Chapter 61: Inseparable

Daphne

I lay there, tense and anxious, and waited for him to ask me about the t-shirt.

His next quiet question threw me off guard. “Why did you go there, why that particular place?”

I rolled to face him. He was stretched out across his bed, his long, powerful body relaxed, one arm tucked under his head, staring up at the ceiling. Just looking at him made my heart pump harder in my chest. “There are caves there. Well, not really caves, but some hallowed-out pockets under the slate.”

He turned his head, and I could see the fatigue in his eyes. “I’ve been on that trail,” he said, “I never saw any caves.”

“They aren’t on the trail,” I explained. “You know that marshy, swampy area?”

He nodded.

“If you work your way around to the other side of that, they are there. Not many people know about them.”

“So you thought it would be a good idea to go out at night, alone, and poke around some caves, looking for a bear?” His voice was tight, incredulous.

I curled my fingers into my palms and let the fingernails bite into my skin. “I guess that sounds pretty stupid, huh?” It would be stupid, if I was just an ordinary college girl. It might have been reckless, even for a shifter, since I didn’t really know what I was up against out there.

“What did you find in the caves?” his voice sounded a little rough, like he was getting emotional. But that didn’t fit what I knew of Nathan. He was always controlled.

“Nothing,” I said with a sigh. “A gallon of water and a stash of snacks, probably left there by a hiker or some kid who thought he had found the perfect hideout.”

“I told you it was dangerous,” he growled. “I told you to stay out of the woods.”

“I know,” I said, but my answer was unapologetic, and he knew it.

“Come here.” It wasn’t a request. It was a demand.

A part of me balked at being given orders, but another part of me jumped with anticipation. I’d been dying to go to him from the moment I heard his footfall in the hallway. I slid out from under my blankets and crossed the room while he watched me with those dark, unreadable eyes. He held out his hand to me, but there was no space on the narrow mattress. The only way to get on the bed with him was to climb on top of him.

I carefully straddled him, and sat on his hips. He let his hand rest against my thigh. Even with the thick layer of my cotton sweatpants between us, I could feel the warmth of his hand, that strange comforting sensation spread up my leg and settled right into my core, where the warm comfort instantly ignited into a throbbing need.

Leaning forward, I braced my hands against the hard plains of his chest. I could feel the beating of his heart, and its cadence matched my own. My hair fell over my shoulder and cascaded down, probably tickling him as it did. He reached up and ran his fingers through the strands, like the texture fascinated him. Then he tightened into a fist and used it to pull my head down to his.

He didn’t have to pull hard, I was more than willing, but there was something about it, the fact that he wasn’t giving me a choice this time, that turned that hot need into a burning inferno. Nate’s lips met mine in a kiss that was all-consuming. He slid his hand behind my neck to hold me in place, lifted his head, and sealed his lips against mine.

Just like that, I forgot everything. I forgot that I was a shifter and he was a human, I forgot about bears in the woods, I forgot that I was in a university house with a dozen other young men. None of that mattered, there was only the man underneath me, the man whose kiss was dominating me, owning me, punishing me for going out at night, putting myself in danger. And I was all too happy to take that punishment.

He freed the other hand from behind his head, and slid it down my body to my ass, where he squeezed it, and then held me while he lifted his hips and rubbed the ridge of his erection against me. For a moment, a foggy thought pulled me out of the bliss.

It's too soon. I’m still sore from the last time.

Ah hell, I didn't care. I might not be able to walk later, but it didn't matter. Walking was totally overrated.

He continued to kiss me, even as he found the hem of my t-shirt and worked it upwards. He only let go of my mouth when he pulled it over my head. He looked at the clothing in his hand, and I saw a bit of confusion flicker behind his eyes before he tossed it aside, and returned to the task at hand. He left kissing me and turned his attention to my bare breasts. I almost cried out when he placed his hands on them, pressing the nipples into the centers of his palms, sending that warm, liquid heat through my chest.

They ached for him, they ached for his touch, they ached for his mouth. With amazing core strength, he lifted his upper body off the bed, and brought one peak to his mouth. His tongue swirled around the bud, wetting it, making it pearl up in the cool of the morning, before he sucked it into his hot mouth.

I threw my head back, and held his head, wishing he had more hair that I could hang onto, as his short, military-style cut didn’t afford me much leverage. My breathing became rapid and shallow, and when his teeth sank down, my hips bucked against him, an involuntary response to the sensations he was creating in my body.

In a surprisingly fluid motion, he rolled us both over, and I found myself on the bottom, with Nate kneeling over me. He grabbed the waistband of my sweats and for a moment, paused, with his head bowed. I could see his chest heaving as he fought to regain control of himself. When he lifted his head and looked into my eyes, I saw something there, something almost wild and desperate, something bound that was fighting to free itself.

“Do you want this?” he asked, his voice rough and low.

I didn’t even hesitate. “Yes.” The word came out breathy, but certain. His fingers curled in my sweatpants, catching my panties at the same time, and scooted back on the bed, pulling them down roughly with him, while I lifted my hips to assist him. He dropped the clothes on the floor, and for a moment he stayed there, kneeling at my feet, worshiping my naked body with his eyes.

And then he began to slide his hands back up, pressing my legs apart as he went, exposing my center to his probing gaze. My entire body buzzed with excitement as he brought his face close to my core. But just before his mouth met my throbbing center, he stilled again.

“What were you wearing when you went into the woods, Daphne?”