With a sigh, she rested her head on his chest again, replaying the events that had gotten her here.
She remembered the nightmare about the clown from last night, but here in Knox’s arms, it felt distant, like she was seeing a movie of an event she’d been involved in a long time ago. The terror had been so overwhelming it had driven her to some dark place in her head she thought she’d never escape from. But then Knox had shown up and everything she’d been afraid of had somehow receded into the background.
That was when she’d given in to the exhaustion that had been building for so long and fallen into the deepest, most relaxing sleep she’d gotten since that frigging clown had tried to kill her back in Chattanooga.
Rachel pondered that as she listened to Knox’s heart beating under her cheek, the scent of his body enveloping her like a second blanket. While she wasn’t comfortable putting a name to it, she knew there was something special about him and the way he made her feel. For the first time in a while, she wasn’t holding her breath waiting for the next panic attack to hit or the next shadow in the corner to scare her to death. With Knox there, she felt normal again.
She didn’t know if it was all the moving around or the noise of her overactive mind that woke Knox up, but either way, his arm tightened around her momentarily before he placed a tender kiss on top of her head.
“I didn’t wake you, did I?” he asked softly, tracing gentle circles on her back and shoulder with his fingers.
“No, it wasn’t you,” she murmured against his shirt, wondering how much nicer it would be if his chest were bare. “I always wake up the minute the sun shows its face. It’s been that way since I was a kid. Used to drive my parents bonkers.”
“I can see why,” he said with a chuckle. “Did you sleep okay?”
The concern in his voice was unmistakable, and Rachel smiled. “I slept great.” She tipped her head back to look up at him. “In fact, it was the best sleep I’ve had in a long time. Actually, it’s nearly the only sleep I’ve had in a long time. So, thank you.”
He looked confused for a moment, but before he could say anything, Rachel moved a little higher on his chest and kissed him. It was impulsive as heck, and if someone had asked why she’d done it, she wasn’t sure she’d be able to put it into words. But after everything that happened last night, it felt right.
She’d intended it to be a quick kiss, nothing more than a little added emphasis to her words. But the moment their lips touched and she felt the zip of electricity pass between them, she knew there was no way she could be satisfied with one little peck. When Knox pushed aside the blanket and urged her up higher, so she was lying fully atop his body, Rachel knew she wasn’t the only one feeling the tingle.
Knox slipped his tongue between her lips, deepening the kiss. She might have moaned a little at the taste of him, but if she did, she refused to be held accountable. It wasn’t her fault he was so damn delicious.
They made out for a long time, her hands resting on his chest, his tangled in her hair while their tongues slow danced. She couldn’t remember the last time she’d kissed a guy like this. Then it hit her. She couldn’t remember it because she’d never kissed a guy like this. Sure, she’d kissed guys before, but it had never felt like this. Her whole body was humming with a combination of excitement and arousal, just like it had on the dance floor last night. If the growing bulge under her thigh was any indication, Knox felt the same way.
She was disappointed when Knox broke the kiss and gently pushed her away to study her. But the smoldering heat in his warm brown eyes told her the pause was temporary.
“Don’t get me wrong,” he said softly, twirling a lock of her hair around his finger. “You can kiss me like that anytime you want and twice on Sunday, but please don’t feel like you have to pay me back for staying here with you last night. I did it because you needed me, not because I thought I’d get something out of it.”
She smiled, shocked at how warm and gooey his words made her feel inside. “I know, but that doesn’t mean I don’t appreciate it. I’m not trying to exaggerate here, but I’m pretty sure you saved me from a complete mental breakdown.”
It probably said a lot that Knox didn’t argue with her.
“I was serious last night. About getting through this together.” He pushed her hair back from her face. “I’ll help you find someone to talk to and go with you to the sessions if you want.”
She lay there on top of him, stunned at the offer. How the hell had this happened? One day he was a hunter who wanted to kill her kind, the next he was a werewolf who needed her help, last night he’d turned into the only person who could help her stay sane, and now he was in her bed making unbelievable promises. How was it possible for Knox to go from the worst possible human being to the man she couldn’t seem to do without?
Rachel didn’t bother pondering it too long because thinking at this point was wasting time they could use doing something better. So, instead, she clasped his shoulders and dragged herself up his body like it was a Slip ‘N Slide. Then she covered his mouth with hers and kissed him hard.
Knox groaned, sliding his hands down her back until they cupped her butt through the thin material of her T-shirt. Dang, she knew he had really big hands, but they felt even larger as they squeezed and massaged her ass. The sounds of appreciation she made were probably ridiculous, but she didn’t care.
“I think I just found one of your happy places,” he murmured against her lips as he slowly worked her T-shirt up to expose her butt.
She swore she heard sizzling when his warm hands came into contact with her bare skin. Okay, she really didn’t. But man, did it feel good. The sensation had her writhing all over him, right up to the point that his underwear-covered hard-on became wedged in the cleft between her legs. Then she started doing some serious wiggling.
“Mmm, I think you’ve found another one,” she breathed, forced to break their kiss so she could sit up a little and grind against him more firmly.
Rachel was so caught up in the moment she didn’t realize Knox had gotten a grip on the hem of her T-shirt until he’d lifted the material up to take it off. She raised her arms, leaning forward a little to make it easier. And just that fast, she found herself completely naked while Knox was still half-clothed. But when he gazed up at her with an expression of utter adoration on his face, she decided she could get used to the disparity. It turned out she liked being regarded as if she were a goddess.
When Knox had gotten his fill from that vantage point, he rolled her over on the bed until she was on her back with his hands positioned possessively to either side of her shoulders, legs straddling her hips.
“Let’s see if we can find a few more of your happy places,” he murmured as his mouth came down on her neck and he began to kiss, lick, and nibble his way along her jawline from earlobe to chin, then down to her collarbone, fire following his path.
She arched like a bow as his warm lips found their way down to her breasts, teasing and nipping at first one nipple, then the other. Rachel reached down to thread her fingers into his silky hair, scraping her nails along his scalp in encouragement as his tongue traced little circles around her nipples, then the curved undersides of her breasts, and finally, the valley between them. She about lost her mind as he took his time exploring every part, finding erogenous zones she’d never known existed.
But then she felt Knox tense, his mouth hovering above the upper slope of her left breast. She looked down and saw him gazing intently at the two-inch-long and quarter-inch-wide scar there. It was a shade lighter than the rest of the skin around it and barely discernible. There were several tiny lines branching away from the main scar where the doctors had to cut her open to deal with the internal injuries. The way Knox was studying them, it was almost like he was thinking about the pain she’d endured.
“Yes,” she said without him asking. “That’s where Horace Watkins stabbed me. The blade missed my heart but got the top of my lung and nicked a vein. I have another scar on my right shoulder in back.”
