by I. T. Lucas
“I’m waiting for Arwel.”
Her friend eyed her from under lowered lashes and leaned to whisper in her ear. “What’s going on between you two?”
“Nothing.” Jin smirked. “Not yet, anyway. I’m waiting to see if he makes a move. If he doesn’t, I’ll have to be the one to initiate it.”
Jacki arched a brow. “And that’s a problem because?”
“I have a feeling that Arwel is old-fashioned.”
He was probably centuries old. What was the etiquette about asking an immortal his age? Was it considered impolite? Was it okay?
There were so many things to learn about their society, and it was so difficult to do while pretending they were just paranormally talented humans. Perhaps she should have listened to Mey and gone to the village instead of insisting on staying with her friends.
Doing the right thing was sometimes inconvenient, but Jin preferred that to choosing the easy way out.
Besides, if she’d gone with Mey to the village, she wouldn’t be with Arwel in the keep. Would he have even stayed on if not for her?
His job was to keep an eye on her friends, but Jin had a feeling that Arwel would have asked for someone else to be tasked with that job if she wasn’t there.
He liked her.
She should be more patient and give the guy some time. After all, they had only met yesterday, so it wasn’t as if he was dragging his feet about it.
What if he had someone else? It hadn’t occurred to her before, but he might have a human lover stashed somewhere.
If he had an immortal mate, Mey would have known and warned her. Still, Yamanu and Arwel seemed to be close friends, so even if Arwel was seeing a plain old human, Yamanu would have known and would have told Mey.
All that was true, but Jin couldn’t help the suspicion that she was missing an important piece of the puzzle. She’d spent a night in Arwel’s bed, giving him the perfect opportunity to start something, and he hadn’t done a thing.
Maybe he thought her too young? Too tall? Too skinny? Too forward?
Damn, she was driving herself crazy. Jin had never obsessed before about whether or not a guy liked her, and she didn’t like the feeling of not knowing where she stood.
As the doors to the pool room swung open, Jin looked up and sucked in a breath. Arwel wasn’t bare-chested as she had hoped for, but the simple white T-shirt he had on didn’t do much to hide his body. Unlike all of his other clothes, it wasn’t loose. Stretching across his chest, it showcased the defined muscles beautifully. And as a bonus, she finally got to see his legs, which were just as powerfully built.
Some guys worked out in the gym, focusing only on their upper body and neglecting their legs, which resulted in what she called the Chicken-Big body—broad shoulders, massive arms, and stick legs. But not Arwel. The guy was perfectly proportioned as if he had been sculpted by a loving hand.
As he walked up to her, his eyes never left hers. “Are you waiting for me?”
Was he trying hard not to stare at her boobs?
She was okay with a quick look. After all, she was sitting there in a bikini, freezing her nipples, not because she wanted him to admire her eyes.
“The water is too cold.”
“It is?” He pulled his T-shirt over his head and dropped it on the concrete next to her. “I’m going to check it out.”
Leaping into the air like some freaking dolphin, he gained an altitude that was impossibly high and then dove into the pool on the other end, cutting into the water so swiftly that barely any of the spray reached her and Jacki.
“Show-off,” Jacki murmured. “But I’m impressed. Who knew that he was hiding all that under those baggy clothes.” She fanned herself. “I think that I’m hot enough to give the water a try.”
Jin leaned closer to her friend’s ear. “Don’t get any ideas. He’s mine.”
Jacki smirked. “I know. I was just teasing.” She motioned with her head toward the water. “Go in. He’s waiting for you.”
“He’s not. He is still showing off.”
Swimming butterfly style, his powerful arms propelling his body forward, Arwel was a sight to behold. Even Richard had stopped swimming and was watching the action with a gaping mouth, while Wendy clung to the side, swimming slowly and ignoring the spectacle going on in the center of the pool.
Mey whispered something in Yamanu’s ear, and a moment later, he joined Arwel, the two of them giving dolphins a run for their money.
“Yamanu is not bad either,” Jacki said. “Want to place bets?”
“Arwel is going to win.”
“Oh, yeah? I’m betting on Yamanu. He is taller, and his arm span is longer.”
Jin winked. “Yeah, but he’s already gotten the girl.”
63
Arwel
Why the hell was he showing off?
This wasn’t something Arwel had done even as a teenager. He’d never felt the need to impress a girl or his friends, especially when it meant winning against someone else.
He wasn’t competitive. The opposite was true.
His entire life, he’d been doing his best to make others feel good, and if that meant giving up a win to someone else, he had done it gladly. The influx of positive emotions was much more valuable to him than his own satisfaction.
Jin had changed all of that.
As he felt Yamanu’s joy at the prospect of friendly competition, Arwel’s first instinct was to slow down and let him win. Imagining the taste of Yamanu’s satisfaction was like imagining a sumptuous dessert, and it usually would have been sweeter than any victory.
But this time, there was another variable, one that was overshadowing everything else.
Arwel had to win because Jin was watching, and a more primal instinct had taken over. It wasn’t logical, and it wasn’t civilized, but the urge to prove his worth to her was so strong that all other considerations had been pushed aside.
