’m buckass naked has my dick swelling.
“You alright there, lemon?” I ask, making sure she’s not overthinking the hell out of this. It might seem like I’m beinglewd, but I only want to keep her close while still respecting her boundaries.
“Back to that are we?” she says in a flat tone.
I smirk to myself, knowing she secretly loves that I’ve started calling her that. “Just testing the waters.”
A beat passes before she speaks again. “It’s awfully steamy.”
My breath catches. “What?”
“The water. You’ve got the temperature up pretty high.”
I hadn’t noticed—my own temperature is only just now leveling back out to normal range—but she’s right. The mirror is definitely covered with moisture and the air feels thick. “My bad.” I adjust the faucet to keep from chasing her out with all the steam.
Several more minutes pass in silence.
“Your soap smells nice,” she says quietly. I don’t respond because I’m currently drowning my face under the spray of water. “Very manly.”
I almost choke on the water as I laugh out loud. I can’t stop the cough that invades my chest, and suddenly the shower curtain is ripped open to reveal a severely concerned looking Raegan.
“Are you alright?” she asks desperately. She hasn’t quite registered that I’m completely naked, given that she apparently thought I was dying.
I lean forward and pound my fist against my chest to clear my throat. “I’m fine,” I insist between gasps of air. “Just swallowed some water.”
When I stand up straight, she’s no longer looking at my face. Her eyes are trained south, right where my semi is on full display. She hurriedly looks away, face blotchy either from the steam or embarrassment. I would bet a million dollars it’s the latter.
“Sorry. I just…I thought something was wrong.”
“Nothing wrong with taking a peek, lemon. It’s yours whenever you want it to be.” I can’t believe how forward I’m being, but now that she knows about me being a werewolf, it’s as if the door between us is wide open. For so long it was slightly cracked, allowing me to have wandering thoughts about whatcould bewhile we remained just friends. But now, what’s stopping me from crossing that threshold?
Her, you idiot. It needs to be her decision.
She lets go of the curtain, letting it fall back into place without saying a word. “I’ll let you finish up. I’m going to go make us some breakfast.”
“Raegan, wait!” But it’s too late. I hear the soft click of the bathroom door and know she’s already gone.
