Page 48 of To Crave Madly
“Fenris…”
He pulled back, a sorrowful smile gracing his kissable mouth. His hand fell from my jaw and he stood up, putting a seemingly insurmountable amount of distance between us. What had I done? Had I pushed him too far?
Fenris held his hand out to me, his happy, carefree expression back in place. “Ready for another round?”
I sighed as I looked up at him. He was pretending nothing had happened and hoped I would play along. If that’s how he wanted to play it then fine, but I wasn’t going to let him pull away from me and I certainly wasn’t going to allow him to pretend there was nothing between us when I had definitely felt a zing there. “Another round of beating your ass? Hell yeah!” I took his hand and he hauled me up from the floor. My head spun and I staggered forwards; my hands shot out to brace myself against his chest. “Woah, head rush.”
His hands gripped my hips as he steadied me. “Don’t worry. I’ve got you.”
Heat radiated across my palms from the firm chest I was currently fondling through the taut fabric. I lifted my chin, catching his jawline with my nose. He was so close that I could see the bright gold flecks in his beautiful brown eyes. Those eyes were focused entirely on me and the weight in his gaze had me pinned to the spot. I should step back, should break eye contact but I was mesmerised by the blatant desire I saw burning in his eyes. He didn’t want this, wasn’t ready for whatever this was. Yet here he was, making desire throb at the junction of my thighs, potent and needy. I dropped my gaze to his lips, suddenly consumed with the need to taste them. My tongue wanted to taste the inside of his mouth and my teeth wanted to bite his plump bottom lip.
“Lori…” One of his hands slid up my spine, stopping between my shoulder blades to pull me closer into his body. I could smell him. He was like a fresh breeze on a sunny day in the forest. Clean, crisp, and earthy. I could feel his chest rising rapidly with every breath he took. “You need to stop looking at me like that.”
His head dipped closer to mine.
“Why?” I asked, my voice low and husky.
A desperate groan escaped his lips. His hand on my hip flexed, his grip tightening like he didn’t know whether to pull me closer or push me away.
“Because… I…” The desire in his eyes flickered as he stared down at me. Why did he look so torn? “Lori, I need to tell you –”
“Hello?” A soft, feminine voice cut through the tension. “Fenris, darling, where are you?”
Darling?
I pulled back, all thoughts of kissing him vanishing faster than a snow cone melting in Hell.
“Who is that?”
“Lori, it’s not what you think.”
A waft of overly floral perfume drifted into the room before a vision of one of the most stunning women I’d ever seen came into view.
She was tall, slender, with long flowing blonde hair and the most vivid green eyes. She was gorgeous and she was looking between Fenris and me with confusion. Oh, right. His hands were still clutching my body and she clearly didn’t like that.
“Fenris, who is your… friend?”
He released me abruptly and headed over to the mysterious woman. “I didn’t think you’d be here until tomorrow.”
Her eyes left me as Fenris joined her. All my desire fled as I watched the two of them embrace in a hug. Shame and panic prickled across my skin. Why? Why did I feel like that? What that Hell was going on here?
“I finished earlier than expected and thought I’d surprise you.” Her overly musical voice was starting to grate on me. But that might just be because I was starting to get pissed off. “Aren’t you going to introduce us?”
Fenris winced. Fucking Hell, this wasn’t going to be good.
“Elissa, this is Lori. Lori, meet Elissa. My… erm…” He took a deep breath. “My fiancée.”
Chapter 15
LORI
His fiancée? His fuckingfiancée?!
This goddess of a woman before me was going to be his wife?
You have got to be shitting me.
No wonder he was holding back when he had this drop-dead gorgeous woman waiting for him. She looked like she’d stepped off the cover of a magazine and I suddenly felt like a very frumpy pigeon by comparison. Why didn’t he tell me? I was beyond pissed. I was fucking fuming.