As a moment later, his friend shot past him, his long arms eating up the distance much faster than Arwel’s, a surge of adrenaline propelled him forward. His muscles straining, he gave it all, overtaking Yamanu and getting to the finish line first.
Except, Yamanu wasn’t done. Flipping inside the water, he pushed himself against the pool’s wall and started for the other end. Arwel followed, overtaking Yamanu and hitting the end a split second before him.
Somewhere in the back of his head, he was aware that they shouldn’t be putting their immortal speed and strength on display in front of the humans. But that was his logical brain thinking, and at the moment, it was occupying a tiny part of his cranium, while the primitive beast was thinking only about the win and the female who was going to reward him with her favors.
Luckily, Yamanu was still thinking, and at the end of the next lap, he stopped and conceded defeat. “You win.” He huffed, exaggerating just a little. “I can’t do another one.”
From up on the ledge, clapping started.
As he looked up, expecting to see Jin and Jacki, Arwel was surprised to see everyone else had gotten out and joined the two to watch the competition.
“What the hell was that?” Richard asked. “Are you guys on steroids? I’ve never seen anything like it.”
“Energy drinks,” Yamanu said. “I need to check what they put in that stuff.”
Richard shook his head. “Whatever it is, it must be dangerous.”
“Nah, Arwel and I are strong swimmers. We’ve been competing for years.”
Yamanu was a good liar, or rather an excellent twister of the truth. He hadn’t actually said that he and Arwel had drunk energy drinks, just that he needed to check what was in them. And the part about the competition had only implied that they had competed against each other while stating that they’d been competing in general.
The guy should give lessons on fooling empaths and lie-detectors. Not even Andrew could have called out any of it as a lie.
“I think I’m done with the pool for today.” Arwel put his hands on the ledge n
ext to Jin and pushed himself up.
Reaching for his towel, she wrapped it around his shoulders. “That was impressive. You and Yamanu gave us quite a show.” Jin leaned toward him and smiled. “Since I don’t have a gold medal to give you, I’ll reward you with a kiss.”
It was only a quick peck on the cheek, but it meant more to Arwel than any medal because it was accompanied by a faint scent of Jin’s arousal.
If they weren’t surrounded by people, he would have put his arms around her and kissed her properly.
Instead, he pulled the towel down and put it over his groin, hiding his own arousal, which had become very obvious and was still growing by the second.
“You should put your shirt on,” Jin said. “It’s so chilly in here that you might catch a cold.”
Had she forgotten that immortals didn’t get sick? Or was she giving him a way out?
Glancing at her smiling eyes, he realized it was the latter, and decided to follow her lead.
“It really is cold. I should take a hot shower and then crawl under the blankets.”
“That’s an excellent idea. I’ll come with you and make you hot tea.” She lifted her legs out of the water and swung them over the ledge. “Here is your shirt.” She handed it to him and then bent to lift hers. “Wrap the towel around your wet swim shorts.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
64
Jin
It had been a bold and impulsive move, but Jin had seen an opportunity and had taken it.
No guts, no glory, right?
Besides, Arwel’s eyes were glowing, and Jacki was looking at him and frowning. If her hunch was right and his arousal had caused the glow, his fangs were probably going to elongate as well, and that would be very hard to explain.
He had to get out of there pronto.
Wrapping the towel around his hips while he was still seated was telling, but it diverted Jacki’s attention away from his eyes.
Her friend smirked knowingly and winked. “Make sure to tuck him in.”
“I will.” Jin pulled her T-shirt over her head, wrapped a towel around her waist, and together with Arwel, headed out.
To break the awkward silence, she asked, “Is there a laundry facility down here? We are going to run out of towels and clean clothes soon.”
“There isn’t, but it’s a good idea to add one. I’ll take care of it.”
As the pool room’s doors closed behind them, Arwel let out a breath. “Thanks for the save.”
Jin threaded her arm through his. “You’re welcome. Is that a common thing for an immortal’s eyes to start glowing when he is excited?”
Once again, her mouth had run faster than her brain. Embarrassed, she hurried to press the button for the elevator.
Arwel chuckled. “Yes, and it affects females as well.” His words came out a bit slurred.
Blushing, she cast him a sidelong glance. “Did your fangs elongate as well?”
He nodded.
“Can I see?”
When he opened his mouth, she gasped. “They are huge!”
“Not so loud.” He put a finger on her lips to shush her and then leaned closer, bringing those monstrosities to an inch away from her ear. “They are not even at their full length yet. Do they scare you?”
The implied threat stole her breath away.
As it was, the trickle of fear that his fangs and his hot breath on her ear were evoking had already caused a delicious tingle in her core. His suggestive tone amplified the effect tenfold.
The elevator arrived, and as the door opened, Jin dared a closer look. “How do you kiss with those things?”
“I can show you.” Arwel wrapped his arms around her, lifted her, and walked with her inside the cabin.
When the doors closed behind them, fear gripped Jin.
