Page 47 of To Crave Darkly
Fuck yes. I wanted to run my hands all over him, maybe even lick his –
“Alec!” Jasper shouted. “Knock it off.”
Alec raised his hands in mock surrender and took a step back from me.
What the fuck had just happened here? I blinked and tried to clear my head but all I could think about was the desire that was now pumping through my body. I glared up at Alec, but the douchebag just chuckled at me, clearly enjoying my discomfort.
“So, how was the meeting?” Alec asked again.
“Well, turns out you get to train me. I’m your new recruit.”
“Seriously?” He glanced between Jasper and me as if waiting for one of us to jump and say gotcha.
“Yep. His majesty thinks it would be a good thing for me to learn to take care of myself.”
“Well I will certainly enjoy seeing what that body of yours is capable of,” Alec replied suggestively which had me hot under the collar. Fuck, this guy was dangerous.
“Team meeting. Now,” Jasper barked before marching off towards the house leaving me and Alec in his wake. I rolled my eyes and Alec chuckled as we set off to catch up. “Jasper, slow down. My legs aren’t as long as yours.”
His eyes dipped down to my leather clad legs and stopped. Oh yeah, he had definitely noticed the leather pants. Busted big guy. I coughed, and he drew his attention back to my face looking for all the world like a kid caught with his hand in the cookie jar.
He released a growl in which he managed to convey all his frustration and irritation before stomping off like a grouchy adolescent. He made it about four strides before he turned back to face me.
“You are the most impossible, difficult and vexatious person I have ever had the misfortune to meet,” Jasper shouted.
That was it. I’d been doing so well to keep my temper in check over the past couple of days. I’d been mentally congratulating myself on how well I had remained so level-headed in the face of his sour moods, and I’d been positively cheerful despite being thrust into this bloody world of vampires and demons.
No more.
“You,” I exploded, barely resisting the urge to punch him in the face, “are the rudest, most ill-mannered man in all creation.”
He raised a brow. “Surely you can do better than that?”
“I can, but I’m in polite company,” I growled.
“You don’t mean Alec?” he said with a short laugh as he turned his head to his grinning teammate. “He’s about the least polite company I know.”
“However,” Alec cut in, “I would have to agree with Lori’s assessment of your character.” He turned to me. “He’s a brute.”
“Watch your tone, Devaux. I am more than happy to put you on base lockdown.”
Alec grimaced but didn’t give in. “I think having a new recruit will do some good for the team, Sir. It’s another reason to keep living, Sir.”
“Fuck off, Alec.”
I looked between the two men. There was an unspoken secret here between the two of them. The tension was palpable and the need to diffuse it before it became something more violent than a staring contest, seemed necessary. For both my safety and theirs. Thank god for my winning humour.
“You never know, I might even liven the place up a bit Jasper. Maybe even balance out your grumpiness. The least you could do is thank me.”
“Thank you?!”
“You’re welcome,” I said quickly. “Now then, are we going to stand here all day?”
Alec rolled his lips into his mouth as if suppressing a smile and Jasper looked flabbergasted, his mouth opening and closing like a fish. I chose that moment to saunter past the pair of them and into the house until I realised I had no clue where the team meeting would actually take place.
“Alec,” I called over my shoulder, “would you be a dear and take me to the team meeting?”
He finally released his smile and the flutters in my stomach went into overdrive. That mouth was going to haunt my dreams.
