Page 82 of Shifter Marked and Claimed

A slap of water to my right had me spinning.

Once more a man, Vedar swam low in the water, only his eyes above the surface. The intensity of his gaze made my heart start to race with fear and maybe a little something else.

“I wasn’t trying to hurt you,” I rasped.

He rose out of the water just enough for me to see the hint of amusement around his lips.

“Neither was I,” he said before sinking low again.

I narrowed my eyes at him as he continued toward me. Was he trying to be playful? His hands closed over my sides and he pulled me close. The moment our bodies connected, he started clicking and rubbing his jaw against mine. Any hint of playfulness fled, and I lost myself a little until we sank lower in the water and I started to panic.

“I almost drowned once.”

He didn’t stop his rubbing but did make sure everything from my chin up stayed above water. The smooth texture of his skin against mine was strangely soothing. My racing pulse slowed, and I relaxed a little in his hold, going so far as to set my hands on his shoulders.

He liked that. A lot.

The clicking intensified, becoming so rapid it sounded more like a purr.

My back bumped the edge of the pool, and I jolted. I hadn’t even realized he was moving us. He exhaled against my skin, the hot gust of air making me shiver against him.

“Kelsey.” The single word was filled with some unnamed emotion that sent a second, far more dangerously delicious shiver through me.

“I don’t want to be in the pool anymore,” I said, slightly breathless. “Please.”

He pulled back and looked at me with those glittering, golden eyes and, with little effort, lifted me out of the pool. His gaze skimmed over my face and drifted down to my chest. I glanced down and crossed my arms over my pink sleep tank. The built-in sports bra hadn’t been enough to keep the wet material from showing more detail than I’d have liked.

His hands slid from my legs as I quickly stood and hurried across the tile. The wet slap of my feet against the floor wasn’t enough to mask the sound of him leaving the pool behind me. No doubt, he’d return to his gold pile and dry himself under the lamps. I didn’t have that same luxury. Or a change of clothes.

Annoyed with him for sneezing me into the pool and at myself for causing it, I entered the bathroom. My sleep pants were weighing me down, so I took them off first and gave them a quick wringing out over the sink. I tugged off the tank top next and was reaching for a towel when Vedar strode into the room. Rather than grabbing the intended cover, I slapped my arm across my chest.

He didn’t even glance my way as he reached to turn on the shower heads.

My hope that he’d continue to ignore me died when he turned and prowled toward me. I hated when he did that.

My eyes wanted to take in the fluid way he moved, all while staring at his exposed parts. He was mesmerizing to look at. So much so that I didn’t realize what he meant to do until his hand closed over my upper arm, and he began to drag me toward the running water.

I was only wearing my underwear.

CHAPTERNINE

“Wait. No.”

Vedar didn’t listen to a word of my protest.

Keeping my free arm locked over my chest, I tried jerking my other one free from his hold. His grip was like iron, and he dragged me right into the shower with him, only releasing his hold when water rained down on my head, blinding me.

I pushed water and hair out of my face with my free hand and found Vedar only inches away from me. But, he wasn’t looking at me. He was pouring shampoo into his hand.

Distracted was distracted, though, and there was no way I wanted to shower with him.

I’d only made it two steps out of the water when his hand came down on the top of my head. The touch, while light, was enough to knock me off balance on the slippery tile. I pinwheeled, smacking him in the chest before I caught myself on his arm.

He turned me and rubbed his palm briskly over my head. My sputtering protest turned into a death grip on his waist to prevent myself from falling again. But that wasn’t good enough, apparently. He pulled me against him and returned his hands to my hair.

Eyes wide and heart hammering, I tipped my head back to look him in the eyes. He didn’t seem to care about the full, bare breast to chest contact going on, though. Instead, he dug his fingers into my hair and started rubbing my scalp.

I didn’t stand a chance against his determined touch. It just felt too good. All of it. The way he was washing my hair. The firm pressure of his fingers. The skin-to-skin contact. The heat of the steam curling around my legs. A shaky exhale escaped me, and I closed my eyes.

---