Page 14 of The Return
It wasn’t something we talked about, and never with someone who wasn’t a wolf. “We can die of loneliness. Wolves are not meant to be alone. It’s why we form packs. The more of us there are, the happier we will be. We’re also needy animals who have to have constant touch to keep us grounded.”
“Like this?” Corey reached out and slid a hand over my chest. “Would something like this work?”
When I was in exile, my parents touched me. Dad was forever nudging me, and Mom would give me hugs. It was good—great, in fact—but it wasn’t the same as a friend or Corey. No one but Corey could warm me from the outside in with little more than a brush of hands over mine.
“God, yes,” I whimpered. “You don’t know how desperate I was to do something stupid like ruffle your hair or bump shoulders with you or any of the other thousand ways we touched when we were together.”
He moved closer and put his arm around my waist. “So it’s okay that I’m touching you?”
I grinned down at him, even though he couldn’t see me. “You’re my mate. You can touch me anywhere, anytime.”
He chuckled, and it reverberated through me. “Remember you said that.”
Trust me, I’m not likely to forget it, because I finally feel like I can breathe again.
CHAPTER5
COREY
All afternoonI marveled at Jonas. Just seeing him made my heart thud and my fingers twitch to touch him. Hell, I was in love with a werewolf. How many people could say that? Or that when they went to bed, they were curled like a little spoon, being held against an Adonis-like body? And to be told I was his mate? If anyone else had said I belonged to Jonas, I’d have flipped out. I didn’t belong to anyone but myself. Or that’s how I’d come across. Truth is? I’d known, deep down, Jonas was the only person for me.
“Why?” Jonas rumbled in my ear.
“Why what?”
“Why are you thinking? It’s dark out, so you should be sleeping.”
“I tried, but I keep thinking how awesome it is to have you back.”
He kissed my neck, and an electric current ran through me. “I’m happy you didn’t make me grovel too much.”
“Who said there wasn’t any in our future?”
He sunk his teeth gently into the skin between my neck and shoulder. “As long as I get to keep you, I’ll do anything you want.”
That was an opening if I ever heard it. “Could I… I mean, could we… if it isn’t too much trouble….”
He snickered. “You wanna see my wolf, don’t you?”
God, yes. “Please?”
“Sure, but there are things you have to remember. My wolf is an Alpha. He’s the dominant one, and when dealing with an Alpha, you need to never meet our gaze directly. And for God’s sake, whatever you do, don’t try to run from me. I’d never intentionally hurt you, but my wolf will think it’s a game and do his best to take you down, and he won’t be gentle about it.”
“Okay, I got it.”
Jonas stood and lifted the hem of his shirt.
“What are you doing?”
He gave me an exasperated look. “Ever seen a wolf wear clothes? We get naked before we shift. Remember Dan? He was naked.”
Yeah, I felt stupid. “Sorry, I wasn’t thinking.”
The truth of it was, I’d never seen Jonas totally naked. We wore shorts or swimsuits when we were together. Back then, his body had been a mirror copy of mine: pasty skin, not a hair to speak of other than the pits. Yeah, I had a sprinkle around my cock, but not the bush like I’d seen on other guys in the showers.
The shirt went up and over Jonas’s head and was discarded onto the floor. He stood and lifted his arms, a stretch as he reached skyward. He was absolutely breathtaking. Definitely no longer the whitest kid I knew. Now he had golden skin, and hair that ran from his beefy chest to his muscular belly, then disappeared below his belt. I’d heard of treasure trails, but Jonas seemed to have his own island.
“You know, we share a characteristic with our wolves. We hate clothes. They’re too confining. We like being able to walk around, letting it all hang out.”
