“Your scent is so addictive,” Murphy murmured huskily, his voice slipping over her like a heated caress. She wanted more, wanted him closer, and that thought was as frightening as it was heady.
Nerves flickered through her body and she was tempted to shove him away from her, to put as much distance between themas possible. That was the safest option, wasn’t it? But another part of her was greedy for any kind of physical intimacy with him.
Murphy wouldn’t hurt her. She instinctively knew that was true. She felt safe with him, and after so many years of solitude, she craved this connection. As he leaned in, his nose nuzzling her cheek, her fingers curled into his soft sweater, pulling him closer. “My bear can’t get enough, Nessa.”
Just like that, it felt like he’d tossed a cold bucket of ice water right over her head.
His bear couldn’t get enough of her. Hisbear. Nothim.
She stiffened against him, her desire fizzling out as quickly as it had sparked, leaving her bereft and irate.
What the hell was she doing anyway?
The poor man was struggling, and she was only making it worse! Instead of seeing to his needs, instead of helping him, she’d been thinking only of herself. She’d let years of neglecting her own desires make her greedy.
He doesn’t want you, remember?
Ashamed of herself, Nessa gently pushed against his chest. He didn’t budge, and her temper flared. “I’m late for work,” she insisted, pushing at him again.
Slowly, he took a step back, his eyes still that captivating, glowing gold. She couldn’t be mad at him in his current state, nor could she abandon him like this, no matter how foolish she felt. No matter how much she wishedhe’dwant to hold her close instead of his bear.
“Can you drive?” she asked, glancing away so he couldn’t see her emotions reflected in her eyes. He grunted in answer. “Meet me at my teahouse,” she instructed. Then she got into her SUV, taking a deep breath as she started the engine.
She had to go. Before she did something stupid, like jump from the car and beg Murphy to hold her close again. Instead, Nessa put the vehicle in reverse, swung out of the drive, and left.
Chapter 9
Murphy watched Nessa drive away, his heart in his throat and his bear roaring morosely in his ears, demanding he go after her. Fists clenched, he took a deep, shuddering breath, willing himself to calm down.
It was difficult, considering the sweet smell of Nessa’s arousal had his dick harder than steel, his own lust causing his balls to ache. He thought he’d gotten a hint of her desire moments earlier on her front step, but it had come and gone so quickly, he assumed he’d imagined it.
Then, when they’d been standing at her car, he’d caught it again—that tantalizing scent of berries and cream combined with the heady, ripe scent of her slick—and everything inside of him had reacted. His heart sped up, his blood heated, his canineshad ached to lengthen and sink into her flesh, and his gut had clenched with need right as his dick stiffened.
The consequences of his actions had been the furthest from his mind as he’d leaned into his little mate, nuzzling her smooth skin. He’d nearly rubbed his groin against her lower belly in invitation, determined to let her know how much he wanted her.
He’d even verbalized it, which is exactly where he’d gone wrong.
He knew Nessa didn’t want a relationship, or the assumptions that came with it, yet he’d told her he wanted her. He’d scared her away because he’d been an idiot. They werefriends, both without an interest in mating.
Yet, all of that disappeared the moment he’d scented her desire.
Tank’s words from this morning echoed in his head, and he could practically hear his brother taunting him mercilessly, reminding him that a friendship would be impossible.
Grumbling under his breath, Murphy walked over to his SUV, climbing inside and slamming the door closed more harshly than necessary.
Starting the vehicle, he waited until his phone connected to the speakers before calling his youngest brother. He could have reached out to him telepathically but he knew his brother would still be out like a light and the phone ringing incessantly would be more annoying. And Jasper deserved that much.
Jasper picked up on the third ring, his loud yawn reverberating through the SUV. Murphy gritted his teeth, fingers tightening on the steering wheel as he slowly backed out of Nessa’s driveway.
“You realize it’s barely past nine a.m., right?” Jasper asked, his voice thick with sleep. “I need another few hours,at least,before I’ve had my beauty sleep.”
“Maybe if you didn’t spend your nights hiding outside my window, you’d have it,” Murphy bit out, turning out onto the street leading to Nessa’s Teahouse. The town she lived in wasn’t very large and traffic was light, leaving him to count the seconds of silence that passed on the phone.
Jasper coughed awkwardly. “What can I say? The stars look better from your porch.”
“Ha, ha,” Murphy retorted dryly. “Luckily for you, I’ve got more pressing things to deal with than the fact you spied on me.”
“You do?” Murphy heard the mattress creak under Jasper’s weight as the bear’s voice rose in surprise. “What’s going on?”
