It was the easiest thing in the world to tilt my head up and put my lips to his, but this kiss felt like the beginning of eternity.
He startled. “Wait, now?”
“Yes. Now! I can’t go back out there–”
Oh, shit. This was his first time and here I was half lying, complaining about my lessons and my needy lady taco. Trying to regain some composure, I straightened my clothes.
“I mean, the first time should be special for you. We can…”
What was I really saying? He should go hook up with someone else so I didn't have to pop his cherry? The very thought filled me with rage. I didn’t exactly know how to have him, but no one else was going to take him either. He was my mess.
The sparkle in his eye turned out to be as maddening as it was cute. I had never been so thankful for a conversational rescue. He gripped my arms, sincerity lacing his voice.
“You'll make it special for me. Today, tomorrow, a thousand lifetimes from now, it doesn't matter to me. I just don’t want to hurt you, Honey.”
I was past caring if he broke me. It was a good day with no pain. I needed to seize it. Grasp all the things I had never let myself reach for before because I knew Declan would catch me, piece me back together. We were doing this for me, for him… or the ruse. Or all of it. I couldn’t tell anymore. Declan was no longer my best friend. I just didn’t know if he might be anything more. Time to step off a high cliff.
I trust you.
His grin brightened the entire room, edged witha feral fang. My assurance released him. His hands undressed me with reverence. My gaze focused on his eyes, waiting for him to second-guess this. We weren’t soaking innocently in a tub this time. Nerves fluttered in my belly.
Get up here for me.
He patted the bed and I licked my lips at the sight of his hands. I still couldn’t get the flex of the whisk out of my head. That it shouldn’t have been dirty made it all the more forbidden.
I kneeled up on the bed as he arranged a nest of pillows for me to recline on. Excitement for those hands spurred me on despite my melt into the pillows. There was no thought about how my thighs spread onto the bed, or if my body displayed itself in a pleasing manner. Declan reaching for the hem of his tunic struck me dumb.
I’d seen Declan naked, or some variation of almost-naked hundreds of times but it appeared completely different when he slid his tunic over his head and caught his elbows in the sleeves with his tight abs on full display. They rippled and flexed as he fought his shirt and I dared to reach out and touch them. He didn’t look like the goofy best friend I remembered. He looked like the man going to bring about my ruin.
As he revealed his chest, he also exposed a thin harness looping over his shoulders, a ring sitting right between his pecs.
“What's this?” I asked, jingling the metal.
“It made me feel close to you,” he mumbled through his clothing.
Him strapping on that ridiculous horn in the cabin flashed in my mind. Had he noticed how weirdly entranced I was? My tongue glued to the roof of my mouth. How did Declan see me so well? It wasn't like I wanted to do anything nefarious with it. The metal and leather were a beautiful frame for his muscles.
He froze when my fingertips met his skin. Somehow it was easier to reach out my tongue and lick up his abs as a thank you when his clothing blinded him.
“Honey?” The fabric muffled his voice.
“Tell me if you don’t like it and I will tell you too.”
“So I get to lick you too?” He shuddered, his skin rippling with goosebumps.
“If you want to.”
His groan made me clench my legs together, which brought up a very distressing conversation. Him licking me might be the only option for us to get further than kissing. Fear and embarrassment rose to douse any sexy feeling growing inside me.
Declan finished removing his tunic, his hair sticking up. Combing my hands through it, I reveled in its softness, an echo of his wolf’s fur. He leaned into my touch, eyes scanning me to imprint me on his body.
“Tell me.”
His patience loosened my tongue.
“Sometimes I have a hard time getting wet.” Likealways. “It’s totally not you. Sometimes it’s like that with women… with me. It’s hard to find someone who can turn off whatever is happening in here.” I tapped my temple. I was babbling.
“That won’t be a problem, Honey. I’m wet enough for both of us.”
