Page 61 of Horn in My Side
His eyes flew open.Jasmine’s heart careened into her ribcage, fully waking her.But before she could pull her arm back, he caught her wrist.She gulped and opened her mouth, intending to apologize.Instead, a low moan escaped her lips.
A flash of desire burned in his purple eyes, and he let out a soft growl as he pulled her to him, rolling her onto her back so he could cover her body and meld his mouth to hers.
Oh Mother Goddess.
Though they’d only kissed that one other time, his lips felt like coming home after a long journey.And unlike that first kiss, which had been torrid and desperate, Mal’s mouth moved with a languid, sensual motion that slowly built up the urgency inside her.While she liked the excitement of their first kiss, right now the unhurried quality of this one was just right for this relaxed morning.
Her hands ran up the sides of his face, cupping his jaw as he continued his leisurely exploration of her mouth.She curled her fingers onto the back of his head, digging them into his scalp, which triggered a low groan from Mal, making him deepen the kiss.Feeling even more adventurous, she moved her hands down, over those rock-hard shoulders she’d been drooling over these past weeks, digging into the muscles.
He tore his mouth away from hers, moving lower, pressing kisses down her jaw and trailing down to her neck.His tongue licked at the sensitive spot where her neck met her shoulders, sending her moaning and her hips bucking up.His lower body pressed down on hers, and his erection brushed against her, the heat radiating from him enough to set her body ablaze.Parting her knees, she cradled the bulge between her thighs, rubbing up against the ridge until he too was moaning into her mouth.
“Mal,” she breathed.“Oh, Mal.”
He caught her mouth with his once more in another slow, sensual dance, their tongues twining in a passionate tango.She could do this forever, get lost in his kisses and never come up for air.So when he pulled away, she let out a protesting moan.“Mal, don’t stop.”
“I have to, ashak’a,”he said against her mouth.“You know why, even though I can’t stop thinking about you or forget our kiss.I’m sorry.I don’t want to make this difficult for you.”
Her heart clenched.“There’s nothing to forgive, Mal.I can’t stop thinking about you too.”
“Jasmine ...”He brushed a claw down her cheek.“What are we going to do?”
Her last thoughts before she drifted to sleep last night came back to her.About how she would never see him again once he walked out the door for the last time.Yes, it would be hard on them both when he did leave.But four and a half months was a long time.“Mal, can’t we just see where this goes?”
“What do you mean?”
“You’re not leaving right now, are you?”Sitting up, she pulled him so they sat on the sleeping bag, facing each other.“Why don’t we enjoy our time together, no matter how short or long that would be and not worry about the future?”She forced out a laugh.“I mean, maybe it’ll turn out there’s nothing more than this initial attraction between us.Things could fizzle out naturally.”
“Or they could end in disaster.”
“Only if we let it.But shouldn’t we make that decision for ourselves?”Her fingers laced into his.“Mal, we’re adults.We can do what we want, even jump into bed together.”
“So, like friends with benefits?”His nostrils flared.“I told you, I’m not that type of guy.I won’t use you just for sex and discard you when I’m done.You deserve so much better than that.”
Her lady parts begged to differ, but she understood where he was coming from.“And I would never do the same to you, either, Mal.I respect you too.You told me before you’re the type of person who likes guarantees.When you think about it, knowing that this thing between us has an expiration dateislike a guarantee.We know what to expect and we can walk away from each other without any hurt feelings while still respecting each other.And at the end of the day that’s enough for me.”
He closed his eyes and brought her hand to his lips, nuzzling it.“Jasmine.What am I going to do with you, ashak’a?”
“You could kiss me again—Ohh!”
He did just that, hauling her back into his arms, shifting them around so she straddled his hips.When his erection brushed up between her legs, she moaned and pressed herself down, cursing this stupid romper once more.Still, she was a resourceful girl, so she ground down on top of him until he was panting into her mouth.
“Jas—Stop, oh!”Mal’s huge hands spanned her waist then hauled her up as he rose to his feet.“Not here.It’s too ...weird.”He set her down.
“You’re right.”They had been so caught up in each other, they had forgotten where they were.“I don’t want to traumatize the—” She suddenly remembered why they had slept here in the first place.“Clawdia!”she exclaimed, brushing past Mal and hurrying to the baby dragon’s pen.
“What’s wrong?”Mal asked as he followed her.“Is the hatchling okay?”
Peering inside the pen, she let out a relieved sigh.“She’s still sleeping.I can’t believe I forgot about her.”Or, rather, she had been too distracted by Mal’s kisses.“Good thing she’s not awake yet.”
“Yeah, she’s basically a newborn,” Mal explained.“She’ll probably be spending most of her day sleeping, at least for a while.But she’ll wake when she’s hungry.”
As if on cue, Clawdia’s eyes opened, the bright blue eyes immediately training on Jasmine.The dragon sat up and then let out a mournful chirp.Jasmine couldn’t quite explain it, but a strange jolt shot through her, leaving a distinct note of displeasure.The image of a feather and a lion’s tail appeared in her mind.
“She wants out.”Reaching inside the pen, she lifted Clawdia up into her arms.“Hey there, did you sleep well?”
The dragon snuggled against her neck.
“Sweet baby.”She patted the dragon’s back.“That pen stillsmells like griffin, huh?It’s okay.We’ll get it all cleaned up before we put you back in there.”
