Page 76 of A Malicious Menagerie
“You said it best: ‘I don’t want to be anywhere unless it’s with you. I don’t want to do anything unless you’re by my side doing it.’”
“Who knew I was such a poet,” he replies dryly, finding the tiny metal tab and tugging it down until my blood-and-crystal-encrusted bodice falls away from my chest. When I unhook my strapless bra and fling it across the room, he looks spellbound. “Holy shit,” he murmurs, tracing reverently over one breast with his fingertips. His eyes darken when my nipple immediately hardens for him.
“Now you know how I felt every time I came to visit you and saw you naked,” I tease breathlessly, arching into his touch.
“Is that why you forced me to wear pants?” he asks with a grin that makes both of his deep dimples pop. The familiar mischief in his expression makes a warm tide of fondness, exasperation, and desire flood my chest.
“How else was I supposed to get anything done?”
“Would’ve preferred that you didn’t.” To illustrate his point, he leans down to suck one nipple into his mouth, the pleasure so sharp it makes my breath hitch. Gasping, I tangle my fingers in his dark hair, holding him against me. He lets it go but immediately laves a long lick over the reddened tip, the wet, insistent heat pulling a moan from deep inside me. His eyes slide closed on a groan as if my skin is the best thing he’s ever tasted. The thought makes me feel uncharacteristically possessive, as if there’s a covetous wolf inside me, too.Mine.Pulling back an inch, Chase murmurs, “We could have been doing this the whole time.”
“We did, if you recall,” I reply as he nuzzles my other breast, pressing soft kisses along the curve before nipping the straining peak. I jolt, my heartbeat picking up like a cornered hare’s even as his ministrations start a pulsing ache low in my belly. “Plus,” I add, struggling to continue my train of thought despite the bliss tightening everything below my navel, “I was working.”
“Well, now you’re unemployed,” Chase growls, and I squeak as he pushes himself to his feet, his hands guiding my legs around his waist before they take a firm grip of my ass over the chiffon. “More time for fun.”
35
The Promise
Chase and I ping-pong our way through the hallway to the bathroom, laughing between kisses as our distraction leads to more than one collision with the wall. Once Chase sets me down, my toes curling against the cold black-and-white tile, I attack his borrowed coveralls, growling with frustration when the zipper gets caught. Chase chuckles at the sound. “That was pretty good for a human.”
“I learned from the best,” I reply distractedly, then grin when I finally get the zipper down. Between the two of us, we manage to push them down his shoulders and off. I hum appreciatively at the sight of his powerful chest, muscular thighs, and that deep V that points down to his rapidly hardening cock. “It’s such a relief to finally have permission to look,” I tell him with a cheeky smirk.
“Trust me, I wouldn’t have minded at any point,” Chase replies wryly. His broad palms glide down my sides, his thumbs brushing the undersides of my breasts before he strokes over my waist to where my dress is caught at my hips. Chase’s eyes are molten when they meet mine, and his voice is sultry when he asks, “Do I have permission to look?”
“Always,” I reply breathlessly, and his clever fingers hook in the fabric to make quick work of my tattered skirt and panties in one go. When I lean over to turn the water on, Chase’s hands are all over me, molding to my hips before slipping down to cup my ass and massage both cheeks.
I huff out a shuddering breath and let him play while I set the water to nearly scalding. “Hope you like your water hot,” I warn him as I turn and guide him in by one wrist. It’s a tight fit, but we both manage to slide into the narrow shower stall, only a hairsbreadth of space between our naked bodies.
“As hot as my mate,” he teases with a grin, not seeming to mind as the hot spray washes over his back.
I roll my eyes, but I can’t help my smile or my blush. “That was cheesy.”
“But you liked it.”
“As much as I like my fiancé,” I fire back, and if he hadn’t already made it clear just how much he cares about me, the look he gives me in that moment would have eliminated any doubt.
Once my feet are submerged in the shallow pool that collects on the tiles before being whisked away by the drain, I wince, every pinecone, gravel path, and abrasive rock face coming back with a vengeance. Instantly, Chase’s expression shifts from heat and affection to concern, and he leans over to peer down at my feet. “Shit, I forgot you were barefoot. You okay?”
“All good,” I reassure him. “Washing them will help.”
“Maybe we should—”
“If you’re about to say ‘maybe we should wait,’ I will hit you.”
He shoots me a challenging grin. “Maybe I’d like it.”
“Hush,” I reply, reaching up to pull out the few bobby pins in my hair as I turn my back to him, “and wash my hair for me, please.”
Immediately, Chase presses up against my back, and I gasp at the sensation of his slick, hot skin pressing against me. He leans down to murmur, “Lean back,” his warm breath coasting over my ear, and I comply with a shiver. He guides my head back under the spray, and I close my eyes as the water soaks my hair and washes away the grime and fear of the past few hours. The sound of a bottle opening and then snapping shut again precedes the scent of my apple shampoo, sweet and heady. I let out a low moan as Chase’s strong fingers begin massaging the fragrant foam into my scalp. “This is amazing,” I murmur muzzily.
“I aim to please,” Chase teases, being careful not to tug on any knots.
A minute later, Chase guides me to lean back again so he can rinse theshampoo from my hair. This time, he lets his hard cock brush my lower back, the thick length gliding easily through the leftover soap suds over the top of the cleft of my ass. I press against him with a gasp, wanting to feel more of him, but he leans away with a chuckle. “I’m not done,” he teases, amused. “Don’t girls condition and shit?”
At war with myself—I reallydoneed to condition my hair, or I’ll never get a comb through it again—I let Chase reach for the next bottle and work his fingers through my long tresses. The air is thick with steam now, giving the enclosed space a sultry, dream-like quality, and I don’t know how much longer I’m going to make it before I give in to the urge to ease the sharp ache between my thighs.
Thankfully, as Chase lets the water cascade over my hair in one more rinse, his hands begin to explore. First, his palms, still slick with soap, glide over my shoulders and upper chest, thoroughly removing the last remnants of Chad Smarman. I didn’t realize how much wearing his blood on my skin was weighing on me until Chase’s gentle touch wipes it away. I shudder at the memory of Smarman’s body behind me, pressing me into the unforgiving iron bars as his hands aggressively tugged at my clothes.
