“Hmm.” The tanginess of her fragrance increases. “Do you like them?
“Maybe.”
She gives me a sideways glance, settling into my lap again and bearing down on the bulge in my pants. “Do youwanteither of them?”
“I don’t know.” My cock throbs. Unlikely she didn’t catch the twitch, given the way her throat works as she swallows hard. “It’s the truth: I don’t know. I might reach that point—it’s not a stretch to imagine—but I need to know them better first. I’m picky about who I take to bed.” I drink in the whole of her, leaving no doubt of the visions passing through my head. My alpha purrs louder.
“Fair enough.”
“I’m willing to give us a chance as a pack. Us, as in allfourof us”—my turn to quirk my eyebrows and give her a sideways glance—“unless there’s someone else you’d like to add?”
“I wasn’t even looking.” Johanna’s head falls forward against my chest, but rueful amusement rings clear in her voice.
“Now you don’t have to.” I stroke her back and keep purring. “We’ll just take it day by day?”
“Yeah. I care about you, too, you know.” Her words are muffled against chest, but clear enough.
“I suspected, but I wasn’t sure.”
“Don’t know when it started or when it changed.” She takes a deep breath, pebbled nipples brushing my chest as she tilts back and meets my gaze again.
One long moment of staring into each other’s eyes. Then, she leans forward and initiates a kiss.
Finally!
Sweet and gentle at the start, lips whispering against each other. A nibble here, another there. The floodgates break, and we’re wrapped in each other’s arms, chest to chest, breast to breast, her mouth voracious as she sucks on my tongue …
Only to break into a big yawn.
We draw back, laughing, an edge of confusion and apology in her voice and expression. She slumps tiredly against me and yawns again, making clear I’ve pushed her as much as I should for the night.
But tomorrow will come soon enough.
Chapter 25
Start a Flame
JOHANNA
Same time, same place, same position.
For yet another morning, I wake curled into the curve of Corin’s body, small spoon to his big. His warm cedar scent fills my every breath. With the sun rising later and later, we’re wrapped in the shadows of pre-dawn—or pre-pre-dawn. There’s only enough ambient light to make out general shapes in the distance, but the deep gray of morning twilight rouses the horny side of me.
This morning, the alignment of our bodies differs slightly from previous nights. His arm curves along my waist, hand cupping the lower edge of my belly, his little fingeralmostbrushing my mound while his morning erection presses against my buttocks. My silky thigh-length nightgown has ridden up almost to my waist, so only a single layer of cloth separates us as his well-worn cotton pajama pants tent over his cock.
All very well and nice, but both too tantalizing and not enough, especially after the truths we exchanged last night.
With Max, I’d usually wait until he was up and out of bed, elsewhere in the house, then indulge in a round of morning self-cultivation to start the day off right: touches here, pinches there, maybe a few minutes with a vibrator—a visceral reminder of what will come when the time is right toreallylet go.
We’re in Corin’s room. Likely no vibrators or sex toys conveniently stashed in the bedside table drawer or anywhere his daughters might accidentally discover them, though one would hope they don’t snoop here as often as they did when they were younger. Back then, they were terrors.
Plus, for the first time in decades—outside of Max’s heats—I have a warm, living body to play with. My breath catches a little. Last night’s talk only scratched the surface, there’s so much still to discuss andeverythingat stake.
We barely kissed.
But I’m here, he’s here, and the alarm hasn’t gone off yet, and he’s almost in the right position to start my day off right—and we’ve agreed we care about each other and our love isn’t platonic, even if it was in the past.
So I do what any self-respecting sexual person would under the circumstances: wiggle just enough to rearrange things to my satisfaction. I slip his hand down easily enough to press against my mound and clit, but getting his cock aligned proves tricky. His pants are in the way.
