Dammit. I wanted to hold his hands, to reassure him physically. But I couldn't because of this farce.
"I don't care how much dating experience you have," I said. "That was exactly what I needed to hear, Taylor. Thank you."
He blushed again. This time, it didn't immediately disappear off his face.
I edged closer to him, almost as much as the chains would allow. When I reached the end of them, I was practically on top of the gilded pole separating us. I cursed the damn thing. I wished I was on top of Taylor instead.
From this distance, the scent of him flooded my nose. A shiver went down my spine. He was absolutely delectable. I wanted to bury my face in his neck, his chest, even his armpits… I wanted to taste the salt of his skin on my tongue, to run my fingers through his hair and across his body.
Taylor's scent flicked a switch in my mind. My instincts flared up. My cock twitched in my pants.
I exhaled shakily, trying to calm myself down. This was being filmed. I had to remember that. I couldn't look like a lust-crazed dragon on TV… Unless that was exactly what the producers wanted. Wasn't that the point of this silly game?
I met Taylor's gaze. He seemed to notice the change in me. There was a glassy film over his eyes, similar to what I saw last night during our secret meeting.
"Holding up?" Taylor asked. That was code for,can you keep it in your pants?
"Well enough," I replied. "What about you?"
"I'm fine."
But I knew well enough that he wasn't fine. I heard the stiffness in his voice. It wasn't something the audience or anyone else would pick up on. Nobody except me.
Upon closer inspection, I noticed Taylor had inched closer to me, too. His legs nearly brushed up against the pole.
I wished I could replace the damn thing withmypole…
The thought sent another tingle of arousal through my body. I clenched my eyes shut and breathed.
Seriously, Crimson? Getting horny on TV?
This wasn't like me at all. I was calm. Collected.
Taylor did something to me. I felt deranged over him.
Being this close to him while touching was barred was absolutely torturous. I'd rather have my claws clipped off one by one.
A draconic growl built in my throat. My dragon soul stirred, pacing restlessly. It wanted to burst free and claim what was mine.
And Taylorwasmine.
Taylor cleared his throat, wrenching me back to reality. "So. Collected any new suits lately?"
The mention of my hoard perked me up. I met his gaze, blinking away the haze of arousal.
Taylor understood what was happening to me. He'd seen my horny side last night. He must've recognized what was happening right now, and he knew me well enough to distract me from getting worse.
"The last one was… about a month ago," I said.
"What color was it?"
"Deep navy, almost black in certain lighting."
"Sounds nice. I'd like to see it," Taylor said with a smile that melted me.
"I'll show it to you sometime," I promised. "As long as you show me more of your quilts."
Taylor's eyes widened. A gentle, honest look came over his expression. Just like he'd appealed to my passion, I appealed to his. I wanted him to know that I remembered every single thing he told me, and I always would.
