Page 11 of Wild Cub

He laughs and smiles so big, it might melt my heart. The hearty laugh silences all that is around us.

Seth and Ellie head upstairs for their bedtime routine, leaving me alone with Jackson. I finish my food and decide to clean up the kitchen. I hear footsteps sounding heavy against the old wood floor with every creak. I know Jackson is on the move.

“So, do you always rely on friends for food or to remind you to eat and drink water?” Jackson pulls one of the bar stools out to sit as I continue to wash the dishes, ignoring him.He’s not there, he’s not there.I glance over my shoulder. Damn it, he’s still there. “Oh, now you won’t speak. Is someone actually speechless?” That’s it.

I slam the dishes down in frustration, sending bubbles and water everywhere. “Momma said never to talk to strangers. I barely know you. And there you stand judging me by what my friends do or help me. So please, just walk away.”

“It’s merely a question. I’m just saying maybe someone else needs to take care of you for a change. Be your knight.”

I snort. “What’s your fascination with that reference? Ellie rubbing off on you or something?”

“She may have given me ideas, especially when it comes to being in the presence of a strong-willed woman” His smirk makes me even angrier.

I wink. “Strong willed and stubborn as a bull.”

“I’ll take that bull by the horns. Maybe we could not be strangers”

Okay, now I’m speechless. I turn back to the dishes, grumbling to myself. This man is assuming that I’m not capable of taking care of myself. That I need a knight?

“You think that I’m not able to take care of myself? Do I look like someone who is incapable of self-care?” I turn around, my hands on my hips, the sponge soaking into my shirt.

He rests a finger on his chin inquisitively. He stares at me, scanning me from head to toe. I won’t let him play me like that; I stare right back, right into his eyes.

Well, that backfired. Just staring at him makes me tingle all over. Damn this man is like a walking wet dream. I feel my body heat intensify. If he doesn’t speak soon, I’m going to melt right here.

“Darlin’, I am just wondering if you would allow someone in and take care of you. Can’t help but wonder what if…” he starts to say. I break eye contact and turn back to the sink, trying to finish the dishes before Seth comes back.

“What if what?” Maybe I shouldn’t ask questions I’m not ready to know the answer to. I need another drink. Something stiffer.

Bet he’s got something stiffer.Jesus, get your mind out of there. I’m not following that yellow brick road.

I don’t hear him move around the counter. There’s a silence that fills the air, and my mind starts to wonder if he’s even still there. Should I turn around and look?

Suddenly, the smell of peppermint and cedar takes over my senses. I get goosebumps from my legs up my spine. He’s behind me. I know it.

“What if I kiss this spot on your neck? Would you shiver?” He brushes my long hair over my shoulder. I feel his lips taking the place of his fingers between my ear and my shoulder. It’s the perfect stop. I stay still, sinking into comfort. He places two more kisses down my shoulder before his mouth grazes my ear. I haven’t been touched like this in a long time. Not since Aiden.

“I wonder. What if I were to brush my hand across your stomach to your thighs, would you sink further back to me? Fit your body closer to mine?” I feel his hand heavy on my thigh as his other hand travels across my stomach. I can feel the pressure, taunting me, between fabric and skin. My breath quickens. I can feel my shirt lift, feel a rush of cooler air on my skin. His hand makes its way under my shirt; I can feel the rough pads of his fingertips brushing across my stomach towards my chest. His hand almost skims the bottom of my breast.

His other hand is circling and rubbing against my thigh. A rush of sensation. I want this man to devour and touch every inch of me.

I lift my head to see our reflections in the window. I make eye contact with a pair of icy blue ones; he’s watching me. Why does this turn me on, to be watched? I’m putty in his hands. His eyes never leave me, watching my chest heave as he touches me. He knows exactly what he’s doing to me. His eyes and his hands seem hungry, begging to feast on their prey. I let slip a small moan, letting my body take over. Jackson nips at my ear at the sound, and I sink into him, my hands wrapping around him from behind, using him as leverage. I feel unbalanced, unsteady.

“I wonder, if I reach down, will you be wet for me? Let your body give in, Little Cub. ” His hand travels down but I stop him. I’ve been here before, letting my desire call the shots, and it led to nothing but pain.

I twirl in his arms to stare directly into his eyes. “Keep on wondering, sweetie.”

He wraps his arms around my middle, securing me against the counter. He smiles wickedly and bends down to whisper in my ear. “Little Cub, I plan to make it happen. Take a chance.”

He looks down at me then, those eyes sparkling with curiosity. I start to wonder who’s the hunter and who’s the prey. I feel my cheeks rush with heat. He’s getting closer and closer to my mouth with each second of silence. Lord knows the cobwebs need to be swept. I would love to feel those lips on mine, on my neck, my breasts, all of me. We’re so close. He’s centimeters away from undoing me when a stair creaks and we shoot apart.

I feel flushed, anxious, silently praying that Seth didn’t see anything. I quickly finish the dishes, trying to calm myself.

I can hear Jackson snickering as he sits back on the stool, Seth joining him. “What’d I miss?”

Jackson answers first. “Nothing. I was just asking Tessa if she would let me take her out some time. She turned me down cold.” Seth laughs, but the bullshit story has me panicking, rambling like an idiot.

“Wait, what? No, no. That is not what happened,” I scream, before I remember that Ellie probably just fell asleep.

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