Bait This! (A 300 Moons Book) by Tasha Black Page A

so that she could fight the demon.
    “You should take a shower too. It’s warm, you’ll feel better,” he said, looking down at the floor.
    She nodded and pushed past him, ignoring the flicker of electricity when her arm brushed against his chest.
    Once in the bathroom, she set her sheet on the counter and stepped into the shower.
    As soon as the hot water hit her skin, she felt better. When she was finally warm down to her bones, she stopped soaking and began to wash.
    As she worked the warm suds into a lather she found it impossible to keep Derek out of her thoughts.
    What it would feel like if these were his hands smoothing gently over her breasts, sliding slowly down her belly and gliding between her legs?
    Her breath caught and for just a moment she let the sensations wash over her.
    Footsteps just outside the door roused her.
    Fuck. Fuck, fuck, fuck, he was a shifter.
    Which meant he could probably smell her arousal and draw his own conclusions.
    Chastened, she finished her shower quickly, dried off, wrapped the towel around herself, and dashed into her room again.
    Thankfully, he wasn’t in the hallway waiting.
    She wrapped a huge blanket around herself. She was already too cold again to try to get dressed, besides, when in Rome…

27
    D erek paced in front of the fireplace, giving himself a stern speech in his mind.
    You gave her a chance to say no earlier, and she said no. She crawled out of your lap like you were on fire. She doesn’t want you.
    Unfortunately, the bear was giving him a speech right back. But it was more of a series of scents and images.
    The scent of her hair under his nose. The feel of her fists against his ass as he’d carried her here. Her warm arms as she dragged him out of the water earlier. The sound of her laughter. The salty sweet scent of her hands on her sex a moment ago. She was ready for him, so ready.
    The sound of the shower turning off had them both on high alert.
    Derek mentally swatted the bear’s nose.
    Behave .
    He headed over to the kitchen area, hoping that if he could find something to cook it might endear him to her. Plus, he was starving.
    The fridge was empty but he banged around in the cupboards and found plenty of dry ingredients.
    Before long, he was humming and flipping pancakes. He’d found a small shelf of spices in glass bottles by the stove. A little cinnamon and nutmeg had given the batter a rich color and the aroma was filling the room. The dried cherries were swelling up nice and juicy too. He was very pleased.
    The bedroom door closed and he smelled her coming, sweeter than cherries, richer than spice.
    He looked up to find that she had stopped in her tracks.
    “Hey, I hope it’s okay I made myself at home in the kitchen,” he said.
    She nodded wordlessly, padding toward him with interest. She had a big blanket wrapped around herself. Was that all she was wearing?
    She looked so feminine, so much more vulnerable. She was relaxing, showing him a side of herself that wasn’t all magic warrior. It tugged at his heart.
    “It smells good,” she murmured.
    “Thanks,” he replied gruffly.
    He was smiling too hard for the small compliment. But he couldn’t help it, he just felt good that she was pleased.
    “I’ll grab some plates,” she told him, brushing against him on her way.
    It was inevitable that she would have to touch him to move in the tiny space, but he found himself weaving visions of her sneaking up behind him, wrapping her arms around his waist, her breasts pressed into his back.
    “It smells too good,” she remarked, setting two plates on the counter. “What’s in there?”
    “I added a few spices, no big deal,” he told her. “It smells good because you’re hungry.”
    Her eyes went wide.
    “The spices you added, they weren’t from over by the stove, were they?” she asked nervously.
    His eyes went straight to the rack.
    What could be in them? It must be some magical ingredients. He’d been licking the batter off his