Chapter 13 #2
For a second, I didn’t move. Then Jacand elbowed me. I knew I was acting awkward when a teenager pointed it out. I grabbed a slice of pizza. I knew I was hungry or at least I should be, but being surrounded by people who were planning my future didn’t exactly fuel my appetite.
“We’re not planning your future. We’re planning your mating feast. There is a difference,” Mum said over the family link. “You’re allowed to socialize. Hell, toss him over your shoulder and run off, if you’re brave enough. He might beat your ass, but at least that would make sense.”
Jacand rolled his eyes when I returned to stand by him with my plate.
“Come on. Evie’s my sister. She’s not scary. Protective, but not scary,” he said and jerked his head toward the circle of lions on the floor. I blinked because I was pretty sure the lioness was Evie and was sitting with the older people. The people who were technically more my age.
“Evie’s not going to eat you,” he said when I didn’t follow him.
“I—” I started but Jacand spoke again before I could get the words out.
“She’s only watching you because you’re acting nervous.
She doesn’t trust nervous people who are bigger than everyone else.
She says that means they’re up to something.
Sit down with everyone else,” Jacand said and crossed the kitchen to join the circle of lions around the kiddie pool.
He leaned against Vius’s side, and he wrapped an arm around the teenager’s shoulder like the domestic cat was one of them.
“He’s more one of them than we are,” my dragon chimed into my thoughts.
I glanced at Evie. She was watching me. Maybe she was still pissed off about what happened at the pond.
She flashed me a sympathetic smile and nodded toward the group of kiddie pool lions.
I walked over and Claw scooted over so that I could sit next to Jade.
I sank onto the floor and Jade leaned over just enough that his arm brushed against mine for a second.
Jondi was swimming laps around the kiddie pool, holding his little rock to his chest. Everyone was chatting about Pras’s ceremony but stopped when I sat down.
“Sorry,” Claw flashed me a look. “I know he was your granddad or something like that.”
“Something like that,” I nodded.
“You okay?” Jade asked.
I wanted to turn the question around on him but he smelled so relaxed that I didn’t want to bring up how stressed out he was earlier in the day.
Instead, I nodded, and wrapped an arm around him to pull him closer.
There were a few laughs, but Jade twisted around so that he could lean back against me, but still keep an eye on Jondi.
“He keeps killing his pools trying to crack stuff open with his rock,” Jade explained. “So we’re sort of taking bets to see how long it takes him to kill this one.”
“Must be hard for him living on land,” I said.
“Most water shifters do venture onto land,” Jade shrugged.
“I’ve asked him if he ever wanted to go and live in the water full time.
He said he wanted to stay here. For a while, I thought I’d have to move back to the lake.
That would’ve been a pain in the neck commute for work but I would’ve made it work. ”
I opened my mouth and shut it again. I almost offered to call some dragons I knew that would camp out on the roof of his playhouse until things calmed down. Hell, I’d camp out there if that’s what it took to never make him smell as stressed out as he had earlier.
“We can sneak off to my room, probably,” Jade said. “I mean just to talk and stuff. He’ll be distracted for a few minutes anyway.”
“If you want,” I said, not wanting to sound like a horny frat boy.
“Bring your pizza,” he said, pushing himself gracefully upright. He moved like liquid made flesh. Big cat shifters never ceased to surprise me with their fluidity.
The pizza was the last thing on my mind but I brought it with me anyway.
Jade’s bedroom was bigger than I expected.
It had several ‘branches’ sticking out from the walls that looked like they’d be good napping spots for a big cat.
The sunlight from sliding glass doors poured over the bed making it into a soft, sunning rock.
A bookshelf lined the wall in the shadowy side of the room along with rocks, crystals, and other little knickknacks that had been shoved in here and there.
Photos of people were everywhere they could fit – his family, a wide variety of kids, and so many lions.
“I’ve fostered a lot of kids over the years,” Jade said, sinking onto the edge of the bed.
“There’s always a kid who needs a place either to grow up or just for a couple of days.
Jondi is mine, though. I adopted him because he settled in here.
I haven’t taken anymore placements so far because Jondi needs a lot of attention. ”
“Did you foster because you wanted kids or didn’t want your own kids?” I asked.
“My own kids?” he laughed, leaning back on an elbow. “Jondi is my kid. A lot of them have been my kids for long periods of their lives.”
