Page 26 of Pregnant Rejected Mate

It feels pointless right now as I sit perched forward, elbows resting on my knees. The bench is hard and cold, making me wish I hadn’t decided to watch the rugby match and explore the rest of the island instead.

“Oh, look!” Kairo perks up, gently tapping my knee. “It’s Felix!”

As soon as I hear his name, I straighten up and glance all around the field.

“Where?” I ask as I snap my neck in every possible direction until I see him jogging out from the ingress of the woods and onto the field. “Oh.”

Kairo shimmies excitedly beside me when Felix whistles to call one of the players out. She says he loves the sport almost as much as their brother Aragon does. He just wasn’t supposed to play today.

His sudden appearance and change of plans from being in a meeting to being out on the field has me mulling over why. I glance around at the empty bleachers because Kairo and I are the only ones watching the game, and I realize why he probably changed his plans when I turn my gaze back to the field.

Felix looks up from the bottom, immediately meeting my eyes while he pulls his t-shirt over his head. It’s the first time I’ve seen him shirtless since my arrival, and holy deliciousness! He sure has stacked on some muscle.

A lot, actually. His broad, chiseled chest tapers down to highly defined abs that flex with the movement of him picking up a rugby vest. Like a sculpture of Adonis himself, the sun’s rays hit every indent and bulge of muscle where his creamy skin appears like marble.

I only realized my jaw had dropped when a trickle of drool escaped the corner of my mouth. Frantically pulling myself together, I clear my throat and straighten up to embark on my original plan.

When Felix covers his chest with the rugby vest, I couldn’t be more grateful for the lack of distraction. It’s almost impossible to think straight when he has his body on display—especially now that he’s built differently from what I remember.

When his eyes meet mine again, I calculatedly flit my gaze to the right, where the other males have a break on the bench. I choose one—a brunette with golden skin—and settle my eyes on him while I trace the tip of my tongue across my bottom lip.

That should do it, though I’m too afraid to see Felix’s reaction. Instead, I keep my eyes fixed on the brunette for the duration of their break.

I’m forced to look away when the group regathers on the field, this time with Felix joining them. His caramel brows are furrowed, eyes narrowed as he stands at the back of his team.

I can almost smell the irritation rolling off him, which fuels the fire of my desire to go on. Clearing my throat loud enough, it captures his attention when he glances at me just as I get to my feet. That’s when I stretch my arms over my head, inflating my chest with enough air to have my breasts peaking from the neckline. Pretending not to be bothered by his merciless ogling of the way the hem of my dress rides up my thighs to expose more skin, I turn my gaze to the brunette player.

When the whistle sounds for the start of the next round, Felix’s attention is drawn to the game. It gives me enough time to settle back on the bench and act like I only have eyes for the brunette.

“He’s good, isn’t he?” Kairo quips when Felix’s team scores another try. It’s the brunette I’d chosen as collateral who scores the point.

“He is,” I admit, though I’ve hardly been paying attention to the game.

It’s my own game I’m more interested in—playing games with Felix and basking in the glory of watching him lose his mind.

“That’s Brantley,” Kairo goes on with a sigh as she leans forward on her forearms.

It isn’t until I see her face that I realize I’m not the only one not paying attention to the game. Her eyes sparkle with wonder as she stares at the brunette male.

Holy crap!

I’d set my sights on the wrong weredragon.

When Felix looks up at the bleachers, he narrows his eyes at me with judgment that sends a shiver down my spine. The heat of embarrassment on my cheeks only adds to the show I’m putting on.

Even if it’s a bashful blush, having just realized that Kairo secretly admires the brunette male.

She probably thinks I’m gawking at her brother, so that’s good. When the game is over the males of Felix’s team celebrate their win, cheering and howling toward the skies.

“Gosh… He’s amazing…” Kairo praises longingly as she stares at the male in the crowd of cheerers.

She echoes my sentiments when Felix breaks away from the crowd and jogs toward the bleachers. There’s something about his stern shoulders: how each step is calculated as he nears us. When he climbs the first bench, his thigh bulges where he’s packed on more muscle, and I imagine what it would feel like to take a seat there…

“Ladies…” Felix greets us, interrupting our little moment of mentally drooling at the men who spark our awareness.

For Kairo, it’s the brunette male. For me, it’s the male standing in front of me, forcing me to rake my eyes over the way his sweat-drenched vest meets his eyes.

He doesn’t seem pleased at all, brows woven tightly as he stares down at me. His irritation is evident, but the way his jaw pulses as he clenches forces me to press my thighs together. The air smells like sweat and sandalwood, making it almost impossible to think straight about how inebriating it is to simply breathe.

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