Page 40

So yeah, not quite—

“You’re back!”

As if my thoughts have summoned her, Toto appears in the living room looking like a goddamn wet dream. She's wearing one of my shirts from my backpack. My shirt. Which would already be enough to test what little sanity I have left, except she isn’t wearing a bra beneath it.

Fuck.

She lifts one hand to sweep her long, dark hair away from her face, and the movement pulls the hem of my shirt dangerously high on her hips.

My gaze drops before I can stop it. Another inch, and I’d get a glimpse of the place I’ve fantasized about for years.

Her footsteps are soft as she pads further into the living room, and her entire face lights up when she looks at me. My heart gives one hard thump. So much for my resolve to leave her the hell alone. Between that smile and the unmistakable scent of sex clinging to her, I'm already hanging on by a thread.

"Hi," she says almost shyly. "I hope you don't mind me borrowing your shirt. I figured you can't exactly wear it anymore."

Toto shifts nervously from foot to foot, and the pleasure from seeing her in my shirt disappears.

She’s afraid of me.

Of course she is. I'm terrifying.

"Where are Granger and Nick?" The question comes out harsher than I intended.

Toto doesn't even flinch. "Granger went to the Spellbound Shelf to talk to Alice, and Nick went to get supplies."

I stiffen as Toto moves closer. I should leave. Give her some space before I scare her even more.

Except…

If she’s afraid of me, why the hell is she looking at me like that?

I stand up, towering over her, and she immediately places a hand against my stomach.

I stop. Every part of me stops.

A shiver of need tears through me at that single point of contact, and my cock thickens.

Fantastic. Because my monster boner is impossible to hide in these pants.

"What if you didn't run away this time?" Toto asks softly.

She bites her lip, looking up at me through her lashes as she traces her finger over my abdominal muscles.

God, I’d love nothing more than to stay. Every instinct in this new body is screaming at me to claim her. To make her mine. But I’m terrified of losing her forever.

"You know,” she says softly, “sometimes, running away from danger is wise."

I nod, swallowing hard. “Exactly.”

Her lips twitch. "But I'm not dangerous, Leo."

"No.” I lean down until our faces are only inches apart. “But I am."

I mean it as a warning, to scare her away, but Toto's pupils dilate, and what I see in her eyes is something far more intense than fear; it’s pure, unadulterated desire.

She wants me.

"I think you are one of the bravest men I've ever known," she whispers.