“When I’m an animal, my fur or feathers mostly cover them, but as a human …” He gives a slow shrug. “They are quite the conversation piece.”
He sounds ashamed. I glance down, tracing a fingertip along the ink peeking out just above his sweater, where his tattoos creep over his collarbone.
“I think they’re beautiful.”
Ezra’s head cocks slightly, almost confused. “Really?”
I nod, my thumb tracing the ink on his right collarbone—a single raven feather and tiny bones woven into creeping blackberry vines.
“I never had anyone tell me that before,” he admits, his voice quieter than usual. “I just … stopped taking my clothes off. Or made sure it was dark. That way I could avoid answering questions when I engaged in … extra-curricular activities.”
My head snaps up. Extra-curricular activities? Please. This man has literally been having sex longer than written language has existed.
I cross my arms, glaring at him. “Ezra. Do you honestly think I’m that naïve?”
He blinks, startled by my anger.
“First of all, look at you,” I deadpan. “You’re like if sin and lust had a love child and set it loose on the world.”
Ezra’s mouth twitches, the ghost of a smile threatening to break through.
“Second, you really think billions of years without sex would’ve made you this smooth? You’d be fucked up. You’d be an incel. Just because I lack experience doesn’t mean I’m not painfully aware of your past conquests.”
I wish I wasn’t blushing, but I am.Furiously.
Ezra’s eyes flicker with amusement, but then … he leans in. His nose trails up my neck, breath warm, his voice dark and liquid, meant for filthy promises and bad decisions.
“Darling … you didn’t fuck my fingers just now like you ‘lack experience.’”
His hands tighten on my waist, guiding my hips against him, pressing me down against the rigid length straining beneath his jeans.
“And you are correct.” His voice is rough, stripped down to something raw. “I apologize if I made you feel like anything other than the goddess you are.”
His shadows wind tighter, coiling around my thighs, sliding up my back in silent agreement.
“The men and women from my past?” Ezra continues, his fingers dragging deliberately along my jaw, tilting my face to his. “They were idle dalliances. A way to pass the time.”
His grey eyes burn hotter as he moves my hand to his stiff cock.
“You, little lupine …” He guides my fingers along the hard ridge through his jeans. “Are something different altogether.”
“Men and women?” I don’t mean for it to sound breathless. But it is.
Ezra goes still, a wicked smirk curling across his face.
Oh, fuck me. He knows exactly what that reaction means.
“Mmm.”
His hips flex into my palm, just enough to watch me react.
I don’t move. I don’t blink. My fingers tighten around him, barely perceptible, but Ezra feels it.
His grin turns razor-sharp. “That intrigues you, doesn’t it?”
I open my mouth. Close it.
Lie, lie, lie,I chant in my head like it might save me.
