What just happened?
She’d kissed men before, but never like that, never with such a primal need to crawl inside someone and never leave. Not even Paul—whom she thought she loved and had been engaged to for a year—made her this…wild.
What the hell had he done?
Race paced the bank, fists shoved deep into his pockets, the lake lapping quietly against the shore. Her taste, her scent clung to him, haunting him.
She’d kissed him out of gratitude.
Gratitude?
He didn’t freaking want her thanks. He wanted?—
Dammit! He couldn’t get more involved than he already was. He didn’t want this.
Vaesarra is passst,his dragon huffed.You chose her. Assshaya, mine.
Race ignored his beast as he paced the water’s edge. The urge to dive back into the icy waters to cool his throbbing body took hold, but he pushed it aside.
She locked mouths with you. Wants ussss, too,his beast pressed, relentless.
Race glared at the rippling surface of the water, his jaw aching from holding himself in check.
A growl rippled under his skin.Mate.
I don’t want a mate. Dammit.
He glanced back. Ash sat curled on the sand, knees to chest, her chin resting on them, watching him. Late afternoon sunlight bronzed her skin, setting her inky hair aglow—and those pale eyes ensnared him, brighter than anything else in the world.
She was breathtaking. Too much temptation in one fragile body.
Staring will not fix anything,his dragon rumbled.
Arguing with his beast was like banging his skull against a rock.You’re a pain in my ass.
Finally, you admit what you are—an ass.
Unable to shut off his other side, Race strode over to her. “C’mon. We need to get out of here.”
She didn’t move. Those striking eyes stayed fixed on him, a trace of desire still visible there. But more, he sensed a tinge of hurt in her, too.
He had to clench his jaw not to apologize, because he didn’t fucking regret the kiss!
Just everything else that made this impossible. Honesty would probably send her running, and he didn’t want to lie to her, so he shut it.
Ash slowly lifted her head, and her throat worked. “Race?—”
“We have to go,” he cut her off, glancing at the sky, not wanting to talk about what happened, mostly because he didn’t want to scare her with the dark truth—that he could never take a human as a lover. “This spot is too open. We can be seen easily.”
One feminine eyebrow arched. “Oh, right. Because us rolling in the sand was ever so subtle. Makes sense.”
“Ash,” he growled.
“Oh, stop snarling, would you?” she said, ignoring his outstretched hand. “Looks like staring at the lake didn’t clear your head much, did it?”
He had to bite back a huff. That dry wit of hers would ruin him if he weren’t careful.
She grasped his hand, and he pulled her to her feet. No mess, no drama. She brushed the sand from her delectable backside, then leveled him with a quiet look. “Thanks, by the way, for rescuing me from that nasty, smelly shifter.”
