Chapter 22 #2
Jamie just shrugged again, completely unfazed. “Okay, but technically it’s Draco who should come up with the dare.”
Lydia waved him off and called him a chicken.
Gretchen, for her part, didn’t move a muscle, just fixed Jamie with a look and said, ‘Do not embarrass me in front of the lesser species.’
He broke a marshmallow in half, then offered her one piece, which she plucked delicately from his fingers.
He popped the other half in his mouth, and then, to the shock of absolutely no one, executed the dare perfectly, meeting Gretchen’s beak with his lips and sort of…
slurping the marshmallow out. Jamie wiped his mouth with the back of his hand, shot Lydia a deadpan look, and spun the bottle. It landed on Theo.
Theo flashed his most angelic smile. “Dare, obviously.”
Phoenix nudged Jamie so he could take the reins, abandoning the rules entirely, and rubbed his chin, thinking. “I dare you to let Noodle choose the next fruit you taste. No matter what it is.”
Everyone turned to Noodle, who immediately began slithering toward the fruit basket like he’d been waiting for this moment his whole life.
‘Eat the yellow one,’ he said, nudging a spiky, fist-sized fruit toward Theo.
Theo eyed it. “Is that even edible?”
Phoenix looked delighted. “That’s a Dromel melon. Tastes like ass, but it won’t kill you.”
Theo eyed the fruit as Lucas tossed it his way, then, with extreme hesitation, bit into it.
He immediately gagged. “Fucking hell, it’s like dog shit and burning plastic.
” The guys were losing it, and even Rafe gagged sympathetically.
Theo spat the fruit into the fire, where it hissed and sizzled. “Noodle, you’re a sadist.”
‘I evolved for survival,’ Noodle replied, sounding proud.
It was Theo’s turn to spin. The bottle came to a wobbling, tipsy stop in front of Valeria. Valeria stretched her legs, yawning like a cat. “Truth. Hit me.”
Theo cocked an eyebrow. “If you had to pick one person from this circle to be stuck with on a desert island, who would it be? And why?”
Valeria grinned, no hesitation. “Obviously Lydia, because we could fuck all day and night and never annoy each other.”
Lydia’s face went blazing red and Tye made gagging noises.
Valeria spun the bottle. It landed on Lucas. He cracked his neck and set his glasses down, like he was prepping for battle. “Dare.”
“Ooh, okay. I dare you to let Rowan give you a piggyback ride around the fire pit twice. Shirtless.”
Lucas shot her a look. “Evil incarnate…”
She waggled her eyebrows. “It’s a talent.”
Rowan yanked his shirt off, revealing all the muscle and ink, and dropped to one knee. Lucas actually rolled his eyes, but he stripped his own shirt off too, because why not turn this into a circus, and slung himself onto Rowan’s back.
Rowan took off at a jog, Lucas’s long limbs wrapped around his torso. By the second lap, everyone was whistling and cat-calling.
When they finished, Lucas just slid off, dusted himself off, and reclaimed his seat, like that was the most normal thing in the world.
Lydia actually fanned herself. “That was unexpectedly hot. Ten out of ten. I ship it.”
Lucas shot Rowan a look. “You’re buying me a pint every week for a month.” Rowan just grinned, looking pleased with himself.
Lucas spun the bottle. It creaked and wobbled, barely making it halfway around before it landed on Rafe.
Rafe flashed a lazy, catlike smile. “Truth.”
Rowan pounced. “Okay, what’s the weirdest thing you’ve ever jacked off to?”
Rafe didn’t even blink. “An instructional video about repairing a dirtbike engine.” He looked around the group unashamed and shrugged. “What? Bikes are sexy.”
Lydia wiped tears from her eyes. “I don’t even know how to handle this information.”
He spun the bottle and it landed on Percy. Percy considered for a second. “Dare.”
Rafe’s mouth twisted in a mean little smile. “I dare you to arm wrestle Tye. Loser has to call the winner ‘Daddy’ for the rest of the night.”
The group was in hysterics before the dare even finished. Tye rolled up his sleeves, eyes shining with anticipation. Percy just cracked his knuckles, and positioned his elbow on the log in front of Tye. “Bring it, baby girl.”
They squared off, hands clasped, muscles bulging. For a long second, it was a stalemate. Then Tye summoned some freakish hidden strength, and slammed Percy’s hand down so hard the log actually cracked.
Tye threw both arms in the air, triumphant. “My time has come.”
Percy glared at him, then, deadpanned, “Congratulations, Daddy.”
The group went absolutely feral. Lydia nearly fell off her seat cackling.
Tye looked genuinely pleased, like he was going to put it on his resume. “I want all my mail addressed this way from now on.”
