The women from earlier stand on the other side of the room, lips curled in disgust and envy hardening their gazes.
The plan is working.
It’s embarrassing that it’s now clicking together in my head that this is what Aiden meant by asking if I’m ready.
“They’re jealous, wishing they were you right now.” Aiden’s hand disappears from my chin. He catches the tiny heart zipper and lowers it enough to make room so he can slip his hand beneath my top and squeeze my bare breast.
I suck in a shuddering breath and clench my legs together to dull the pulsing between them. “W-wait.”
He pauses before rolling my hardened nipple between his fingertips. “Do you mean that, or are you just saying the first thing that comes to mind?”
“People are watching.” Heat floods my face, and I pant as he works the sensitive nub, pinching it and going off the sounds I make to figure out what I like the most.
“That’s the point, pretty girl.” He kisses my neck and groans at my mewl. “But you didn’t answer my question.”
I turn my face toward him and lay my hand over his, the thin cotton top of my bunny outfit preventing me from touching him. He raises his head and pauses his ministrations.
“I want another hit.” Maybe it will calm my nerves and I won’t care so much that we’re doing public play. Or perhaps I long to feel his mouth moving against mine again while he plays with my body as if he’s finely tuning it just for him.
A devious grin stretches across his face, and he brings the joint to his mouth. He takes a long drag from it, then smashes his lips against mine. I open for him, not caring about the smoke. Our tongues tangle, and the world falls away once more.
“So fucking sweet,” he mumbles between kisses. He shows my other breast the same attention as the first, the whole timemaking sure the top doesn’t peel back and expose my chest to the crowd.
I hook my arm behind me, locking it around his neck and holding him in place. My skin buzzes with a new sensation, tingling just beneath the surface and warming me by several degrees until I’m burning for this man. I roll my hips, grinding my bottom against his groin. His groan shoots straight to my core, and he shifts, bumping his erection against my ass.
I’m doing this to him. Whether this is all for show, Aiden’s reactions are one hundred percent because ofme. And now I feel like I can fight God.
He ends the kiss and drops his forehead against mine, his swollen lips parted with heavy breaths. I shiver as he slips his hand from my top, zips it up and smooths the collar before brushing his fingers through the hair by my face.
“Nova,” he murmurs, and I feel the longing in those two syllables. “I?—”
“Hey man, keep your dick in your pants for a second,” a male voice shouts over the crowd. The owner rushes toward us with a lopsided smile and waves for Aiden to join him. “You can’t just skip out on sharing a drink with me and the guys. I’m sure yourdatewill still be primed and ready after we’re done hanging out.”
Aiden’s posture stiffens, his eyes narrowing as he turns to the familiar-looking man who looks like he has no life outside of the gym. It wouldn’t shock me if that’s true, what with his wide-set shoulders and chest that tucks into a narrow waist.
“No,” Aiden drawls, lacking emotion in his voice.
The man stops in front of us and rolls his eyes. “Can’t skip out, man. C’mon.”
He grabs Aiden’s shoulder and jerks him from the seat. I drop from his lap with a gasp and tumble forward. Right before I land on my face, an arm hooks around my middle and drags me against a familiar, lean body that smells as sweet as candy.
Aiden tightens his hold on me and glares at the man. “That wasn’t nice, Jake. Apologize to her.”
That’s why he looks familiar. It’s Jake, that overeager guy from the fair.
Jake scoffs and glances at me with a curl of his lip before turning back to Aiden. “She’s fine. She doesn’t need an apology.” His features twist from a humorless laugh. “Besides, I’m sure she’s used to being in that position. Ass up, face down. Preferably hidden, am I right?”
My fingers curl into my palms until my knuckles turn white. I cringe at the foul comment and his disgusting assumptions.
“No, I think I deserve an apology,” I say.
Jake guffaws, refusing to look at me. He stares at Aiden, waiting for my brother’s approval, like I’m nothing more than an animal that doesn’t deserve respect.
“What’s with her headphones, anyway?” Jake laughs and smacks the back of his hand against Aiden’s shoulder. “You really chose an odd one, man. She can’t handle a bit of music?”
Aiden’s laughter starts soft and increases, raising the hair on my arms and sending a chill down my spine. Jake’s smile falters, and fear trickles into his gaze as my brother steps forward and drops his arm from around me. He catches Jake’s wrist and, in a blink, Aiden has him bent over in front of him, screaming in pain as he holds his arm behind his back.
Aiden’s smile sharpens, his kind eyes losing their spark and appearing dead as he ratchets Jake’s wrist at a tighter angle. “What are you screaming for, man? I thought we were laughing. Why aren’t you laughing?”
