Page 58 of 20% Stud 80% Muffin
“Fuck, Makir, you’re trembling.” Geo’s hand cupped my elbow at first, and when my body wouldn’t stop shaking, he pulled me into him and wrapped a warm arm around my exposed back. “Hey, I won’t let anything happen to you.”
His voice—no more than a rasp—worked its magic, loosening my clenched muscles.I’m safe.With each exhale, more awareness returned. Geo wasn’t wearing a shirt. Our chests touched skin to skin, his curly black fur to my smooth torso. The scent of summer fields filled my nose, and I dropped my cheek onto his shoulder.
But my mind would not settle. With one threat out of the way, the next loomed, and thoughts shuttled through my brain like a meteor shower.
How could I have used my tail’s healing power on him? Again!But I’d been so worried about his throat after he… Why would he do that to me?
“Close your eyes.” Geo turned me away from the pool. “We’re going to go nice and slow, ’kay?” He rubbed his palm from my shoulder to my smallest finger, his other arm snug on the small of my back as he slowly slid us backward, inching toward the pool. “Tell me what Sisip said about the mittens you made her again?”
My heart ticked faster as water lapped at my ankles.
When I said nothing, he asked, “How many more orders do you have?”
Why was being in the water harder today? It had been so much easier when I’d shown Raz the pool, trying to drum up business for Geo.
“Let me try something else.” His low voice practically hummed as his lips coasted over my chest, missing my nipples. My breathing remained shallow, but for an entirely different reason now. I clutched his waist hard when he skimmed his palm over my trunks and cupped one cheek.
“Have I ever told you how much I like your silky fur?” He peppered kisses over one shoulder as the water knocked at my knees. “And your delicious scent.” Geo’s nose dipped to my armpit and nuzzled. My swim trunks grew wet. “Or your lion’s mane.” He fingered the tail of my braid.
My heart kicked into overdrive, and a long whimper escaped me.
Geo’s soft voice guided me toward the deeper end of the pool. “You’re doing great, little lion.”
I never want him to stop talking to me like this.
“Stop, would you?” I said, gazing straight into his soft green eyes now that the buoyancy of the water had leveled our heights. Geo treaded water as I stood on my tiptoes, his hands secure on my waist as the water lapped between our chests in a soft caress. “I don’t know how to deal with you when you’re like this.”
Geo waded into shallower water, then stood to support me with his hands on my waist. “Like what?”
He walked me backward until my feet lifted off the ground, and my heart jumped into my throat. “Nice,” I gasped as my breaths turned into pants, and tension built in my muscles.
Geo cringed and squeezed my waist before he broke eye contact. “So, we’re not going to swim today.”
My breathing evened out a bit at that revelation, but I wanted his eyes back.
“I want you to lie back in the water, ears under, and float. Take some deep breaths, close your eyes if you want and allow yourself to get comfortable with having your head in the water. Notice the different sensations that come while your ears are submerged.”
Panic! Fear!
I snorted in disbelief. ‘Comfort’ and ‘water’ were not compatible words in my vocabulary.
“I’ll be with you the whole time, okay? There’s no need to be scared.” His deep voice was calm, and now that he’d claimed me for the night, he’d transformed into a new person. Softer, kinder…
My voice wavered. “You’re telling me to put my head underwater, and you don’t want me to be afraid?”
Geo lifted my legs, one arm supporting my knees and the other under my neck, and tucked me in tight so the water rocked my rib cage against his soft belly. “I’ve got you. I’m here.”
I whimpered.
“Shhhh…” His alpha voice coaxed me along. “I’m not going to let go until you relax.”
I all but stopped breathing, locked rigid. I would have been dead weight at the bottom of the pool if it weren’t for Geo holding me.
Then a deep, melodic vibration climbed from the back of his throat, and I let myself close my eyes. He was humming. I inhaled and took another breath, then another… His music, the water’s sway and his cradling arms almost lulled me to sleep. I wondered if this sensation of warmth and safety I was currently wrapped in was akin to what a youngling felt in its parent’s womb.
“You’re doing so well.” Geo kissed my forehead. “Now open your arms and legs just a little bit more.” His alpha voice projected a sense of safety that calmed me. Geo withdrew his arms.
“Geo, I’m doing it.” I grinned. “I’m floating.”
