Page 78 of Shifted Desire

Nathan nods and grimaces a touch. “Yeah. Sorry if I smell bad, I was going to take a shower.”

“Quit apologizing.”

He huffs a laugh. “Fine.” Leaning down, he brushes his lips against mine in a feather-light kiss. “Go back to sleep. It’s the weekend.”

My dream flashes into my mind, and I realize it still smells like blueberry scones.

“Says the man who was working out at 4 in the morning. Were you baking, too?”

Nathan shakes his head. “It’s a scent diffuser I use to help me sleep, sor—” He cuts off his apology with a grin. “I can get you scones if you want them. They won’t be as good as the ones Shane makes, but there are plenty of bakeries in the area.”

We both stiffen at the mention of my father. Our eyes lock in the darkened bedroom as we silently acknowledge how wrong it is that we’re here together.

Now would be the time to say I need to go. Tell him we took things too far and we need to stick to fucking in the office. Hells, I should be calling the whole thing off because I’ve gotten in way too deep and if I don’t get out of this, I’m going to drown in him.

“Scones would be nice,” I murmur.

Surprise flickers in his expression, but his lips curve into a soft smile that makes my heart skip a beat. “Yeah?”

“And coffee.”

His smile widens. “Of course.” He squeezes my hip and gives me a nudge. “Go back to bed, and I’ll order them for when you get up.”

“You’re not going to join me?” I don’t mean to make the words seductive, but there’s still a pulse of arousal low in my belly and I know Nathan feels it when he inhales sharply.

Gripping my hip tighter, he molds our bodies together. “Wasn’t sure if you’d want that.”

I should be grossed out by his sweat, but the scent of him swirls in my mind and isn’t unpleasant in the least. No, it’s sexy as hell.

“Well, I do.” I infuse a bit of brattiness into my tone that has his chest rumbling.

“Let me take a shower, and then I’ll join you.”

I shake my head, wrapping my arms around his neck. “No point in showering when you’re just going to get dirty again.”

He groans softly, his hand moving from my hip to grab my ass and rock me against his thigh. “You want to get dirty with me?”

“Always.” The reply slips from me in a low, breathy sigh, and it hits me how true it is.

I want Nathan all the time. Even when I was caught up in my insecurities and wounds from the past. I crave him more than anyone I’ve ever met.

He kisses me until I’m breathless, but his fingers stall at the hem of the t-shirt. “You’re sure you want this? You’re not doing it because you feel how much I want you or because of our arrangement?”

For the first time in my life, I know with complete certainty the answer. I’m not choosing sex because I want the energy boost, or because it’s what’s expected of me, or to avoid something.

I swallow hard against the enormity of that feeling.

“I want this.”

29

Vulnerability and earnestness shine in Samantha’s eyes, her cocky, flirty facade melting away. It takes my breath away, makes my chest expand with the strength of what I feel for her, screams at me to be careful with her because if I screw this up, I won’t get a second chance to experience this side of her again.

I bunch the fabric of the oversized t-shirt up, soothing my wolf who dislikes removing something that marks her as mine with the fact that she’ll be covered in my pheromones soon. She helps me pull it off over her head, and I nuzzle against her shoulder once it’s bare, sucking in a greedy inhale of her arousal-laden scent.

“Why are you so perfect?” I sigh, palming her breast as I resist the urge to sink my teeth into the column of her neck.

“I’m not,” she whispers back, without the usual acerbic bite she uses to deflect with.