Page 29 of The Healer and the Wolf: Part One

Despite him being the one that transformed from a wild animal, he mademefeel so much more human.

That was probably why, if I was being honest with myself, I didn’twant him to go.

13

LEO

Was it possible to fall in love with someone in less than a month? More importantly, was it possible formeto fall in love at all?

I didn’t know, but the question had begun to bleed through my mind the more time I spent with Ven.

Everything about her was so… lovely. Enticing.Perfect.Kindness radiated from her, and her dark eyes sparkled with delight whenever I asked her something about the garden. I adored her silliness when she played with her cats. Her figure. Her smile.Everything.

I was so conscious of her when she was around me that there was little room for anything else. And strangely, I didn’t mind.

Which made absolutely no sense.

“Ven, what are you doing?”

She was standing on her kitchen table, the cover to the overhead light in her hand while she reached down for a box of lightbulbs at her feet.

“The light went out,” she said, eyes wide like she’d been caught doing something she shouldn’t. “Don’t worry, I’m going to clean the table.”

That wasn’t what worried me. Ven was entirely human, and although I was viscerally attracted to how soft she was, if she fell, she could get really hurt.

“Here, let me do that,” I said, closing the distance between us.

Her little laugh was like bells in my head. “I’m already up here, silly. Makes no sense to climb down just for you to climb up.”

“Can I at least give you some stability?”

She shrugged. “Sure, don’t suppose I’d mind. This table is sturdy, but up here it does feel like it wobbles.”

“All right, then.”

I settled my hands on either side of her soft, lovely waist, applying just enough pressure to keep her stable. Almost instantly, my wolf reared his head as if he were summoned by the visceral reaction of my body.

It wasn’tmyfault that Ven’s body was the perfect combination of contradictions. She was so strong. I could see it in her frame, how she held herself, and feel it underneath her soft skin. But she was also so incredibly fragile. She wouldn’t heal like I would if she fell. And she was just so perfectlyplush. I wanted to sink into her and be surrounded by the luxury of it all, even if it wasn’t something I deserved.

I was so lost in the feel of her, my mind filled with images of bending her over and finding out exactly what it would feel like to have her wrapped around my cock, what kind of dulcet sounds she would make with my lips against her neck, that I almost didn’t hear her speak at all.

“Okay, it’s in. You can let me go.”

I swallowed hard, trying to get my mind and body to veer off the dangerous road it was on. “Right. Of course.”

I was remiss to let her go, my hands desperate to rove over her gorgeous, generous form, but somehow, I restrained myself. Maybe I was more human than I gave myself credit for.

“Thanks,” Ven said, clambering down and giving me an appreciative pat on the shoulder. I knew it was a simple, friendly gesture, but ripples of sensation spread out at her touch. Did she really have no idea what she did to me?

She traipsed off to go be a work of art in another room, leaving me locked in my thoughts once again.

As the days passed,more and more memories came back to me. I had a deep love and loyalty for my pack, even if I couldn’t entirely remember them. I wanted to—oh, how desperately I wanted to—and every day I tried to grasp the ghosts in my memory. They still eluded me.

What I did know, however, was that for the longest time my pack took up all the space in my heart. I had a duty to them, and I spent my whole life protecting them, providing for them, fighting for them. There was so much responsibility tied up in things, I didn’t even know if I was capable of something like romance. Especially with my loved ones lost to the recesses of my own mind.

“Hey, would you mind switching the laundry from the washer to the dryer? My direct deposit just hit, so I’m going to grab another shirt and pants from the thrift store, and some more food.”

“Of course,” I answered, putting my book aside as Ven rushed through the living room/my bedroom.

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