No.
Come on, Jo. You can do this.
I take a deep breath. Be a rebel, I tell myself. I’m not going to just stand here like an idiot hoping he’ll approach me. I’m going to be bold. I can do this.
I take a step forward when a voice behind me stops me in my tracks. “I wouldn’t waste my time on Cameron Bailey if I were you.”
I whirl around, a scowl on my face as my eyes land on a boy hovering close behind me. “He’s a lynx. Small cat. Small dick,” he says, a savage grin on his face.
“Who said I was interested in his dick?” I ask, quirking a brow. And okay, yeah, maybe I am, but I don’t have to admit it to this guy. Whoever the hell he is.
He snorts. “With a body like yours in a dress like that, you’re looking for something, and it’s not cookies at a bake sale. My money is on dick.”
I roll my eyes. Jerk. “Maybe I just wanted to feel pretty.”
He licks his lips, his eyes roving over my body in obvious appreciation. “Nah. You already know you’re pretty. You want something else.” His dark gaze is challenging as he boldly steps forward, our chests almost touching. A wave of heat floods through me at his proximity, and I take a second to drink him in. He’s not just cute like the other guy. He’s hot. He has dark brown hair and equally dark eyes that lift the smallest amount at the corners. He’s Hispanic. Not Mexican, though. His jawline is sharp. His brows angular. Not Brazilian like me either.
Honduran, maybe Guatemalan if I had to guess. Latin American for sure, there’s a little too much indigenous in his features to be Spaniard but I don’t bother asking to confirm.
Dressed in low-slung jeans and a form-fitting black shirt, it does nothing to hide his muscular body. He’s most likely a shifter. No surprise there. He definitely has the confident swagger of one.
I force my feet to stay rooted as he towers over my tiny frame. He’s much taller than me, maybe six feet. I have to tilt my head back to meet his stare, and a part of me itches to reach up on tiptoe and close the distance between our mouths, the blond boy all but forgotten thanks to his arrival.
My chest rises and falls with each of my breaths. My heart suddenly eager to beat out of my chest. I’ve never reacted to a boy like this. It’s…intoxicating.
The corners of his lips quirk as if he knows exactly what I’m thinking and more surprising, he acts, closing the space between our lips, his mouth pressing firmly against mine. I gasp and he takes full advantage, his tongue exploring my mouth as the taste of sweet oranges and chili explodes across my tastebuds. I moan into his mouth, unable to stop my reaction to him. Man, can he kiss.
He growls in the back of his throat—definitely a shifter—and one of his hands grips my hip while the other tangles in my curly hair as he pulls me closer, our bodies pressed tight against one another, and everything else around me disappears.
Hoots and hollers to get a room cut through the fog of desire and I pull back, breaking the kiss. He releases me with obvious reluctance, his hand still firmly on my hip and a stunned expression on his face.
I’m breathing heavy, my heart racing. That was…I don’t know what the hell that was, but I’ve never been kissed like that. Never felt the need to clench my thighs together and curl my toes. Was it the same for him? I swallow hard and chew on my bottom lip. His gaze locks on my mouth and he licks his lips, my eyes tracking the movement. My hand reaches up almost as if it has a mind of its own, and my fingers curl into the fabric of his shirt, needing to ground myself.
“You still want pretty boy over there?” he asks, tilting his head toward…what was his name?
I shake my head. Hell, no. I want him. This guy right here. If I’m going to lose my virginity to anyone, it should be him. Someone who makes me feel lightheaded after just one kiss.
“Good.”
Without another word he reaches for my hand and tugs on me to follow as he weaves his way through the crowd, heading toward a cabin tucked behind a group of trees. “Where are we going?” I ask, my voice coming out a little breathless, my lips still tingling from our kiss.
“Somewhere quiet,” he says over his shoulder.
I’m suddenly nervous. We’re going somewhere quiet, which is good. Right? It’s what I want. Only I don’t even know this guy. Then again, that is kind of the point of tonight. Only…God. Come on, Joaninha. Stop being such a worrier. You’re not some defenseless human. You’re a hydrokinetic for chrissake. I can feel the river close by. If he tries anything I don’t like, I can defend myself.
Reaching the cabin, he opens the door and we both slip inside. The room is dark, except for some outside light filtering in through the sheer curtains. He drags me toward a sofa and sits before he tugs me down beside him.
The room is silent except for our breathing. I sit stiffly beside him, my fingers still laced with his as my eyes adjust to the darkness. His thumb rubs lazy circles across the back of my hand, then he shifts to face me.
“Everything okay?” I ask when he doesn’t speak.
“Yeah, just breathing you in.” He leans forward, his nose trailing along my neck. “Your scent is intoxicating.”
I swallow hard. If I didn’t think he was a shifter before...
He pulls me closer. “Come here.” He tugs me onto his lap, my thighs straddling his waist. His length presses against my core and I’m barely able to restrain myself from grinding against him.
He trails a finger along the side of my face, down my neck, and settles it along the hollow of my throat. There’s something strangely intimate about the caress. “What’s your name?”
