It was the Highlander of kisses.

And I had to end it. But do you? Yes, traitorous body, we do. I pulled back, still tangled in him, my lids feeling heavy. “Declan?”

“Hm?” He was nuzzling my neck now and my knees flat out buckled. He caught me, and I could feel his chuckle as it vibrated through his chest.

Oh, how I hated to do it, but I put power into my words anyway, making them the mental equivalent of a cold bucket of water. “Wake up!”

Chapter Nineteen

Declan

There are a lot of ways to wake up—slow and gentle, sudden and jarring, confused and groggy. All of them had their pros and cons. I would have liked to say that my current combination—terrified and turned on—was new, but I’d been a teenage boy. Puberty had hit me hard when I was living with the foster pack. From fourteen through nineteen, my every emotion seemed to be tinged with some level of horny. Hungry, sleepy, anxious, it didn’t matter. I’d been a walking ball of hormones for years.

So while my heart rate was tripping and the sounds of the hounds still rang in my ears, I was aware and comfortable with the fact that I was tangled up in Lou and hard as a damn rock.

One of my hands cradled her head. The other was shoved down the back of her sleep shorts, pressing her against me. She blinked at me, lids heavy, her fingers curled in the hair at the nape of my neck.

I should pull away.

Any second now, Lou would be fully awake and start spouting reasons and excuses as to why this was a bad idea. Her poison cookie defense. If she really wasn’t interested in me, I’d back off. I didn’t push people into something they weren’t ready for or didn’t want. But that dream kiss was fresh in my mind, and our bond was wide open. Lou was absolutely, completely interested.

I rolled until I was on top of her and took her mouth again. Slow. Careful. Giving her a chance to push away. And it was perfect. Her body warm, curved, and soft under mine. Her hands traced down my back, legs wrapping around my hips, cradling me to her. The movement tore a sound from me, half groan, half growl. I thrust against her and she arched, her body feeling inexplicably perfect against mine. Her scent alone—which used to trigger a feeling of fear and panic—now drove me half mad with lust.

I deepened the kiss, rocking against her at the same time. Lou whimpered before pulling her mouth from mine. I wanted to howl in frustration, but I didn’t chase her.

“Dec,” she said.

“Lou,” I said, matching her tone. I didn’t try to take her mouth again, instead sliding down, nuzzling her tank top until I found her nipple, biting at it gently through the soft cloth. When she moaned, I smiled before sucking at her nipple through the shirt.