Kaeli swallowed, propping a hand on her hip to look relaxed. She glanced down at his relatively clean chest and the sunburst tattoo. Hadn’t she promised herself a good time on this trip? Gorgeous, crazy men deserved nookie too. She watched the black leather fly fold open with eager eyes. “Depends on what you’re chewin’ on.”
He slumped against the door, halting the unveiling of his girl toy.
He rubbed his eyes tiredly, pushing his long hair out of his face.
“Venom. From the vamp. They release it when feeding or killing. I should be dead now, but it’s hard even for Lycans to come down from an attack. If I get into the shower, I’ll feel better.” He looked at her, an elusive quality in his gaze. “Care to help?”
“Ha ha ha.” Did he have to keep reminding her about that? She’d just started getting into the fantasy ... now he’d spoiled it. Like it or not, he genuinely seemed like
“Sure, I’ll help,” she grumbled, slipping her feet out of her shoes and opening the glass door. There was enough room inside she could run the water and not get wet, and still have him behind her without touching.
Steam clouded the glass almost instantly, and she could see the blurred image of him removing his pants. She quickly glanced away as the door opened and he stepped inside, turning her mind to getting the water temperature and jet stream force right so she could leave.
The door clicked shut and a weight fell against her back, pushing her into the hot, streaming water. “Shit!” she yelped, blowing the water out of her eyes and turning as the weight slipped down her back and legs.
Navarre sprawled on the shower floor, arms thrown out carelessly, faint red water swirling around him as it washed the residual blood away.
He was also buck ass naked, and his cock stood nearly straight up, hard as a rock. Kaeli couldn’t decide which emotion reigned: humor, horror, or concern.
She decided irritation was her friend.
She’d already discovered he was quite the story teller ... might he also be an actor? She was tempted to leave him there to drown. “Asshole. You got me wet. Get up. The game’s over.” Kaeli nudged him with her toe. He didn’t budge.
Steam billowed, making the remaining dry patches of her clothes cling to her body. She picked at her shirt uncomfortably, irritated, looking down at him. He was playing a trick, she knew. Everyone always played tricks on her. “Navarre! Get up!”
No response. She nudged him again, but he didn’t even flinch. Panic made her heart race. Maybe he’d overdosed on viagra or something.
“Fuck!” She
She gave him a shake, and his eyes opened just as he wrapped his arms around her, hauling her close. Kaeli’s knees slipped out from under her and she fell against his chest with a grunt and enough force to stun her for several long seconds.
His lips curled into a slow smile, and his amber eyes crinkled with amusement.
“You bastard! You damn faker--you tricked me!” She planted her palms against his chest and pushed away, to no avail. His grip tightened, flattening her breasts against him. She could feel every detail of his body through her saturated silk blouse, the hardness of his chest and belly. And she remembered with horror that he was naked--and erect as a damn tower.
She squirmed, felt her skirt ride up her splayed thighs, exposing her to the rough hair of his legs.
“You got a dirty mouth, ma petite,” he murmured, smelling her skin, his lids bedroom heavy with lust.
“You think you got something to clean it out?” Jesus, he hadn’t looked so big when she was standing above him--something about perspective.... His cock seemed to swell against her hip. She felt weak just thinking about him burying it inside her.
“Maybe. What would it take?” he asked. His husky voice stroked her senses, and she had a hard time concentrating just listening to his drawling, mesmerizing accent. The man’s voice was enough to wipe out coherent thought, igniting a proliferation of carnal images.
With an effort, she looked away from his mouth and blinked back visions of him dragging it over her skin. He was close enough his breath tickled her lips, and she could smell the faint scent of scotch on his breath.
“Damn.” She was dying to be kissed.
He frowned, arched a brow. “Petite,” he said in a warning voice.
“What you have in mind ain’t gonna clean me out,” she said, frowning back at him. Though she was certain she’d feel like she’d been reamed if he poked it into any of her orifices. Her legs might not close for days.
“I like a challenge. We can always ... try. There’s no harm in that, is there?”
He trailed a hand down her back, massaging the base of her spine, just above her ass. She desperately wished she could ignore how good it felt. “I thought you were hurt.” Hell or high water--nothing short of cutting it off could stop a man from a piece of ass if it was willing.
“I got better.”
“Right. Werewolf.”
“I jus’ playin’, petite.”
Playing? About everything, or being hurt? She didn’t want to ask.
“I like how dirty your mouth is.” He slipped a hand around the back of her neck, pulling her down.
Kaeli turned her face at the last moment, not sure why she was suddenly afraid. He released her at her gentle push, and she backed off onto her knees, looking down at him, breathing heavily like she’d run a race.
Something slipped behind his eyes, making them darken. The look he gave her scorched. “You should go. While you still can....”
CHAPTER THREE
Kaeli snatched a shirt that lay carelessly on the floor of his bedroom and slipped off her own soaked blouse before putting his on. She’d return it another time. His scent enveloped her, stifling rational thought, and she could barely punch out the numbers on the phone to the taxi company she found in the phone book.
Navarre didn’t leave the bathroom, for which she was thankful.
There’d been something inherently dangerous in his eyes that had scared her, and in that moment, the facade of the laid back Cajun had stripped away, revealing a wildness that thrilled and terrified her all at once.
She ran out of there as fast as she could, braving the empty street and the whipping wind rather than stay. Goosebumps spread over her chilled, damp skin, and she scarcely noticed when the taxi arrived and took off with her mumbled directions to the hotel. His scent engulfed her, faint as it was, reminding her of how close she’d come to ... to what? To having sex with a stranger? With a lunatic? Whatever else he was, he wasn’t crazy. But he was dangerous. And his looks with that provided a lethal combination for her sense of preservation.
It wasn’t until she was safe in her room that she realized she’d even gone through the motions of getting back. She’d moved like an automaton.
Shock. That was what affected her. It was no damn wonder. She’d gone through two attacks tonight. It was almost like being home.
The suite was empty, proving it wasn’t as late as she thought it was.
Which meant her girlfriends may or may not be coming in tonight. Which meant she had only her chaotic thoughts and the nagging ache between her legs to keep her company.
Fat lot of good it did her to get out.
* * * *
Navarre turned the hot water off, his skin jumping in shock as the cold water pummeled his hide like hail, barely stemming the flow of blood to his cock.
