Free Rise of the Gryphon by Sherrilyn Kenyon, Dianna Love

leaning on them.
    She grumbled under her breath about how letting him fight was stupid. Just as he’d thought, she was stressing over his fight with the Alterant.
    Water sloshed behind him, then the wet rag brushed gently across his back. He still flinched from the cold contact. Good thing he kept an extra change of clothes in his truck. While he let her clean off the blood, he tried to be at ease with her attention, but just having her hands so close to him raised an interest he’d be hard-pressed to hide soon. He hadn’t been injured enough to warrant this much concern. The cuts were more nuisance than serious for him and she knew that.
    Evalle didn’t nurture, but like everything else she did when she cared about someone, it was all or none. Thatmeant she’d dive into battle with any creature if it meant protecting the ones who mattered to her.
    But she was no Florence Nightingale.
    Not that he was complaining.
    Especially when her fingers grazed his skin.
    Heat blazed a trail from his back to his groin from just that slight touch.
    No longer grouching at him, she moved the rag over his skin slowly in what she probably thought was a soothing way, but having her touch him was killing him. He stayed in perpetual arousal around her as it was.
    Shutting his eyes, he tried to focus on the cold mountain air, the soft breeze, anything but how much he wanted her hands everywhere on his skin. This was neither the time nor the place. Tell your body that.
    The rag disappeared.
    Her hands slid up his back, slowly, inching her way to his shoulders.
    Really?
    He froze, straining not to flex muscles that urged him to push against her hands. Her warm touch crawled up his neck, fingers gliding through his hair, then moving back over his shoulders and along his arms. She paused, then placed her hands on each side of his waist.
    His lungs tightened, holding his next breath while he waited to see what she’d do.
    In the past few weeks, she’d become more trusting of his advances, more open to the first stages of passion, but her instigating this much touching was unexpected.
    Her fingers slid around front to where she ran her hands over his stomach.
    That brought her chest to his back.
    Her breasts nudged him.
    Blood surged in his groin.
    His heart beat out of control. He’d known this moment when she’d be ready for intimacy was coming, but damn, he hadn’t wanted it out here in the woods.
    What had brought out her amorous side tonight? Seeing Storm so close to being killed? He’d envisioned her naked in front of a roaring fire or spread across his bed or under a rush of water in his shower.
    She hugged him.
    Her fingers inched up to hook his shoulders.
    Sweat beaded on his forehead. He had to be careful with his next move. Someone had hurt her physically in the past, to the point that she avoided intimacy. She was afraid of losing control of her beast and killing him. He’d intended to spend hours when the time was right, taking it slow, halting the minute she showed any sign of panic.
    But not here.
    With natural and unnatural creatures roaming this mountain, this was the last place he would lower his guard to put all his attention on her.
    On the other hand, if he stopped her now, she’d feel rejected.
    She kissed his back and moved her fingers down to toy with his nipples. Erotic chills skittered across his skin. He shook with the effort of holding back, caughtin indecision. His heart thudded each beat, a fist pounding his chest. If he got any harder he’d burst out of his jeans.
    Easing away from the truck, he lifted his arms and turned slowly until he had her wrapped up against him.
    She laughed and the sound floated around him, warming his heart when she hugged him back.
    This was the woman he wanted with all his being.
    When she lifted her head, her eyes were hidden behind the dark sunglasses. She could take those off with so little moonlight filtering down through the trees above them. But he didn’t need to see her