Page 70 of Brody
“Is it?”He raised an eyebrow, his voice rough with sleep in a way that sent inappropriate shivers down my spine.“Feels pretty natural to me.”
I rolled my eyes, finally extricating myself from his embrace despite my cheetah’s vehement protests.The sudden absence of his body heat left me shivering slightly in the cool morning air.The sheet slipped away, reminding me that we’d both gone to bed naked after our soak in the hot spring.“Don’t get used to it, wolfie.Obviously just a biological response to the unfamiliar sleeping environment.”
His lips quirked in that half smile that did inexplicable things to my internal organs.“Obviously.Nothing to do with my irresistible charm or impressive physique.”
“Your ego is the most impressive thing about you,” I shot back, but I couldn’t quite hide my own smile.
He stretched, the movement causing the sheet to slip completely off his torso, revealing the sculpted planes of his chest and abdomen.My eyes followed the trail of dark hair that disappeared beneath the remaining fabric, lingering unabashedly on the impressive morning erection tenting the sheet.
“Though I might have to revise that assessment,” I added, unable to help myself.
He barked out a surprised laugh.“Dr.Dhahabu, did you just make a dick joke before coffee?I’m shocked and impressed.”
“A researcher observes all data points,” I replied primly, fighting the urge to laugh.“Even the ones that seem… inflated.”
He clutched his chest in mock offense.“You wound me.There’s nothing inflated about my… data.”
His eyes traveled slowly down my body, lingering at the curve of my hips before returning to my face.The air between us seemed to thicken, charged with something that had nothing to do with our research and everything to do with the primal pull I’d been fighting since we met.
“See something you like, Doctor?”His voice held amusement, but his eyes darkened with heat.
“Just conducting a comparative anatomical study,” I replied, making no effort to look away.Two could play at this game.“For science, of course.”
“Of course,” he echoed, his gaze making a similar assessment of my bare body.“I’m all for advancing scientific knowledge.Should I pose for your study?Perhaps a few different angles?”
He shifted as if to strike a bodybuilder pose, and I couldn’t help the laugh that escaped me.“I think I have sufficient observational data, thank you.”
The intensity of his stare made my skin prickle with awareness.I might have been clinically unabashed about nudity in professional contexts, but there was nothing clinical about the way Brody looked at me, like I was prey, sustenance, and salvation all in one.
“I need to brush my teeth,” I announced, not bothering to cover myself as I slid from the bed.If he wanted to look, let him look.I’d earned every curve and scar on my body, and I refused to feign modesty when we’d spent half the night naked in the hot spring.
“Need company?”he asked, rising from the bed with equal lack of self-consciousness.His body was a marvel of masculine perfection, broad shoulders tapering to narrow hips, powerful thighs, and between them… I forced my eyes upward, meeting his knowing gaze.
“The pedestal sink is big enough for two,” I conceded, heading toward the bathing area.“Though your ego might need its own basin.”
“My ego and I are deeply hurt by your accusations,” he replied, following me with that predatory grace that somehow managed to be both intimidating and slightly ridiculous when completely naked.“We demand an apology.”
“I’ll add it to the list of things you’re waiting for,” I called over my shoulder, rewarded by his deep chuckle.
The massive shell-like basin perched atop a column of living stone near the hot spring and toilet area, separated from the main living space by a natural stone divider that offered the illusion of privacy without actual walls.
I rummaged through my pack for my toiletry bag, every nerve ending alive to Brody’s presence behind me, his heat radiating like a furnace even without touching me.At the sink, I squeezed toothpaste onto my brush, catching his reflection in the natural mirror of polished stone above the basin.
“Cinnamon,” he observed, reaching for his own toothbrush.“My favorite.”
I raised an eyebrow.“Coincidence.”
“Sure, it is.”His smile told me he knew better.The mate bond influenced preferences, tastes, even sleeping positions, as our tangled awakening had demonstrated.“Next, you’ll tell me you suddenly have a craving for rare steak and moonlit runs.”
“Please.”I scoffed around my toothbrush.“I was eating rare steak before you were toilet-trained, wolfie.”
He snorted, nearly choking on his toothpaste.“We’re the same age, smartass.”
“And yet you are so much less evolved,” I replied sweetly, batting my eyelashes at him in the mirror.
We brushed in companionable silence, our reflections sharing the mirror, my curly copper-gold curls wild from sleep, his dark hair similarly messy.
“You look like you stuck your finger in an electrical socket,” he observed, gesturing to my hair with his toothbrush.
