Page 16 of Jorax
“You don’t have to hide any part of yourself from me, my love.” Her tone resonates with sincerity, accepting me as I am, inside and out. “I want to talk about your… accident. You can tell me as much or as little as you want so you can purge it all and never look back. But we’ll do that later.”
Although I loved being in her heated embrace, she takes a step back and spears me with a serious look.
“I want to make love to you, Jorax. But before I rip your clothes off—which I will if you dawdle—I want you to know something.”
Her tone is so serious. I’d be terrified of what she was going to say next if she hadn’t just repeated that she wants us to make love.
“I want you to know what I see when I look at you.”
She peels off the extra cogs and wheels I pasted to my face, revealing some of the ugliest parts of me. My elation fizzles in my chest under her scrutiny.
“I see a male with the best heart. A male who just admitted that he worked into the wee hours of the morning to save the lives of people with a deadly disease, people he’d never met. A male who swallowed his pride and worked for a despicable person just so he could develop the project closest to his heart. A male who looks at me as if I hung the moon and the stars. A male who is the kindest person I’ve ever known. And brilliant…” She shrugs, releasing a happy bubble of laughter. “So freaking brilliant. That’s who I see. Oh, and I see the male I love.”
My already beastly face must look even scarier with my eyes wide in shock. My first impulse is to correct her, tell her she couldn’t possibly love me. But I bite my lips and calm my mind and let those words wash over me like a healing balm.
Love. Gods above, this beautiful woman loves me. Lightning and fireworks are exploding inside me.
“I’ve wanted to tell you for the longest time, Syrryn. I love you, too.” Sweeping her back into my arms, I hug her tenderly, hoping she can feel my love seeping into her very pores.
It’s as though I’m buzzing inside, as though pleasant jolts of electricity are arcing under my skin. I feel more alive than ever before in my life. I’m here with the woman I love and she’s hugging me back,lovingme back. It’s a miracle.
“So.” She kisses where her lips land on my pec. “If you want to stay on my good side, you’ll let me seeallof you, love. Please?”
My heart clenches unbearably. This wondrous woman looks upon my monstrous flesh and sees only beauty. With her, I feel handsome and cherished for the first time since that terrible explosion when I was barely twenty-two.
“Don’t make a girl beg, Jorax. It’s not kind.”
My mouth pops open in surprise. Does she really think I don’t want to kiss her, touch her, taste her, merge our bodies together?
“I’d never want to be unkind, however…” I’ve never flirted with anyone in my entire life, but I feel so free to be myself with her, the next words fly out of my mouth, “I wouldn’t mind hearing you beg, Syrryn. Maybe later.”
Her eyes pop open, then she laughs, her eyes glittering with happiness. Perhaps she understands me well enough to realize that my making such an assertion was a new and bold behavior for me. And maybe she knows she’s the reason for all my wonderful and miraculous changes.
Unable to resist the plea in her luminous eyes, I scoop her into my arms, rejoicing when she laughs breathlessly. As I carry my precious cargo upstairs, joy and gratitude swell powerfully within me.
Chapter Seventeen
Syrryn
How is it that we’ve known each other for a relatively short time and yet I feel so sure about taking this next step with Jorax? He’s such a gentle giant, and he’s so freaking smart.
Maybe it’s the intensity and conviction he showed tonight, or his courage in facing something he’s put off for so long—telling that evil vampire off. Yes, vampire. Icaron fed off Jorax for long enough. For whatever reason, I have no reservations about sharing my bed and my body with Jorax tonight.
He gently sets me on my feet in the center of my bedroom. My heart pounds so hard I can hear it in my ears, but my legs don’t even tremble as I wait for his next move. In the low light streaming through the sheer curtains, his hulking green body resembles a living, breathing emerald sculpture.
“You’re so beautiful,” I breathe, and it’s the truth. At least to me he is. Desire tightens in my core as my eyes travel over his wide shoulders and the bulge tenting his pants.
“Beautiful words from the most beautiful woman in existence.” He blushes a lovely shade of emerald. “Would you be offended if I admitted that I’ve dreamed of this moment?”
“No. That doesn’t offend me.” I toss him an eager smile. I like the idea of him dreaming of me. Maybe he even stroked himself while he did it. Though I’m already slick with anticipation, my arousal spikes as I fantasize about that huge hand fondling what I imagine is his enormous member.
I’m unable to bear another moment of anticipation. “Allow me.”
His eyes darken with desire and a little bit of awe as I undo each of his shirt buttons with exaggerated slowness, my fingers skating over his heaving chest and hard abs, memorizing every dip and rise of his muscles as heat pools between my legs.
I commit each delicious inch of his chest and stomach to memory as I reveal it bit by bit. Instead of avoiding the jagged scars that crisscross his torso, I trace them.
He tries to step away, but I shake my head and put power behind my words as I say, “Let me do this, Jorax. Let me loveallof you.”
