Chapter 6 #2
Before he could answer, Jocelyn interrupted in a too-bright tone with, “I would guess you’re interested in another cupcake!”
Milo shook his head, and I was hard-pressed to hide my amusement. She clearly wanted to end the conversation, and I was enjoying the hells out of drawing it out. I could kneel here and talk to her nephew forever, if that’s what it took.
But his next question changed the game. “You said Aunt Jossy’s not nervous. What does she smell like?”
Like getting off work on a Friday afternoon.
Like jumping off a mountain waterfall.
Like the rumble of machinery under my palms.
Like a meat buffet with a cooler of cold beer.
Like all the best things.
The realization flashed through my brain with a speed I hadn’t expected, punching me in the chest. All the best things.
Fuck me, her sneaking away from that hotel room had really messed me up, huh?
I was used to being the one to cut things off, and clearly that had fucked hard with my mind and Kteer.
That was the only explanation for this obsession.
The kid was still waiting expectantly, so I made a show of turning my head toward her and inhaling. With my knee in the sand, my face was level with her navel. So much closer to where I wanted to be.
When I tipped my head back to hold her gaze and inhaled again, holding her gaze…
I knew the exact moment she realized what I was thinking, because her cunt flooded with desire.
The scent was delicious, satisfying…I flicked my tongue against my tusk, reveling in the memory, and watched her blush darken her neck and cheeks.
She was turned on by being this close to me? Or was she remembering what we shared too? Was she remembering the way I’d buried my face between her legs and made her scream my name?
From the sweet scent in the air right now, I guessed so.
I grinned wickedly, still staring up at her. “Well Milo,” I drawled. “I would say she smells like—”
In a sudden move, Jocelyn lunged sideways, scooped something off the table behind me, and swung her hand toward me. It wasn’t until she shoved the cupcake into my mouth that I realized her intent, and then it was too late.
The kids burst into laughter, and her embarrassment faded to amusement as I made a show of lumbering to my feet and licking the icing from my lips. When she began to giggle, I gave in to the temptation to smile at her trick.
When the boys snatched their own desserts and ran off toward a knot of our friends, I slid my arm around Jocelyn’s side, tugging her slowly closer.
She was still smiling, and gods below, I could stand to watch her smile for a good long while.
“That was dirty,” I warned her. “I should get you back.”
“You won’t, though, because you know I took ages to get my makeup right, and you don’t want to mess it up.”
I chuckled at her boldness, telling me what I wasn’t going to do. She was right though—I wouldn’t screw up her hard work for a laugh.
Instead, I tipped my face closer to her, breathing in her scent. “You don’t need makeup, Kitten. I remember how good you look without it.” Wet from the shower, spread out across that hotel couch like a meal for me. “I remember how good you look in nothing at all.”
Another spike of sweet arousal perfumed the air, but she blushed and dropped her gaze. “You shouldn’t say…”
“Why? We’re alone.” At least, no one was close enough to hear us.
Still, I lowered my voice, lowered my mouth closer to her ear.
“Do you know how hard it is to resist you right now, Kitten? Your scent has driven me nuts for weeks, and my entire body is itching to lift your dress and bury my mouth against your sweet cunt.”
“Oh, God,” she groaned, her honey-brown eyes fluttering closed, the pulse in her throat jumping.
So I pushed my luck. My fingers dug into her ass, tugging her even closer. Her hip was pressed against me, leaving us standing perpendicular. Not as intimate as I wanted, but anyone who glanced at us would wonder why this embrace had gone on for so long.
I didn’t care.
Let every male here know that Jocelyn was spoken for!
When she was on this island, she was mine.
I nuzzled my nose against her hair. “I could lift you up right now,” I growled.
“Carry you behind that dune. Lay you down and prove to you how hard you can come on my tongue without making a sound.” I groaned at the erotic image, and she echoed it.
My voice was a rasp when I managed, “Could you do that, Kitten? Could you lie there in the sand, the moon overhead, and squirm and gasp and explode without making a sound? Without them hearing?”
Her hand rested against my chest, and now curled into a fist around my shirt, as if she was holding herself upright. Her breathing was coming too fast, her eyes were squeezed shut, and her arousal…
Fuck, she smelled like she was dripping down her thighs.
“This is Kesha’s wedding,” she whimpered.
“My brother’s too. But the moment you stepped into that light, Joss, I haven’t given a fuck about the wedding.” I flexed my hips forward, pressing my hard cock against her side so she knew exactly what I was talking about when I said, “I’ve been thinking of you instead.”
Her head tipped to one side, so I could drag my nose and my tusk down to her temple and her ear. I wanted to turn her, to claim her lips, to claim her in front of everyone.
But she breathed, “We can’t.”
Her body was saying yes we can, but I wasn’t so much of an asshole to ignore her words. Words were important.
So I took a deep breath and forced myself to straighten. I couldn’t force myself to release her, but I struggled to gain control of my Kteer and my cock. Hunt. Catch. Fuck.
“Why not?” I finally managed.
Jocelyn was the one to push away from me, to shift so my hand rested on her hip instead of holding her against me. She tipped her head back, and in the moonlight, her eyes looked…sad?
“Because, Brakkor, this was one night. Remember? That’s what we agreed to. I’ll never, ever forget that night, but…I don’t want you to have to do anything you’re uncomfortable with.”
And then, before I could pick my jaw off the ground, before I could explain I was far from uncomfortable with her in my arms, Jocelyn slipped away from me.
With one last, almost sad look, she gathered her hem and hurried toward where her friend Kesha was meeting the other human females from the island.
I watched, wrestling to control my Kteer’s urges to go after her, throw her over my shoulder and claim her, as she grabbed a glass of champagne Brooke offered. Only now, Jocelyn didn’t look happy and at ease sipping from it. She seemed to shrink in on herself.
And I didn’t like it.
I didn’t like any of it.
With a growl, I turned on my heel and stalked into the night.