She looked up at me, blinking.
“Of course, I can hear it. I hear it when you’re near me, touching me.” She blushed. “I like it. It calms me, makes me feel safe.”
I wrapped my arms around her, deepening the sound.
“Why does it do that? Is it because of what you are?” she asked.
“And what do you think I am?”
The water continued to pour around our bodies. Steam rose as she stood there. No fear in her eyes, no judgment or hesitation.
“I’m not sure of a name, but you are some sort of animal? One that can morph into a different person?” She tilted her head. “Like a werewolf or something?”
“It is exactly that,” I told her. “I am what humans call a werewolf. Or shifter.”
She rubbed her lips together, breaking eye contact and staring at my chest. Her finger traced the wolf on my skin, my cock hardening as she traced the outline.
“Are you afraid, little mate?”
Journey shifted from foot to foot. The apprehension was there. I had not been completely honest with her and had partially shifted in her presence. Of course, she could be scared, worried that harm could come to her. She knew what I could do.
“I was at first, but for some reason, I know you won’t hurt me. Strange to think that, isn’t it?”
“It is the bond we share.” I pushed a wet tendril behind her ear. “You are destined to be mine as I am to you. That is why I call you mate, because you are my soulmate.”
Her mouth dropped open.
“How do you know I’m yours, though? Is it just a claiming thing?” she asks.
“No. The goddess has paired our souls—souls that will forever be entwined once I knot you.”
Chapter Twenty Three
Journey
Aknot?Whatthehell was that?
I swallowed the lump in my throat as he explained. It was downright terrifying that this man, this shifter, was part animal, but my heart was telling me it was okay. It was crazy to think, but I felt better knowing what he was after the questions that confused me previously.
He was a shifter, a wolf shifter.
I took one long breath out and tried not to stare down at his covered appendage. He still hadn’t removed his undergarments while I stood there naked in the shower with him.
“I’ll explain more soon,” he said.
Grim turned off the shower, his muscles dripping with clean water that washed away the blood from god knows who. He opened the door, grabbed the large towel and wrapped me in it like I was fragile. And maybe I was compared to him. He was a literal beast.
Yet, I was unafraid.
He gestured with his head toward the door, and I stepped out and kept the towel wrapped around myself, suddenly feeling more vulnerable standing in the open living room alone.
He exited the bathroom, now covering his lower half with just the towel. I bit my lip, wondering if he had removed his boxers. I didn’t know why I’d became so much more fascinated with what was underneath.
Because of my history, I shouldn’t be.
I was insanely attracted to him, whether or not I liked it. I knew it in the depths of my soul, and whatever this goddess thing that put us together was, I was ready to believe it.
Grim stepped over to the side table by the couch, turning on the light. The night outside was chilly, and the heater that sat below the far window of the apartment fogged the glass.
