Page 15 of Defiant Princess

As her arms go around my neck and her breasts press against my chest, I realize I would happily give up several years of my life to keep her here, tight against me, with her tongue sweeping against mine. Then she makes one of those sexy little hungry sounds in the back of her throat and it’s all I can do not to take her right here on the grass.

I want her so badly, my cock is practically ripping a hole through the front of my jeans.

“Let’s go to the woods, find a place to be alone,” I murmur against her lips as the kiss grows hotter, deeper. “I need you, Jules. I need you so fucking much.”

“I want you, too,” she says, rubbing against my erection while the smell of her salty heat rises all around us, making my head spin. “But we have to stay focused on the reason we’re here.”

“We’re here to start a new life,” I say, gripping her ass and pulling her even closer to where I ache. “And pleasure should be part of that. Haven’t we both had enough pain?” I trail kisses down her neck, dragging my teeth over her skin as I go. “I just want to make you feel good, baby. I swear. Right now, that’s the only thing on my agenda.”

“I…can’t,” she says, but I feel her resolve weakening as the fire between us burns hotter.

“You can,” I tease, nipping her ear as I cup her breast through her sweater and drag my thumb over her tight nipple. “I believe in you, Juliet Zion. You can do anything you set your mind to. And I promise, I won’t take it too seriously. It can just be a little casual fucking between friends.”

I’m lying, of course. Nothing about the way I feel about Juliet is casual, but right now I’m willing to say whatever it takes to get her to let down her guard. As the only party with fated mate feelings, I’m the only one who would be hurt. And at this point, I’m pretty sure this woman is going to shatter my heart into pieces before she’s finished, anyway.

Might as well enjoy the ride before she strikes the final blow.

“I can’t.” She pulls back far enough to meet my gaze and presses a hand to my chest. “I’ve never. I…” She bites her bottom lip, seeming to steel herself before she adds in a firmer voice, “I’m guessing it would be pretty hard to keep my first time casual.”

My next breath catches in my chest and every last bit of blood in my body rushes to my cock. The primal need to be her first, her only, is so strong, so heady that for a second, I think I might actually pass out.

Then she widens her eyes and hisses, “Don’t. Don’t go getting all weird and Alpha about this.”

“I wasn’t,” I lie again.

If I’m not careful this could become a habit.

“Yes, you are,” she says. “But if we have sex, that’s all it will be. Sex. Not your magical fated cock claiming my pussy in sweet lovemaking for all time or any of that bullshit, okay?” She swallows and pushes on my chest, stepping fully out of my arms. “And we should definitely wait until after the trials. I need to stay focused on getting stronger and, once my implant is gone, learning to shift.”

“So, you’re saying my cock will distract you?”

“Maybe,” she says, the confession enough to make hope rush through me. It isn’t much, but it’s more than she was willing to admit an hour ago.

“Don’t you think you’ll be more distracted by wanting what you’ve told yourself you can’t have?” I ask, fighting the urge to drag her close again. I have to let her come to me. With Juliet, the more you reach for her, the faster she flits away. “Could be head-clearing to go ahead and come on my cock and have the anticipation out of the way.”

“Or, your dick becomes my new toy, and I can’t stop playing with it long enough to take care of business,” she says. “And if I die because I was distracted by your horniness, you’ll feel bad.”

The words are cold water tossed in my face. “You’re not going to die.”

“People have died before,” she says. “That night I was searching the dark web for dirt on Lost Moon, I saw posts from parents who’d lost their kids during the trials and wanted help getting the school shut down. The administration does their best to keep that kind of stuff quiet, but it happens.”

“It’s not going to happen to you,” I promise. “I won’t let it.” And then because jokes are one of the only ways she’ll let me in I add, “And it’sourhorniness. Not just mine. Throw me a bone, woman, and admit the lust is mutual, okay?”

Her lips hook up on one side. “Fine. Consider the bone thrown. I want to do bad things to you, too, but I want to do themafterwe’re in. If we don’t get in, taking Hammer down is going to be a hell of a lot harder. And I’d like to avoid doing things the hard way for once, if possible.”

I nod. “Agreed.” I take another step back and lift my hands in surrender. “No more funny stuff until we’re officially students.”

She glances down at my still furiously swollen cock with a mixture of amusement and appreciation that does nothing to make this easier. “You might want to take care of that and rinse off before you rejoin polite company.”

“Same to you,” I say. “You smell like you’re desperate for dick. No offense. Just honest concern from a friend and future fuck buddy.”

To my relief, she laughs. “Fair. I’ll sneak up to the dorm showers while everyone’s at lunch.” She eases back a step, adding in a flirty voice, “And take care of myself before I rinse off.”

I curse beneath my breath, “Don’t tell me you’re going to think of me while you do it, or I might not be able to go jump in the ocean, as planned.”

She smiles, a wicked grin that proves this woman will be the death of me. “Okay, I won’t tell you, then. See you behind the museum later.”

Then she turns and walks away, her ass swaying in her jeans making my mouth go dry. I’m about to warn her to be careful, but I don’t want to remind her of all the reasons to be afraid or to ruin her fun in the shower. I want her to have that fun, that release, and I want her to think of me every second her fingers are between her pretty legs.

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