53. Edgar
Taking a deep breath, Edgar tugged on the lapels of his tuxedo, raised his hand, and rapped his knuckles on Jasmine”s door. Unlike the cabins on the upper decks, the staff quarters were equipped with standard insulation and soundproofing so Jasmine would hear his knock loud and clear.
”Just a moment!” Jasmine called out, and then the door swung open, revealing a vision that stole the breath from his lungs and sent his heart racing with a surge of pure, unadulterated lust.
”Well, hello there, handsome.” Jasmine gave him a once-over before ushering him in. ”You look spiffy.” She put a hand on the lapel of his jacket, her lush lips curving in a coquettish smile.
Her hair and makeup were done to perfection, and she was breathtakingly beautiful, but it was what she was wearing, or rather what she wasn”t wearing, that made his blood run hot and his body tighten with need.
The short, silky robe clung to her curves like a second skin, the fabric so thin it was nearly translucent and left little to the imagination. She had no bra on, and the creamy swell of her breasts and the shadowed valley between them were pure temptations. Below, the hem rode high on her thighs, exposing miles of smooth, golden skin that seemed to glow in the soft light of the cabin.
Edgar swallowed, his mouth suddenly dry and his tongue feeling thick and clumsy in his mouth. He wanted to reach out and touch her, to run his hands over those lush, inviting curves and feel the heat of her skin under his fingers, but if he allowed himself to succumb to the tide of desire, they would never make it to the wedding.
”You look beautiful, but you are not ready,” he stated the obvious.
”I just need a few more moments.” She gave him a slight push. ”Take a seat,”
Edgar nodded, his jaw clenching with the effort of restraint as he lowered himself onto the edge of the bed, his eyes fixed firmly on the floor. He could hear the swish of fabric as Jasmine moved around the tiny cabin, and he could feel the heat of her gaze on him, which made his skin prickle with awareness, but he refused to lift his gaze to her.
She chuckled. ”You can look, you know. You”ve seen it all already.”
”I did,” he admitted, his voice rough with barely suppressed desire. ”But if I see it again, we won”t make it to the wedding.”
Jasmine laughed, a throaty, sensual sound that sent shivers racing down his spine. ”Well, in that case, don”t look,” she said in a mock-stern tone. ”I really want to attend that wedding.”
”Can I ask you something?” He still refused to look at her.
He heard her pause and felt her eyes on him. ”Of course. What do you wish to know?”
”That prince you mentioned, the one who keeps showing up in your tarot cards. What”s that all about? I mean, am I just a placeholder until you find your Prince Charming? Or am I misunderstanding the situation?”
There was a moment of silence, a pause that seemed to stretch uncomfortably long. ”You could be my prince.” Jasmine walked in between his spread thighs and placed her hands on his shoulders. ”Divining the future is not an exact science, and the signs can be interpreted in many ways. The cards might have meant a real royal prince, or they could have meant it metaphorically, like a prince of a man.” She gave him a sultry look as she rubbed herself against him. ”You were definitely princely between the sheets. I don”t recall ever coming so hard and so many times.”
Edgar tried to stifle a wince. He was a generous and skilled lover, but Jasmine”s explosive orgasms had been the product of his immortal biology, so he couldn”t take credit for them. It was the venom hitting her system that had induced the string of powerful climaxes and sent her on a psychedelic trip through the clouds. He had thralled her to forget the bite, to blur the edges of the euphoria that had consumed her in the aftermath, but he”d left the memories of the pleasure intact.
That was what she remembered.
Lifting his head, he looked at her beautiful face, and as he took in the sultry gleam in her eyes and the wicked curve of her lips, he couldn”t help but wonder if that was enough. Could he be satisfied with just being her lover but not her partner, not her prince?
”I”m flattered,” he said. ”Although not surprised. I”ve been told that before.”
She laughed. ”Now you’re making me jealous.” She took a step back, dropped her robe, and gave him a mouth-watering view of her ass that was covered by such a thin strip of fabric it was like it wasn”t covered at all.
And it was glorious.
She pulled on a tight dress that looked like a bandage around her delicious body, stepped into a pair of stilettos, and then turned around and struck a pose. ”How do I look?”
”Like a goddess,” Edgar breathed. ”The goddess of carnal pleasures.”
Jasmine chuckled. ”I”ll take it. Anything that is preceded by the word goddess is music to my ears.”