Page 24 of Ready or Knot
“Yes,” I manage to whisper.
His hand moves from my chin and runs down the length of my throat, his thumb nestling into the hollow above my collar bone. I lick my lips, and his gaze flicks down, growing more intense as he watches.
I want to kiss him. I’ve already kissed Logan, and Carter’s had his hands all over me. But both seem to pale in the light of Jude’s attention fixed on me, his singular focus making heat pulse in my core and my scent grow stronger even with the suppressors. He turns us before I can decide to make the first move, pressing me against the counter, encouraging my legs apart and stepping into the space created between them.
“You smell like jasmine,” he mutters, lowering his lips to mine but not quite kissing me. “It’s so fucking faint, but it’s all I can focus on. It makes me wonder what you’ll smell like when you stop the suppressors.”
My pulse throbs in my ears. “I’ve...never been off of them.”
He brushes his nose with mine, moving his hand until he can run his thumb along the column of my throat. “You said that last night.”
I manage a breathless laugh. “Yeah, I did.”
His lips part like he’s going to say something else, but I close the minimal distance between our mouths, pressing into him as my eyes flutter shut so I can focus on the feel of his lips. He takes a half step into me, his hips pressing into my belly, and deepens the kiss, tracing the edge of my lower lip with his tongue until I open for him. The spicy scent of musk permeates the air around me, overwhelming my soft jasmine, and I groan, leaning into him and wrapping my hands around his neck.
I’m thoroughly breathless when he pulls away, cupping my face in both hands, his green eyes intent on me. His voice full of desire, he says, “You didn’t want to knot here. I need to stop.”
My thighs clench even as I nod. His nostrils flare as another small bit of jasmine layers in with the musk, and he groans, pushing his erection harder into my belly. I scrape my hands down his chest, enjoying the way he groans and tightens his grip on my face.
“God damn it,” he mutters before kissing me again, his movements dominating my own. He trails his touch down my arms and thighs, gripping them and lifting me onto the counter without hesitation, guiding my legs around his hips. The change lets him grind into me, and I moan into his kiss, clutching at his sides. He palms my throat, his thumb and finger resting just under my ears, and a wave of heat rushes through me.
“Not to be the asshole,” Carter says from behind Jude, “but she has somewhere to be in an hour, and she absolutely cannot be late.”
Jude mutters a curse against my lips as he pulls away. My cheeks are warm, and the blush spreads down my neck when I see Carter standing next to Logan a few feet away, arms crossed over his chest, already dressed in an expertly tailored navy suit. At least Logan isn’t ready yet. Jude kisses me again, a lingering press of our lips that makes my heart race and my scent surface again.
One of them groans, and I blush even as Jude whispers in my ear, “Good morning.” He runs a hand down my thigh, tracing some of the darker freckles on my knee before stepping away. Without a glance to his pack, he flips off Carter and closes the door to the other room. Logan shakes his head and grabs his suitcase from beside the couch.
“Go get ready, Red,” he says after grabbing a toiletry bag. “You’ll have to save our greetings for later.”
I laugh and slip off the counter, heading towards the other half of the suite and the bathroom where my dress has been hanging all night.
Before I close the door, I glance over my shoulder, catching Carter messing up Logan’s hair as they both laugh.
Smiling, I say, “I’ll make sure to write down the rain checks so I don’t forget.”
* * *
“I should warn you that my family can be overwhelming,” I say. I twist a strand of hair around my finger as the line of cars inch forward, following the poor faculty stuck on traffic duty.
Logan smiles as he pulls into the parking garage, his fingers tapping on the steering wheel.
“Can’t be any worse than the parents I deal with,” he says. “Especially the ones that are convinced their kids should go pro when the kid isn’t interested in the sport half as much.”
I grimace but shake my head. “Aiden is a wildcard, though I think he’s tired enough from med school still that he’ll be decent. Dad is pretty relaxed unless something makes him worried about me or my brother. But my mom is a lot. She has been for as long as I can remember.”
The words tumble out faster the farther into the explanation I get. Sighing, I pull my finger from the looped hair and comb it out before tucking it behind my ear and pulling down the car’s mirror to check my makeup again.
“You look great, Red,” Logan says, grabbing my knee.
“Your family sounds pretty normal, Faedra,” Carter says, tucking his phone away while Logan pulls into a spot and turns off the car. “We’re excited to meet them.”
Nerves flutter low in my belly. “Um... You should know that my mom’s really worried about the age gap. My dad was nicer about it but was still pretty shocked.”
Jude grunts. “How old are they?”
I close my eyes. “Forty-seven and forty-nine. They’re two years apart, almost to the day.”
Carter curses. “Should’ve seen that coming.”