Jaxson was on my heels, his feet ricocheting against the ground with impossible force. I swore I could feel his breath on my neck. My heart was thudding and my breathing ragged, and the thrill of the race coursed through my blood.
Suddenly, he was beside me. Startled, I caught my foot on a rock, and my thundering speed boots catapulted me into the air. I braced for impact, but instead of the ground, a hard body collided with mine, and arms wrapped around me. The air was driven from my lungs as we rolled several times, Jaxson’s body shielding me from the brunt of the impact.
With a thump, we came to a stop. The man beneath me was staring back with deep, honey-gold eyes. His heat melded with mine, and my chest tightened. I struggled for air, grasping at my throat, but my lungs wouldn’t respond.
Panic surged through me, but Jaxson gripped my hips and lifted me so that I was straddling him. “Breathe, Savannah.” His hands gently cradled my back. His voice was calm and low and filled with power. I felt my fear melt into his golden eyes, and the tension in my body released.
Chest heaving, I sucked in steady gasps of air until my lungs no longer ached and the panic left me. Then I realized just how close Jaxson and I were.
The tightness in my chest grew, like something was trying to claw its way out. Heat pulsed through me, settling at the apex of my thighs, and all I could think of was his strength beneath me and the tenderness of my skin.
I began to move.
“Savannah.” Jaxson’s voice was thick, and he slid one hand up my back. His touch left a trail of tingles rippling down my spine, and I gasped. “We can’t do this,” he growled. His eyes flashed honey, and he gripped my butt with his other hand.
I felt his hardness beneath me, and I tipped my head back and moaned as I ground my hips into him.
He pressed against me, following my rhythm, “We need to stop.”
Jaxson’s words were the exact opposite of what his body was telling me, and I didn’t care. My skin was flushed and sensitive, and I had the overwhelming urge to tear off my clothes. It made no sense at all, and yet there I was, pulling up the bottom of my shirt and—
Oh, my God. What was I doing?
My senses returned to me like a rogue wave slamming into the shore.
I looked down at the impossibly beautiful and dangerous man beneath me. Had I really been…grinding on him? Embarrassment, shock, and confusion rushed through me, and I scrambled off Jaxson’s lap. “What the hell just happened?”
It had been like my body was overcome by a fever, and I was stuck sitting in the passenger seat, watching it all unfold.
Jaxson’s shoulders rose and fell, and when he at last met my eyes, he looked just about as confused as I was. His silence spoke volumes.
Was there something he wasn’t telling me? He looked distraught about what had just happened, and unease flooded through me.
“We should go,” he said at last.
“Jaxson?”
It took him a second, and then he looked at me as if I’d just disturbed some deep inner thought. “I’m sorry. My wolf must have taken over back there. Are you all right?”
I nodded weakly as my mind reeled.
He forced a smile. “Everything is okay, I promise. It’s getting late, and we should go.”
He wasn’t the same man from moments before. I’d let my guard down and almost forgotten that he was a damn werewolf. Had I lost my mind?
There was another Jaxson locked away inside of him—a savage creature with animal instincts. A Jaxson that I didn’t know at all.
31
Savannah
I took a swig of Old Style, hoping the beer would relax me. Between our freak heat-filled encounter along the shore and the prospect of scrying again, I was on edge.
After our jaunt at Avery’s Point, things had been pretty awkward, and we’d barely spoken a word on the drive back. Jaxson hadn’t wanted to return to Eclipse, probably because he was afraid I’d make another scene, or maybe he was ashamed of what had just transpired between us. Probably both. I was just an unruly LaSalle, after all.
Ultimately, we needed somewhere private to scry, so we’d headed to The Boiler, a homely little corner bar in the southern part of Dockside. Jaxson had led me straight to a private room in the back like he owned the place. Maybe he did. Either way, no one asked a single question, and no one bothered us other than to drop off our drinks.
“Ready to give it another go?” Jaxson asked, nodding to the flask of silver and red liquid that I’d placed on the table between us.