Page 8 of Blood, Shadow & Claw

I wanted him to hold me in his arms and tell me everything would be okay and that I would never have to change into that terrible beast again. But I felt thatwouldn'thappen, so breakfast seemed logical.

"I am a little hungry." My answer was muffled by his broad chest, but he understood my request.

Ajax carried me through his house as if I weighed nothing. While I wasn't the tallest of women, coming in at a mere five feet four inches, I did have curves and plenty of them. That's how I made my living as a plus-size influencer.

My therapist had been hesitant when I started this new venture. She had wanted me to interact with what she called 'real people' versus people online. I rolled my eyes and told her that people online are just as real as you and me.

Dr. Baker had a way of looking at you so intently that all the holes in your statement suddenly began to appear. We both knewthat I was avoiding personal relationships. In my experience, they only brought you pain. Relationships online had a level of anonymity that I tended to hide behind. Thousands of people can like your Instagram post or comment on your TikTok; some aren't nice.

But it wasn't right to your face. I could always reason the trolls wouldn't feel that way if they knew me. Or I could tell myself that the camera adds ten pounds, and their comments didn't matter.

However, I avoided real-life, person-to-person conversations and relationships like the plague. Even now, instead of walking around like the grown-ass adult I should be, I was huddled against this stranger's chest.

Maybe I was too broken.

The thought brought tears to my eyes. I bit my lip and tried to make the tears go away. Sadly, when Ajax went to put me on the countertop, he saw my tears.

"Hey, baby girl, what's the matter?"

The worst thing someone can do when I am upset is to be nice to me. It was as if the gates of my emotions had been ripped off, and sobs began to wrack my body.

I could feel the anxiety and compassion rolling off Ajax as he contemplated what to do.

"How about we just sit for a while? Breakfast isn't going anywhere." He scooped me up and sat down in a wide recliner that rocked. Whispering words of encouragement, he rocked me until my tears subsided. At this point, his T-shirt was soaked, and I had a massive headache.

"I think you will feel better after you've had something to eat," Ajax said. "Come along, Mazie girl. I will fix some fruit pancakes and bacon for you. How does that sound?"

My stomach growled loudly. A flush stained my cheeks when he laughed at my body's response.

"I like a girl who appreciates a good meal," he said with a wink. "Now, let's get rid of this wet shirt."

Grabbing the back of his collar, Ajax yanked the shirt he'd been wearing off of his body. Holy melon balls, the man was cut! Helooked like one of those models gracing the covers of my favorite romances.

When Ajax cleared his throat, my gaze snapped up to his. I could see that his blue eyes were shining, and he had a predatory look. Somehow, I wasn't frightened of him, which is saying a lot, as I was afraid of everything. If anything, his intensity caused something inside of me to tighten.

The voice in my head whispered once again, "Mine!"

Hearing voices that nobody else could listen to was never a good sign. I ignored it because, deep down, I wanted him to be mine. It was as simple as that.

"Mazie," his voice was gruff as he said my name. "If you don't want to start something here, you'd better stop looking at me like that."

My tongue darted out and moistened my bottom lip. He growled, and that deep rumble, which should have been a menacing sound, caused my sex to clench.

"I'm warning you," he said, stepping forward.

The old Mazie would have taken off my now. Lord knew I wasn't one to flirt or mess around with boys. How many neurotic twenty-seven-year-old virgins do you know? I know one—me.

My breasts tightened against the fabric of his t-shirt, and the space between my thighs began to ache.

Ajax's hands wrapped around my hips, and he yanked me forward into his body. My legs automatically wrapped around his waist. I could feel the length of his erection against the juncture of my thighs. While I'd never had sex before, I had read about it a million or so times.

For the first time in my life, those crazy, steamy scenes that seemed so farfetched suddenly became plausible. Here it was, Mazie Green, with my legs wrapped around the most gorgeous man I had ever met; my fingertips grazed his rock-hard chest, and his forehead had come to rest on mine.

"I can't take advantage of you," he said gruffly.

I moaned, wriggling a little against his length, and then gasped as I felt a twinge of tortured pleasure. Was this what I'd been missing? Irubbed against him again like a cat in heat, causing Ajax to curse and my clit to come to life.

Dear God, if this was just a taste of intimacy, I had a fair idea that I was destined to be an addict.

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