Chapter 66

The room was still dark when she woke, but Mari could sense Remy sitting in the chair beside the bed.
"Good morning, sweetness." His lightly accented voice was warm, soft and sexy. "Did you sleep well?"
"Surprisingly so," she admitted. The clock radio said it was not quite five a.m., which meant she'd had about four hours of sleep. Her eyes slowly adjusted to the dim light and she could make out a shape in the chair. He was every bit as big she remembered. "How's your shoulder?"
"Good as new."
"Let's see it." She sat up and switched on the bedside lamp. She blinked as her eyes adjusted. The first thing she noticed was that he was still naked though he'd kept the blanket draped across his lap.
"Yes, dear." With a small chuckle, he twisted to expose the back of his left shoulder to her view. He'd removed the bandage at some point. The skin was bare. She scrambled across the bed and laid one hand on his spine, then peered closely at his skin.
Nothing. Well, maybe that was a tiny white scar where the wound had been. Yep, a circle about the size of a dime that was just a shade lighter than his skin and had a faint X superimposed on it. He hadn't been lying or exaggerating. This looked like a decades old scar, not a recent injury. On impulse, she leaned over and kissed the pale mark. "That's a relief."
"You're playing with fire, little one." His voice was a low, sexy growl.
"I am?" Just for fun she ran a fingertip down the length of his spine. "Is that a bad thing?"
"Mari..." She loved that his muscles tightened up at her touch. He turned back to her and caught her hand in his. There was no mistaking the heat in his gaze.
She stared back into those slate-gray eyes and licked her lips. "It's Marina, in case you were worried because we haven't been properly introduced. Marina Bell. I'm twenty-eight, single, and a full-time graduate student as well as a part-time wage slave for the casino."
"And a shapeshifter who's tough enough to dig out a bullet." He grinned and Mari had to catch her breath at the beauty of it. He was so stunningly handsome he was almost intimidating, but when he gave her that impish, wicked grin, he became so much more approachable.
He dragged her onto his lap and kissed her. It was hard and brief, and left no doubt as to his intentions. Neither did the erection poking up at her through the blanket.
"Pleased to meet you, Marina Bell. You already know my name. I'm also single, and a hell of a lot older than twenty-eight." One hand slid up under the jersey to stroke her spine while the other one played with her hair.
"So what's a nice gargoyle with a French accent doing in Atlantic City besides being shot at and trying to rescue selkies from the ocean?"
"Would you believe I'm here on vacation?" He leaned down and nipped at her ear. Warm sparks of sensation skittered from the tip of her ear all the way to her core.
"Would it be true?" Not that she really cared. Her body had already made its decision. Even if he was some sort of gangster, she wasn't going anywhere. He didn't wear a wedding ring and she believed him when he'd said he was single. That was all that mattered.
"Huh?" Either he hadn't heard her words over her shallow breathing or he was as distracted as she was. Instead of trying to reiterate her question, she dug her fingers into the thick muscle of his arms and turned her face up to his.
That hint, he got. Mari heard herself moan as his lips lowered to claim hers. One of his hands flattened along her spine, pulling her closer to his chest, while the hand in her hair tugged gently to keep her face pointed upward. She wasn't planning to go anywhere but the slight pull was unexpectedly erotic.
Mari threw herself into the kiss, sliding her arms off his arms and around his back. He was warm and solid and so big her arms barely met behind his shoulders. She ran the palms of her hands down the smooth skin of his back, loving the feel of his strong, sculpted muscles bunching beneath her touch.
His lips were gentle without being soft. He knew what he was doing, no question about that. She let him take the lead as his mouth moved against hers. When his tongue stroked along the seam of her lips, she opened eagerly to let him inside.
He took her mouth with a sure, forceful thrust that made her pussy jealous. She squeezed her thighs together to ease the needy ache and let one of her hands trail down to cup the firm globe of his ass. Her fingertips barely even dented the skin, his muscle was so taut beneath the surface. He smelled of cheap soap and shampoo instead of seawater and blood. He must have showered while she was asleep. Under that, though was an earthy musky scent that made her toes curl. Desperate for even more of his touch, she rubbed her aching breasts against his chest, wishing she didn't still have the heavy lined hockey jersey in between them.
"Yes, little seal." As if he'd read her mind, Remy pulled his lips from hers with tiny kiss to her swollen lips. He took the hem of the jersey in his hands and she lifted her arms so he could pull it off over her head. "Oh, so beautiful," he whispered. He buried his face in the valley between her breasts.
His tongue licked a slow path from her sternum to the hollow at the base of her throat. It felt wonderful, but it wasn't where she wanted his touch. With a whimper, she turned just enough to bring one nipple in line with his mouth.
He chuckled, low and soft, causing a puff of air to graze the puckered bud, taunting it with just the suggestion of a touch. "Want something, sweetness?"
"Don't tease, Remy." She arched her back to bring her breast even closer to his face. "I've wanted you since the moment I saw you in the shop. Please don't make me beg."