“You know what I meant,” I sighed.
“Then ask what you mean, Beryl. Do I want to be pregnant?” he asked.
“I guess that is what I meant,” I nodded, trying not to imagine how sexy he’d be with a big pregnant belly protruding out from under his t-shirt.
“Yes, but I waited. I guess, I waited on you. Not consciously. I was waiting on someone I not only clicked with, but also who could be a partner. Who could slide seamlessly into my life. I know that was idealistic but it’s how I felt.
It was sort of stupid, looking back. No one can come in and just know what to do. I get that.”
I thought about what I wanted to ask next for several bites of my pizza. Away from the crowd of lions staring me down my appetite had returned.
“What do you want in a mate? A rock finder? Someone who can stand up to the lions? Someone who is okay with you –” I stopped myself.
“Kissing them all?” Jade filled in the blank for me.
“Yeah,” I nodded, only feeling a bit like a jackass.
“You get why we do that, right?” he asked.
“I get that it’s pride affection and stuff. That it’s a way to communicate a whole lot of information without speaking, but—”
“But what?” Jade asked, his golden eyes narrowing on me.
“You’re going to think I’m a jackass.”
“Try me,” he sat up straight again.
“All I could think was why did they get to kiss you and I haven’t,” I said.
“If that’s your concern, we can remedy that,” he took my plate and set it aside before straddling my lap and pushing me flat onto the bed.
He captured my hands and held them above my head against the green flannel duvet.
I stared up at his parted lips as he leaned forward and brushed them lightly against mine as if I made him nervous.
Then he traced my lips with the textured tip of his feline tongue.
First the outside, then the inside, as if he was really tasting me.
I opened my mouth to ask him what sort of feline foreplay he was performing, but that was when his mouth closed over mine and his tongue dived inside.
My hands ached to run up and down his muscular back or maybe to grab a handful of ass, but he was stronger than he looked and was able to keep my hands in place.
“Duh! He’s part dragon. You saw how big his carrier was,” my dragon chimed into my thoughts from inside his inner sanctum.
I could’ve kissed Jade forever. His warmth spread over me even as my wrists flexed under his grip, desperate to move but also enjoying his strength.
No wonder he thought I could deal with the lions.
He was so strong. Phantom fur danced all over my skin.
As we kissed his hair escaped its messy bun and fell around both of our faces.
A little scratch sounded at the door. At first, I ignored it. It could be anything. Maybe he had a housecat. Maybe it was the teenager messing with us.
“Dad,” Jondi whispered from the other side and the dick that was starting to harden against my belly as Jade leaned forward kissing me fell soft. Jade didn’t apologize, only shrugged as his mouth left mine and he released my hands.
“One second, Jondi. I’m looking for my hair tie.”
“Your extras are under the bed,” Jondi said, sounding sheepish.
“Did you put them there again?” Jade said, his expression amused as he tried not to laugh.
“Yeah, with some rocks and stuff. They have shiny bits. I can’t help it,” the little boy said, sounding almost amused with himself. “The other me really likes them.”
“The other you is you too,” Jade said, dropping seamlessly to his belly to look under the bed.
Still hard, I rolled onto my stomach and looked over the edge.
Under the bed was a pile of hair ties, rocks, gems, and other shiny little trinkets.
I spotted a few keys in there too and made a note to keep my keys in a secure place whenever he was around.
Jade grabbed a hair tie from under the bed and shook the otter fluff off before putting his hair back up.
“Can I stay in here a minute?” I asked Jade quietly.
“Yeah, for that,” he nodded toward my crotch when I rolled back over. “But don’t stay in here all day, okay? You’re allowed to mingle.”
“Will you come back looking for me if I do?” I teased him.
“Maybe, if I have time,” he shrugged and I wanted to bang my skull against his headboard. It wasn’t that I didn’t want Jondi to have Jade’s attention. I just wanted Jade to be as miserable about not being alone with me as I was about not being able to be alone with him.
I laid there a few minutes waiting for my dick to give up its hopes of Jade coming back.
It wasn’t like we’d have had sex anyway.
Not with everyone right out in the rest of the house but I wanted to keep kissing him.
I wanted to run my hands over his muscles and curves.
I needed to run my fingers through his long hair, entwining my fingers in his locks.
It was almost enough for me to actually bang my skull against the headboard.