Page 93 of Brody
The lab’s familiar scents of hops and grain from Brody’s brewery mingled with the sharper notes of antiseptic and the distinctly otherworldly aroma of the COL samples, earthy, primal, with an undertone of ozone that seemed to shift and change whenever I tried to identify it.I heard him sniffing loudly whenever he passed behind me.
“You’re doing it again,” I murmured, not looking up from the centrifuge as I separated another sample.My inner cheetah preened under his attention, contradicting the professional demeanor I was trying so hard to maintain.
“Doing what?”His voice rumbled just behind me, close enough that I could feel the heat radiating from his body.He knew exactly what he was doing.
“Scenting me.”I turned to face him, raising an eyebrow.“We’re supposed to be working.”But my heart raced traitorously, my body remembering all too well what those large hands could do.
The corner of his mouth lifted in that half smile that still made my heart skip.“Can’t help it.”His fingers brushed my hip, seemingly casual but sending sparks racing across my skin.He leaned in, his breath warm against my ear.“You smell like mine now.Like us.”
A shiver ran down my spine as he grazed the shell of my ear with his lips.My body responded instantly, the mate bond between us flaring to life with an intensity that still caught me off guard.One week of being mated, and I still wasn’t used to how my entire being seemed attuned to his presence.How had I lived without this?
“Brody,” I warned, though my voice betrayed me with its breathlessness.“The serum.”
“Can wait five minutes,” he murmured, sliding his hands around my waist to pull me against him.The hard planes of his chest pressed against my back as he nuzzled the claiming mark at the junction of my neck and shoulder.My knees nearly buckled as sensation shot through me, hot, electric, primal.My cheetah stretched inside me, purring with satisfaction.
“We promised Logan we’d have the treatment ready,” I reminded him, though I found myself tilting my head to give him better access.My eyes fluttered closed of their own accord.
“And we will.”He grazed my mark with his teeth, and I had to bite my lip to stifle a moan.The claiming mark was like a direct line to every nerve ending in my body.“But you’ve been working for six hours straight.You need a break.”
I turned in his arms, intending to push him away, but found myself mesmerized by the golden flecks in his eyes, not the pre-feral symptoms he’d once struggled with, but the normal shifter response to heightened emotion.To desire.For me.How was I supposed to resist that?
I reached up, tangling my fingers in his dark hair, and pulled his mouth down to mine.The kiss was explosive, a raw clash of lips, teeth, and tongue that sent liquid fire racing through my veins.Every nerve ending sparked to life as he slid his hands down to cup my ass, lifting me effortlessly onto the lab counter as he stepped between my thighs.The cool surface against my heated skin made me gasp.
His mouth devoured mine with a hunger that matched the inferno building inside me.I gasped as his teeth nipped at my lower lip, the slight pain only heightening the pleasure that coursed through my body.I wrapped my legs around his waist, pulling him closer until I could feel his hard cock pressing against my core through our clothes.
“God, Rozi,” he groaned against my mouth, his voice ragged with need.“Seven days and I still want you like it’s the first time.”
“Then take me,” I whispered, my own voice unrecognizable with desire.I slipped my hands beneath his shirt, nails raking lightly down his back, feeling the muscles bunch and flex beneath my touch.
His response was a growl that vibrated through my entire body.He captured my mouth again, the kiss so scorching I swore I could feel it melting my bones.He tangled his hands in my hair, tilting my head back to give him better access as his tongue swept inside, claiming, possessing, worshiping.My cheetah reveled in his wolf’s dominance, even as the woman in me matched his passion beat for beat.
“I love you,” he breathed against my lips, the words raw and unfiltered.“God, Rozi, I love you so much it terrifies me.”
The naked emotion in his voice made my chest ache.I pressed my palm against his cheek, feeling the stubble that had grown after our long night in the lab.“I love you too,” I whispered, still marveling at how easily those words now came.Words I never thought I’d say to anyone, let alone to the man who’d once broken my heart.But here we were, against all odds.
His answering smile was bewitching, transforming his rugged features into something so beautiful it made my breath catch.He kissed me again, and this time there was a tenderness underlying the passion that made tears prick at the backs of my eyes.His tongue teased mine in a slow dance that promised all the things we’d do once we were alone.Later.Tonight.For the rest of our lives.
“You know,” I said when we finally broke apart, both breathing hard, our foreheads pressed together, “for someone who used to be so grumpy, you’ve become quite the romantic.”
He laughed, the sound rumbling through his chest and into mine where our bodies pressed together.“Only with you,” he said, tucking a stray curl behind my ear with unexpected tenderness.“Only ever with you.”
I rolled my eyes, but I couldn’t stop my own smile.“Very scientific observation, wolfie.”
We’d fallen into a comfortable rhythm since returning from our quest to the COL, mornings in the lab, evenings at his cabin, our professional and personal lives blending with surprising ease.The COL water and moss samples had proven even more remarkable than I’d initially hoped, their properties amplifying under my microscope in ways that validated every risk we’d taken to obtain them.I’d risked my life for this research.We’d both nearly died.And now we were closer than ever to a breakthrough that could change everything for unmated male shifters.
I held the latest vial up to the light, marveling at the luminescent blue liquid.Under magnification, the molecular structure revealed patterns I’d never seen before, living crystalline formations that somehow bridged the gap between organic and inorganic.The moss extract contained cellular regenerators that targeted neural tissue specifically, while the water itself acted as a stabilizing agent, locking the new cellular patterns in place once formed.It was beautiful.Perfect.Almost magical in its complexity.
“The regeneration rate is still hard to believe,” I said, setting the vial in its stand.“In the simulation, it repaired 70 percent of degraded neural pathways in under forty-eight hours.”What other discoveries were hiding in that mysterious forest?What other miracles could we uncover if we dared to venture deeper next time?
Brody leaned over my shoulder to look at the monitor displaying the most recent test results, his arms encircling my waist from behind.His scent enveloped me now, layered with something uniquely us.He rested his chin on my shoulder, his breath warm against my neck.Such a simple touch, yet so intimate.Seven days ago, we’d been adversaries with a complicated past.Now we were mates, bound in ways I was still discovering.Life could change in an instant.I’d learned that the hard way.
“Remember when I picked you up from the airport?”he murmured, his lips brushing my ear.“When you were so determined to hate me?”
I leaned back against him, allowing myself the luxury of his strength.“I did hate you.”Sort of.Maybe.Not enough.
“Liar.”His chuckle vibrated against my back.“You wanted me then as much as I wanted you.”
“Wanted to strangle you.”But we both knew the truth.Even then, beneath the anger and hurt, the mate bond had been pulling us inexorably together.Fighting it had been exhausting.Giving in had been… life-changing.
