CHAPTER ELEVEN - Mariska #2
“I know what I said. That will be an issue, but I’ll handle it. What you need to know about us is that we don’t abandon anyone. We’re here for you, Mariska.” He squeezed my hand. “I’m here for you.”
My body vibrated with his words. I should leave, run far away, but I also wanted to throw myself at him and let him knot me and claim me. To have someone that would never let me down, a mate who would love and respect me—
Lauren set a plate on our table with delicious goodies.
“This week’s spread has chestnut profiteroles, brie and cranberry twists, and pecan stuffed dates.
” She pointed each one out as she named them, and also put a glass of water next to me before picking up my empty gin rickey.
“Let me know what you think. Lindy made the profiteroles, so they’re fabulous, but I tried my hand at the other two. ”
“Thanks, Lauren. They look amazing.” Jasper excused her, never taking his eyes from me.
Once she had returned to the bar, he picked up one of the bow tie shaped twists.
“Eat. I was going to wait until we had appetizers at the Saffron Lounge, but you need food to soak up the gin. If I’d known what a lightweight you were, I'd have ordered your drink without the alcohol.”
His hand remained over my hand. What would his lips feel like pressed to mine? His hot body between my legs?
Did he just call me a lightweight? “I am not!”
“Eat.” Jasper repeated and held up the canapé to my mouth. The command couldn’t be ignored, and dammit, I knew I needed to. I opened my mouth and he put the twist in. “Good girl.”
A shiver of pleasure went through me. I refused to be one of those women who turned into goo when a man said that to her. I was a strong and independent Omega in charge of her own life.
Fuck. I wanted to hear him say it again.
The creaminess of the brie mixed perfectly with the sweetness of the cranberry. My eyes fluttered with how vividly delicious it was. Jasper was making me wet and horny, but the twist had hit a different layer of delight. “So yummy.”
“Yes, you are.” He picked up a date and held it ready for me.
I flushed and sipped my water. I recognized my head was a little swimmy from the gin, and I was feeling immensely apologetic for the scene I’d just caused. “I’m sorry.”
Jasper raised his brows. “For what? You being yummy was a compliment. One that doesn’t even begin to do you justice.”
I took the date and hoped I didn’t turn crimson at his sweet words. The tactile differences were pleasant rather than unnerving, and the date took on a caramel flavor paired with the pecans. It was almost like a tart without the crust. “I didn’t want any of this to be complicated.”
“It’s not.” He reached to tuck a stray lock of my hair behind my ear.
So tender and yet so entirely possessive.
“We understand what you want. You need us to help you through your heat with no strings attached because you’re leaving after Christmas.
Bal and Lucian may try to convince you otherwise, but they’ll respect your decision.
I want you to stay true to your heart. A woman who knows what she wants in life is sexy. ”
Delectable snacks, a sweet drink, and a charming Alpha. I was feeling warm all over and achy for more than his words. Squirming, I tried to deflect. More for myself than him. “A woman drunk after one gin rickey is not sexy.”
“It kinda is.” Jasper chuckled and bit into a profiterole.
He held out the other half of the small round pastry to me which still contained a generous bit of chestnut cream in the center.
I let him feed me and brush crumbs off my bottom lip.
The deep nutty flavor coated my mouth and complimented the caramel remnants of the date.
He then licked his fingers. The tip of each one which had touched my lip.
I was mesmerized. I couldn’t even blink. Never had a man licking his fingers before been so incredibly erotic. I needed him to put his mouth to work on me, to lick all the sensitive spots no man had ever seen before. A whine escaped me before I could stop it.
“If you react to everything you eat that way, I don’t know if I can make it through dinner.” Jasper’s whisper had a rough almost growling edge. Was he as aroused as I was?
I lifted my hand to check and then snatched it back. What the hell was I doing?
“Maybe I should go home instead of going out to dinner.” Without a chaperon, I wasn’t behaving properly. We were in a public place, but it was getting more and more difficult to resist climbing onto his lap and letting him have his way with me.
Jasper bent his head, so that I could feel his hot breath breezing over the shell of my ear. “I’m willing to skip dinner if you need some help with any effects of your heat. I’m very good at taking care of a woman’s every need.”
If words alone could make me come, I would have right there in the middle of the Whisper Room.
It would be easy to blame my horniness on the drink, but it was a single gin rickey, and half the glass had been ice.
I was ready to say ‘show me,’ but instead distracted myself by stuffing a whole profiterole into my mouth.
He wasn’t deterred by my chipmunk cheek. “Let me show you.”
My entire body thrummed with want for him. This was our Alpha. He would make everything better. Sure, he was a jerk earlier, but he was protecting his pack. His drop dead gorgeous, hot as hell pack.
I couldn’t see past my own desire. I was an Omega without an escort alone with an Alpha. It was everything we were warned against doing. I didn’t break the rules. I always walked the straight and narrow path.
“Okay.”