Percy just rolled his eyes. He spun the bottle, and this time, it landed on me.
I didn’t even have to think about it. “Dare.”
I could practically feel Lydia vibrating with the urge to say something wild, but Theo got there first. “I dare you to make out with someone in this circle for a full minute. No breaks. Full tongue. No chickening out.”
There was a beat of silence. My first thought was, holy fuck, am I drunk enough to actually do this? I rolled onto my knees, getting my feet under me. The alcohol made the world tilt, but in a good way, like the grass was a trampoline.
I looked around the circle, pretending to consider my options.
I grinned, and stalked across the circle, zeroing in like a heat-seeking missile.
Eris raised an eyebrow, eyes darkening as I closed the distance.
I dropped straight into his lap, straddling his thighs, bracing my hands on his shoulders.
The world went very quiet. Even the fire seemed to hush, the crackle of logs fading under the weight of a couple dozen stares.
Eris’s hands came up, settling on my hips. Heat poured through the thin fabric of my leggings. He looked up at me, eyes burning.
I kissed him hard.
His mouth was hot and tasted like whisky and cedar smoke.
I grabbed the back of his neck and pulled him closer, tilting my head, deepening the kiss until his tongue swept against mine and my whole body went liquid.
He groaned into my mouth, and the sound vibrated through my chest and straight down between my legs.
The fire crackled. Someone—Lydia, probably—let out a low, appreciative whistle. I didn’t stop. I couldn’t. Eris’s beard scraped against my chin, so rough and perfect, and his hands slid from my hips to the small of my back, pressing me flush against him.
I kissed him like I was starving, and his mouth moved against mine with a hunger that matched my own, and the bond between us screamed, every thread blazing white-hot with want and relief. Finally, finally, finally.
Someone started counting. “Nine Mississippi. Ten Mississippi—”
I broke the kiss just long enough to gasp, “Shut the fuck up, Tye,” and then crashed back into Eris, biting his lower lip hard enough to make him growl. His hands slid under my shirt, palms scorching against my bare skin, and I arched into him, chasing the heat.
“—forty-seven Mississippi, forty-eight—”
The group erupted. Catcalls, whistles, Lydia screaming “FUCKING FINALLY GEEZ!”
I pulled back, breathless, lips swollen, and looked down at Eris. His eyes were blown wide, copper burning with a light that had nothing to do with the fire. His chest was heaving, and his hands were still under my shirt, gripping my waist.
“Worth the wait,” I murmured, and his grip tightened.
He stood in one fluid motion, sweeping me up into his arms like I weighed nothing, and I yelped, clinging to his shoulders. The group went absolutely feral, Tye wolf-whistling, Percy making some stupid immature comment I couldn’t hear over the blood roaring in my ears.
Eris didn’t say a word. He just turned and walked away from the fire, carrying me, and I buried my face against his neck, laughing into his skin as the sounds of our friends faded behind us.
He walked fast, his strides long and purposeful, carrying me deeper into the woods.
The firelight shrank to a distant orange glow between the trees, and then disappeared entirely, replaced by silver moonlight filtering through the canopy.
The air cooled against my flushed skin, and I shivered, pressing closer to the furnace of his body.
“Where are we going?” I breathed against his throat.
“Somewhere I can fuck you properly,” he said, and his voice was so rough that my stomach dropped clean through the forest floor.
He carried me until the sounds of the bonfire were nothing but a distant murmur and the only light came from the moon.
Finally, he stopped. We were in a small clearing, ringed by ancient oaks, the ground soft with moss and fallen leaves.
Moonlight spilled through a break in the canopy, painting everything in shades of silver and shadow.
Eris set me down, but didn’t let go. His hands were on my face, tilting it up, and he kissed me again, slower this time, deeper. I melted into him, fingers fisting in the front of his shirt, pulling him closer.
“Jupiter,” he whispered against my lips. “Tell me you want this. Tell me I’m not dreaming.”
I grinned, and he kissed me hard, his mouth swallowing the sound I made as his hands slid down to my hips and gripped. He walked me backward until my shoulders met the rough bark of an oak, and I gasped as he lifted me, pinning me against the trunk, my legs wrapping around his waist.
“I’ve waited so long,” he murmured against my throat, and I could feel the tremor in his arms, the restraint he was barely holding onto. “Months, Jupiter. Months of watching you and wanting you and not being able to fucking touch you.”
I rolled my hips against him, and the hard length of him pressed against my center through his jeans, and we both groaned. “Then stop waiting,” I breathed.
Then he was lowering me to the ground, the moss soft and cool beneath my back. I sank into it, the forest floor cradling me as Eris hovered over me, his copper hair falling in his eyes.