Rationally, she knew that there was no reason for worry. Arwel was a gentleman, and whatever he did to her with his fangs was going to bring her pleasure, not pain.
Still, she was trapped in a small place with a predator, and her body responded with the instinctive fight-or-flight.
Pushing her against the cabin’s wall, he brought his mouth to a fraction of an inch from hers.
Jin closed her eyes, waiting for him to close the rest of the distance, but he didn’t.
Instead, his arms loosened their grip on her, letting her feet touch the floor. “Say no, and I’ll stop.”
Was he kidding her? She’d been dreaming of this moment since the first time she’d seen him. He must have sensed her fear, and that was why he’d stopped and asked.
Letting out a breath, she opened her eyes and smiled even though she was still scared. “Kiss me.”
His arms tightened around her once more, and as he pressed his body against hers, she could feel his long erection through both towels.
She moaned even before his lips brushed over hers. The soft touch was enough to send an electric current through her, and Jin shivered involuntarily.
He pulled back, his eyes glowing like flashlights. “Don’t worry, I’ll be careful. I’m not going to nick you.”
At some point, the elevator doors had opened, but neither of them had noticed.
“I’m not worried,” she whispered. “I’ve been dreaming of your lips on mine since I first saw you. I’m just hyper-sensitive right now.”
His eyes softened, and he cracked a smile. “You were dreaming of kissing me?”
As the doors started closing, Arwel reached with his hand to stop them, and then pressed his body against hers once more.
Loving how it felt, Jin closed her eyes and imagined how much better it would be with no barriers between them.
Without warning, he lifted her into his arms and carried her out. “I hope you don’t mind.”
She wrapped her arms around his neck. “I’ve never had a guy carry me before. I like it.” Especially since he was doing it so effortlessly.
The cave girl in her got a thrill out of having a powerful man carry her off. The question was where to, and to what end?
Were they going to kiss and neck or go straight for the sex?
They were both adults, and neither was a virgin, so there was no reason to hold back. And since dating was not really applicable to their current situation, it made even less sense to wait.
Except Jin didn’t regard Arwel as a casual hookup, and she was interested in building a relationship with him even more than she was in the sex, which at the moment she was extremely interested in.
65
Arwel
Arwel strode down the corridor with Jin in his arms and stopped in front of his door. “My room or yours?”
“Your choice.”
Jin was making it too easy for him, and he didn’t know whether to be glad about it or not. The hunter in him appreciated the chase, but he was also out of time. The sooner he claimed her, the better, and she’d just offered him the perfect opportunity.
“Your sister might come looking for you in yours, so we’d better hide out in mine.”
Fortunately, he’d left his door open, so no acrobatics were needed to reach for his phone while holding Jin up.
Giggling, she buried her face in his shirt. “It’s embarrassing that everyone will know what we’ve been up to.”
He walked into his room, set her down on the bed, and then pulled out his phone to close the door. “Does it bother you?”
As much as he wanted Jin, he wasn’t going to push her into anything she wasn’t a hundred percent sure of.
In response, she reached behind her neck and pulled on the string that was holding her bikini top up. “Not enough to stop. I want you.” She released the other string, letting the top fall into her lap.
For a moment, Arwel stood gaping. Her breasts were beautiful, plump, and topped with hardened nipples that were begging for his attention.
His swimming suit was still wet, so he couldn’t sit on the bed, but it was too soon to take it off. Except, what choice did he have? Get underwear from his duffle
bag and put them on?
That was ridiculous, and in the background, the imaginary clock was ticking the seconds away. If he delayed for too long, Jin would start wondering what he was waiting for.
“My swimming suit is wet,” he admitted.
She smiled. “Take it off.”
When he hesitated for another moment, she lifted up and slid the bikini bottoms down her long, long legs.
What happened next was unclear.
One moment, Arwel was standing next to the bed with a towel wrapped around his wet swimming trunks, and the next, he was pressing his nude and cold body against Jin’s warm one.
“You’re cold.” She wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him on top of her. “I’ll warm you up.” She lifted her head up and kissed him.
There was nothing shy or hesitant about her kissing, and as she licked into his mouth, her tongue brushing against his fangs, the passion he’d been tamping down for the past thirty-six hours erupted with an uncontrollable force.
Taking over the kiss, Arwel banded his arms around Jin and penetrated her mouth with his tongue.
Arching up and pressing her beautiful breasts to his chest, she moaned into his mouth.
Nothing had ever felt so right. She tasted sweet and innocent, but the way she moved under him was all woman.
When he realized that she needed to come up for air, he lifted his head and stared at her gorgeous face with wonder. “You are so beautiful.”
She smiled with the confidence of a woman who knew this to be true and cupped his cheeks. “I could stare into your eyes forever.”
He kissed her again, going a little slower this time. Skimming her sides, his hands were gentle, caressing. He wanted to savor their first time coming together, to go slow, but his hunger for her was too powerful, and soon the kissing turned rough.
In the back of his mind, Arwel tried to remind himself that he needed to be mindful of Jin’s human fragility, but forcing his body to comply with his brain was a struggle.
