Page 15 of Tentacles and Teeth

I laughed. “You’re welcome. And you’re welcome for last night, too, although I gotta say—kind of a mood killer.”

“You might be scared of my dick, but Katarina isn’t.” The fucker grinned at me. “And you could have told me to back off at any time.”

Looking at his glittering eyes, I was hit with a tickle of unease. “Hey, uh, that...” I flapped a hand awkwardly at the tent in his pants, “that’s all for her, right? You’re not—I mean, you don’t...?” I trailed off as he rose slowly from his sprawl.

He prowled towards me, his big body bulging and his eyes locked on mine.

The tickle became a full-blown nausea inducing fist in my throat. I scooted back, suddenly very aware that I was lying on his bed as his knee hit the blanket. “Fenn...” I wasn’t sure if it was a warning or a plea.

I lay paralyzed as he crawled over me. By all the gods, if this asshole tried to kiss me, I was putting him through the wall.

His face lowered, the springy hairs of his beard brushing against my ear. His voice was a seductive whisper. “You’re like my brother, Sid. That’s just nasty.”

The ready tension making my tentacles buzz against my skin collapsed, and I dropped my head back with a groan. “Fucking asshole,” I seethed, shoving the laughing idiot off of me. When that didn’t soothe the adrenaline still flooding through me, I punched him in the gut. His rough exhale made me feel a bit better.

I pouted for a second, then my lips began to twitch. Fenn nudged me and I gave in, chuckling. My face had to have been priceless. “Good thing one of us is het, huh? This could’ve gotten weird.”

Fenn winked and rolled to his feet, pulling off his shirt as he moved. “I don’t know about all that, but come on, Sid. I don’t fuck family. You can’t believe everything you hear about the south.”

I snorted.

“I’m going for a run. Open the window, would you? It’s damned uncomfortable walking around with a hard-on all the fucking time.”

“Poor baby,” I simpered. “Hold on, we have to talk about Katarina. What do we do about her?” I knew the words were wrong as soon as they passed my lips, and Fenn didn’t let it fly.

“Do about her? Nothing. She’s not a problem to be solved. She’s into you, you’re into her. She wants me, I want her. I told her as much, so the next move’s hers. Talk to her, see how she reacts.” He was shaking his head as he walked out, pantsless again. “Fucking Fae, making everything more complicated than it needs to be.”

I flipped off his retreating back. I knew all that. And I didn’t have any desire to manage Katarina. Tell her what to do in certain specific circumstances, yes. Her eyes got all wide and dark and her hot little pussy melted when I got dominant in bed. But her self-assurance and confidence were a big part of the attraction, not something to be overcome.

I glared at the doorway Fenn’s naked ass had disappeared through. Antisocial jerk acted like he’d get hives if he was forced to be part of a conversation for more than two seconds. Deliberately, I did not open the window. Even more deliberately, I ran my hands over his pillow, coating it in my and Katarina’s scents.

I was humming as I closed his door behind me. I’d have a shower, release a little tension, then meet up with the family for dinner. Saturday night was always wild at the Broken Crown, so my opportunity to obsess over a certain curvy goddess would be—fuck, I couldn’t lie to myself. I’d be thinking about her all night, no matter how many freaks descended on my bar.

But I had five whole days to seduce her with my words. Five days to learn what made her laugh, what pissed her off, what made her heart flutter. Five days with enough distance between us that we might actually do something besides devour each other. Because as much as I was dying to taste her again, it was only a small part of what I was beginning to want from her.

That list included watching her explore whatever connection she and Fenn had. Gods, the way she’d perfumed when he had her at the sink. I pressed the heel of my hand against my mound as I turned on the water. Shit, I needed to talk to him about setting up a power stone and grid for the house. I didn’t want Katarina to feel unwelcome here.

I wanted her to be very comfortable. Enough to let loose of any inhibitions and really let herself feel good. Thinking about her pinned between us, fuller than she’d ever been, coming so hard she couldn’t even speak, I ground my hand in hard circles, fire shooting from my abused clit.

The shower was going to be longer than I’d planned.

Chapter VIII

Katarina

“I’m right next door if you need anything! Breakfast is at seven. Enjoy your rest!”

I waved, shutting the door to my hotel room with a soft snick, blocking out the continuing chatter of my conference-assigned assistant. The professional smile slid off my face as I gave in to the exhaustion weighing me down. Bracing a hand on the door, I groaned and kicked off my heels.

I left a trail of clothes as I made my way towards the tub. Big, sunken into the floor with jets and a handheld sprayer, it was the first thing I noticed when I’d opened the door to my room that morning. I’d been too bleary-eyed to do anything but pass out then, but I’d promised myself a good soak if I managed to get through the day without drooling on anyone.

It had been close. My flight had gotten in around three that morning, local time, and I’d only gotten a few hours of sleep before my ever so chipper assistant, Jeremy, was knocking at my door with two cups of tea and a packed agenda.

I’d set up my schedule intending to sleep the flight away, but our path had intersected three storms and the ride had been anything but smooth or restful. I also hadn’t planned on being up most of the night before, but I couldn’t bring myself to regret a second of it. Not even when I almost nodded off during dinner with the organizers.

Sid’s face flashed through my mind as the tub filled, her jaw tight with anger as she held a full-grown man off of me with only one tentacle. Colorful lights reflected off wet, hungry lips that dropped encouragement as I writhed beneath her. I dumped a bottle of bath salts into the water without much attention, my focus on the happy grin that filled her expression when I said I wanted to see her again. I remembered to set my phone on the ledge of the tub before climbing in, shivering as the heat washed over me like the glow in her eyes when she watched me squirm under Fenn’s growling attention.

No. No regrets.

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