Page 18 of Lust & Lollipops

I looked back at the water. “How long does the hug have to be?”

“I don’t know. Not short. Not endless either, for obvious reasons.”

Obvious reasons being that we were on a deserted island with eleven other guys who wanted to make me their mate.

“You’ll have to let me burn my scent off you afterward, too,” he added. “If you smell like me, they’ll realize we were together.”

I considered it.

A hug for a confession.

It did sound reasonable. Reasonable for me, at least. He didn’t really have anything to gain from telling me his plan. If I didn’t like it, I could probably do something to hurt it.

And a hug wasn’t exactly a huge ask.

“Alright,” I agreed. “A hug for a plan.”

“I’ll tell you after you pay up.”

I agreed, stood up, and brushed sand off my ass. Though I expected him to stand too, he remained where he was.

When I frowned, he beckoned me toward him.

I rolled my eyes, but sat down on his lap. I didn’t consider that I’d be straddling him until my legs were on either side of his hips, and I was looking him square in the eyes.

His body was warm.

I wanted to lean in closer, and we had made a deal.

So, I wrapped my arms around his neck and pressed my chest against his.

He took in a long, deep breath as I pressed my body closer, hugging him. His arms went around my back, and his warmth seeped into my bare skin.

He felt good.

Really, really good.

I felt him harden beneath me, but didn’t comment on it. I was getting a little turned on by the contact, and didn’t want him mentioning that.

“I’m sorry they threw you out of a plane,” he murmured. “If I’d known that was coming, I would’ve made sure it didn’t happen.”

My eyes stung. “Yeah, that was terrifying.”

“I know.” His hand moved over my back, the touch slow but calming somehow.

I didn’t want to let go of him. Didn’t want the hug to end.

“Tell me your plan before I regret sitting on you,” I mumbled.

He chuckled, his body rumbling against mine.

That felt nice.

“The Society refused to let me tell you anything, so I knew you’d be pissed when you saw me, and used it to my advantage. Most of the guys think you hate me now. A few of them are smart enough to realize I might be playing into that on purpose, but I’ll ally with the stupid ones to make sure the suspicious are gone first. By the time they realize what I’ve done, I’ll already have won the game.”

“Assuming I pick you in the end.”

“You know you’ll survive living with me. Can you say the same about anyone else?” he countered.

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