“Out in the hall. She asked Aria and me if you were attending tonight. Is it because of what happened between you two here last Christmas?”
Discomfort rode me. “I … I made the mistake of sleeping with her a few months ago. Before Sarah, of course.”
“Oh, mate.” North shook his head.
“I know. It was the worst experience of my life.”
He raised an eyebrow, male curiosity gleaming in his eyes. “Really?”
“I almost admire the fact that after she came, she announced she wanted to be done, thus killing my erection, but then she acted like she’d claimed me somehow and warned me off a friend who apparently had a crush on me. I realized I’d been used to stroke her ego, and you can imagine how that went down with my pride.”
North snorted. “Why does that not surprise me?”
“I don’t want to think about it. Or her. She’s nothing to me.” I craned my neck to see past guests. “Is Aria intending to bring Sarah back to me anytime soon?”
“Seriously? She’sitfor you now?”
I narrowed my eyes. “Is Ariaitfor you?”
“Aye, but we both know I was always a monogamist. Or do you not remember mocking me mercilessly about it?”
My lips twitched. “I do remember.”
“But as long as I’ve known you, you’ve never had sex with the same woman more than a couple of times.”
“Just because I’m an acolaust doesn’t mean I can’t be faithful to just one woman. Especially when that woman satisfies me in every way.”
North chuckled. “Fine.” Then he frowned. “What’s an acolaust?”
“Sarah would know,” I repeated my words from earlier.
“Sarah would know what?” Her soft voice caressed my nape seconds before she rounded me to stand at my side.
Just the sight of her eased something within. Seriously, I should be terrified by her effect on me. Instead, I replied, “What an acolaust means.”
Her cheeks immediately flushed pink, and I chuckled as I reached out to caress my thumb over her cheekbone. “I’ll take that to mean you do.”
“Would someone like to tell me?” North shrugged, grinning at us like we were the most entertaining thing he’d ever seen.
“It means to enjoy indulging in sensual pleasures,” Sarah responded first, her cheeks blooming even pinker.
My friend chuckled. “Ah. I see.” He eyed Sarah as if he’d never seen her before and I felt a prickle of unnecessary jealousy. Then he glanced away and around the room. “Sarah, do you know what happened to Aria?”
“She got pulled away while I was talking with Mr. Ad—I mean, Lachlan. While I was talking to Lachlan.” At my questioning stare, she shrugged, blushing harder. “He wanted to congratulate me on my success and asked me to call him Lachlan.”
“Did he?” I murmured through clenched teeth.
“I’m off to find my fiancée.” North clapped me hard on the chest and said under his breath, “Don’t be an ass.”
I shrugged him off but did my best to rein in my possessiveness.
And by best, I mean I pulled Sarah into my side as soon as North left. My hands roamed her waist as she settled against me, her expression questioning. “Contrectation.”
Sarah nodded, a small smile on her lips. “An impulse to caress.”
“It also refers to touching in relation to sexual foreplay.”
“Do you know all the dirty unusual words?” she teased.
