Page 17 of Hart's Redemption

Josh

I stood on shaking legs and glanced over at where Elijah had recently finished his change. While I’d technically gone first, it also took me longer to regain my bearings. I rolled my shoulders to dispel the lingering pain and took a hesitant step.

“Does it always hurt that much?” I asked, not expecting much of an answer. I definitely had more respect for what werewolves went through. Seeing it was one thing; experiencing it was another.

“It gets better with time.” Elijah bent down, presumably to gather his clothes.

My mouth instantly watered at the spectacular sight. Elijah was all smooth ridges with the definition most supernaturals seemed to have. That, on top of his gorgeous tawny skin and broad shoulders, made him a delectable treat that I’d happily eat up. Not to mention, the man had an incredible ass, the kind that made you wanna howl, wolf or not.

Come to think of it, why didn’t we howl?

I shook my head to shake loose the desire to do exactly that and took another step closer to Elijah. “Liar.”

He straightened, his clothes temporarily forgotten, and offered me a crooked grin. “Okay, you just get better at going with it.”

“Like hell you do.”

Elijah’s smile slipped as his gaze fastened on my chest.

I finished closing the distance between us. “Eyes up here, buddy.”

Instead of lifting his head to meet my gaze, he lifted a tentative hand and brushed his fingertips over the starburst scar. I hissed in a breath, and he quickly withdrew his hand.

“It doesn’t hurt,” I quickly explained. “I just… wow.” There were no words to express how incredible it felt to have his hands on me.

Elijah’s fingers returned miraculously without hesitation to trail gently over the scar that almost perfectly mirrored where my heart was, and I moaned at the renewed contact. The quiet of the forest wrapped around us as Elijah’s intimate touch ventured onto my other scars. He flattened his hand, caressing as he glided it along my sensitive skin.

“Why does it feel like that?” I gasped, momentarily overwhelmed.

“New skin.” His whisper coasted over my fevered flesh while his hand continued its journey. My heart beat erratically beneath his palm, and I panted through the borderline debilitating contact. He’d scarcely touched me for a few seconds and I already felt ready to fall apart. I placed my hand on his chest to ground myself, threading my fingers through the light dusting of soft gray hair. He shuddered at the touch and gave the softest moan.

My breath caught at his visceral reaction. “So, no part of me has felt your touch?”

Elijah swallowed hard and shook his head, his hand having finally made it to my collarbone in its agonizingly slow venture.

“You should do something about that.”

His gaze snapped up at the same time his fingers slid around to caress the back of my neck. My heart stilled. The combined scent of our desire, along with the heat burning in his cognac eyes, had my legs ready to buckle. I reflexively tightened my fingers in his chest hair.

Then his mouth was on mine.

The forest fell away. His moan echoed mine as I parted my lips and his tongue slipped past. Still, it wasn’t enough. I slid my hand up his chest to cradle his head just as he cradled mine and urged him deeper. His teeth grazed my lip, and my world turned to pure moonlight.

Suddenly, he broke the kiss. “We shouldn’t be doing this.”

“Why not?” I leaned forward to taste his lips again.

He groaned in response, but stubbornly pulled away again. “Because you still have to see Dr. Lyons.”

“And I will.” I eliminated the minimal distance still separating our bodies and pressed against him. His breath hitched, and another groan slipped out, this one edged with a growl. I laced my fingers in his hair and shifted my focus to nibble along his jaw, then sucked on his neck. “Josh.” His free hand settled on my waist.

I rubbed against him and the unmistakable evidence that he wanted this every bit as much as I did. “What?”

“The moon is still out.”

I caught his earlobe between my teeth. “Pretty sure that’s the point.” I wrapped my free hand around his length and squeezed. His fingers scraped my lower back, and he let out a hiss. I sought his mouth again, greedy for more. He pulled me tight to him, and I gave up my hold on his length to wrap both my arms around his neck and keep him as close as possible.

“I don’t think this is a good idea,” he persisted.