I scramble into my clothes, then let loose a full body shudder.
“Are you decent?” Asher’s muffled voice comes from the other side of the bed.
“Yeah,” I sigh, resigned to my fate. “I’m dressed.”
I flop down on the bed, burying my face in a pillowand deciding to never be around another living creature during the full moon ever again.
The bed dips as he tentatively perches on the opposite edge, safely across the pathetic pillow wall.
“I…” he swallows hard, then clears his throat. Apparently he’s too appalled to speak. Again, I don't blame him, but the sting is getting sharper.
He sighs and scrubs a hand over his face.
“Shit, Raya, I’m so, so sorry.” He sounds devastated, and when my head pops up to try to figure out what the heck is going on now, his eyes look devastated too.
“What?” My voice is a little high pitched and squeaky, but I push the humiliation back.
“I didn’t mean to embarrass you. I’m really sorry, I was teasing, but I shouldn’t have.”
How did he know he embarrassed me? I do my best to wave it off.
“Nah, you’re fine, it’s the full moon. It’s making everything a hundred times harder than it needs to be this week.”
“Even so, I apologize.” He sounds so earnest as his eyes blink sincerity at me.
“Thanks.” My voice is soft, and I offer a tentative smile.
“Maybe you didn’t notice earlier, what with the whole shifting thing, but I wasn’t complaining," he says.
“What does that mean?”
“It means I liked it, sunshine," he says, and my eyes widen as the meaning of his words sinks in. “I liked having you pressed up against me this morning. I like the feel of you in my arms.”
My eyes flare. That is not the direction I saw this going. I rest a palm on my forehead, staring straight up at the ceiling. When he doesn’t move, I shift my eyes to where he’s still barely sitting on the bed.
“You can sleep here. I won’t freak out again.”
“I don’t want to make you uncomfortable,” he says, then adds, “or hurt you if you shift again while sleeping.”
I ignore his concerns, pursing my lips and patting the bed next to me. Asher sighs, and I can’t tell what the meaning of it is, but he pulls back the covers and slides in next to me regardless.
Feeling the sheets move against my skin and knowing it’s due to his proximity is enough to light up my nerves. I try to relax, but my entire body is tense as I pinch my eyes shut. It’s like his presence next to me has the weight of a bomb; I'm waiting for it to go off at any second, and I don't know if I’ll survive the fallout.
After an eternity of sharp silence in which I barely dare to breathe, Asher grumbles something under his breath, then rolls onto his side. His arm snakes around my waist and pulls my body into his, my back to his front, no consideration at all for the meager pillow wall I attempted to put between us.
Somehow, I stiffen even more, confusion swirling through me when he nuzzles his nose into my hair. I don't protest though; I can’t deny this is what I’ve been wanting. His body relaxes against me with a contented sigh, and I focus on matching my breaths to his—instead of on the panic threatening the edges of my mind.
The first thingI notice when I wake up is the hard rod pressing into my backside. My whole body flushes and I involuntarily arch into him. My heart rate picks up and starts to pound, throbbing through me. Asher must sense it because as soon as it spikes, he begins to stir. He runs his nose up along my neck, stopping right above my racing pulse, his breath ghosting over my skin.
“Don’t tempt me like that first thing in the morning, littleshifter.” Asher’s voice is rough with sleep, deeper and more gravelly than normal.
“What? I’m not doing anything," I whisper, not trusting that my voice won’t come out breathless with want.
“Your heart is racing. It’s calling to me.” He drags his teeth along the tender skin where my neck meets my shoulder, sending a shiver down my spine. “Tempting me.”
His last words rumble through me as his lips move against my neck.
I try to tell myself that my pounding heart and goosebumps are a result of fear of this terrifying vampire who has me at his mercy, but my sleep addled brain doesn’t agree, and I speak before I can think better of it.
