Winter’s Caress(Brac Village 19)(11)

His breathing increased, and his pants became uncomfortably tight. “We only have an hour,” Dasani reminded Winter, although it was hard talking past his dry throat. He didn’t want to talk about what had happened. Dasani didn’t even want to think about it. Not when he was with his mate. He wanted this time only for good thoughts, good things.

“Are you still cold?” Winter ran his large, strong hands over Dasani’s arm, leaving behind a line of goose bumps.

His cold had been forgotten the moment he’d walked into Winter’s bedroom. If anything, the room seemed a bit too hot. Dasani was sweating, but he knew that had more to do with Winter than the actual temperature in the house.

“Y–your voice is incredibly soothing,” Dasani admitted and then winced. He’d been thinking that and hadn’t meant to let the thought become verbal. It was the truth, though. Winter’s deep voice was low and almost hypnotic. He ached to reach out and touch his mate. But Dasani had no experience with men, and to be honest, he was scared.

The tips of Winter’s fingers glided over Dasani’s neck until they slid behind his hair and gently gripped the nape of his neck. Dasani’s eyelids fluttered closed when Winter began to card his fingers through his long hair. Dasani loved having his hair played with, but when Winter touched him, his scalp began to tingle—as well as other parts of his body.

“Running my fingers through your beautiful hair is just as soothing,” Winter said as his fingers glided, gripped, tugged lightly, and then glided again. Dasani was going to melt into a puddle if Winter kept doing that.

“Touching my hair is soothing?” he asked. They were still standing in the middle of Winter’s bedroom. Dasani needed to sit. His body ached to be touched, but his knees were growing weaker by the second.

“Very.” Winter wrapped the strands around his hand and held them firmly in his hand. He tugged, making Dasani’s head tilt back, forcing Dasani to stare into those incredible eyes. “Everything about you is…fascinating…intriguing.”

Dasani had never been the source of someone’s fascination before. He stiffened when Winter’s hand cupped his butt. “W–What are you doing?”

“Mapping out what fate gave me.” Winter’s fingers slid over one cheek and then the other. Dasani felt lightheaded when Winter squeezed his butt. Something stirred inside him, a powerful need he hadn’t known existed. He wanted Winter to map out every inch of his naked body, but he couldn’t bring himself to ask.

You can’t let him claim you. Egbar will skin you alive if he finds out.

The raw desire that began to build inside of him shut Dasani’s inner thoughts up. He didn’t care about Egbar right now. Dasani didn’t care about anything right now except what Winter was doing to him. He stood there, unsure what to do. His arms hung loosely at his sides, and he could feel his knees trembling.

In one fluid movement, Winter removed the shirt he’d given Dasani to wear. Dasani watched it float to the floor. The room was quiet as Winter began to unlace Dasani’s pants. The sound of the strings slipping apart was deafening. Unsure why, Dasani gripped Winter’s wrist, stopping the shifter from undressing him.

Winter leaned in close, his soft lips grazing over Dasani’s ear. “Don’t be afraid, little bluebird. I promise to be very gentle with you.”

Dasani’s heart slammed into his ribs at Winter’s whispered words. His fingers tightened around the shifter’s wrist before he released his mate and let his hand fall to his side. He shouldn’t be doing this. Dasani should shimmer away and never look back. Nothing good could come of their mating. His mate hadn’t pledged any promises of taking Dasani away from the marshlands. He hadn’t spoken one word of keeping Dasani past the claiming. If Egbar found out that a shifter had claimed Dasani, all hell would break loose.

Yet he couldn’t bring himself to leave.

When Winter’s hand grazed Dasani’s erection, Dasani instinctively covered himself. Winter smiled and touched Dasani’s hands. “Arms at your sides, little bluebird. There will be no covering up,” Winter said with a roguish lift to his brow.

Dasani flushed hotly. His hands had been gripping his noticeable erection. He forced them to fall away and stay at his sides. He couldn’t help the fact that they flexed nervously. He felt so exposed even though he still wore his pants.

When Winter’s hand circled around Dasani’s abdomen, Dasani had to fight not to laugh.

“Ticklish?” Winter asked.

“No,” Dasani lied.

“Hmm.” Winter moved his hand again, and a snort of laughter escaped. Dasani threw up his hands.