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Colonel Slater said he was going to let his superiors decide what to do about the couples who wanted to explore their attraction. I can’t help but wonder what the solution will be. The realistic part of me imagines that as soon as our VIP visitors finish applauding at our show, there will be a trip to the southern barracks in my future.
If Olivia and I have any other opportunities to be alone together between now and then, I’m going to take full advantage of them.
The day crawls by as I’m consumed with breathing in Olivia’s scent and watching her work with the pattern-making software she uses with mastery.
Finally, the dancers show up, bringing us food from the dining room along with their enthusiasm. Not long after that, I’ve got our music cued up and we’re dancing.
We’ve tightened the choreography, and now is the time for me to work on the bits where the males hang back and let Lucy and me dance as a couple.
Because the first time I touched a female was only last night when Olivia and I embraced, it’s awkward to touch Lucy. But holding her next to me, sliding my arm around her waist, and having moments when we look into each others’ eyes as if we’re lovers is even harder to tolerate.
For her part, Lucy is trying to make it comfortable for all of us. When Warren’s hackles rise, it reveals what I suspected. Lucy may not know it, but Warren considers me an interloper on his territory.
Olivia, whose scent has alternated between sweet and aroused since we put our differences behind us days ago, is once again exuding a distasteful, pungent smell. I don’t think she likes seeing another woman in my arms, even if it is a scripted part of a show.
Olivia
I’ve had plenty of boyfriends since high school. A few were serious. I even had a live-in lover right beforeFrenemies. Suffice it to say, he vacated in a hurry after those heinous hashtags started trending.
I’ve never, not until this very minute, experienced jealousy before. Yeah, there were those moments when I caught my high school prom date kissing another girl in the hall a few days after prom. But looking back, that wasn’t jealousy, that was embarrassment. I didn’t like wondering if everyone was whispering about my inability to keep Josh happy.
What I’m feeling now? This is jealousy, pure and simple.
Watching Lucy look up at Ty as if he hung the moon gives me a feeling of visceral pain. It’s like a white-hot poker searing through my guts.
I’d been sitting on the countertop, rocking to the music, watching the team dance. As my jealousy spikes, I jump down and stand behind the half-wall to keep myself from rushing forward and pulling the two lovebirds apart.
My mind knows Ty doesn’t have feelings for Lucy. He’s barely said ten words to her. I suspect she and Warren might be exchanging more than longing looks. But knowing Ty and Lucy don’t have feelings for each other doesn’t negate the emotions flying through me at the speed of light.
I want to rip the two of them apart and kiss Ty’s feline lips. I’m dying to once again feel the burr of his tongue against mine and the sexy tickle of his whiskers as he nuzzles my cheek.
Suddenly, every splicer gaze is on me. Mentally retracing my steps, I think I just growled.
Whoops.
Chapter Twenty-Three
TwoWeeksLater…
Olivia
Sometimes I’ve been so consumed with my own life, I forget there are other people around me. It’s hard to be oblivious today, though. Jenna is having the grand opening of her bakery.
She and I have gotten to know each other over the past month, and I’m really impressed with how happy and industrious she is. Unlike me, she didn’t have a hard time adjusting. She and Noble, the lion-like male who’s been assisting her from the start, have been working away in her bake shop, which is three doors down from mine.
Every person on the Splicer Town property, other than the males in the southern barracks, is gathered in the street outside the bakery. It’s the first facility to open, and by the look of it, everyone is pretty excited.
Late tonight, the brass are coming to visit, and tomorrow is the world premiere of the first-ever Bollywood Splicer Dance event. It feels great that everything is coming together.
When the shop door opens, the tinkling of the little bell is loud enough to catch everyone’s attention. As soon as we quiet down, Jenna says, “Welcome, ladies and gentlemen. Thank you all for coming to Sugar and Splice’s Grand Opening. This is the first of what will be many grand openings in our little town.”
I glance at Ty, standing to my right. The crowd has pressed us together and the backs of our hands have been touching for a few minutes as we waited. After one more surge forward, it seems as natural as breathing for us to surreptitiously twine our fingers together.
The last few weeks have been an agonizing mixture of getting to know each other and lusting from afar. We’re watched constantly by two or three soldiers at all times. So this little palm-to-palm touch creates an all-over shiver, complete with goosebumps.
Ty lets out the briefest purr, not wanting anyone else to notice, but letting me know I affect him as much as he does me.
“We’re coming together as a unit,” Jenna continues, her face beaming with pride, “helping each other and working together. I’m so honored to be part of this grand experiment. Let the feasting begin!”
