The oversized shirt and tiny shorts she’s wearing do nothing to protect me from the heat of her skin. Tingles spark everywhere our skin connects—her arm draped across my chest, the slight pressure of her leg entangled with mine. I shouldn’t let her do this. She’ll be horrified if she wakes up and sees herself draped across me, and thethought of that should be enough to make me gently disentangle myself.
But, fuck, if being in bed with Sofia isn’t the best feeling I’ve ever had. The quiet rhythm of her breathing, the subtle rise and fall of her chest against my own, the way her scent envelops me—it's all intoxicating. I inhale deeply, and something inside me feels at peace for the first time in I don’t remember how long. I should move, create distance, preserve the fragile balance of our growing friendship, but the magnetic pull of her presence is too strong, and the comfort of her nearness too delicious to resist.
And her wolf wants this. No way her wolf would have let her sleep through me carrying her otherwise. At least a part of her wants to be pressed against me. Didn’t enjoy that kiss? She’s full of shit. Sofia wants me as much as I want her. I just need to convince her to admit it.
My wolf is soothed for the first time in days, and I need this. I need to sleep. So, I close my eyes and bury my nose in her hair. I breathe in her scent, and every ounce of tension in my body—except the sexual kind—dissipates. It’s only a matter of seconds before I drift off, feeling like everything is right, even when I know it won't last.
Chapter Nineteen
Sofia
I’m no longer on the couch when I wake. Nope, I’m in bed with my leg thrown over Luca. A practicallynakedLuca.
Fuck. My. Life.
I go still, maybe if I don’t move, the universe will reset. I’ll open my eyes and be back on the couch where I fell asleep. I squeeze them shut. No such luck. His heat seeps into me, his chest rising and falling steadily under my face, his arm heavy around my waist. His scent—amber and sandalwood—wraps around me like it belongs there. Which it absolutely does not.
I slowly work to extricate myself from him without waking him, but my wolf lets out a wounded little whimper as soon as I’m no longer touching him.
Backstabbing bitch.
I freeze, pulse hammering, praying to the goddess that he didn’t hear that. But of course he did. One of Luca’s arms reaches across my waist, and he hauls me back to him in a spooning position. His hot breath against my neck causes goosebumps to erupt over my skin. His cock—hard, thick, impossible to ignore—presses againstmy ass, and his strong, corded arm now rests just beneath my breasts.
I’ve had sex before. With men. With women. I’ve been kissed, touched, fucked. But I’ve never donethis. Never slept with someone’s arms wrapped around me. Never woken up with someone like we were something real.
It feels…intimate. Too intimate. And my wolf is purring. She’s so at ease, I almost feel bad for her. This is the most relaxed I think she’s ever been since I first started sensing her a decade ago.
Would it be the worst thing in the world to enjoy this?Yes. Yes, it absolutely would be. I elbow him in the stomach and shuffle away to the edge of the bed.
“Do you have to be such a brat?” he grunts, his voice sounding hoarse and winded. He rolls over, his arm reaching across where I was lying only a moment ago. His muscular arm moves over the sheets, searching for me half unconsciously until he grasps my wrist and pulls me back in.
His arm bands across my waist, and he nuzzles into my neck, letting out a sleepy sigh of contentment. Half-asleep Luca is drowsy and almost cute. It’s horrifying.
“How did I end up in your bed, Luca?”
“I carried you.” His tone is lazy, smug. “You were curled up on the couch like a stubborn little stray. And for the record? You cuddled up to me all on your own.”
“I was asleep! Obviously, I didn’t know what I was doing. Stop being such a creep.”
“You wound me,” he says with a sigh before finally letting go of me, and shit if that doesn’t leave me cold. “It’s early. Go back to sleep. In the bed. I’ll even let you cuddle me again.”
Ugh, he’s unbelievable. Absolutely fucking unbelievable. I fling myself out of bed, storming into the living room. My body’s a live wire, buzzing, thrumming. This is exactly what I don’t need right now. I’m so fucking horny, and waking up with him—feeling everyhardinch of his body pressed against mine—molded against my curves is not helping.
I’m hot all over, and my pussy throbs—almost painfully as I pace back and forth in the living area of Luca’s place. Electricity surges through me, and this is not happening. I’ve been taking the damn medication Doc gave me, and we haven’t had sex yet.
Shit.Yet? How did I even think that? We haven’t had sex, and we never will. Because Luca Taylor is the absolute worst. But seeing as sexual contact with your mate is the only way to bring on a she-wolf’s first heat, then this must be just basic run-of-the-mill horniness.
I am so screwed.
I could scream. But instead, I opt for a shower where I definitely don’t find my mind wandering to thoughts of Luca as I get myself off. Nope, the way he kissed me yesterday never crosses my mind. I certainly don’t imagine what it would have been like if we had been minus a few items of clothing when I kissed him. And that absolutely wasn’t him I imagined bending me over the kitchen counter as I came on my own fingers.
I am so completely and irrevocably screwed.
I wrap a towel around my body and leave my curls down to air dry. I haven’t unpacked any of my hair products yet, and it’ll be a disaster, but I can’t deal with styling my curls today. Not when my insides are still liquified with need. Plus, I have my emotional support hair tie on my wrist for when it starts to bother me.
I exit the bathroom at the same time as Luca walks out of the bedroom. He’s in boxers and nothing else, and I’m in a towel. I just came, but the need is already building again low in my stomach, and suddenly this cabin is way too small. The air is too thin.
I take in his smooth skin and the dark tattoos that snake up one of his arms. The smattering of hair that trails from his belly button before disappearing into the tight boxers he’s wearing. The slutty little tattoo on his thigh I’ve never noticed before. What even is that? A crown? I don’t want to gawk at it long enough to get a proper look.
