Page 36 of Act of Brotherhood
“Do you stillwantto be doing this?”
Please say yes.
She nodded against his chin.
He eased his arms around her and hugged her, liking how she fit against his frame. “Nicolette, I need to hear you say it.”
“I still want to do this,” she said, this time louder. She stayed where he held her though, her fists still gathering his shirt in front. “I think I just need a moment to process the fact that I really want this. That probably doesn’t make any sense to you.”
A half laugh came from him. He was having a similar inner war. He knew the serum was affecting him. That whatever Auberi had done to it left Garth dancing on the edge of darkness, and that for the sake of all involved, he should leave and never look back. But he didn’t want to. He wanted to be here, with her, holding her, touching her, making love to her.
Making love? Fucking Auberi!
He tensed and then swallowed hard, still holding her close. “It makes more sense than you know. How about we get these foul-smelling cupcakes off us and we take this a little slower? Will that help?”
He didn’t want to take it slower. He wanted to take her then and there, but she needed time to adjust, and he’d give her the time she required. His wolf would just have to cool its jets.
At the thought of having to delay gratification, his wolf made its protest known by making Garth’s eyes change again. He closed them once more.
Nicolette gasped and stiffened in his arms.
Shit.
“That is the second time tonight I thought I saw something with your eyes that can’t be real,” she said, touching under his right eye. “The first time was when you were in the square.”
She’d caught the other loss of control too? With a shaky breath, he looked at her, praying the amber of his wolf’s eyes had receded. He was too worked up to tell.
A question formed on her brow. “Weird. They’re the sexiest green I’ve ever seen, but I swear to you that when the light catches them just right, they look amber. Then again, I could be totally nuts.”
She was anything but crazy.
Divulging the truth of who and what he was couldn’t happen, but Garth wanted it to. He didn’t want secrets between himself and this woman. He wanted open communication.
Never before had he wanted to lay all his secrets bare before a woman he was about to bed—or any woman, for that matter. Yet he wanted to do just that now. He wanted to explain that he wasn’t human, that his eyes changing color wasn’t a play of light or her imagination.
Opening that door of truth was a bad idea, and he knew it. He knew that once the horse was out of the barn, putting it back wouldn’t be easy—not without the help of a vampire or a Fae to mind-wipe her. What if she panicked? What if she thought he was crazy? Worse yet, what if she ran to the media about it all?
A target would be painted on her. There were certain factions in the supernatural world who wouldn’t bat an eye at eliminating a bothersome human. Especially one who knew the truth about them.
His wolf snarled within him.
She was not to be touched. Ever!
“Garth?” she asked, hesitation in her voice.
Pressing his lips to her forehead, he relaxed and hugged her quickly before releasing her. “Time to get what you claim were cupcakes off us.”
She laughed softly and nodded. “Follow me.”
He did. She led him through the house and then stopped at a half bath that was built to fit under the staircase. Thankfully, the old home had high ceilings, or Garth would have had to add remembering to duck on his long list of things he needed to do. Avoid pinning her to the floor and fucking her senseless. Don’t shift in front of her.
“You can wash up in here. There are washcloths on the shelf under the sink. My roommate and I have a friend who occasionally stays over on the pull-out sofa. He leaves clothes here all the time. You’re about the same size. I’ll get you one of his T-shirts.”
It was then Garth caught the scent of another woman within the home. He’d been so captivated by the succulent smell of Nicolette that he hadn’t bothered to notice any others. That should have been alarming. As a shifter male, it was natural for him to notice lingering scents. His only focus had been on Nicolette.
While the other woman’s smell was pleasant, it didn’t make him want to fuck until he couldn’t fuck anymore, like Nicolette’s scent did. “You mentioned your roommate is on a trip?”
“For business, yes,” said Nicolette as she stepped back. “Or else she’d be here demanding fingerprints from you and a full background check. Then she’d want you to get naked, so she could rate you before telling me to take you to my room and not let you out again. She’s both wild and overprotective. Interesting mix. I’m never sure if I’m going to get scolded or possibly arrested when something involves her.”
