Page 56 of Racing the Storm

“Sorry,” he began.

I dropped to the bed and grabbed his calf in a tight hold. “Stop apologizing. This is the very minimum of what I deserve. I’m just trying to deal with all this and figure out the best way for us to get the hell out of here without being seen.”

He inclined his head just once, but it was enough. He understood. Hell, maybe he was feeling it too. I watched him as he turned his coffee pale and sweet, then he took a long drink and let out a happy sigh, eyes fluttering closed.

My gaze settled on the column of his neck, the soft beat of his heart, and I wanted to bite.

“I can smell you,” Danyal said, pulling me out of my thoughts. “We should probably shower.”

He was right, but it hurt that he wanted to wash it all away.

“Yeah, I can see you over-thinking,” he added, and laughed when my face dropped into a scowl. “I don’t regret last night, but you said they have Wolves with them. We reek of shifter, Mikael. Any one of them wouldn’t need to do more than stroll by across the street.”

Fuck. He was right.

I pushed to my feet, walking to the window, and I cracked the curtains before opening the glass just a few inches. A soft breeze wafted in, and after a short while, the smell began to dissipate.

“I was hoping you might shower with me,” I said after a moment. There was no point in hiding what I wanted and no point in being a coward anymore.

He looked at me over the rim of his mug, and I could see a smile in his eyes. The green that morning was softer, gentle in the stream of sunlight. Everything about him was just so fucking beautiful, and I half-wondered if I had stuck around into the morning the night of his heat, would I have been able to walk away?

I doubted it. Even with the pain and fear I’d been suffering then.

“We probably shouldn’t take too long. If the neighbors here know that these people are on vacation, I don’t want them to hear the shower and come over to investigate.”

“Or call the cops,” I added, though I hated it. All I wanted to do was linger in the stolen luxury we had for these last few hours.

Setting his mug down, he reached for my hand, and I did the same. As my coffee thumped softly next to his, I used his grip on my hand to pull him into me. He let out a soft moan as I buried my nose in his neck, which turned into a growling purr as I laved my tongue over the place where I’d bite to create our permanent bond.

“Come on,” he said, slightly breathless. He didn’t move though, in spite of his words. He rocked his morning wood against my thigh and tilted his head for a kiss. He was sleep-sour and coffee-rich, and I loved it.

I kissed him like I needed the taste of him to survive, and it wasn’t until he was shaking and close to begging that I pulled away.

“Bastard,” he breathed out, the word trembling.

I laughed, trying to cover up that he had me just as off kilter. I twisted our fingers together again, and we separated as I went into the bathroom to start the shower, and he moved to the WC for a morning piss. I could hear him humming through the wall, and it made me grin as I stuck my hand under the stream, waiting for it to warm.

The room was perfectly steamy by the time he arrived, and I sucked in a breath when I saw he was still mostly hard. My own erection throbbed at the sight of him, and I felt a little too close to the edge when his warm body pressed against mine.

“I want to make you come,” I told him, nipping at his jaw.

“Yeah, I have no plans to say no to that.”

I laughed as he exposed more of his neck to me, and then I helped him over the short lip, easing the door closed. It was a modern design, which contrasted with the age of the flat, but I loved it. It was nestled in the corner and the water ran hot and glorious over my skin.

“Gods, I could stay here all day,” he moaned.

I eyed him for a moment, then reached for the soap and poured a generous amount into my hand. It was floral and thick—expensive most likely—and it turned into rich bubbles against my fingers and palm. Danyal watched me with hooded eyes as I gently moved my hands to his chest, and he sucked in a sharp breath when I circled the pads of my thumbs around his nipples.

“Yes,” he sighed out.

I stepped closer, then dragged one hand down toward the hair surrounding his cock. “Yes?”

His eyes went a little more focused, narrowing into a glower. “You want me to beg?”

At that, I leaned in and kissed him, sucking his tongue into my mouth, biting at his lips until he was pliant and soft again. “Never. I just want to make you feel good.”

His hands gripped my waist, just above the cut of my hip, and I felt the tips of his claws dig into my skin. “You do.”