Ezra hummed in his throat, and it sounded more like a growl than being thoughtful. And far too close.
I felt the bed dip. His heat, always so damn warm, instantly washed over me as he lay down beside me. Holding my breath, wishing he would just go away so I could recuperate, he shifted even closer. My entire being froze at feeling his hot lips against my ear.
He whispered, “You may need your towel.” A thump landed directly next to my hip.
Unable to move, my mind flew through my time at the pool. The breath inside my chest stalled. My heart fluttered as I realized I definitely had my towel as I had searched for him, but I couldn’t remember having it during my dash from the room. I hadn’t even realized I’d dropped it, my mind having gone straight to my lust for him at seeing his gorgeous body on display.
“So…,” Ezra whispered softly, even as I felt the tip of his finger begin to draw slow circles around my exposed belly button. “Did you like what you saw?”
Stomach jerking at the contact, I gritted my teeth, trying to push through my need to roll into him. Keeping my breathing shallow, I stayed quiet, unsure what to say that would be safe territory.
“I think you did,” Ezra murmured into the silence. “Your heart earlier was beating just as rapidly as it is now.” I tried to slow it, but it was no use, his fingertip making one last loop before twirling little by little, his touch like soft velvet, up my stomach, and eventually dragging over the tiny centerpiece of my bikini’s top. Exhaling sharply on a shaky breath, I shuddered as his hot finger glided between my br**sts, brushing my cle**age. “You left the most pleasant aroma in your wake.” His voice was pure growl. “Not quite as heady as what you’re exuding now, since it was faint, vanishing as you did.” His finger disappeared when it reached my throat, but his hand was soon gripping my wrist and pulling my arm away from my eyes.
A tiny whimper made its way past my lips. This was bad. Scenting the air had told me he was as turned on as me. I wasn’t sure I could fight this, but it was something that shouldn’t happen.
He placed my arm over my head, running his fingers down the sensitive underside even as I felt him shift, the sunlight from the ceiling once again blocked.
Inhaling heavily, I opened my eyes. His face was directly over mine. Close. Our noses were almost brushing, his green eyes hooded. “Ezra, we can’t do this.” My voice was husky, and I didn’t bother hiding it since he now knew I wanted him.
“Hmm,” he murmured, his face lowering in slow increments. “Sweetheart, I told you not to tempt me again.” His breath fanned over my lips, and I wanted to lift for the real deal instead of this ghost kiss. “You knew the consequences.”
Yes, he had made that blatantly clear, but… “Maybe it’s just us being in bed together. We’ve never done well with that.”
His lips curved, his nose brushing mine. “It’s not the bed.”
Eyebrows puckering, I pushed further back into the pillow. “You mean you’ve wanted to have sex with me before, when we weren’t lying in bed?” My gaze darted like rapid fire, searching his gaze. I scented the air slowly, waiting for his response.
He actually chuckled. “Yes, sweetheart. Plenty of times. I’m just smart enough not to leave evidence behind.” Truth to all. His lips hovered over mine, and his gaze lifted, staring me in the eyes. “I’ve always found you attractive, even when we first met and I thought you were a Com. But you were mated, then grieving, and then we had our pact.” He cocked his head. “I think I stopped giving a damn about our pact around the time finals were over and we started training with the Kings, but you weren’t on the same page as me. You never once looked at me the way you did a week ago. Hell, you never even said you liked my body until a week ago.”
Truth. Holy shit.
“So, there you have it,” he murmured softly. “Now you know my little secret. I want to have sex with one of my best friends. A best friend who’s of a different Mys faction.” His eyes held mine and never left. “That’s why I’ve been such a prick this past week. I thought you were finally noticing me, maybe actually wanting me sexually. It frustrated me,” he paused, “alright, it pissed me off when you didn’t.”
Staring like an idiot because he was telling the truth, I started babbling, “I’ve been a bitch this whole week because I wanted to have sex with you. It came out as anger instead.”
Ezra blinked, and I could see him running this past week’s scenarios through his mind, just as I was evaluating his own prior actions. His head cocked, and his gaze ran over my face, stalling at my lips for a lengthy amount of time before peering into my eyes. “You’re scared.”
Therein lay the problem behind it all. Of course I was. But that wasn’t something I would freely admit. Pride was a mega damn hurdle most of the time. This was a perfect example of that. I kept my mouth shut.
“Ah,” he whispered, his fingers threading through my hair as he held the back of my head. Trapping me. “I understand that. I was afraid it would mess our friendship up, too.” He rested his forehead against mine, his eyes unblinking. “We’re both adults. We’ve been mated before, lost our mates, had sexual partners afterward. I think we can handle this.”
“I don’t want to screw us up,” I said softly, shaking my head inside his hold. “I love you too damn much to lose you.”
“I feel the same, sweetheart. That’s why I think we can handle it.” His nose brushed back and forth against mine, the softest touch. “We won’t let anything stand in the way of each other.”
I bit my lip, gnawing on it. “What if something changes? What if one of us wants to end it before the other does? Or gets jealous?” There were so many variables.
“We’ll deal with any problem that arises then,” he spoke smoothly, his fingers gently massaging the back of my head. “We have both been through an ample amount of sexual partners to know that something inevitably comes up, but we’ve never cared enough about those individuals to try to work through an issue.” He shrugged. “We’ll work through any issue because we do love each other.”
I felt my resolve melt away in a wild rush. No easy, subtle trickle as I heard and scented the truth in his words. Which meant I hadn’t really wanted to say no in the first place. I wanted him that damn badly. I knew this now. My greedy body had apparently known this before me, only it had taken my mind a bit longer to catch up. The last of my resistance was gone when I gained him as a sexual partner for however brief it may be. Inhaling heavily, breathing in his scent, I murmured, “Alright.”