Free Unconditional by Lauren Dane Page B

just for this situation, but afterward too.”
    She nodded, her eyes still on his, intent. “I want you,” she murmured, and he drew even closer, their bodies touching, heat spilling between them.
    “Thank God. I want you so much my hands would be shaking if I wasn’t keeping them on your hips. But I know you’re going through a lot of stuff right now. I can wait.”
    “Help me forget. Just for a little while at least.”
    He swallowed and had a stern inner dialogue with his wolf. The wolf wanted to rut and claim and comfort. The man knew she needed the rutting and the comforting but the claiming had to wait.
    He kissed each eyelid as he did this. Across her brow, delighting in the way the furrows smoothed.
    Her hands slid up his chest, leaving heat in their wake. Funny thing, given that he was the shifter and his body temperature was higher than hers. But chemistry made it that way. Clicked with his and made it uniquely theirs.
    Argument settled—for the time being, his wolf waited for the chance to do things his way—Josh eased her down the hallway toward his bathroom.
    She pulled her hair from the ponytail and shook it free. She’d taken her shoes off earlier, and he looked up as her hands went to her pants button.
    “Don’t undress yet.” He turned on the taps after plugging the drain.
    She smiled at him. “Should I go in fully dressed?”
    He laughed, straightening. “No, I want to undress you myself.”
    He pulled her shirt and the tank under it over her head. He kissed her shoulder as he slid the bra strap down. That’s when he saw the bloom of color on her side and paused. “What is that?”
    The way she started and then was very still for long moments made him realize he’d probably growled it instead of asking. The price of dallying with a wolf, he supposed. He caressed her hip, and she relaxed a little as she turned to look down.
    “Those of us who aren’t shifters have to deal with bruises on the job from time to time.” Her lips curved, amusement on her features. “I hit that asshole pretty hard yesterday when I took him down.”
    If Charlie hadn’t been in jail, Josh would have hunted him down and killed him for leaving a mark on his woman.
    “I get bruises too. But they heal fast.”
    He dropped to his knees before her, pressing a kiss softly over the bruised skin at her side, then on her belly, moving lower as he undid her pants, sliding them down her hips and legs, taking her socks with her.
    Her toenails were painted bright pink. Her legs were toned and strong. Not long, she was pretty petite, but she was in shape. Powerful. He liked that.
    He pressed his face to the front of the panties she wore. Pink, like the nails. Damn. Her fingers slid into his hair, pulling just a little. He took a breath scented with her. With her desire. It clawed at him, holding him tighter than her fingers ever could.
    Deftly, he yanked the panties down, and she put a hand on his shoulder to step free. He looked up the line of her body to find her staring down at him, her lips parted, her pupils huge.
    If he’d had any questions about how much she wanted him, the way she smelled, the way she looked, the heat coming off her skin all combined like a fist, guiding him to his feet to remove her bra and leave her there totally naked.
    “Christ, you’re beautiful.”
    She blushed, and he moaned, leaning down to breathe her in again.
    “You like to sniff me.” Amusement was clear in her voice. “Also, it’s not like you haven’t seen it all before. And when it was in better shape.”
    He scoffed at that.
    “When you blush it heats your skin, and you smell really, really good. As far as better? No . Younger? Yes. But your tits are far nicer now. Your ass is higher, tighter. Your legs are more toned. There’s also the added bonus that we can fuck all night long in my apartment if we want and no one is going to come home to discover us.”
    She laughed, pulling his shirt up and off, caressing all of him she