She steps aside so I can see the table and yup. It’s filled with food. Succulent shellfish, and juicy steaks, and some mushy vegetables that look suspiciously like the kind my father used to special-order when I was a kid.
She cooks.
For the love of sun gods everywhere, why? Why is this happening to me?
“I even got dessert. And oh, hey. What are you wearing?”
“Right!” I say, remembering all my thoughts back in the bedroom. “Who are these clothes for? And don’t say me because this shirt is at least one size too small. Maybe even two sizes, now that I think about it.”
“Mmmm,” she says, eyes going half mast. “Your arms do fill out those sleeves rather nicely.”
“Don’t change the subject!”
The bot is back, again buzzing at her ear with some sort of urgent warning, or maybe it’s the dragonbee in charge of this whole situation?
But Delphi just swats at it again, missing this time. But the bee takes the hint, because it flies over to the back of a chair and settles.
“Just forget it, Flicka. He’s insane. None of this will work.”
“Ah ha!” I yell. “I knew it!”
“You don’t know anything. I don’t know what’s wrong with you, but it’s not me. You’re being weird all on your own.”
“Is that right?” I growl.
“Yeah,” she challenges back. “That’s right.”
“Then why do I have the urge to rip your clothes off and fuck you until you pass out?”
CHAPTER FOURTEEN – DELPHI
I open my mouth to reply and find I’m actually speechless.
“That’s right,” he says, taking a step forward.
Now I’m the one putting up my hands to ward him off because… holy shit. That tiny tingle in my belly from earlier is back, only it’s not tiny anymore. It’s on the verge of overpowering.
“Oh, no,” Flicka squeaks from across the room. “This is all wrong. We should make a run for it!’
And I have to agree with her. That is the most logical answer right now. I want to do that. I even will my feet to start moving. But nothing happens. I’m stuck. I’m cemented in place.
Jimmy takes another step.
“I thought you wanted me to stay away!”
“I did,” he says, his voice low and deep. “But seeing you withdraw, I had a flash of you running away and now I have an urge to tie you up and hold you prisoner.”
I gulp, my mind spinning. Then I whisper, “I don’t understand what’s happening.”
“Me either,” he says, taking two more steps towards me. And now there’s just a very small space separating us. I picture what he’ll do next. Throw me on the couch and start ripping off my clothes? Back me up against the wall and pin me there with his chest?
What? What will he do?
Maybe both of those things?
But he just… he just reaches up with his hands and places them on my cheeks. They are cool and calming, even though I feel the heat of my blush radiating from my skin.
I swallow hard, uncertain how things got so out of control. Unable to make any sense of this, but—
He leans forward and kisses me on the lips.
His mouth is hard and punishing at first. Demanding and in control, but then he softens and his tongue sweeps past the seam of my lips. I open my mouth for him and grant him access.
And here’s where it gets really interesting. All that lust and desire inside me a second ago? It doesn’t vanish. It’s definitely still there. But it eases back. It’s dialed down a level or two. And suddenly I’m filled with patience and serenity. I’m calm and soft. And our kiss goes on and on. Forever and ever.
His fingers slip into my hair, loose now and flowing down over my shoulders. And my hands have a mind of their own because I reach for him. For his biceps. My hands gripping them and sliding up the outer edges of his broad, muscular shoulders until I have the urge to grip them. Digging my fingernails into his skin through his t-shirt.
“Ohhhh,” I moan into his kiss.
He pulls back, letting his fingers fall down the side of my face until he slides them over my breasts and onto my hip bones at my waist.
We bump foreheads.
“Why did you stop?” I ask.
“I don’t know. I don’t even know why I kissed you. Ten seconds ago I wanted to leave. To get as far away from you as possible. But then you got this look in your eyes like you wanted to run and something took over. Some… instinct that said, Don’t let her go. And the only thing I could think of is to hold you here with a kiss.”
“I felt the same way. I felt consumed with want and longing one moment, and then I did want to run. But then… I wanted more. I thought you’d… and you didn’t. You just… kissed me and…” I sigh. “And it was perfect.”