Page 49 of Winter's Edge
In the space between heartbeats, he closed the distance between us and put his hand on my neck, not squeezing, just an unexpected pressure.
“What are you—”
He slid it lower until he found my pulse, a rhythm that had gone haywire. Then something soft brushed my lips, softer than I could’ve ever expected from Grady. His mouth, I realized. A kiss.
“I’ll help you.” His words brushed against all my senses, all their jagged, coarse edges scratching an itch I didn’t even know I had.
“Help me…” I wanted to ask it as a question:Help me how?But I was too breathless, too overcome with curiosity, that it sounded like an invitation.
And Grady took it as one. He captured my lips in another kiss, this one hard and rough as the rest of him. His hand left my throat and wound around my waist, burning me even closer to him. The muscled expanse underneath his cold coat pressed closer and consumed the chill, leaving only his fiery heat. My healed shoulder hit the flimsy wall, and something started to unspool deep inside of me. Something I didn’t have a name for. A knot of control or maybe inhibitions—and Grady held the thread.
I moaned loudly, grazing my fingers up the back of his buzz-cut hair.
He broke the kiss, his breaths heavy, and brought his mouth to my neck where he licked and sucked. “Tell me to stop.”
“Don’t.” I clutched him tighter.
His low chuckle vibrated into me and sank down in rippling tingles, so powerful that I ground my thighs together and rolled my hips into him. He caught them, and both his thumbs played across the waistband of my baggy pants.
“It’s what I do to take the edge off of my nerves,” he rasped between kisses to my neck, and then he sank one hand down the front of my pants.
I gasped and flung my head back against the wall. His fingers found me instantly since I wasn’t wearing underwear, and he slicked one inside of me. I moaned again, but this time, Grady caught it with a deep, searing kiss. I unraveled faster now, my whole body responding to his touch. My back arched off the wall, every single cell inside me wanting more.
“Tell me to stop,” he said again and then added a second finger.
I held to his face and kissed him with everything I had, finding absolutely no reason to tell him to stop. He thrust deeper and deeper as I ground myself against the heel of his palm.
And then I snapped. The thread he held came to a wild end, one that didn’t really feel like an end at all. If he would’ve touched my pulse then, it would’ve been soaring just like the rest of me. I cried out into his mouth while he continued to work his fingers and his tongue in rhythm, seeming to draw the sensation out for as long as possible.
Then, with one last shudder wracking my spine, he pulled away, taking his hand with him, and left the cabin without a word.
I existed in stunned silence for a long moment. Um, what? That was…strange. Exciting, but strange. He’d said that was what he did to take the edge off his nerves. To himself. Well, he’d said he wasn’t nervous, so…
The thought of him doing that stirred my blood faster.
I followed after him on rubbery legs.
Outside, the cold air slipped in through my coat and scarves, bit at my nose and cheeks, but I barely noticed. I still felt Grady's touch lighting my whole being on fire.
Archer stepped up next to me and took my arm. "Ready?"
I nodded, listening to Grady’s steps on the snow just ahead and wondering what he was doing, what he was thinking right now. Had he liked touching me like that? Had I?
Yes, I answered myself immediately. Yes.
What would Archer say if he knew? One female sharing several males was how they did things, but I wasn't a wolf. I wasn't one of them.
Shit, now I was thinking about this instead of what was to come like I should have been. So much for getting rid of my worries, but my body did feel looser, my chest slightly more unlocked so I could draw easier breaths.
"I did a number of changes on the sleigh for you," Archer said, leading me toward it. "It's got a leather harness to keep you and Sasha secured to it."
"And if it flips? Will Sasha be okay?" I asked as I stepped up onto the sleigh, trying to keep my voice even. My knee knocked against the stack of our supplies, wooden crates full of food, clothes, and other items.
"Sasha will be fine, but she won't like being contained in the back part of the sleigh. I basically made that part into a wolf pup-sized box with a secure lid. It’s big enough for her and Ronin, and I lined the inside with blankets so they don't bounce around too much."
I smiled in his direction. "Sounds like you thought of everything."
"I doubt that,” he replied.
