Beginnings - The start of Hunted.

Chapter 5 - Vulnerabilities

When I woke the next morning the hormones were gone sufficiently for me to feel embarrassment at how I'd been last night. A bit of kissing and a bit of staring and I'd gotten so worked up that I'd even listened to him in the shower. Masturbating. Oh god. What the hell was wrong with me? 

I turned onto my back, gazing at Nick, his head in my direction, dark lashes on his cheeks as he slept. Out of the corner of my eye I could also see that he'd kicked off his half of the heavy blanket and the sheet was starting to go the same way, exposing him right down to his hips, where the sheets lifted just slightly.  

My cheeks flushed as I turned back over, shoulders hunching over, and Nick snorted slightly in his sleep.

Or was he asleep?

A leg, brushing up the back of my legs, showed me he was very much awake, then he was moving closer against me, kissing along my bare arm.

"Morning."

"You're ...awake." I wasn't sure what else to say.

He made a noise of agreement, gently rubbing against me, and tugged me onto my back again, Nick's hand trailing across my stomach under the t-shirt. Now that he was on his side he'd hidden it but I'd seen it. And he didn't seem to care.

"Nick..."

"Yep?"

"Shower for you?" I felt it brush against my hip, his nostrils flare as his hand traced around my bellybutton, body reacting all over again to him. Even now it was scaring me, making my heart race with more than just heart, anxiety threatening to take over the arousal.

Nick laughed and edged a little closer, loving it when I edged backwards a bit. "You smelt like you needed one too. Last night."

I stiffened, eyes snapping to his, face getting even hotter again. He'd noticed? He apparently had, inhaling slowly, hand trailing down my hip.

"How did-"

"I have a very good sense of smell. And you smell better than El-" He hesitated. "Than any other woman I've met like that."

Sliding out of bed, I stood up, awkward, embarrassment flooding through me, stumbling a little as I moved. Nick sat up and held out his arms.

"Oh, come on, it's that bad. It's natural. I was going to offer to help you. Actually, I needed to tell you something."

I ignored his offer and stayed across the room. Okay, so this might have come off as a prude to him, but I was embarrassed with how I'd been reacting to him last night, how my hormones had taken over. Some part of me wanted to jump on him and kiss him, even now, though it was easily overwhelmed by the embarrassment. "What?"

"Liz..." Nick slid to the edge of the bed, sheets and blanket across his lap, looking genuinely regretful now. "Sorry. I fell asleep with that smell in my nose and... I forgot how shy you get."

That did not make me feel better. Instead, it made me worse, like he was an adult and I was still a kid. I narrowed my eyes. "Is that what you wanted to tell me?"

"No." Nick shook his head. "I have to go to my brother's tomorrow for the day. That was what the argument was about last night, I wanted to tell you today, so you knew. I still want to see you before you go but tomorrow... I have to help him. I don't have a choice. Come back here." He patted his lap. His lap, where he was still excited. "I just want to kiss you. You're my girlfriend. I won't force you."

"That's probably a good thing. Maybe you should go now."

My answer was not what he expected. He looked a bit hurt even and his jaw squared stubbornly. "What?"