Page 41 of Just One Bite
She’s quiet and averts her gaze to my chest. Probably too forward, but I don’t regret saying it. The memory of her trembling in tears while lying in my arms is still fresh.
“You wouldn’t tell anyone?”
“Our secret. No questions asked.”
She smiles and sits up to run her hands through her hair. It’s a tangled mess, but I don’t mention it. “Will this help with the smell?”
“I have a little confession. I started to scent you in the hallway last night. I should have told you, but I was tipsy and needed to scent you before I let you walk anywhere else on the campus alone. But scenting is … more effective if I can lick places other than just your neck.”
She wipes her eyes. “Are you asking me … if you can lick me?”
My phone dings, and as much as I want to ignore it, I need to check if it’s Gavin.
It’s not. I’ve been sent a picture in the Rage team group chat:
This you, Cap?
It's a screenshot from the forum, a picture of Olivia and me in the Noxx House hallway with her head against the wall, and my lips on her collarbone. My skin itches when I see how into it she looks. The caption reads:Heated Hallway Rendezvous. There are already four hundred likes and a hundred comments, and it was only posted thirty minutes ago.
“This is perfect,” I say. “We want these people to believe we’re heated lovers in the hallway.”
“You knew someone was going to take this picture.”
“Well, no, not really. I just got caught up in how I wanted to make you smell like me, but it’s not enough … Could I … scent you again? Like right now?”
“You do want to lick me.”
“It’s not as gross as it sounds. If you encounter any other Weres on campus, especially Aster and Barrett, I want it to be obvious you’re mine.”
She stares at the hearth I don’t use—Weres are hot enough—and my pile of Rage gear on the floor. I got put in one of the smaller rooms this year, but I don’tmiss the light from the window. I’m hardly in my room anyway. Olivia fingers the knit blanket at the foot of the bed—the baby blanket my mother made me. I don’t advertise that, but I’ll tell her about it if she asks.
“I don’t know,” she concludes.
“Do you trust me?”
“We just met.” She huffs. “I trust that you’re decent enough to help me … three times, but those things didn’t involve you licking me.”
“Technically, two of them did. But you’re right. Trust is earned. I’ll show you. Nothing happens that you don’t want to happen. You’re in control.”
“I don’t want to have sex with you.”
I can’t help but smile at the way she says it. Like she’d accidentally stumble upon us doing it. “I didn’t think that was on the table, but it’s noted. No sex. Just licking occasionally. All for the cause.”
She bites the edge of her cheek. “Okay.”
“Lay down.”
“Why do I need to be lying down?”
“It’s easier. I need access to you. Under your clothes.”
She sighs but complies. The scent of her arousal flutters into our space. I’m about to be tested. I want to make a smart-ass comment about how good she’s being at listening, but I need to stop flirting with her while my lips are on her body. The less talking we do, the better. It will be quick and—
“W-what are you doing?” she asks as I move the hem of her shirt up and reveal her stomach.
“Trying to get the hardest part done first. It can’t just be your neck. I need to scent you everywhere.”
“Hurry up.”
