“Ass!” Poppy tried to ram me with her elbow, but all she ended up doing was jamming it into her own side with a grunt.
I laughed. “Nice.”
“I’m about to show you nice,” she growled.
I sighed. “You’re back to sounding like an angry feral kitten.”
“You’re so fuck—”
“Able?”
Her brows pinched together. “What?”
“Fuckable.”
“Oh, my gods.” Rolling her eyes, she flopped onto her back with the grace of alamaea. The cream blanket had slipped, drawing my gaze down to the faded scar between her breasts. A shudder went through me, and I locked up. In a heartbeat, I saw her tangled in roots, bleeding out before me.
“Cas?” She touched my shoulder.
Blinking, I pushed down the blade-sharp panic. “Poppy?”
“You okay?”
I exhaled slowly, watching as she lowered her arm. My gaze followed the movement over the rise of her breasts and then below, exposing the pink tips. “I’m perfect.”
“You sure?” Doubt crept into her voice.
“I’m staring at your nipples,” I said. “So, yeah, I’m sure.”
“Cas.” She sighed, her tone flat despite how her scent increased. “How aboutbeforeyou were staring at them?”
“Before?” I drew my lip between my teeth and watched the buds harden. “I was thinking about how I’m going to punish you.”
“What?”
“For waking me,” I reminded her. “With your ass.”
“Oh, my gods.” She turned her head, but I saw her grin. My lips turned upward.
Neither of our grins lasted. It was almost as if she suddenly remembered what had happened yesterday in the minutes after waking because I felt it the moment she did. Her grief was tangy with undercurrents of acidic anger and…something else. Something bitter.
Her walls went up then, shutting me out. I wasn’t sure she even realized she knew how to shield her emotions. It was probably something she did without even thinking.
“We should get up,” she said, rolling away from me. “A lot probably needs to be addressed.”
Poppy pushed up, baring that ass. Lust fisted deep in my stomach.
She froze and glanced over her shoulder at me. Her gaze touched mine and then drifted downward, to where I knew my erection was tenting the blanket. The flush returned to her cheeks as the warm, heady scent of jasmine increased. Her gaze snapped back to mine, and the colors shrank to churning flecks.
Fuck.
Moving fast, I snagged her around the waist and hauled her against my front. “Do you remember what I promised when you were in the bath?”
Those plump, pink lips parted, and her scent grew stronger.
“Oh, yeah. You remember.” I nipped her ear, causing her to jerk. “And I know how I’m going to punish you.” I shifted her so she was half on her side and half on her stomach, then hooked an arm under her thigh and lifted it. “Though I know you’ll enjoy it.”
“Cas—” Her protests ended in a moan as I entered her.
