Page 40 of Lust & Lollipops

The men gave me more space than before, which was appreciated, but they started looking at me differently.

Like they didn’t just want me as a mate, but wanted me, wanted me.

Kyle, Ev, and Reid all started walking around absolutely naked. When I asked them why they’d stripped down, training my eyes on their faces, they lied about wanting to be comfortable.

Cameron had a stupidly attractive smirk on his face every single day. I itched to ask him why he was so happy, but couldn’t sneak away long enough to meet up with him.

The other guys were staying up as late as I did.

They’d sprawl out beside the fire and stare at me.

It was unnerving.

Though I had a feeling that something was going on without me realizing it, there was nothing I could do about it, so I tried to ignore the staring and the attempts at nude seduction or whatever. No one was touching me or trying to talk me into anything, so it wasn’t really bothering me.

And hey, the guys were nice to look at.

On day eight, there was no vote. Oren had taken care of that for us. The men participated in a mud race instead, which ended with me on yet another date with Kyle.

He still didn’t put pants on, despite the mud in places that had likely never seen sun before.

We ate steak together on an empty beach, and I finally asked him the question that had been on my mind for days.

“Why are all of you acting weird? It wasn’t like this when we first got here. Everyone was wearing pants. And don’t give me some bullshit about comfort.”

I didn’t gesture to his junk.

It seemed unnecessary.

“Oh, that. We can smell your pheromones.”

“My what-a-mones?”

“Your pheromones.” Kyle cut a gigantic chunk of steak and popped it in his mouth. “When a compatible mate starts actively wanting someone to share her bed, her scent changes as her pheromones activate. Male fae within a hundred miles can smell it. That’s how we used to find mates before the game shows started.”

He spoke with food in his mouth, but by the grace of whatever insane genetics he had, still managed not to be revolting as he did.

My eyes narrowed. “You’re telling me you guys started walking around naked because you think I’m horny?”

“Horny for a mate.” He ruffled his hair. “I’m here and willing, by the way, should you ever need to scratch an itch.”

“Oh, screw off,” I grumbled, leaning back in my chair. As tired as I was of fish, I didn’t think I could eat anymore steak. My stomach was too twisted.

The pheromones weren’t wrong.

I was horny.

Not for a mate, but for Cam.

Who wanted me as his mate.

So…

Dammit.

I had been thinking about our tryst on the beach way too often. Maybe if I could stop thinking about it, and about him, I could get the pheromones to go away.

“Would the smell fade if I hooked up with someone?” I asked.

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