Page 64 of Primal Bonds

She stepped close and his lungs seized. She touched his cheek. “Your jaguar is beautiful. I’d like to see him again sometime.”

His animal preened. The cat loved to be admired.

Jace smoothed down her ruffled hair. It was silky soft, like a kitten’s fur. “You will.” It was a promise, even if she didn’t know it.

He brushed his mouth over hers. Their lips clung, and then he stepped back. “I’ll help you make the bed.”

She touched her mouth. “All right.”

He grabbed a spare set of sheets from the closet, and together, they stripped off the old sheets and put on the new ones. And damn if that wasn’t almost as intimate as touching her. His cock was painfully hard.

He balled up the dirty sheets and tossed them into the closet. “If you need anything, I’ll be in the living room.”

She nodded her thanks, and he closed the few feet between them. “Good night,” he said, and swayed closer. Not to kiss her again. He just wanted one last whiff.

But she turned her head and their mouths met, and then she was in his arms.

Heat flashed up his spine. Fuck his injured belly, and to hell with what was right or wrong.

They twined around each other. It was as if the two hours between their last kiss and this one had never been. They picked up right where they’d left off: his tongue in her mouth, his hand on her ass. She pressed herself against his aching groin, making sexy little moans that vibrated through him like a tuning fork.

He wrenched his mouth from hers and dragged in a breath. “I didn’t bring you here for this.”

“I know, but—” She set her lips to his throat and sucked. Heated sparks danced over his skin. “It’s okay. I want this—I want you. But you’re hurt.”

“Not that hurt. And Suha’s going to stop by. I’ll be okay by the time she leaves.”

“Yeah?” She nibbled his ear, and his eyes slit with pleasure.

He nudged her chin up, gave her a last, deep kiss and then resolutely set her from him. “Later. I’ll come back after your brother’s in bed.”

“All right.” Her lips were moist and reddened from his kiss.

His gaze fixed on her mouth, his mind painting a lurid picture of those moist lips on him. He almost grabbed her again, but instead he reached blindly for the doorknob. “Later,” he repeated.

Her dimple flashed. “Sure.”

She took her backpack and set it on the bed to unpack it. The three fae lights floated down to circle her head like a faerie crown.

His brow creased. Fae lights sensed when the user needed them, but these three acted as if Evie was some kind of a lodestone.

He’d never seen a fae light do that, even around another fae.

Evie shook out her clothes—a couple of T-shirts, a sleepshirt, and a pair of cargo pants—and hung them on hooks in the closet. The underwear could stay in the backpack, which reminded her that she still had on the plain black panties and white sports bra she’d worn to work that night. She hadn’t planned on anyone else seeing them.

Not that Jace seemed to care; she had a feeling he was just fine with bare skin.

She did a little happy dance. This was really happening—her and Jace. Even it if was just for a couple of nights, she intended to squeeze every last ounce of enjoyment out of it.

She headed for the bathroom to wash up. The fae lights trailed after her, casting a warm glow over everything.

The bathroom was jaw-dropping—two sinks, a walk-in shower carved from speckled gray stone, and a black jacuzzi taking up one corner. Plain white towels were stacked on a small table, and the shelves were scattered with razors, shaving soap and other masculine paraphernalia.

Back in the living room, she found Jace and Kyler had been joined by a large man with curly cinnamon hair and pale gold eyes. The fae lights had trailed her down the hall. They spread out across the room as Jace turned to smile at her.

“There you are. I want you to meet Sam.”

The big redhead held out a blunt-fingered hand. “A pleasure.”