Confessions in bare skin

1.       Confessions in Bare Skin

BELLE

He leaned back. “What?” 

“It seemed like you were having a bad dream. You were growling and almost squeezed me to death,” I said. 

He sighed. “I was dreaming about your stepfather. He was hitting you and I couldn’t get to you.” 

“Oh,” I said. I loved how protective he was of me. “But I’m okay now. You saved me.” 

He ran his hand over the bruise on my cheek. “I’ll always save you.” 

It was crazy how connected I felt to the man on top of me. It was like I’d known him my entire life. I couldn’t believe that only yesterday I’d been plotting to leave him. 

Today, I couldn’t imagine my life without him. I would probably have had a full breakdown if he weren’t with me. Maybe our mate bond was getting stronger the longer we knew each other. I felt Grayson stroking my bare side, leaving pleasurable sparks running through me. 

“What’s got you thinking so hard, beautiful?” 

I smiled. “I…” I hesitated. Would it be weird to say something like this so soon in our relationship? I guess Grayson had already told me he loved me. How much more serious could it get? 

“I was just thinking about the mate bond, as you call it. I think it’s getting to me.”   Grayson’s eyes sparkled with happiness. 

“Do you now? And why do you think that?” 

“I just”—I looked away from him—“this whole thing is crazy. I only met you a couple of weeks ago, but despite that, I still want to give this a try. Which is insane and I know that.  “But I don’t care. I just like you. A lot. I enjoy being around you and, um…touching you. I want to be with you no matter how crazy it is.” 

Grayson grabbed my chin and turned my head to look at him. His smile was huge. 

“You have no idea how happy that makes me.” 

I smiled back at him hesitantly. “Really?” 

He nodded and caressed my face. “Yes, really. And trust me, love, all of those feelings are more than mutual.” He leaned down and growled against my ear. 

“Especially the touching part.” 

He kissed my mark and I gasped. But he didn’t stop there. He kept moving down. 

And down. 

And then his mouth was on my breast. Half of me was ecstatic, loving every bit of what he was doing, but the other half—probably the more sane one—realized at that exact moment that I wasn’t wearing a shirt. How did I forget that?   

I wasn’t even wearing a bra! I was just so comfortable around him, I hadn’t noticed that my upper half was completely exposed. I’d had an entire conversation with him while I was half naked! 

I gasped and pushed him away from me. Thankfully, he allowed me to, and I grabbed the sheet and pulled it up to my neck, successfully covering myself. 

Grayson growled and pouted when he could no longer see my exposed upper half. 

“I’m sorry,” I said, feeling embarrassed. “I forgot I wasn’t wearing a shirt.”  I was way too comfortable around this guy. 

Grayson chuckled softly and then sighed. He ran a hand through his hair, looking a bit pained, as if he were restraining himself. 

“It’s okay, love. I was just hoping you wouldn’t notice and would let me have my way with you. I really don’t think it’s fair that I’m shirtless all the time while you’re fully clothed. I think you should stay shirtless too,” he said. 

I raised an eyebrow. “Okay. I’ll just never put a shirt on again. I’ll just go out in public topless from now on. I bet all the men around us would really get a kick out of that.”  A loud growl left Grayson’s mouth, and he quickly grabbed my shirt that was next to him and put it over my head. I laughed. 

Grayson lay down beside me once I had my shirt on and took me into his arms so that my head was on his chest. He kissed my forehead gently. 

“You know, you have nothing to be embarrassed about. Your body is mine. All of you is mine.” 

I rolled my eyes at his possessiveness. “Uh-huh, sure,” I said in a joking tone.  He squeezed my side in warning and I laughed. I nuzzled my face into his neck, simply breathing in his scent and enjoying being in his arms. We stayed like that for a few minutes. 

Everything just felt so peaceful, so right. 

But then I took a deep breath. “There’s something else you should know,” I whispered. 

Grayson moved me slightly so he could see me. “Okay,” he said. 

I could already feel the blush spreading up my neck and into my cheeks. Grayson ran his hand up and down my back in a comforting way, obviously noticing my anxiety. 

“I’ve, um”—I hesitated—“I’ve never done anything like, um, that before.” 

Grayson raised an eyebrow. “That?” 

I shifted and shut my eyes tightly. I had no clue how he would react to what I was about to say. 

“I’m a virgin!” I blurted out. 

I opened my eyes slowly when I didn’t hear Grayson respond. He had an amused smile on his face. 

“And you’re worried about how I’ll react to this?” 

I nodded slowly, confused by his reaction. “Well…yeah.” 

Grayson’s smile widened as he brushed his hand across my cheek. “I already knew that, baby.” 

“What?” I asked as I sat up. “How could you possibly know?” 

He shrugged. “I can smell it.” 

“You can smell my virginity?” I asked in shock. 

Grayson nodded. “A male wolf can smell the virginity of his female, or the lack thereof.” 

My jaw dropped. “So you’ve known this entire time?” 

“Of course,” he said. “And it makes me happy to know that I’ll be your first.” He pulled me closer to him and rubbed his nose lovingly against my cheek. “And your last,” he whispered. 

I laughed nervously and tried not to reveal how much his words were affecting me. 

Hot sparks were traveling through my body at the thought of what he was implying. 

“You’re very presumptuous, aren’t you?” 

His lips were hovering over my mark as he said his next words: “You don’t think I’ll be taking your virginity?” he said seductively. 

The truth was that I was pretty sure he would be the one. But I didn’t need him knowing that. I wasn’t ready, and I didn’t want him confusing my agreement with being ready. 

Plus, he didn’t need a bigger head. “Well…I, I don’t—” 

He kissed my mark gently and it sent my entire body up in flames. I gasped and turned my head to the side to give him better access. He chuckled against my skin. 

“I can’t wait to be inside you, hearing those noises you make when I kiss you, and making you feel things you’ve never felt before.” 

I gasped at his words, and a quiet moan left my mouth. I pushed my body closer to his. I honestly couldn’t wait either. 

“But right now,” he said between kisses on my neck and around my mark, “I know that you’re not ready. I also know that you need to go pee.”  He lifted the blanket away from me. 

“So you better get going before I decide to keep you in this bed forever.” 

In a daze, I got up and followed his instructions, walking to the door of the bathroom and closing it behind me.