44. Edgar
Asurge of possessiveness swept through Edgar as he watched Jasmine laughing with her friends. She was so damn beautiful, and it wasn”t only about her physical attributes. Jasmine was vivacious, and it was the first time he had ever used that word to describe a woman because he”d never met one who fit that adjective so well. Her eyes sparkled, her smile was bright, and her laughter wrapped around his shaft as if it were her hand.
He wanted to pull her into his arms, carry her out of Margo”s cabin, and lock her in his until the end of the cruise.
The problem was that she would not be on board for that. Ever since they had arrived at Margo”s, Jasmine had been distant, her attention divided between him and the others, which usually wouldn”t have bothered him, but he had a niggling sense he couldn”t quite shake that she wasn”t into him as much as he was into her.
He tried to tell himself that it was just the excitement of finally being allowed on the upper decks and getting to spend time with Margo and Frankie, but it seemed like Jasmine was doing her best to avoid his eyes, and her laughter sounded a little too loud, too forced, which led him to believe that she was nervous, but he didn”t know why.
Was she intimidated by Dagor and Negal”s presence?
That wasn”t likely. Jasmine didn”t know that they were gods, and she didn”t seem like the kind of woman who got nervous around attractive men. On the contrary, that was where Jasmine was in her element.
”So, what changed Kian”s mind about letting you up here?” Margo asked.
Jasmine flipped a dark lock of hair behind her shoulder. ”He sent a woman named Edna to probe me. She”s a hypnotist like Kevin but with a slightly different ability. She can determine people”s inner motives and intents. She must have arrived at the conclusion that I was harmless, but she definitely didn”t come in thinking that way. She brought a hunky guard with her, a guy named Max, who did his best to intimidate me.”
Edgar felt a hot spike of jealousy pierce his gut, and it only got worse when Frankie and Margo started peppering Jasmine with questions about her interactions with the Guardian. Edgar tried to tune them out, but it was difficult to hear Jasmine gushing over Max”s impressive muscles and piercing eyes.
The jealousy was irrational. Jasmine sounded like she was describing a movie star, admiring his attributes but not saying anything that would indicate that she was attracted to the guy, and Max had assured him last night that he had absolutely no interest in her.
Edgar had returned to the wedding party to catch the Guardian and have a talk with him about staying away from Jasmine. It also hadn”t hurt that Max could smell her on Edgar. He might not be one of Max”s buddies, but he knew the guy wouldn”t go after a woman he was interested in. It was a matter of honor.
Still, males might claim to adhere to a code of honor only to throw it out the window when an attractive female caught their eye. Shamefully, he had been guilty of doing that once or twice, but then neither he nor his friends had been pursuing females for anything other than a tumble between the sheets.
In fact, that”s how he should think about Jasmine instead of getting all worked up about her. He had no right to claim her or feel possessive or territorial about her.
Easier said than done after the incredible, mind-blowing night that had left him aching for more.
He”d thought that it meant something to her and that the connection he”d felt wasn”t just in his imagination. But watching her with her friends and seeing the way her eyes kept darting to the door as if she was waiting for someone else to arrive, Edgar felt a sinking sensation in his gut that Jasmine did not consider last night a preamble for more.
She probably saw him as a convenient stepping stone, a way to pass the time until someone better came along. Someone like Max, with his chiseled jaw and rippling muscles and aura of power.
Edgar clenched his fists, fighting back the urge to punch something.
He was just a civilian pilot, a glorified chauffeur in the grand scheme of things, but he was fun to be with, and he had a much better sense of humor than damn Max. Females loved Ed, as evidenced by the endless parade of beautiful women who had graced his bed.
He needed to take a step back and breathe and give Jasmine space to figure out what she wanted. If he wasn”t the one for her, so be it.
The world was full of beautiful women. But beautiful women who were also Dormants were rare, and there was a slight chance that Jasmine was a Dormant.
Nevertheless, he wouldn”t make a fool of himself, even if it meant watching her flirt with other men. He would grit his teeth and smile through the jealousy that clawed at his insides and pretend that he was fine with it.
That didn”t mean that he wouldn”t fight for her, though. Just that if he lost to someone else, he wouldn”t be a sore loser.
Even if she was just a human, Jasmine was still worth fighting for, if for no other reason than to prove to those macho Guardians that charm and wit were no less important than bicep size.
When there was a slight pause in the chatter, he leaned over and put a hand over Jasmine”s thigh. ”Can we talk out on the balcony for a minute?”
Jasmine glanced at her friends, hesitated for a moment, but then nodded and rose to her feet. ”Lead the way.”
Margo and Frankie regarded him with twin puzzled expressions, but the knowing looks in Dagor and Negal”s eyes told him that they understood what was going on.
When they stepped out to the balcony, he closed the sliding door behind them and pulled Jasmine into his arms. ”I need to kiss you.”
She giggled. ”Is that what you wanted to talk about?”
”Yeah. More or less.” He wrapped his palm around the back of her neck and kissed her hard, pouring all of his uncertainty and pent-up possessiveness into the kiss.
When he finally let her go up for air, she was breathless. ”Wow.” She brought a finger to her lips and rubbed it over them. ”Whatever you wanted to talk about, that was a very convincing argument.”
He chuckled. ”I”m glad that we have that settled.” He took her hand and turned toward the sliding door.
”Wait.” She tugged on his hand. ”Is that really all you wanted? To kiss me?”
He hesitated for a moment. ”I wanted to remind you how good it is between us, just in case you forgot while drooling over Max”s biceps.”
”Oh, Ed.” Jasmine laughed. ”I”m not interested in Max, and he”s not interested in me. I think he doesn”t like me for some reason. He was borderline rude to me and kept looking at me as if I had dog poo stuck to my shoe.”
Now, that made Ed angry almost as much as hearing that Max had flirted with her would have. ”I”ll talk to him. He has no right to regard you with anything other than respect.”
”Oh, sweetie.” She lifted her hand and cupped his cheek. ”That”s so chivalrous of you, and here I was thinking that chivalry was dead.”
He felt his chest puff up even though he hadn”t commanded it to do so. ”I”m glad to restore your faith in my gender.”
She leaned in and feathered a soft kiss over his lips. ”As much as I appreciate the gesture, please don”t talk with Max about me. You don”t need to risk your friendship with him over a silly thing like that. Besides, I”m a big girl, and unless I”ve been drugged and kidnapped by a drug lord, I can take care of myself.”