Page 26 of Horned to be Wild
“But?”
He opened his eyes and looked directly at her. “My control is hanging by a thread. I’m not sure I’ll be able to hold back.”
The intensity of his gaze stole her breath. Her heart pounded, and her clit actually pulsed in time with it.
“Then don’t,” she whispered. “Don’t hold back.”
He hesitated, his jaw working. “I need to think about it.”
She nodded, not wanting to push him too hard.
“Come by for breakfast tomorrow,” she invited. “We can… talk more then.”
“I will.” He kissed her again, harder this time, his tongue sweeping into her mouth, and she felt a shudder ripple through him. “Go,” he ordered gruffly when they separated. “Before I change my mind.”
She climbed down from the truck reluctantly, knowing she’d pushed as far as she dared for one day, and watched as he pulled out of her driveway. Her body still thrummed from his kiss, and she knew sleep would be elusive tonight. But it would be worth it if he finally let go of his fears.
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
Torin spent the night in an agony of indecision. The memory of their time in the workshop kept replaying in his head. The sight of her in his arms, her skin flushed and streaked with paint, the softness of her breasts, the sweet scent of her arousal, and the tight, hot clasp of her cunt around his fingers.
It had been almost impossible to resist her when she told him to lose control, to take her. She was so sure that he wouldn’t hurt her, and part of him believed her. But if he was wrong…
He was up before daybreak the next morning, pacing restlessly back and forth as Mabel watched him from her comfortable perch in the corner.
“What should I do, Mabel?” he asked, and the goat cocked her head to the side, ears pricked forward. “I’ve never met anyone like her before.”
The goat bleated sympathetically.
“Of course I want her. But what if she’s wrong? What if I can’t control myself?”
The goat didn’t have an answer for him, and he resumed his pacing, wishing he could be as certain as Lila. He knew she trusted him completely, but the fear lingered, the worry that he might lose himself to his instincts and hurt her in the process.
The sound of tires on gravel pulled him away from his churning thoughts.Fuck.He’d forgotten that he had a wood delivery this morning. He headed outside to meet the driver.
The bright blue delivery truck had pulled up in front of the workshop, its engine still running. The usual drive, a young human male, jumped down from the cab, clipboard in hand.
“Morning!” the driver said cheerfully. “Got your shipment of cherry and maple. Want it in the usual spot?”
He nodded, already moving to the back of the truck to help unload.
“Man, this is some quality wood.” The young male grinned at him as he hefted a thick cherry plank. “Not that I’m surprised—you always order the good stuff.”
He grunted and reached for another piece. The wood was indeed beautiful, rich with possibilities. He’d selected these pieces specifically for some designs he’d been considering, projects that had begun to take shape in his mind since Lila had entered his life.
“Sure has been a busy week,” the driver continued, seemingly unbothered by Torin’s silence. “Lots of deliveries for folks getting ready for the Harvest Festival. And lots of pickups from your neighbor. She must be quite an artist to be sending all those orders off to the city.”
His body went rigid, the wood frozen in his hands. Time seemed to slow, the driver’s casual words echoing in his ears.
The city.
The phrase landed like a stone in his gut, his vision narrowing to a pinpoint as memories crashed over him—another voice, another time.
“I need more than a lumberjack in a backwater town. I’m leaving for the city.”
Annette’s words still cut like a freshly sharpened blade. The dismissal in her tone when she’d looked around his workshop, when she’d called his art trinkets.
The driver, oblivious to Torin’s internal earthquake, continued chatting. “My cousin works for that fancy art supply place in the city. Says they’ve been shipping stuff to her address all month. Guess her work’s really taking off, huh?”
