Page 3 of Stranded with the Kraken
I set down my glass, too, thinking I need my head straight for this one. “My friend told me it was rude to ask. So I figured you’d tell me eventually.” I point at him, then at myself. “I mean, we can hardly do this if you don’t tell me, no?”
Jasper purses his lips. “I could fuck you in this form, if that’s what you mean.”
So he has more than one form? He must be a shifter of some kind. But apart from the gargoyles who can’t hide away their wings unless they’re wearing glamours, and witches, who only have one human form, he could really be anything. I squint at him. He’s not giving me wolf vibes, so I doubt that’s it, and he seems to live alone out here, which means he’s unlikely to be a bear shifter or any creature who likes pack life. I mentally scroll through the creatures I know exist and settle on the possibility that he’s a dragon shifter.
The tall fence around his property and the sense that’s he’s a loner fit that theory, but why would he hint that he could also fuck me in his other form? Dragons are massive, and if he shifted, he’d freaking rip me apart with his monster dick. I’m pretty sure I ticked HELL NO in the app on any penises larger than twelve inches, thanks.
“Okay.” I put my hands up. “You need to tell me what you are. Then we can both make informed decisions.”
Jasper sighs. “It’ll be easier if I show you.”
He stands and walks around the deck chair. His expression falls, though, and I feel a twinge of worry that this is so uncomfortable for him. Without thinking, I snag his hand as he tries to walk past me.
“Hey,” I say. “Wait a moment.”
He stares down at me, wordless, so I hold on to his hand until he relents and sits next to me. This close to him, I smell his ocean-fresh scent, and it soothes something inside me. I lean in and sniff again, then realize what I’m doing and back away slightly, cheeks heating.
“Sorry,” I say. “But, uh, we don’t have to do this if you don’t want to. I mean, I know we agreed on a hookup, but like you said, if you’d like, you can stay in this form, and we’ll see where things lead us.” I squeeze his hand, which I still haven’t let go. “Unless you want to tell me why this is so hard for you?”
His lips twitch to the side, and he gives me a wry smile. “All right. Imagine you meet a pretty girl.” He reaches out and wraps a strand of my dark hair around his fingers, then tugs lightly. “But the moment she sees your true shape, she turns tail and disappears as fast as she can.”
I wince. “Someone did that? Is that why you reacted so strongly when you scented me?”
He dips his chin in a nod. “Yeah. Imagine that happenedeverytime you met someone you liked. I don’t want to traumatize another beautiful woman.”
“Right.” I take another deep inhale of his clean, intoxicating scent. “So…do you want to keep it a secret?” I glance down at our interlaced fingers. “Do you want to fuck me as a human?”
He closes his eyes and lets out a shuddering breath. “If it means you won’t run away…”
Fuck, this guy has some issues. I don’t know what the deal was with the other women he’s met, or how hideous his true form is. I could accept his offer for a human-shaped quickie. He’s gorgeous, and I’m fairly sure he called me beautiful just now. So we’d likely get each other off, then go our separate ways. But I don’t think I can do that to him either. It would be another rejection—even if it doesn’t look that way on the surface. And if I leave now, I’ll spend the rest of my life wondering about what could have been.
And maybe we both need this. Maybe we need each other, even if it’s only for a night. After all, everyone else is preparing for a white Christmas with their families, and we’re on a Bone-R date. I don’t know if Jasper had any other goals besides having a fuck buddy, but I agreed to meet tonight in part because I wanted to forget about the fact that I don’t have anyone to spend the holidays with.
Oof. I haven’t admitted that to myself until now, not in so many words.
“Listen,” I say. “I can’t promise you for sure I’ll want to have sex with you after you show me your true form. I’ve never done this, and even though I filled out that questionnaire, I don’treallyknow what my hard limits are. Okay?”
He frowns but says, “I understand.”
“But,” I continue before he can say anything more, “Icanpromise that I won’t run away. Or scream.”
I bite my lip to stop myself from babbling out something more, because it’s on him to decide now.
Jasper remains silent for a long minute, his gaze roaming from my eyes to my lips, down to where my band t-shirt has slipped off my shoulder, and back to my face. His fingers tighten on mine, and he dips his head, giving me plenty of time to move away. Then he closes his lips over mine, the kiss tentative and soft at first. I lift my chin and angle my head to the side, giving us room to explore, and when I part my lips for him, he deepens the kiss, taking over.
He brings his hand up to cup the back of my neck, his thumb caressing my jaw, and it’s the best kiss I’ve ever had, slow and thorough, as if he’s mapping me, learning how to seduce all my senses. The taste of him is exquisite, the sweet bite of the white wine mixing with something more potent. If I didn’t know better, I’d say he tastes a little salty, but the effect is amazing, sort of like the creamiest peanut butter.
I want to stay right here and suck on his tongue until the end of time, but Jasper tears himself off me, breathing hard.
“Fuck,” he says. “This might be more complicated than I thought.”
CHAPTER2
JASPER
The most gorgeous woman sitting on the deck chair next to me is sending me into a rut. My cock, already hard and straining against the zipper of my slacks, throbs with urgency. I grip the cushioned seat with both hands and force myself to take a deep breath in an effort to calm myself.
The plan backfires spectacularly, because I get another lungful of Arielle’s delicious scent. She smells like caramel and tastes just as sweet, and every instinct in my body is telling me to drag her down to the pool, get inside her, and fill her wet pussy with my seed.
