Page 50 of Angel I Am Not

“Good.” I pulled him the last few inches and kissed him.

He surprised me by not meeting me with the same frantic energy that had been building in the room. His mouth settled against mine slowly, almost experimentally, like he wanted to know exactly what the first kiss felt like before deciding what came next. His tongue traced mine once, then he pulled back just far enough to breathe against my lips before kissing me again. The third time lasted longer, his hand sliding along my thigh while the other settled against my waist, and by the fourth I understood what he was doing. Gluttony kissed exactly the way he did everything else. One wasn’t enough when he could have another version of the same thing.

His mouth wandered from mine to the corner of my lips, then along my jaw before returning as if he had decided my mouth was still his favorite. Each kiss felt different, his tongue dragging across my lower lip before he sucked it between his teeth just enough to make me moan. Zel stilled at the sound, and when he kissed me again there was unmistakable satisfaction in the way his fingers tightened on my thigh.

Movement sounded behind him. Zel broke the kiss and turned his head just enough to find Nick halfway across the room, and a low growl rolled through his chest.

“Stay where you are.”

Nick’s brows shot up. “Excuse me?”

Zel shifted his body more fully between us, one hand remaining possessively against my waist. “This feast is mine.”

Something deep in the statement went straight between my legs.

“Oh, for fuck’s sake,” Luc muttered from near the wall.

Zel glanced at him. “Problem?”

“You’ve known her for a few hours and you’re already refusing to share.”

“Correct.”

Nick stared at him like he couldn’t decide whether the territorial bullshit was funny or worth challenging. “You realize she’s our mate too.”

“I’m aware.” Zel looked back down at me, his thumb stroking once along my side. “You’ve had her. Tonight I get to.”

The word mine came out quieter the next time, breathed near my cheek as he kissed along my jaw. It didn’t feel like he was claiming ownership of me over Luc and Nick. It felt like he had finally found something he wanted to savor and was absolutely unwilling to let anyone reach across his plate before he was finished.

Nick took one deliberately annoying step forward, and Zel’s growl deepened.

I started laughing. “You’re all ridiculous.”

Three sets of eyes landed on me at once, and I grinned because apparently I had become the sane person in the room. “You’re posturing over who gets to touch me first like I’m not sitting right here.”

Luc’s attention shifted from Zel to me. “Do you want us to intervene?”

I looked at Zel, at the hunger written all over his face and the way his fingers flexed against my hip. “Nope.”

“Selfish fucking bastard,” Nick muttered as he backed off, though the obvious bulge in his pants made it clear he was still getting something out of the situation.

Zel glanced over his shoulder. “You’ll survive.”

“Easy for you to say when you’re the one about to put your face between her legs.”

Luc caught Nick by the shoulder before he could drift forward again. “She said she wants him.”

“I heard her.” Nick adjusted himself without an ounce of shame before dropping onto the couch beside Luc. “Doesn’t mean I have to be happy about waiting.”

Luc sat beside him with considerably more dignity, which would have been more convincing if his hand hadn’t moved discreetly over the front of his pants.

Zel followed my gaze and smiled. “Like an audience?”

“Maybe.”

“Good. They can watch.”

He kissed me again while his hands slid beneath the hem of my dress, palms warm against my thighs as he worked the fabric upward. He didn’t tear anything or yank it off in a frenzy. He made me lift my arms, dragged it over my head, and tossed it aside before unclasping my bra and letting the straps slide slowly down my arms. When I was bare from the waist up, he stopped and looked.