Page 131 of The Hunger
“If you let go of me, I’ll strip on my way to the bathroom for a shower you’re going to let me enjoy by myself without interruption. Deal?”
He flung himself to his back and stared up at the ceiling while he shook.
“Just don’t move fast,” he rasped.
The frayed thread of his control strained to the breaking point. Yet, I didn’t hesitate to stand beside the bed and ease my lightweight sleep pants down my legs. When I reached my ankles, he groaned, and I knew he was watching. Straightening, I stepped out of my pants, creating more distance, and reached for the bottom of my sleep shirt. Slowly moving toward the bathroom, I eased the material up over my head and tossed it aside.
Bare except for my underwear, I glanced over my shoulder at Fenris. He no longer lay flat on his back. He’d twisted, holding himself up on his arm in a way that made it look like he was two seconds from pouncing. His gaze remained locked on me, and his hands gripped the mattress like he wanted to tear it apart.
“Should I stop?”
He shook his head slowly.
What control he had was because of me. For me. If not for the limits I’d set when I’d started this game, he would already have me on the floor. My heart tripped painfully at how much I both craved that image and feared it might still happen.
“Will you stay?” I asked.
Some of the tension left his expression as he crooked a grin at me.
“Yep. I’ll be a good boy. Does that mean you’ll pet me next?”
Rather than answering, I hooked my thumbs into the waist of my underwear and started to ease them down. His humor fled and lust exploded. I caught my lower lip between my teeth a moment before I faced forward, bent at the waist, and lowered my last bit of cover.
That dark thing inside of me stirred, reveling in Fenris’s reaction. So did I. The shame and fear that had haunted me for so long were gone. And I knew in my heart it was because I was with him. My fated forever. My mate.
Without looking back, I slowly made my way to the bathroom and closed the door behind me. With my hand on the wood, I focused on all the ways I desired him and pushed that intense need outward to him. On the other side of the door, I heard him gasp my name and grinned.
When I turned, I caught sight of myself in the mirror. Like had happened in the past, two versions of myself overlaid each other. The hidden one was no longer sickly. She had color in her cheeks and a glimmer in her gaze that conveyed power and strength.
My grin grew at the evidence that Fenris was everything I needed and more. Now, I only had to figure out how to convince the rest of his pack.
By the time I finished my shower and reemerged wrapped in a towel, Fenris had stripped my bed and dressed. He paused his pacing when the door opened and hungrily watched me.
“You didn’t need to change the sheets,” I said.
“Trust me. I did. I’m pretty sure I died and went to heaven after you shut that door. What did you do?”
“Fed what you feel for me with what I feel for you.”
“I loved it. Maybe don’t do that during our first mating, though. It’s going to be fast enough the way it is.”
I grinned at him, loving his playful openness because that admission helped me fear our mating a little less.
“If you want to shower, the bathroom is all yours. I’ll be ready in fifteen minutes.”
He declined the shower but left me alone to dress.
Everyone was awake and in the dining room when we made our way downstairs. The humans were sitting together with the werewolves, and they were all listening to Eugene tell the story about Aubrey flipping the desk, which Jenna interrupted when she saw us.
“Thanks for the clothes, Fenris.”
“You’ve supplied me with clothes too many times in the past for me not to return the favor.”
“How are you even here?” Willow asked, her gaze flicking to our joined hands.
“Long story,” he said with an easy grin. “If you want to save yourselves some trouble today, send Aubrey a text asking if it’s true that my dad is letting me hang out at Megan’s all day. Hopefully, that will keep her on pack territory.”
Willow beat Jenna in sending the text.
