“Matt,” she whispered, growing giddy. “Am I the first girl you brought into your den?”
“Of course.” He said it like it should be obvious, but the only thing that was clear now was Matt was much more complicated than he let on.
He reached around her and opened the door that led inside. He came so close, his lips were only inches from hers. With a soft gasp, she froze, trapped in his gaze. His eyes dipped to her lips, and slowly, he leaned into her.
This wasn’t a barely controlled passionate kiss like last night. This one was all soft lips and gentle sucks and sweet smacks as he pulled her closer. It was angled heads, soft brushes of his tongue, and fingertips in her hair.
This kiss wasn’t desperate. It was a lovely peek into the part of Matt’s heart that he hid from others.
As he eased away with a confused look in his sparking blue eyes, she murmured, “Remember that time you said you wouldn’t ever sleep with a virgin?”
He nodded slowly.
“I think you’ll have to get over that with me, Griz.”
A faint smile curved his lips up. “Swear not to laugh?”
“No.”
“Gosh dangit, woman, why can’t you just make something easy on me?” He inhaled deeply and played with a strand of her hair. “I’m nervous.”
“About sleeping with me? We’ve both established this ain’t your first rodeo, cowboy.”
“Well, you saved yourself for a long time and—”
“I saved myself for the right person.” She cupped his hands and pulled them to her cheeks just to feel his touch. “I saved myself for you. I want you to be my first, Matt.”
“But what if I hurt you and you hate me and I lose you and I hate myself for the rest of my life—”
“And what if it’s really special because you’re gentle with me? At least for our first time.”
He quirked one eyebrow and pulled her hand to his swim trunks. The long, thick roll of his erection was warm and hard against her hand.
“Holy cheeseballs,” she murmured, looking down at his sizeable bulge in awe. “You’re huge.”
Matt chuckled. “Thanks, Nerd.”
“No, I’m serious.” She stood back and pressed the thin fabric on either side of his dick. The anatomy books in school did not look like Matt the Titan Dong. “Is it even physically possible for us to be together? I mean, I’ve touched myself plenty, and I’m a one finger kind of girl. Two just feels wild and crazy.”
“Keep talking about touching yourself, and it’ll only get bigger.” His voice had gone deep and husky.
Reaching forward, she ran her palm up his length. His six-pack contracted, and he groaned softly, which drew a great big old grin from her face. His sensitivity to her touch was empowering. It was also warming her from the middle out.
“You smell like arousal,” he murmured. The blue in his eyes transitioned to that beautiful silver color she was growing to adore. The color that said Matt was more than he seemed and his bear was close to the surface.
She brushed her fingertip just under his eye, then traced the long scars across his chest that ran parallel to his collarbone. The future was uncertain and full of questions, but here, in Matt’s den, Willa was comfortable and safe. Her every instinct said that Matt would protect her. He’d been searching for her, after all. Her. Not some perfect shell of a woman. Perfection hadn’t settled his bear. She did. And as he looked at her with those mercury eyes, she felt like the luckiest person to have captured his attention.
Matt pushed the door open and picked her up.
“Are you carrying me over the threshold?” she asked.
“It feels right.”
She slid her arms around his neck and cuddled against his strong torso as he kicked the door closed behind him. The screened-in porch led straight into his bedroom. It smelled like Matt and fabric softener, and one look at his dresser told her why. A hamper of neatly folded clothes sat atop it.
“I was going to put those away this morning, but I ran out of time.”
It struck her as he set her gently on his bed how strong Matt was. He’d had barely any sleep last night because he’d taken it upon himself to drive her back to the camper and sleep beside her, and then he’d worked a physically grueling job, as well as sustained horrific injuries from something he hadn’t been comfortable talking about. Even if his shifter healing was borderline magical, it still had to take its toll on him. Yet here he was, worrying over her opinion about his den and taking care of her comfort.
He knelt in front of her and slid her flip flops from her feet, then kissed her arches. “It’ll be hard to keep my head when we’re together,” he admitted low. “Will you tell me if I hurt you?”