Page 65 of Hayden's Haven
Lying naked on the rug, trying to calm her mind and body, Mila jerked unexpectedly as her wolf nipped her from within. Her wolf wasn’t going to sit still for self-pity tonight, and she had a point. They had survived Vance and that alone had been a victory. They’d even attacked him.
Maybe she wasn’t as weak as she thought. Maybe, just maybe, Hayden wouldn’t see her as a weak shifter.
The shower was still running. Mila padded her way to the bathroom, fairly sure he wouldn’t hear her over the water. Despite being in a rustic cabin, the bathroom was fairly modern, with a walk-in shower and a glass partition that extended three fourths the length of the room, just enough to keep the water from splashing the toilet and vanity area. The floor itself was covered in black, two-inch square tiles, while the white tile walls had a band of white, black and clear glass running horizontally around the shower.
A massive shower head poured water down one very deliciously muscled, sexy shifter. Mila frowned at the water disappearing down the drain; it was tinged pink from all the blood.
Hayden’s muscled flexed and moved with utter grace and perfection as he tilted his head back and let the water sluice down his body. With each step closer, she could see how powerful he truly was. Corded muscles layered his arms, shoulders, and neck. But there was something about his chest muscles and how his six-pack drew the eye down further that fascinated her.
As she stepped in front of him, not yet under the stream of water, he opened his eyes. His eyes as pitch black as night had never scared her, but here and now, the way he seemed to look through her to her soul, made her shiver with an intense need only he could fulfill.
“I’m dirty.” She could kick herself. It was the stupidest thing she could possibly say. God help her, she was awful at this.
Hayden quirked a brow. “Just dirty, or is there some naughty inside there too?”
“I meant my skin.”
The claw marks Vance had left on Hayden’s front were mostly gone, as were the bites on his shoulder, arm, and leg. The only scars he would have were the three old ones that decorated his chest and the one that traveled from his left elbow to the back of his hand. Water struck her arms as she lightly traced the three scars that dragged from his collar bone to the end of his rib cage.
Hayden grabbed her hand hard by the wrist. “Don’t,” he said, his voice no longer playful. “I don’t want your pity. I did nothing wrong to earn these.”
“I didn’t say you had,” Mila said as she began to pull away.
Instead of letting go, he yanked her forward until she was tight against his chest, under the water. “I want to understand you better, Hayden.”
Without another word, his mouth came down on hers. He was tender and strong, but there was more to the way he kissed her, the way his hand held the back of her hand, keeping her to him. It was as if he expected her to leave, to abandon him. She feared too many had done just that to her shifter, and she honestly didn’t know if she’d be one of them. She couldn’t hide from him forever. It wasn’t fair to him, but once she showed her true nature, he’d run. The only strong shifters who took a weak shifter were those who had no other choice, those who thought they could control them—and did. Like Vance.
Hayden broke the kiss finally, leaving her wanting more. “I’ll let you finish your shower now.”
“I’m clean, have been since you stood over there watching me.”
“You knew?”
He smirked as he pumped liquid soap into his palm from the shelf above the shower controls. “Arms up, against the wall. And don’t move.”
She tried to hide the shiver going through her as she planted her hands above her just out of the spray’s reach. Hayden ran his soap-filled hands down her arms, front and back. Slippery hands moved over her breasts, kneading them, and drawing out her nipples until they were impossibly hard. He pinched one, eliciting a slight moan that she bit off before he could hear how much she liked what he was doing. The need to resist him was strong right now, and she wasn’t sure why.
One hand remained on a breast while the other dipped lower, zig-zagging down her belly until he reached her mound. “You thought I’d let him take you from me.”
“No,” she said, knowing it wasn’t Vance who’d take her from Hayden, but her own weakness.
He squeezed her nipple hard and held it this time, not releasing her as his other hand found her clit. The pressure there combined with him holding her nipple made her squirm, which in turn sent a shooting sensation from her nipple down to her pussy. Her very empty pussy. He released her nipple at the same time he lightly pinched her clit. The unexpected sensation made her suck in air.
“The more you lie, the harder I’m going to fuck you.”
“That’s confusing. I don’t want to lie—”
“Oh, so you want a hard fuck?”
“Yessss,” she said as his fingers dipped into her entrance. With a gentle tug to her hair, he pulled her head back. His mouth crashed down on hers, his lips were strong and scorching.
“Tell me what you’re hiding, Mila.”
“I’m not hiding anything.”
He spun her around, and slammed her against the wall, cushioning her head with his hand. “You are. I can feel it. I can smell it on you. You’re afraid of something.”
The look on his face was of a shifter who was beyond serious. It was as if she had challenged him. Perhaps she had.
