Page 54 of Watch Me Burn
“And CSU has it?”
I nod. “They’ll give me a discount because I’m an alum, but it’s still an incredibly expensive treatment.”
“I know several people on the Board of Regents. I can make a call.”
Maren shoos me from my chair, taking over the task of wiping the gel from Ricky’s belly. I walk over to Damien.
“I can’t ask you to do that.”
“You’re not asking.”
“Are you sure?”
Ricky needs this treatment, and pride won’t get it for him. I’ll take help from anyone, even the man who had his face buried between my thighs two nights ago.
“Of course. I couldn’t live with myself if your favorite resident raccoon suffered when I can do something to help.”
“I don’t have favorites. I love both Ricky and Zorro.”
A slow smile spreads across Damien’s face, and he shakes his head. His eyes crinkle, and warmth melts into his expression, like he finds my defensive response endearing rather than convincing.
“I’ll call today before I leave.”
“Thank you, Damien. I don’t know how I can ever repay you for this.”
He closes the distance between us and leans down, his breath ghosting across my lips. I breathe him in—that clean, masculine vanilla and amber scent that triggers the same visceral response I get from my wolf’s nearness. My belly clenches, and want coils tight inside me.
“I’ll take another kiss.”
I shoot a quick look at Maren, who’s ignoring us, and a smile curves my lips. Damien’s face carries such naked hope that my chest tightens. The combination of his usual commanding presence with this moment of vulnerability makes him impossible to resist.
I stretch up and press my lips to his in the briefest contact, barely more than a breath.
“Thank you, Mr. Wolfe.”
When I step away, Damien’s head jerks, his eyelids fluttering like he’s been jolted awake. His irises have disappeared into black pools that pin me in place with their intensity.
Okay, you two, pervy raccoon coming through.” Maren approaches with a groggy Ricky in her arms. “I’ll put him back in his cage to rest.”
I guide Damien out of the way with my hand on his arm so Maren can get by. His muscles jump under my touch.
“Thanks, Maren. I’ll come check on him in a little bit.”
The moment she disappears around the corner, Damien’s composure shatters. The flowers slip from his hand and hit the floor, petals scattering in every direction as he spins me around and presses me against the door. His hands lock onto my hips and lift, hauling me upward until my feet leave the ground. The wood behind me is solid and cool against my spine, while his body radiates heat in front, pinning me in place.
He takes my mouth like he’s been starving for it. His tongue slides past my lips with maddening slowness, each movement calculated to drive me insane. My heartbeat turns chaotic, thundering in my ears. The scent of him overwhelms my senses—expensive cologne mixed with something darker, more primal.
I whimper in his mouth as my hands fist in his hair. The kiss shifts from desperate to reverent, so gentle it makes my throat tight with emotion. He’s worshipping me with his mouth, and the tenderness threatens to break me apart.
His moan vibrates against my lips, and he deepens the kiss until the world narrows to this moment, this man, this perfect collision of want and need. He tilts his head and claims me deeper, until I’m drowning in him, until my lungs scream for air I can’t spare. I wrench my mouth away, gasping.
“My god, Damien.” The words scrape out of me between harsh breaths. My chest rises and falls as I try to anchor myself back in reality.
“I’ve been dying to do that again since Saturday night.” His voice comes out rough, and he clears his throat as my fingers drift to my swollen lips.
He kisses me like he’s drowning, like I’m oxygen and salvation wrapped into one. This is the kind of kiss I crave. The kind that devours and claims and leaves nothing untouched.
My wolf owns my body with his touch, his possession, and his relentless hunger. But there are parts of me he’s never claimed. My heart, my soul, and the pieces that exist beyond flesh and bone. I ache for him to consume those too, to kiss me like his very existence depends on the connection between our mouths.
