Page 36 of The Healer and the Wolf: Part One

I looked up at Leo, raindrops still on my lashes, and studied that handsome face of his. The slope of his jaw had a slight bump—he must have broken it at some point in his life. He had such sharp cheekbones. But mostly, I locked eyes with him and saw that ever-present intensity.

God, he was so fucking handsome, and the way he was looking at me made it even harder to breathe. It was hard not to feel the world narrow down to just him and me.

“Leo…” I murmured, acutely aware of how his thrifted clothes clung to the sculpted planes of his body. He really was an Adonis, all masculine strength and power.

“Yes?” His voice was low, barely more than a rumble, and it made me shiver for reasons other than the cold water drenching me.

I didn’t know where I got the nerve, but I swallowed and kept speaking. “Would you like to take a shower?”

15

LEO

“Would you like to take a shower?”

The way Ven was looking up at me through her lashes sent desire rushing through my body. Those honey-brown eyes were my own personal kryptonite.

Strange, the things I remembered when I looked at her—like a comic superhero and his weakness.

The silence stretched on for a few beats too long. Shit, I needed to answer her.

“You can go first,” I managed to ground out, my brain moving like molasses. I desperately tried not to think about her naked body beneath the hot water, soap cascading over the ample planes of her body.

I didn’t understand why Ven’s face fell slightly until she cleared her throat and spoke again. “What I meant was, would you like to take a showerwithme?”

Oh.

Oh.

Yes, I would like that very much. Enough to make me wonder if I had actually slipped somewhere out on the trail and hit my head.

But, no, Ven was right in from me, asking me something I never dreamed she would.

“Are you sure?” I asked, desire seeping into every word.

“Yes, I am very,verysure.”

Who was I to argue with that?

“Then, yes, I would like to take a shower with you.” The words felt clunky in my mouth, but Ven didn’t seem to mind. Instead, she took my hand, and we started up the stairs.

It seemed so very much like a dream.

It wouldn’t have been the first time I’d dreamt about her, and I wouldn’t have been surprised if I woke up with my cock already straining with need. But no, her touch was too real as she led me up the stairs and into the bathroom.

The last time we’d shared the space together had been the big turning point for me, when I’d gone from an animal masquerading as a man, to a shifter who had control over himself. The thought that I would be sharing the bathroom with Ven again was dizzying. Overwhelming, even.

But I wanted it. I wanted it more than anything.

“I’ll start the water,” Ven said, and although I heard the hitch of nerves in her voice, it was comforting to know she was just as affected as I was, that the gravity of the situation wasn’t lost on her.

It was nice.

Actually,nicedidn’t even come close to covering it. I’d been pulled toward the gorgeous woman in front of me ever since that first moment in the woods when she’d taken pity on an injured wolf instead of running away. And I’d been outright attracted to her ever since the first moment I’d regained my human form. I’d imagined gliding my hands down her body and pressing my lips to her neck so many times. I always ushered those thoughts away quickly, banishing them out of my head for fear of disrespecting her.

But now, there was no disrespect as Ven turned to me, the scent of her arousal and excitement filling the room. My blood rushed through my veins in response, my cock rapidly hardening.

Then she started to undress.

---