Under The Skin

C h a p t e r S e v e n t e e n

"You're shaking."

"I...It doesn't matter. What were you going to say?"

Nick clears his throat and brushes back a lock of hair from his face. His brow scrunches up in consideration while he stares at the bowl in her hands. Poppy grips the bowl tighter. Her wolf is practically panting in her mind, as she can't help but notice how handsome he looks with that expression. Her palms of literally itching with the need to touch him. Feel his skin, touch his hair, breath is scent and claim his body as hers before marking him with her---

"Poppy?"

Her eyes shoot up as she nearly jumps out of her skin. Nick is looking at her with concern but her entire body is buzzing. Looking down she notices his large hand is covering the top of the bowl and the tips of his fingers...are touching her hand. Her breathing speeds up and she tries desperately to think of something to say, anything to distract her from jumping him right then and there.

Of course, Rae had warned her about this. She said the longer you waited to mark your mate and be one with them, the more intense the feelings would be. She she is informed but she wasn't prepared. Not for this. Not for the overwhelming need filling her body right now. She wants him. Anyway she can have him but this is too soon. She's injured, her rational side reasons, she's injured and she barely knows him. He doesn't know a damn thing about her either. They're strangers. She can't just give into this because her body and her wolf tell her to. She just can't. Right?

"Poppy?"

Poppy shakes her head and looks up at him again, demanding herself to focus.

"Y-Yes?"

"You don't look well."

"I-I'm fine. It's...," She pauses to take a deep breath, "Ir's just been a long day."

He tries to hold back a smile, "It's not even three in the afternoon."

"Is it," She squeaks before clearing her throat, "I hadn't noticed."

"You haven't asked, either," He reminds her with a smirk.

"No," She mumbles, "I suppose I haven't."

"Poppy, I think we should talk about some things."

"Things?"

"Yeah," He agrees, "Like yesterday and the morning you came here."

Poppy's mouth goes dry as one of his fingers moves, accidently caressing her skin but manages to nod.

"And, I think, we should talk about this morning too."

"This...morning," She repeats in a strangled tone.

Her hand is on fire. Actually, her whole body is. She's even sweating but she can't look away. She can't seem to focus on anything but the sight of his skin against hers. It's the wrong thing to be focusing on right now. She knows that but she can't help it. Her whole arm is tingling while her mouth is switching between being dry as a desert and salivating. She can't focus with him touching her. She just can't do it.

"Yeah, this morning. Now, call me crazy but to me it's all connected. You show up here, in all places, covered in blood. You have wounds on your back that look like something out of a nightmare. You're hostil towards me. You won't tell me anything but your name. I have no idea what your plan is or how you even ended up this way. Don't you have family we should contact? A...boyfriend, even? Someone who would want to know where you are? I mean--"

"Can you move your hand?"

Nick fliches back with a frown, "What?"

"Your hand..." Poppy nearly whispers, "I need you to move it."