Page 7 of Horned to be Wild (Harmony Glen #7)

CHAPTER SEVEN

L ila stared down at Torin, the world suddenly reduced to this single, breathtaking moment of connection.

Her hands rested against the hard planes of his chest, and she could feel the rapid thunder of his heartbeat beneath her palms. He was so warm, radiating heat like a furnace, warming her through her clothes.

His earthy, masculine scent surrounded her, making her head swim.

This close, she could see flecks of gold in those amber eyes, now dark and intense as they locked with hers.

His powerful horns curved upward from his forehead, catching the last rays of sunlight slanting through the trees.

But it was his mouth that drew her attention most—surprisingly full and soft-looking against the strong angles of his face.

His expression was unguarded in a way she’d never seen before, raw hunger written across his features, and the look sent a shiver straight through her core.

The air between them crackled with electricity, a silent question hanging in the space between their bodies.

Her own body responded with an unexpected ache blossoming low in her stomach.

Every nerve ending tingled with awareness.

Her gaze drifted back to his lips. The urge to know how they would feel against her own suddenly overwhelmed any remnant of common sense.

Her heart hammered against her ribs, a wild rhythm urging her forward.

Before doubt could creep in, before she could overthink the moment, she leaned down, her hair falling like a curtain around them as she pressed her lips to his.

For one terrifying heartbeat, he froze beneath her.

His entire body went rigid, and a wave of horrified embarrassment flooded her body.

Had she misread everything? Was she making a terrible mistake?

Then a low, rumbling groan vibrated through his chest, and suddenly his arms came around her, his strong hands spanning her back and pulling her tighter against him. His lips moved against hers with fierce, desperate passion that knocked the breath from her lungs.

The kiss was like nothing she’d ever experienced before.

He kissed with the same intensity, the same absolute focus, that he brought to his work.

His lips coaxed and commanded at the same time, and she instinctively opened for him.

His tongue slid into her mouth, far wider and thicker than a human tongue, the surface slightly rough.

The feel of his mouth against hers was a revelation, sending a jolt of pure electricity through her body.

Despite the difference in their sizes, they fit together perfectly.

Heat flooded through her, pooling low in her belly and spreading outward in waves.

She curled her fingers in the fabric of his shirt, wanting to be closer, needing more of him, and rocked her hips against the huge ridge of his erection.

He clamped his hand on her ass to pull her closer and growled, the sound reverberating through his chest as he bucked beneath her.

The world around her faded away until there was nothing but the sensation of his mouth on hers, his body beneath hers, the intoxicating connection between them.

Just as she felt herself falling completely into the kiss, drowning in the exquisite pleasure of it, he stiffened beneath her. His body went taut, and a low groan—different this time, pained rather than passionate—escaped him.

Reluctantly, she pulled back, struggling to catch her breath as she looked down at him.

His eyes were hooded, his face strained with an emotion she couldn’t identify.

What had started as a simple, impulsive gesture had snowballed into something beyond her control, and a small, panicked part of her mind warned her to slow down, to think about what she was doing.

She opened her mouth to say… something, but he beat her to it.

“I’m sorry,” he said gruffly, his voice ragged with an emotion she couldn’t quite decipher.

He gently rolled her to one side, and she immediately missed his warmth, the feeling of security and protection that he’d given her. He sat up and started working to untangle their legs from Mabel’s lead rope.

“I… I shouldn’t have done that,” he muttered when he freed them, his voice rough with a strange mix of desire and what sounded like fear. He ran a shaking hand over his face, refusing to meet her eyes. “This was… a mistake.”

Before she could form a coherent thought, let alone a sentence, he turned and fled, disappearing into the woods just as he’d done the first night.

She stared after him, her lips still tingling, her body thrumming with unfulfilled desire. What had just happened? The kiss had been… incredible. Earth-shattering. She’d felt his response, his undeniable hunger. So why had he pulled away? Why had he looked at her with such conflict in his eyes?

Slowly, she rose to her feet, brushing dirt and leaves from her clothes. Mabel looked up at her and bleated mournfully, as if to apologize for her part in what had transpired.

“It’s all right, sweetheart,” she assured her, stroking the goat’s soft fur before she scampered off after Torin.

The rejection stung, but something deeper than hurt lingered beneath the surface. That kiss had revealed something important. Something real. He might be running from whatever was building between them, but his response to her had been genuine and powerful. There was no faking that kind of passion.

“He’s scared,” she realized. “He’s not rejecting me. He’s protecting himself.”

As she walked the remaining short distance to her cottage, she kept replaying every moment of their encounter.

The way his powerful arms had held her so carefully.

The desperate hunger in his kiss. The conflict in his eyes before he’d fled.

There was no denying their connection. She’d seen it in his eyes, felt it in the way he’d responded to her.

There was something there, something powerful and undeniable.

And she wasn’t about to let him run away from it.

As soon as she was inside, she called Etta.

“Having fun with the monsters?” her friend asked gaily, and she sighed.

“Not as much fun as I’d like to have.”

“Ooh, tell me all about it.”

She gave Etta an abbreviated version of their interactions, including the way he’d bolted after the kiss. She could almost hear her friend’s mind spinning.

“I think you’re right about him being scared,” Etta said at last. “Which means he’s going to need a lot of convincing—are you up for that?”

“Definitely.”

“Do you think he’ll be up for it?” Etta teased, and the memory of that enormous bulge against her stomach made her shiver.

“I’m quite sure he will.”

Etta laughed. “I’m glad to hear it. Now here are a few suggestions…”