The mysterious spell he had on her lifted at his words, and she was appalled at what she’d been doing. “I-I’m so sorry.” She started to back away.
“I didn’t mean to—”
He spun around, circled her wrists with his long fingers, and drew her to him. “I don’t want you to be sorry. I just want you to understand that you keep me teetering on the edge of control. I’m trying hard not to scare you, but I won’t lie. I’d like nothing better than to slide into you and ride you until you scream my name.”
“I don’t understand.” Her cheeks heated, and she wasn’t exactly sure how to respond to him, especially now that she was faced with his incredible chest. God, he was ripped like no other. No man had ever been this forward with her. She’d dated mostly sweet, shy men, and Piers was neither sweet nor shy.
“Yes, you do.” He pressed her palms to his chest and held them to him.
“You can feel the pull between us just as I can. There’s no use denying it.
You proved you felt it in the woods when I kissed you. You responded to me in the cave as well. You wanted me even if you aren’t willing to admit it out loud.”
How could he possibly know about the cave? It had been a dream. What the hell was going on here? She backed away from him and when he took a step toward her, she shook her head. He stopped instantly. She needed time to think.
She turned and ran to the bathroom. After locking the door—a door he could probably knock down with little effort—she slid down in front of it until her butt hit the floor. She couldn’t think of any logical reason that he would know about her dream. She stood back up on shaky legs, peeled her clothes off, and started the shower. Maybe the soothing, hot water would help her come up with an explanation—one that wouldn’t freak the shit out of her.
She stood under the hot spray trying to understand his knowledge of the dream, but soon the only thing she was thinking about was that he’d been in the same shower only a few minutes ago. Flashes of his naked, wide back, the wolf, and beads of water dripping down his shoulders, over his chest and sliding over his six pack abs made her hot, achy and confused. He was right.
She did want him.
Chapter Eight
She’d been standing in front of the door staring at it for at least twenty minutes now. She didn’t want to go back out there with Piers. She’d taken as long as humanly possible showering, washing her underwear out, drying her hair, and putting her clothes back on. She’d contemplated washing them out too, but didn’t think it was a good idea to go traipsing around in front of him with only a towel. If she had the same impact on him he’d had on her in just a towel, there would be trouble—fireworks shooting off, screaming for mercy, hot sex kind of trouble.
Just the thought of his hard body on display for her made her pulse race.
She could imagine how delicious he would feel against her, skin to skin, mouth to mouth. Her cheeks turned hot. What was wrong with her? Why did he have such an effect on her?
He scared her. He intrigued her. He made her feel things she didn’t understand. He unsettled her, but…she kind of liked it. His predatory swagger called to her, mocked her with the promise of the pleasure she instinctively knew he could bring her. And his hands...she closed her eyes and swallowed hard. His big hands had been gentle, had known exactly how to caress her. He made her burn.
She took a deep breath and yanked the door open with more force than she’d intended. She found him sitting on the edge of the bed eating a miniature bag of cookies. She’d thought the bed to be fairly big until now.
With him on it, it looked pretty small. She was thankful he’d pulled his jeans back on, although they sat almost as low as the towel had on his hips, and he’d left the top button undone.
“There is some food on the table by the window. It’s not much. Vending machine crap, but it’s all I could find. Better than nothing.” He tipped the bag of cookies up to his mouth and tapped the rest of the crumbs from the bottom.
“Thanks.” She was hungry. She walked to the table where several bags of chips, cookies, crackers, candy bars and four cans of soda were scattered about. She opened a soda, set it back down after taking a long drink, and opened a pack of peanut butter crackers. She was hungrier that she thought and finished one pack and part of another before drinking the rest of the soda.
She looked over at the chair in the corner and made her way toward it, but he caught her wrist as she tried to pass him.
“No.”
“I’m not sleeping in that bed with you.” She tried to pull free, but he held her firmly.
“Why not?” One dark brow quirked up.
“You know why.” She wanted to stomp her foot like a small, furious child.
He tugged her slowly toward him until she was standing between his knees. His legs closed around her thighs and imprisoned her while he skimmed the back of his fingers up her neck and cupped her cheek. She was eye level with him now that he was sitting, and his intense gaze burned through her as if he could see into her soul.
“Yes. I know why, but I’m too big to sleep on that tiny chair, and you aren’t going to.”
When she started to protest, he placed one long finger over her lips.
“How about I make you a deal? Hmm? I won’t touch you unless you ask me to.”
She wasn’t sure that was a good idea either as she didn’t trust herself around him. Even now, standing this close to him, that’s exactly what she wanted him to do—touch her. Her doubt must have shown clearly on her face.
“I’ll sleep on the damn floor then.” He released her and stood.
“No.” When he reached for a pillow, she placed her hand on his shoulder. “That’s not fair. I don’t want you to sleep on the floor.” She could be an adult about this. “I’ll sleep under the covers and you can sleep on top, and stay on your side.”
His predatory smile, which flashed her a good amount of even, white teeth did little to soothe her worries. She snuggled under the covers and he lay in the bed beside her. His shoulders were so wide he was nearly touching her. She slid a surreptitious glance his way, and the sight of him made her lungs struggle to drag in breaths. She’d made a big mistake by letting him sleep beside her.
He was stretched out on his back, his feet dangling off the end of the bed, and his fingers linked behind his head. He was massive, and the heat that radiated off his skin sank into her body invitingly. She could imagine how nice it would be to cuddle up against all that warmth.
“If you don’t stop looking at me like that, I might forget my promise.”
He turned his head and met her stare. “Or do you want me to forget my promise?”
She gasped and rolled on her side away from him. She was furious when he chuckled, wanted to smack that grin right off his gorgeous face. Instead, she practiced some deep breathing exercises until she fell asleep.
She ran her fingers along his side, down his ribs where she examined each and every one before continuing to his stomach where she treated each muscle there with the same thorough exploration. He knew this was a dream, but damned if he wanted to wake up from it. Her touch drove him wild, and he wanted to lick and kiss every inch of her.
Her green eyes were fixed on him as she continued traversing his body, treating it like her own personal playground. Her small teeth worked her bottom lip, and he ached to kiss her, but didn’t want to do anything to discourage her perusal of him. He wanted her to touch him, to feel comfortable that he would not do anything she wasn’t ready for. But, God, she was stretching his control.