Page 42 of Defiant
“I want to remind you that I offered to use my mouth for a far better purpose. It’s your fault I’m talking right now.”
“Fuck me, you’re annoying.”
“Stop whining and show me how you do this,” I say, setting the glass cup of trail mix back onto my chest and digging out a raisin expectantly.
Elena inhales and exhales loudly, making a show of calming herself. I ignore that as I take the raisin and try to figure out where the hell I’m going to balance it in order to get it to launch. I haven’t done shit like this since I was bored in high school, but if I’m going to learn how to do something, I’m going to do it right. I watch as the little raisin bends in my grip and I wonder if I’m holding it too hard. I’m hardly even touching the damn thing!
Elena’s tiny hand closes over mine and her soft skin slides along my fingers, which lets me know that this game is actually an excellent idea. I want her to get used to touching me.
“I don’t know that you’re ready for the big leagues yet, Mr. Maddox. Why don’t you start with an M&M?” She tugs the raisin out of my palm and digs around in the trail mix, bringing a green M&M out and handing it to me.
“What?”
“We’re taking baby steps here. Raisins are all different. They’re like a level three on the flicking scale. You need to get a basic technique before you go tackling them.”
“There’s a flicking scale? How did I not know this? My life’s been incomplete.”
She snorts out the most adorable little laugh before stating seriously, “It has been.”
“In more ways than one,” I add.
Silence meets that declaration but I don’t back down. This might be a night of uncomfortable truths for Elena but she needs to face them. Fast. The shifter world doesn’t leave room for slow; the weak are picked off, eradicated.
I won’t let anything happen to her.
But I’m going to keep pushing because my mate needs to acknowledge what I am to her, what I’m willing to face for her.
She doesn’t say anything, but she doesn’t come up with a smart-ass retort either, so I decide it’s progress.
After a moment, Elena clears her throat and finds her own M&M, choosing to ignore my previous statement. “Take your weapon in your left hand, like this.” She holds her M&M by the edges using her index finger and thumb. “Oh, wait. Are you right-handed?”
I turn to look at her, unable to let a chance to make her blush slide by, even though I know I just made her uncomfortable seconds ago. But the alpha in me does what he wants. Always has. By now it’s second nature. I let my eyes linger on her until she turns to look at me, a puzzled expression on her features as she wonders why I haven’t answered.
“You should know the answer to that question already.”
“I should?” Her brow furrows. It takes her a minute before that blush I was hoping for arrives. It blooms like a flower, and I have to resist the urge to lean forward and drink in the scent that accompanies that sweet red shade. When I raise the fingers that were inside of her and make a quick come-hither motion, curling them just like I did for her, her eyelashes sweep gently across her cheeks—she can’t hold my gaze.
I relent, deciding I need to have mercy on her. And on myself, because thinking about what she let me do to her body is going to leave me with a raging hard-on. I get back to business, raise my right hand and try flicking the M&M. While it’s easier than the raisin, it’s also heavier and I don’t flick hard enough. It doesn’t make it past the bed. “Dammit.”
Elena flicks her candy and I watch the little orange circle sail right into the red power light on the corner of the tv. “Bullseye.”
“There’s no way you were aiming for that,” I retort, though I’ve seen first hand how good she is. My hand automatically digs into the bowl and fishes out another M&M because I’ll be damned if her skill doesn’t make the competitive beast inside lift his head. I balance the M&M with one hand again and move my other hand up into position.
Elena’s fingers slide over to my flicking hand. “First trick, use your middle finger.”
I turn to meet her gray eyes. “Really?”
“Try it. It will make it fly straighter.”
I squint skeptically at her but then flatten back out and focus, staring at that little power light on the television, lining up my blue candy, and then using my middle finger to flick it. It does fly straighter, and goes just to the edge of the bed before tumbling to the mattress and then sliding off the side.
“Not bad,” Elena sits up and digs through the trail mix. “Ready for more?”
“With you? That answer’s always going to be yes.”
Twin raisins pelt me in the face but all I can do is grin.
I’m going to flick this girl’s defenses down one at a time.
