“Aunt Tempest,” Nico calls out. “Are you in here eating snacks?”
Opening the fridge and grabbing a piece of poultry, I shove the meat into my mouth. “Yes,” I say, half-mumbled.
“Everyone should be back any minute now. I can hear them.” I’m grateful for his warning, and those little wolfy ears of his. He might become a strong lupion one day.
I head back into the main section of the hall, and as if on cue, everyone makes their way inside, crowding around the table and other areas of the large tent.
Nico runs up to his parents, excitedly telling them about our time together. Gemma and Draven give Nico kisses on both cheeks. They really are the cutest little family. I’m happy he’s found people to care for him. He might not be a member of my pack, but he’s an honorary member in my heart.
“Where’s Yasmeena?” I ask Lilian as I walk past Khalid and Reina, who embrace in a passionate kiss.
“I think she’s back at your tent; you should go check on her,” Lilian answers.
My legs start running before my mind can speak up, but when I get back to our tent I freeze, taking in a deep breath before entering the intimate space.
Taking a seat on the bed, I watch in silence as Yasmeena unpacks her things. She pulls a sweater out of her suitcase and stops, staring up at me. “I’m really sorry.”
“For?”
“Mostly for Baelor, but also for inviting you into the shower.”
It feels like the rug has been pulled out from under me, my heart beating uncontrollably as her words start to register. I’ve lether build a nest in my mind and she just threatened to tear it all down.
“You didn’t seem sorry when you had your ass pressed against m?—”
“I wasn’t. I’m not,” she interrupts, and I nod, though I don’t understand. “I’m sorry if I put you in a weird spot, is all. I didn’t mean to not have a conversation with you about it after or leave you guessing; everything happened so fast, we just didn’t have time.”
I cock my head to the side, my entire face scrunching as I take this in. I don’t want to seem bothered, because I’m not. “It’s all good. I was too busy with the children toguessanything. I didn’t even really think about it.”A half-truth.I was busy, but she did invade my dreams. I wanted the darkness to absorb me, because even darkness would be better than dreaming of something that can never be.
“I know you don’t particularly like me?—”
“I don’t.” A grin spreads across my face. Oh, how I wish that were the case. I wish I couldn’t stand her, but that couldn’t be further from the truth
“I wasn’t trying to start something romantic between us,” she says, and one of my brows ticks up.
“That’s good, because I’m not interested.”Another half-truth.
She rubs her face in her hands, clearly flustered by my teasing. “But that doesn’t mean we couldn’t start something… purely sexual.”
Did the oxygen suddenly evaporate from the tent?
I shake my head, my hands gripping the bedsheets, not wanting to dive deeper into these feelings that have been corrupting me. “I don’t think that’s a good idea.”
“If we’re going to have to tolerate each other, we might as well get some of our frustrations out while we do it. Don’t you have to bite me or mark me with your scent or whatever?”
She has a point, even if it’s misguided. “My fingers definitely smelledlike you,” I say.
Yasmeena’s deep tan skin blushes pink, as she lazily saunters towards me. “If we’re really going to sell this whole engagement, I think your mouth should taste like me, too.”
She straddles me, and I find my hands making their way to her thighs, shifting upward to grab a handful of her perfect ass. “Maybe,” I start. I’m desperately trying not to give in to this temptation. “But we need ground rules.”
“Oh?” she asks, and I roll her over onto her back, holding myself up to hover above her.
“We do not kiss unless there’s an audience,” I say. “No sweet words, no whispered confessions. Everything we do must be calculated. If I touch you, it’s because I need you to smell like me. Do you understand?”
“Yes,” she says, her voice breathy. I can scent how badly she wants me, and it’s driving me wild.
“Or it’s because I want to.” Because Idowant to. I want her legs wrapped around me, her fingers in my hair as I fuck her with a strap. But I know, and hopefully she knows, that we can’t afford to play these games. I might mark her or use her, but this isn’t about to spark a relationship between us.
