Chapter 47
The mass of his bulge pressed up against me from under my skirt. He wasn’t even hard, yet it protruded through his pants like a python coiled in a sack. Not stirring, not tense, just heavy and warm where it hung beneath me.
I wanted to stroke it, feel it as it swelled into its full size between my fingers. I wondered if the skin would feel soft, like it was made for sliding into tight places. Or if it would be rough to match his personality.
His lips drew my attention next. Fuck I missed that smirk. What was it about his attitude that made me so worked up?
My core was vibrating with our closeness. When he had pulled me onto his lap, a thrill had shot from my privates to the tips of my fingers.
Now I straddled him, resisting the urge to ride myself against his pants until I came undone. He had said something. That’s right, fucking. Exactly what I wanted to be doing right now.
I had no idea what fated mates were but if it was the reason for this feeling. I wanted it.
His thumbs caressed the curve of my hip bones making it even harder not to start grinding. I had been waiting for so long to be this intimately close to him again. It was like sliding back into a place my body hadn’t forgotten.
His head was tilted slightly back and I drew him closer, bending my elbows as my fingers twirled the silky strands at the back of his neck.
The space shrank as his eyes drifted down from mine, locking on my lips. His lashes lay heavy as craving lingered beneath them. I wasn’t alone in the sensations that churned inside me.
I could feel his lust, his want to bite at the lip he stared at. A flash of his naked body curled in mine passed through my mind and his eyes flicked back up to mine.
His erection was beginning to become firm between my thighs. The grip on my hips tightened as his palms shifted around to the top of my ass.
The quiet stretched as the desire grew. My hand moved towards his jaw, feeling the stubble and wondering if it would feel scratchy or tickle against the space between my legs. My stomach jumped making my breath hitch at the thought.
"Fuck, Rebel. I could cum from your thoughts alone."
The way he said fuck followed by my name made a sound fall from my lips, like the noise you make after an early morning stretch only short and needy. It made his length jerk towards me and chest rise with excitement. Feeling him read me sent a jolt through me.
One hand squeezed into the thick of my ass while the other wrapped around the small of my back, lifting as he rose to his feet. I kept my hand caressed around his jaw while my arm held fast, elbow around his neck for balance.
I drew him in from where I was strapped to his waist, legs squeezing as I pulled his face towards mine with a stroke against his ear. A guttural ’mmm’ sound rolled from him. He was so close, so unbelievably close that I could feel his lips on mine before they even touched.
"Ehem," came a sound beside us.
We both looked over at the same time to see Jax’s quirky smile as he raised a bundle of dead rabbits.
Grayson groaned as I stepped down from his hold. The heat of the moment still warming low in my belly.
"Should I just... go back to Dominic?" Jax asked and Grayson’s groan turned into a growl at the mention of Dominic’s name.
"Don’t be silly," I told him. "We were just..." I looked at Grayson with a shy excitement. "Saying hello."
"Sure," Grayson remarked with a flat tone.
Jax headed for the table, a look of mild amusement playing on his lips.
Grayson’s gaze moved over me slowly, dragging as he assessed. The muscle between his jaw and cheek bone ticked and I felt like I had been placed on a pedestal.
His arms crossed over his chest and he cocked his head to the side.
"What the hell are you wearing?"
I looked down at myself. My shirt had been ripped, torn, and faded into scraps. My stomach and chest poked through the tattered cloth and I could see my own breasts spilling over my bra.
The skirt was a too short under-over weaving pattern like a handmade basket, the edges frayed. Marek had interwoven small fiber braids with shells for decoration that dangled against my thighs.
Tanned skin was reddened in spots with scratches from my ventures, reaching up each leg. The skirt sat perfectly along my hips, the open space beneath leaving me ready to be taken advantage of.
I crossed my legs and attempted to cover my chest with my arms, now feeling exposed under his scrutiny.
He grunted, raising a lip with disinterest and turned away. He joined Jax at the table, stabbing a knife into its wood while I plopped down by the fire.
Jax moved cautiously as he prepared dinner with Grayson. Grayson barely acknowledged Jax’s presence as he sliced through the fur. There was no tension, only an awkward existence between them.
With a sigh of resignation I pulled my shirt off, letting my bra act as a bikini top instead of underwear. I tossed the scraps into the fire.
Both men simultaneously glanced up at me from their work, hands pausing on blades making me roll my eyes.
When the meat was prepped for the fire, they both sat on either side of me and Jax produced a handful of berries from his pocket.
He dropped a few in my cupped hands and popped some into his own mouth. Grayson speared the animals and placed them along a roasting spit.
As dinner was served, there was an unspoken truce blooming between both men and I became pleasantly surprised at how well Grayson accepted Jax. It was almost like we were our own little pack.
"What do we do you now?" I asked breaking the subtle silence.
"Dominic will be after you," Jax reminded. "There’s not much time until the full moon."
Grayson glanced at him while ripping his teeth into browned meat. He was never one for conversation.
I turned to Jax. "Do you think Marek will keep him there?"
He shrugged, "the closer he gets to the full moon, the more unpredictable he’ll become. I doubt he’ll care what’s happening with Dominic, it’s more likely he’ll be searching for you."
Flashes of his behavior last full moon shot through my mind and I shuddered.
"So we avoid all of them. Hide behind the waterfall?"
He shook his head, "they know about that place now."
"Then where?" I asked.
"You’re not hiding." Grayson’s voice boomed beside me.
"If they come for you, I’ll kill them all." He sounded confident and simmering.
Jax’s face fell but he didn’t argue. Grayson was leader here and Jax had chosen this side.
"You’re not killing anyone," I demanded.
He gave me a look that told me I would be next on his hit list if I wasn’t careful. Anger bubbled up inside me.
I had spent too long being told what to, being controlled by power-hungry alphas. I had my own power now and this time he would listen.
"No one dies," I said more forcefully, my eyes flaring.
"Well look at you." Grayson drawled. "Grown some balls under that clit, have you?"
He was such a damn brute.
Jax chuckled and I whipped around to glare at him. His hands raised innocently as his smile grew.
I breathed through my nose, containing my rage and returned to my food. The others followed suit and we finished the meal in silence.
There was a tension-filled hole at the end of supper. The question of where I would sleep floating through the air. I could see the question on Jax’s face, the habit of my presence pestering him.
Grayson’s aura was more demanding. I could feel that he expected me in his bed, that he had... pleasure on his mind.
I was torn. If I could split myself in two and hand them each a side, I would.
I watched Grayson. I craved him so much but also thought of the coarse way he conducted himself. The throbbing pull was intense but so was the nervousness of my first time. Without his touch on me, I had cooled and now the thought of being ruined by his massive cock scared me more than aroused me.
Scooting closer to Jax, I leaned my head on his shoulder. It was my way of saying I was choosing him tonight. Grayson didn’t even twitch.
When the fire started to die, I moved to the ground and leaned against the log. Jax remained motionless and wary, still unsure of Grayson.
I wasn’t sure how Grayson would react. I thought he might demand my presence in his bed like Dominic had, or just grab me and drag me without a word. Maybe even join us outside and ravage me while Jax watched.
Instead he pushed himself up from the fire and headed toward his hut, silence trailing him. I stayed still, watching and wishing I felt more indifferent than I did.
With the threat now gone, Jax slid down the log to join me. His arm wrapped around me for warmth and I cuddled into his chest.
When I finally drifted into sleep, I dreamt of both men and the freedom of not having to choose.