Page 10 of Jorax
I smile against his fevered skin as joy wells up to almost choke me. “How can I wonder what took us so long when at the same time I’m glad we waited?”
Jorax’s humongous hand cradles my jaw so gently, I could weep. His yellow eyes shine bright with hope and so much tender affection that my heart clenches. When he kisses me this time, still restrained but no longer tentative, it feels like a new beginning written in the glittering stars overhead.
Chapter Eleven
Syrryn
I awaken slowly, warmth and contentment cocooning me like a cozy blanket. As awareness creeps in, memories of last night flood my mind: Jorax’s shy invitation to the haunted house, our breathless laughter, the dazzling meteor shower… and that spectacular, earth-shattering kiss. My fingertips drift over my lips, tingling in memory of the heated exchange.
What was I thinking, kissing him like that underneath the stars? Shock ripples through me. He’s my colleague, my friend! I’ve never been so forward with anyone, especially not a male from another species.
Yet as I replay every tactile sensation—his full lips so firm yet yielding, the heat of his breath mingling with mine, his pounding heart under my questing palm: I can’t bring myself to regret it. Kissing Jorax felt right in a bone-deep way I can’t explain. Behind his formidable exterior, he is the gentlest, most brilliant soul I’ve ever known.
I dress quickly, nerves and anticipation warring within me. What will Jorax say about last night? Will things be horribly awkward between us now?
As I make my way to the lab, my footsteps echo in the empty corridors. My pulse skitters with anxiety. Please, don’t let this ruin our friendship. What if he hates me for taking advantage of his loneliness? But he kissed me back with equal fervor, clutching me against him as if I were the most precious thing in the universe.
The lab door slides open at my approach. I halt in dismay to find the space vacant, though he’s always here before me. Jorax’s workspace is conspicuously absent of its usual controlled chaos. My heart sinks. Is he avoiding me?
I swallow around a knot in my throat as I enter. Maybe I imagined the wonder in his eyes last night, invented his stifled groans against my lips because I wanted him so much in that moment. This weighs heavily on me. I work myself into a frenzy, wondering if I read all the signals incorrectly.
As I get closer, a folded sheet of notebook paper at my workspace catches my eye, my name scrawled across it in Jorax’s blocky handwriting. With trembling fingers, I pick up the note and read the contents.
Syrryn,
My behavior last night was inappropriate. The last thing I want is for you to feel uncomfortable because of a mistake you made when we were watching the meteor shower. Let’s pretend it never happened. I sincerely apologize if I overstepped or made you feel obligated in any way to reciprocate my unwanted advances. It won’t happen again.
J
“What? No!” The exclamation bursts out of me as devastation crashes through my excited optimism. My hands fist around the paper, crumpling it. Doesn’t he realize how much last night meant to me? Didn’t he notice how my hands clutched his shoulders so tightly it would have taken a crowbar to pull me away?
I have to find him right away and set things straight between us. I can’t let him go on believing I regret what happened under the stars. My feelings for him have been growing steadily over these past weeks and I don’t regret a moment of last night.
He eases into the lab, eyes avoiding me as he clears his throat.
“We need to talk about this,” I say, holding out his tattered note.
Before I can continue, the lab door snicks open. Icaron strides in, flashing his lethal smile. My heart sinks at this new complication.
“There’s my favorite human scientist.” Icaron’s assessing gaze sweeps over me. “You look fetching as always. I wanted to extend a personal invitation to the Halloween Charity ball. It’s a masquerade, open bar, and will hopefully pull in enough money to keep your project afloat for another year.” He quirks one pale brow. “What do you say?”
“No, but thank you for thinking of me.”
Icaron blinks, clearly unaccustomed to being turned down. “Perhaps I didn’t explain the benefits thoroughly enough—”
I raise one hand, cutting him off. “Truly, I appreciate the offer. However, there is… someone else I was hoping might invite me instead.”
Though I don’t turn to look, Jorax’s rugged face flashes in my mind and warmth spreads through me despite the note clutched in my hand.
“It’s in two days. I wouldn’t be asking at this late date if—”
He cut himself off. If what, I wonder. If someone hadn’t just canceled on him? I have no doubt I wasn’t his first choice.
“Thanks again for asking, Icaron, but I wouldn’t want to attend with anyone other than my first choice.”
Scowling, Icaron crosses his arms over his perfectly tailored suit. “You’d turn me down over a hypothetical invitation that hasn’t arrived? More’s the pity.”
He turns on his heel without another word—ass. As long as he doesn’t fire me, I don’t care if I bruised his tender feelings. He’s far too egotistical for his own good.
