Page 12 of Medusa

Maddie bit into her sub sandwich and groaned in enjoyment. “Oh my gosh, I needed that.”

Picking at his soft pretzel, Jaden smirked at her obvious pleasure. “Never skip meals.”

“No kidding,” she said around her bite, covering her mouth with one hand. “So, tell me about you.”

“I’m not very interesting,” Jaden drawled. “I mostly spend my days working out and working. I live with my brothers. What about you? What do you do?”

“I run a daycare center. I read a lot, garden a bit, and that’s pretty much it.” She blushed. “Sorry I’m not more interesting.”

“That’s a silly thing to apologize for,” Jaden said with a frown. “I think you’re fascinating. Tell me about the daycare.”

Maddie launched into a story about her charges, and Jaden was surprised to find himself actually listening. She was so animated when talking about her work, it was obvious she loved doing it.

“Sorry,” she said after a few minutes of non-stop chatter. “I could go on and on about the kids. They’re so awesome.”

“They sound awesome,” Jaden agreed with a smile. “Stop apologizing.” He leaned over and wiped a spot of mayo from the corner of her mouth with his thumb, and she froze, eyes wide. “You okay?”

“Yeah, I just… Wasn’t expecting you to…” she stumbled over her words, obviously shy.

“Touch you?” Jaden asked, lowering his voice. “I couldn’t resist. I’ve been dying to get my hands on you since the moment I saw you.”

“Oh!” If anything, she blushed even more. “Really?”

“Darling, if you weren’t eating that sandwich, I’d have pulled you into my lap to kiss you the instant we sat down,” Jaden said boldly, since she seemed to be responding well to his advances.

She looked down at the sub in her hands as if she’d forgotten it was there, and then around at the playground. There were a couple families still present, and she bit her lip. “You know, my house is just around the corner…” she trailed off.

Jaden grinned down at her. “Miss Maddie, are you inviting me into your bed?”

“If we make it that far,” she replied coyly, tossing her ponytail.

“I think you and I are going to get along just fine,” Jaden said, standing and holding his hand out for her. “You can eat on the way.”

“Good, because I really am starving.”

“Can’t have you fainting from hunger in the middle of the best pleasure you’ve ever received,” Jaden said.

“Is that a promise?”

“You bet it is, baby.”

Maddie finished her sandwich and they both quickened their pace. She led him up the front walk of a small two-storey house with pretty flowers out front.

“Nice place,” he said, and meant it.

“Thank you. But I didn’t bring you here to admire my exterior landscaping abilities.”

Jaden almost choked on his laughter. “By all means, lead the way.” He gestured at the front door with a slight bow. She put the key in the lock, and he pressed his body against her back, nuzzling behind her ear. “You smell so sweet,” he murmured.

Her body shook a little, her fingers not moving to turn the key in the lock, her breathing shallow.

He brought his hands up to her waist, slipping under her shirt and around to the front. He pressed slow kisses against the thin skin behind her ear and down the column of her neck, tracing the softness of her abdomen up to her ribs. “Is this okay?” he asked, nervous by her lack of verbal response.

Maddie nodded vigorously, her free hand coming up to brace herself against the opaque window of the front door.

Encouraged that she did actually want this, he moved faster now, both hands coming up to cup her breasts through her bra, and biting lightly at the meat where her shoulder met her neck, where his dragon urged he could place his mating bite.

Not now, damn it,he growled at his beast.

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