Page 32 of Just Right
“I’m a shifter,” he says by way of explanation. “We heal quickly.”
“Yeah, but are you immortal?”
He hesitates. “Blackmoor keeps us alive as long as it wants to.”
That didn’t answer my question.
I try again. “Can you die?”
Another pause before Rowan reluctantly admits, “Yes.”
That realization slams into me like a hammer. This quiet, stoic man with the hungry eyes and the big heart… he could’ve… he could’ve…
“You could’vedied,” I whisper.
“You didn’t.”
“That’s not what I said.”
Rowan glances over his shoulder. He eyes scan my face, looking for… I’m not sure what, but whether he finds it or not, his expression is back to being closed-off.
That doesn’t work for me.
Barely aware that he’s standing in the middle of the wood, completely naked and more than a little aroused, I march around him again until I’m standing right in front of him.
His gaze shoots right over my head. He’s not meeting my stare.
I can fix that.
I reach up, shaking the sleeve of my coat back so that I can lay my chilled hand against his cheek.
“Why do you do that?” I ask. “Why do you insist on shutting me out?”
Rowan’s molten gold eyes flash, more orange than yellow. His brow furrows at the same time. His gaze drops to my mouth next, his breath coming a little sharper as he traces my lips with his gaze.
And then he says through gritted teeth, “Because, if I let myself want you, I won’t be able to stop.”
My heart stutters.
There it is. The confession I didn’t know I needed until Rowan just uttered it.
He’s still watching my lips when I allow them to curve. “So don’t.”
It’s like letting a wild animal off its leash. All I had to do was give him permission to go and, suddenly, he’s leaning down toward me. I meet him halfway.
Almost as powerfully as the bear and the wolf hit during the fight, our mouths collide.
This first kiss is nothing like the one I shared with Finn. There’s no gentleness. No further hesitation.
Onlyneed.
Rowan cups the back of my head as he uses his impressive strength to pull me up onto my tiptoes again. His other hand lands on my ass, lifting me up so that we’re on the same level. All the while our mouths keep finding each other, our breath mingling so completely, I don’t know where I end and Rowan begins.
It’s like the big bear is fuckingdevouringme, and I’m more than happy to let him.
He’s so strong that he doesn’t need two hands to keep me hoisted up, clinging to him. Releasing the one holding the back of my head, he slips it under my coat, under my shirt, the heat of his palm searing my skin all while begging me to, “Tell me to stop. Just tell me, Goldie, and I’ll do it.”
Stop? Oh, no, big guy. I want to keepgoing.
