I HAD no idea how much time had passed, but there was a soft mattress under my back, and other than a headache that rivalled any hangover I’d ever had, I was confident I was whole. And safe. Thatch’s scent filled my nose, and if it wasn’t for the pain behind my eyes, I would have opened them to look my fill. A glimpse at Thatch right now would be the best kind of medicine.
“I need you to drink.” Steel painted Thatch’s words. Perhaps my prediction of him being pissed wasn’t accurate. Nope. Pissed wasn’t even close. He sounded furious to the point of enraged. I huffed air through my nostrils and figured there was a bowl of water before me. But that meant lifting my head.
Soft hands at my head helped me up. At the touch, I felt the tremor in them. “Okay,” he said, softer this time. “You should be good.”
Eyes firmly shut, I lolled out my tongue and lapped. The movement didn’t help the pain, but the cold water filling my mouth, my throat, my gut was refreshing. I paused a moment and would have angled my head in question if I were able.
“Pain medication,” Thatch answered, no doubt reading my stillness.
After I took my fill, I heard the bowl moved, and I sighed contently when he placed my head gently down, following with a soft stroke. He couldn’t be that angry with me if he was petting me, right?
“Do you think you can shift?”
While I knew I could, I wasn’t sure if I was up for what followed. Thatch ripping me a new one, the likely pressure in my head? Neither sounded desirable. It was the sound of Lucinda’s voice coming from a distant room that had me sucking up the change. She had to know I was okay.
The change took longer than usual as I eased through the transition so that I didn’t vomit and humiliate myself in the process. Panting and sweating, I lay flat on the mattress, eyes still closed.
A click of a switch followed by “Light’s off” was the last nudge for me to open my eyes. After the initial ache that became a dull throb, my focus veered to Thatch. I would have grimaced from the look sent my way if I was feeling braver. Not being able to handle more discomfort, I stilled and forced my eyes to remain fixed to his.
The situation reversed, I would have already lain into him, my fear driving my fury. His silence was deafening.
Breaking, I rubbed my chest and said, “It wasn’t like I could stand back.” There was no heat in my words. Honestly, they sounded weak to me.
The silence thickened, meaning that my discomfort grew by the second. I hated the quiet, detested holding back. With that driving me, I added, “You would have done the same.” While there was no real challenge in my tone, there wasn’t a chance he could deny it. Perhaps he would have thought things out a bit better, as, let’s be real, I was something of a hothead, but still, the outcome would have been the same.
He didn’t fidget, didn’t even clench his damn jaw; instead, he edged closer, stopping at the point where his warm breath brushed against my skin. So close, the green in his eyes was visible in the darkened room, the whites of his eyes a perfect contrast to his deep brown skin, all detectible despite the sun being kept at bay by the blacked-out curtains. When Thatch lowered his head, his forehead gently touching mine, my muscles uncoiled. Held-back tension worked its way out my limbs, easing my head, though driving my heart crazy, but for different reasons than my discomfort.
“You mustn’t ever get dead,” he whispered.
My breath caught at the vulnerability in his words. “Right back at ya,” I murmured, angling my head back, tempting him to move and take what was his.
He groaned before our mouths even connected. I got it. I really did.
This unspoken sex ban or extended rain check or whatever the hell it was drove me to distraction. His tongue in my mouth, our lips caressing each other’s, the hardening between my legs, only one way existed to fix this.
I latched onto his zipper and tugged sharply, shoving my hand in his pants, shifting his briefs out of the way and tugging his length out. He broke the kiss. Dilated eyes peered back at me, filled with heat and need. A hiss escaped his kiss-swollen mouth when I stroked. “This abstinence shit is ridiculous,” I mumbled before stroking harder and faster. He bucked in my hand and pressed his face to my neck, kissing my skin and alternating between small bites and licks. “I can’t take it anymore.”
His moan edged towards savage as he sidled closer to me, his hand skirting down my chest and under the loose sheet. The tent I created left plenty of room for him to grasp me firmly. With the increased pounding of my heartbeat echoing in my ears, I almost missed it when he said, “If we’re quick, I could ride you.”
Wide-eyed, I pulled my head out of the lust riding me hard to stare at him. I needed him to be serious. Needed to make sure we could do this. “Quick or a marathon, I don’t give a damn. I just need inside you.”
Thatch pulled away abruptly, tearing off his clothes and exposing every mouth-watering inch of skin to me. I made to ask about lubrication—relieved we no longer needed to worry about protection, since he was no longer human—when the sound of Lucinda’s voice stopped me cold. Frozen, I looked at Thatch in horror. I was sure my cock was going to fall off if I didn’t get any soon.
Surprising me again, Thatch leaned in, his gaze roaming my body as he pulled the
