Page 25 of Claimed By the Grumpy Shifter

"Easier said than done," I murmur.

"Then I'll help you keep it together."

She's not running. She's not afraid. She's sitting in my truck, agreeing to come home with me, and she's promising to help me be the man she deserves.

Halfway home, I can't stand it anymore. I reach over and place my hand on her thigh, just above her knee, testing her reaction. She doesn't pull away. Instead, she shifts slightly, and her legs part just enough to make my vision blur.

"Christine," I growl, my hand moving higher on her thigh.

"Yes?"

Her voice is breathless, full of anticipation, and the bear claws at my control.

"If you don't want this, if you're having second thoughts, tell me now. Because once we get to my place, I'm not going to be able to stop myself."

"I don't want you to stop."

My hand tightens on her thigh, and I can feel the heat of her skin through the denim.

"You sure about that?" I ask, my thumb stroking in small circles that make her breath hitch.

"I'm sure."

The bear is done with patience. Done with waiting. It wants what belongs to us, and it wants it now.

"Pull your jeans down," I command.

"What?" She turns to stare at me, eyes wide with shock.

"You heard me. Pull them down. I want to touch you."

"Marc, we're in the car. We're driving—"

"I can drive and touch you at the same time." My hand slides higher, brushing her inner thighs through the denim. "Pull them down, Christine. Let me feel how wet you are for me."

"I can't... we can't..." she says, as her hips arch toward my touch.

"We can." I slow the truck, pulling into the parking lot of a closed gas station to give us more privacy. "It's dark. No one can see. Just you and me and what we both want."

I put the truck in park but leave it running, the headlights illuminating the empty lot. Then I turn to face her, my hand still resting on her thigh.

"Trust me," I say.

She stares at me for a few seconds, and I can practically see the war being fought behind her blue eyes. The good girl who's never taken risks battling the woman who's tired of playing it safe.

The woman wins.

With shaking hands, she reaches for the button of her jeans.

Chapter 10 - Christine

I can't believe I'm doing this.

I, Christine Parker, the girl who blushes when men look at her, who has spent twenty-six years being safe and predictable, am about to pull down my pants in a public parking lot for a man I've known for less than three days.

It's insane. Reckless. Completely unlike me.

And yet my fingers are already working the button free, already sliding down the zipper with a metallic hiss that sounds impossibly loud in the quiet truck cab.

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