Page 40 of Claimed

I’m so happy to have gotten him laughing after how angry he was that I feel something I don’t generally feel – giddiness. And that must be why I’m being so bold.

I hop off the counter, unbutton the shirt and set it on the counter beside myself as he drops his jogging pants and steps out of them. I lift them, fold them, and then set them beside the shirt I was just wearing before pulling the socks off and walking into the steam where I’m excited about having his mouth between my legs again, where I hope he’ll wash me again, and this time, maybe I’ll try returning the favor, washing him, too.

I lift the sponge from the shelf while I’m still feeling a little bold. “Can I wash you this time, too?”

He gives me a look that’s so hot, we could be in cold water right now and I probably wouldn’t even feel it.

10

Grey

“Look how wrinkled my toes are,” she muses, showing me the bottoms of her feet. I flip down that way and grab her foot, then kiss the pad of her big toe before tickling the sole.

She squeals and rolls over to escape me but nearly falls off the bed, so I move fast and catch her.

“You saved me,” she whispers, smiling.

She’s got an adorable dimple on her left cheek. And seeing it feels like a gift. Her eyes are alight, and her smile is beautiful.

I roll us back to the middle, then move up so my head is beside hers. “Are your fingers wrinkled, too?” She lifts my hand and examines it.

We were in the shower for so long, the water turned cold. It didn’t matter; we kept at one another. She’s still a little shy, timid with me, astonished at how much she’s enjoying what I’m doing to her and though she seems uncertain, I think she’s anxious to give me pleasure, too. She wasn’t untouched but she is inexperienced.

I’ll teach her.

As much as I hate that anyone else has had their hands on her, I like that she didn’t like it before.

I can’t get enough of her. Can’t get enough of how good it feels to knot while I’m buried to the hilt in my mate. How incredible it feels to watch her come apart with my touch. She’s shy, hesitant,but showing she’s into all of it. Quite the turnaround from just last night when she dreaded it.

“Your shower is huge. And so much water pressure. And your water smells so good.” She’s still holding my hand in both of hers, examining it like it’s fascinating to her.

“Smells good?”

“Very good.”

“Water doesn’t have much of a scent,” I point out.

“It does if it’s polluted like ours. Our water smells terrible.” She wrinkles her nose. “We boil it before we use it and there’s always a lingering aroma after running the tap. And you’ve got no choice but to use it as-is to shower.”

“That doesn’t sound good. Get a water quality test?”

She shakes her head. “No way. Outsiders knowing absolutely anything? He wouldn’t allow that.”

And as soon as she says that, her face changes. It’s obvious she doesn’t want me to ask more questions. But whether she realizes it or not, she’s already begun painting a picture for me.

I’ve decided to wait to push on the subject until tomorrow. Today, she’ll learn more about what it’s like to be with me. To feel safe. Cared for.

“Your hands aren’t very rough,” she says, “Yet I can tell you must work with them often with how strong you are.”

“Buy soap with moisturizer in it,” I say. “Not ashamed to admit that. Don’t like feeling like a reptile.”

She smiles and runs the top of her foot under the sole of my foot. “Bottoms of your feet are a little rough, though.”

“Not a shocker since I’m often barefoot out in the wild. Yours are baby soft, though.”

“They might be even softer if I dig into that basket that was left on your doorstep. There are a lot of nice smelling products in there.”

“That’s from Skye Quinn. She’s good friends with Mom. Mase’s mother. He’s second in birth order. Just mated recently to Amelia. Human. Bit of a spitfire, that one.”

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