Page 48 of Shifters' Fated Summer
“You know, the lack of underwear around here is concerning. I was suspicious it was just me, like you were withholding underwear, but after the full moon, I realized you guys just don’t do underwear, do you?”
Luca laughed, dropping the clothes in his arm into a pile and launching himself at the bed. He caught me around the waist, pinning me down with my legs between his.
“I’d have you naked all day if I could. But then I’d be eating you out on the kitchen counter and Holt would get angry with me,” he purred.
Scoffing, I opened my mouth to argue, and he covered it with his own. He wasted no time in swirling his tongue against mine.
My chest heaved, and he smoothed a hand over my breasts, cupping one over the thin t-shirt. Without breaking our kiss, he scraped his thumb over my nipple.
“I never did get to fuck you senseless in this room,” he whispered, peppering kisses on my cheek and chinbefore he bit my bottom lip hard enough that I moaned.
The air in my lungs wasn’t enough, and I felt a wave of dizziness. “Luca, I…” My throat dried up. “We just…”
“It’s okay, wildcat.” He pushed up onto his hands and knees and pressed a kiss to the tip of my nose. “We’ve done more than I could ever have hoped for. I can wait.”
Nodding, I pushed up to sit as Luca slid off the bed and began picking up the clothing from the floor.
I blinked at him, still off kilter from his hot kisses and how easily he moved on, as if my wants and opinions mattered more than his.
I might never get used to being treated like I was truly precious to him.
“Ready?” he asked. Climbing to my feet, I followed him out of the room. We made a stop in the bathroom to gather up the toiletries.
Five minutes later, I was tucking my clothes into drawers beside his. The window spilled late afternoon sun across the room, and I couldn’t help lifting my face to enjoy it.
Eight years of darkness. I don’t think I could give up the sun again. It was worth moving into Luca’s room just for the windows.
“I’m going to go check on Cade. Stay here?” he asked.
“Sure,” I said, fighting back a yawn.
Luca’s shoulders rose and fell as he smiled knowingly at me. Without saying a word, he pulled back the duvet from his bed and patted the pillow.
“Luca?” I said, and he paused on his way out of the room. “Thank you.”
“When I said I’d do anything foryou, wildcat, I meant it.” With a wink, he was gone.
Chapter 17
Dreams
It took only minutes for me to fall asleep, snuggled up in Luca and Cade’s cozy bed, surrounded by the scent of fresh pine and vanilla sugar.
I was too tired to care if I missed dinner. After staying awake as a wolf for most of the night, followed by the attack, and then my time with Luca, I had nothing left.
My sleep was deep and dreamless.
At some point, Luca returned and climbed into bed beside me, wrapping his arms around me and pressing his nose against my neck. Cade did not join us, and I was too sleepy to wonder where he was. Luca’s steady breathing lulled me back to sleep.
I walked through the forest near the lake, and then the darkness turned into the vampire den. Numb, I wandered through the empty bloodstained donor beds.
Hesitantly, I stopped at my rickety bed. Unsure what else to do, I climbed in and tugged the covers up to my neck. My hands were small and stubby, and whenI ran my fingers over my hair, it was cropped short, the same as when the vampires first brought me into the den.
A boy appeared beside me. He looked to be thirteen or so, with a fullness to his cheeks and a softness to his features. I stared at him, recognizing the stubborn set of the mouth and the scrunch of his eyebrows. It was Cade.
He scrunched up his face and reached out, his hand hovering over my blanket-covered body. “Do you want to be here?”
“No!” I shook my head. My voice was high and thin. “It’s scary. I don’t want to be here. ”
