I grabbed the saline and gauze and went to clean the wound. He’d already pulled the knife out and it currently lay in the kitchen sink. The towel I’d had him put over the wound was still in place, and I reached out with shaky fingers and pulled it away.
This whole situation had happened so fast that I didn’t even know who he was, where he had come from. I didn’t even know his name. But maybe that was a good thing?
I focused on cleaning his wound. I should’ve just taken him to the hospital, but he refused, and instead pulled the blade out of his arm like some kind of caveman unable to feel pain. The wound seemed deep to me, but he was a shifter, and if he said it would be healed by morning, I had no reason to doubt him.
Clearing my throat and trying to focus on tending to him took a hell of a lot of concentration and self-control.
I focused on cleaning and bandaging the laceration, very aware that he was staring at me. I could feel his gaze. But I refused to look up, refused to react.
“What did you mean by mate?” Yeah, I’d just gone ahead and brought it up. Although I wasn’t a fool and knew what he meant, I wanted more clarification. I wanted to know exactly what this all meant.
Already I was fighting my desire, trying to make it seem like he didn’t affect me in every single possible way.
“You know what it means,” he said in a deep, slightly growly voice.
I felt goosebumps pop out on my arms, and was thankful I was wearing long sleeves, hiding the fact he made me feel on edge, visually showing what he did to me.
Yeah, I do.
Once he was bandaged, I cleaned up the first aid kit, stood, and walked back to the cupboard to put it away. I stood there for a moment, my eyes closed, trying to gather my reserve, my control. I was breathing in and out deeply, trying to gather every last ounce of strength. It was only a couple seconds I stood there, but it felt like hours.
And then I felt him behind me, his body heat, the fact he was so much bigger than me, his very presence making me feel so feminine and small.
I gripped the edge of the counter and opened my eyes, staring at the countertop, tracing the granite lines and willing my heart to beat a slower, normal rhythm.
“What’s your name?”
His voice was dark, deep, and had goosebumps popping up all along my body. I turned, craning my neck back to look into his blue eyes.
I couldn’t speak for long, awkward seconds, but I was very aware of my body’s reaction to this stranger. My nipples were hard, my pussy incredibly wet. I licked my lips and saw he looked down and watched the act.
“Your name?” he repeated, and I swallowed, finally finding my voice.
“Allison,” I found myself whispering. I couldn’t wrap my head around the fact I wanted to tell him every little detail about me.
I saw his nostrils flare ever so slightly, and my pussy clenched in response. It was like seeing him do that did something primal to me, had me wanting to tear my clothes away and give myself to him.
My body was on fire, as if flames danced along my skin, and it was only—all—because of his body close to mine, of his voice so deep and husky.
Of the way he watched me, like a predator so starved for the prey that he wouldn’t be stopped.
And I was that prey.
“What’s your name?” I whispered the question then promptly cleared my throat, trying to act like I had my shit together when in reality, I was a puddle at his feet.
He took a step closer so now our chests practically touched. “Maddix,” he said as he gazed at my mouth, his voice pitched low, this hint of something animalistic laced within it.
I could see this expression move across his face, could see how tense he’d become. He closed his eyes and took a step back, and I swore his body got bigger, his muscles thicker. I’d seen shifters in the city plenty of times, but when I’d seen Maddix change from bear to human, well, that had been the first time I’d ever witnessed them changing.
I should have been concerned by
the lack of self-control he had, but I couldn’t take my gaze off his body.
Hard lines and defined muscles took up my entire view. A dark blond trail of hair started below his navel and disappeared beneath the blanket wrapped around his waist. And Lord have mercy, I felt my throat tighten at the sight of what he was sporting, that part of his body that was currently tenting the blanket.
Thick.
Long.