She gave him a daft look. “Hmm. Would Kalen believe a sweet little fae or McSnarly?”
“Don’t you start calling me that again.” Shit, Jax was getting turned on. It happened a lot when they argued. He just loved seeing the tiny warrior come out in her.
And Jax had no doubt his dad would take the “little lady’s” side, and give Jax a whap on the back of his head for causing Elvine to cuss. Which he’d had nothing to do with.
But who was he kidding? He’d take the blame a thousand times over for her. All she had to do was gaze at him the way she was doing right now, like she wanted to kiss him. And fuck, he wanted to kiss her as well, kiss every inch of her body, eat the sweet cream between her legs, and slide his dick inside of her.
Her breath hitched slightly, as if she could read the obscene thoughts running through his head.
Elvine’s gaze lowered, and she stared at their mate with just as much longing.
Arion finally stopped trembling, but he’d yet to unbury his head from Jax’s chest. That was okay. Jax would hold the guy for as long as his mate needed him to.
It seemed Elvine felt the same way, but he saw the fear in her eyes, the trepidation of sending him spiraling if she touched his scarred back. Instead, she moved in closer and simply rested her chin on his shoulder, keeping her hands to herself.
Jax ran his fingers through her soft, blue tresses, amazed the strands reached all the way down to her flared ass.
“Were you born with blue hair?” he asked, continuing to glide his fingers through the silky strands. Now he wanted to feel them slide over his naked body as he made love to her.
“All Unseelie are born with black hair.” She tapped Arion on his shoulder. “Do you want to see something cool, honey bunny?”
Arion finally withdrew from him. But Jax turned their mate, pulling Arion’s back to his chest then wrapping his arms around the vampire.
“Are you going to do some more voodoo?” Jax asked.
“It’s just a simple spell,” she replied. “Tell me, honey bunny, what hue do you want for my locks to take on?”
Jax leaned to the side, watching as Arion nervously chewed on his bottom lip. He could see the indecision in his eyes.
“Make it something outrageous.” Jax chuckled, relieved when Arion finally cracked a smile.
“Purple,” Arion blurted out, his cheeks flushing with embarrassment.
Nodding in agreement, Jax declared, “Two votes for purple, ma petite.”
While not the craziest color choice, Arion visibly relaxed at the decision. That was all Jax had wanted, to see his mate at ease.
With a dazzling smile, Elvine gave them a deep bow, her curvaceous figure catching Jax’s eye.
As she rose back up gracefully, the blue gave way to a lustrous, shimmering veil of rich purple hair that cascaded down her locks like a waterfall of amethyst light, transforming her into an ethereal goddess.
“That…was the coolest thing I have ever seen,” Arion said in awe. “The purple makes your pretty green eyes stand out.”
Jax was simply enchanted with her. The new color seemed to have transformed her into an entirely different person, the hue making her seem more seductive, like a pretty kitty who wanted to purr in delight.
“Is it me or does the new color make her seem more…” Arion pushed his tongue against the inside of his mouth, causing his right cheek to poke out. “More provocative.” He looked Elvine over. “That color turned you into a hot babe, cupcake.”
“Are you implying I wasn’t a ‘hot babe’ before I changed my hair color?” Elvine crossed her arms, but with her new look, the movement only made her appear sultrier.
“That’s not what I meant.” Arion was once again panicking. His amber eyes bulged, and his mouth dropped open slightly. Then he turned to Jax with a pleading look. Damn right he would yank the foot right out his pumpkin’s mouth.
Every guy deserved at least one free pass when they’d upset a woman. Jax remembered his mom forgiving their father whenever Kalen messed up. All men made mistakes.
Then again, Kalen Frost had a quiet charisma about him, a natural authority that people seemed to respond to.
Jax and his brothers used to watch their dad in awe, trying to learn from his smooth tactics and effortless charm.
Unlike other men, Kalen didn’t need pickup lines or expensive gifts to win someone over. He simply exuded confidence and kindness, never disrespecting a date or treating them as anything less than equal.