Page 7 of Desiderium
“Baby girl… come here.” I stand up as she unwinds herself from Cole and Hawk’s embrace and saunters over to my position. She stands there, looking up at me from under her lashes, coy and submissive, waiting. I push a piece of stray hair behind her ear, playing with the tendril as I tempt her. “Would you like to play a game?” I say under my breath, my lips coming down to just below her ear. She shivers when the heat from my mouth reaches the sensitive spot on her neck. A visceral reaction to our never-ending primal attraction to one another.
“What kind of game?” She asks, shuddering the words. I can already see her body quaking with excitement. We played a lot of games this winter and she loved every one of them.
I take her in my arms and turn her around to face the guys. My one arm drapes around her shoulders, my hand falling to caress her collar bone and trace the tantalizing dip between her breasts. Goosebumps erupt, following the trail my fingers make on her pale skin. My other hand goes around her waist, toying with the skin just below her navel.
Leaning down, I whisper in her ear, just loud enough for the guys to hear, “We’re gonna make a list for each of us. A list of essentials we need to find and pack to bring with us on the trip. The first person who packs all the stuff on their respective list, gets a prize.”
She inhales sharply as my fingers slowly make their way down her chest, following the supple curve of her gorgeous breasts. I toy with her nipple, forcing it to a hardpeak before surrounding her with my hand, squeezing lightly. “What’s the prize?” she asks.
I breathe in the scent of her hair. My fingers still exploring her, teasing her, tempting her. “Anything the winner wants,” I state simply.
Her breath stalls on a gasp.“Anything?”she questions before turning her focus onto Cole and Hawk. Their eyes go wide with her unspoken intention.
Oh yeah. Anything can mean just that...
ANYTHING.
I smirk at their startled responses, secretly knowing this would bring Aly into the game. Hook, line and sinker.
The gauntlet has been set.
Players on the board.
All we need is consent.
“Game on…,” she utters decisively.
Cole and Hawk look to one another quickly, silent words passing between their eyes before settling on a collective decision. They turn back to us, nodding emphatically.
“Game on.”
Chapter Five
Jax
Well,thatwas effective, to say the least. I should use that trick all the damn time. Fucking worked like a charm.
It took us a grand total of thirty minutes to create a list of essentials for each of us to find. Once issued, it was like a tornado dropped right on the cabin. Everyone was in a frenzy, searching for their items here and there as quickly as possible. Before we knew it, we were all out the door, fully packed and ready to move.
Oh… would you like to know who won my little game?
“Fuck off! I totally would have won if you didn’t hide the fucking lighters in the bathroom. Who the fuck does that?! They belong in the kitchen junk drawer with the old bread ties and batteries. Everyone knows that!” Hawk goes off on a rant about how disorganized this place is compared to the estate. Hey, it’s not my fault Aly put a candle in the bathroom the other day when she was showering and accidentally left the package of lighters there.
“Oh, shut the fuck up! I would have won if there, in fact,werefirst aid supplies in the box labeled ‘first aid kit,’” Cole interjects.
“Therewerefirst aid supplies in the first aid kit,” I reply with a smirk. This one was my fault but I’m keeping my mouth shut. We brought the actual first aid kit out a while ago during one of our more intense…games… but then left it in the bedside table for future…games. Not my fault they forgot.
“Yeah, in the one in the side table thatno one but youknew about. The two others that were in their proper locations—the bathroom and under the sink—had a fucking sewing kit and fucking cookies in them. Not a damn band-aid in sight. What if something happened?!” Cole lashes out, throwing his arms around to emphasize his frustration.
“Don’t look at me! I didn’t put the cookies in there,” I say back, raising my hands slightly in surrender. Then, one by one, we all look in Aly’s direction.
Her jaw drops in shock at our silent accusation. “Oh, fuck off! I hid some cookies one time,one freaking time, and now I’m the culpritone hundredpercent of the time?” We each wince and side-eye each other, which causes her to raise her voice even more. “I’m telling you it wasn’t me!”
As a unit, Cole, Aly and myself, turn and notice Hawk being suspiciously quiet as he stands eerily still next to us. I’m not even sure he’s breathing but he for damn sure is looking everywhere else besides in any of our faces. We collectively cross our arms while our eyebrows lift in question.
Hawk tosses his hands up and groans. “Ok fine! I did it! But I did it for Aly!” He swiftly points in her direction. “You know how much she liked those Girl Scout cookies we found! And they last for-fucking-ever so I hid a box of them for a day when she might need the chocolate.” He purses his lips and cocks his head knowingly as if to indicate a hidden meaning behind his words. Cole and I pick up on his meaning instantly and mutter, “Ooh,” in unison, while Aly shuffles her cute butt over to him, grabs his face and kisses him silly.
“Aww, you reallydolove me, my sexy chocolate hoarding dragon man,” she coos at him before her eyes grow large with concern. “Youdidpack that box too, right?”
