Just His Taste (13 page)

Pulling back from this amazing woman was the hardest thing he'd done. He pushed her off him, just enough that he could see her eyes.

Because he couldn't let his need overtake his common sense.

“Wait, Ava. Wait.”

“What's wrong?” she asked, her eyes wide, and she looked very frail all of a sudden. Far different from the motorcycle-riding girl he'd met a few days ago.

“I have to stop you. Because if I don't now, I won't be able to.”

“Why do you want to stop? Did I do something wrong?” She gritted her teeth. “It's the wings. I can make them—”

He pressed a finger over her lips. “I couldn't give a fuck about your wings. I want to be sure that you don't have any doubts. My control's on a hair's trigger, sweetheart, and if—”

She stopped him with a kiss. “I want this.”

“Good.”

With a wave of her hand, the bodysuit she wore disappeared.

Revealing nothing.

Nothing but bare skin. Soft, pale skin.

Holy hell. He might have died and gone to heaven. She was the most beautiful thing he'd ever seen. Her hair cascaded over her shoulders, her lips parted, her eyes dark with desire.

Jason had to touch her. He ran his hands over her stomach, feeling her waist, her hips, her ribs, then up to the sides of those amazing breasts he'd been dreaming of touching without any barrier between them. He ran his hands over the swells, his thumbs teasing the nipples, and Ava arched into his hands.

He ground his hips into hers, making her buck. He ran one hand down her stomach to her center, and started caressing that little zone, and she bucked harder.

So hard she fell forward, a grin on her face.

“Have you ever been blown by a fairy?”

“Nope.”

She reached in between them and cupped his cock through the shorts. Bridging, he helped her slide the shorts off until he was as bare as she was. Their bodies bumped as she moved down him, pressing kisses on his belly, until she reached her prize.

She started to tease, playing with his cock with her fingers. Then her tongue started to explore, and he about lost it right then and—

Okay, right
then
…

He groaned, rocked his hips into her. She sighed, taking him deeper inside her mouth.

Oh God…

“Ava,” he managed to groan. He put his hands on her face and pulled her away.

“Hey,” she said with a pout, “I wasn't done with that.”

“Believe me, baby. You're done. I got much better plans.” He pulled her to him and they started to kiss. Her tongue slid against his, and he groaned when he felt her hips and her girl parts slide over his cock.

He started to rise, gently guiding Ava upright.

“Oh no,” she said, “I'm having fun with this.” She reached between them, grabbed his cock and impaled herself, letting out a cry as she did.

Jason muffled a curse. He'd never felt anything like that before. Tight. Deep. Fit him like a glove.

Her wings fluttered as she slowly rolled her hips against his.

Up on his elbows, Jason matched her slow pace, pushing back into her, and moaned as she kept control. All he wanted to do was slam into her with everything he had, but this was all her. He couldn't remember the last time a woman was so much in charge of him.

He liked it.

A lot.

Her eyes glazed over in desire and her hair fell over her shoulders—even her wings pumped against him. It was like an erotic fantasy painting come to life.

Her tempo increased, and her body started to shudder, the wings stretching out to their full width, the feathers spreading like long fingers. One side of her wings stuck out from under the gazebo, the rain hitting the feathers.

She cried out, and her insides contracted around Jason, squeezing him in all the right ways.

Yeah…oh yeah. This.

When she stopped squeezing him, she fell forward, her skin damp.

He ran his hand down her side. “Feeling better?”

“I'm good,” she said. “And you—oh…” She put her hand between them and felt how hard he still was.

As fun as that was, now it was time for Jason to have a little fun as well. “I have a question.”

“What's that?”

He rolled her back a bit. “If I throw you on your back and fuck the shit out of you, will it hurt your wings?”

She gulped.

“Will it?”

“Um, uh, no. I, uh…I can uh…”

He didn't give her time to spit out whatever it was she was trying to say. He rolled her over, positioning himself between her legs, stretching those amazing legs onto his shoulders, and he shoved into her.

She cried out. He groaned.

And it was on.

He slammed into her with all he had, and she cried out, her arms at her sides, gripping the edges of the wings like she was holding on. She made heady noises with every thrust. Each sound went straight to his arousal, tensing everything in all the right ways.

He felt her starting to squeeze again. It propelled him faster toward his own explosion. She came first, shattering around him.

About to explode, Jason had an attack of conscience.

He jerked out of her just before coming. Thanked his lucky stars he'd had a tiny bit of rationality left in his brain, before getting a fairy pregnant.

Ava popped her head up. “What happened?”

“I didn't—no condom.”

She blinked at him. And a big grin spread over her face. “Oh, Jason, humans can't get fairies pregnant!”

Chapter Twenty-Five

Sunday Morning

Ava stretched her arms and her wings. She glanced over her shoulder to steal a glimpse of Jason—bedroom rock god. And with that sexy tattoo on his arm, the sex appeal jumped a notch.

She probably could get his attention…

No, let the man rest.

He'd been very, very busy all night. It took two attempts to actually make it to the bedroom, and once they were there, Jason revealed he had a bit of kink, which she liked.

She rubbed her wrists, noticing that the little marks were starting to disappear.

I must get him some padded handcuffs.

She should feel guilty.

Hugely.

Monumentally guilty for sleeping with her charge.

But she didn't.

Maybe a few days ago, she would have. But not now. Talking with him before, back in the gazebo, she'd realized that regardless of how things turned out, she was going to lose her Fairy Godmother standing.

Once it got out that Cupid had helped her cases and had been sleeping with her? She was hosed. No way around it.

She could play victim—play up the whole he-drugged-me angle, but, really, what good would it do? Ava still agreed to his advances. Potion or not, she could have resisted, at least tried, anyway.

She just hoped it didn't get horribly messy when it all came out. That her fellow fairies wouldn't be dragged down because of her bad choices.

Looking around the bedroom, she expected Duncan to show up at any time, tell her how she was being a bad girl who was in serious trouble.

But so far, no Duncan.

She felt a tug at her wing.

“Feeling better?” Jason asked.

She nodded. “It's amazing what some really awesome sex will do for your attitude.”

He sat up and tried to slide an arm around her from behind, but couldn't.

“Sorry, I can tuck them in,” Ava said.

“Doesn't matter,” Jason said. He climbed off the bed and came around to face her. Leaned over and kissed her, pushing her back down onto the bed. He covered her, and their legs dangled off the edge of the bed. “This works too.”

She smirked. “You don't mind the wings?”

He shrugged. “They are part of you. I grant you, they do take some finagling around.” He pressed a kiss on her lips. “But I can deal with it.”

Tears filled her eyes. It shouldn't have been a big thing, Jason not minding her wings, but it was. A completely, hugely massive thing that touched her so deeply it startled her. Cupid had always made her feel less than worthy because of her wings. He never wanted to see them.

To think a male wouldn't mind them…

“What is this?” Jason asked, stroking a rogue tear that slid down her cheek.

She shook her head.

He touched her chin. “Ava?”

“You don't mind my wings.”

He shrugged in this exaggerated way. “Well, you know, if I gotta…”

She grinned. “Ass.”

He winked and ran his hand over her shoulder, then touched the wing, stroking the top of it.

She smiled, watching. “So what do you want to do today?”

“It's Sunday. I have no plans.” He continued playing with the edge of the wing.

“Sounds like fun.”

After another rather interesting game of bed sport, Ava and Jason dressed, and she dragged him to a diner she knew.

“I have always wanted to try some food here,” Ava said. The diner, done in a 50s retro theme, smelled of all those amazing American dishes that made Ava's stomach growl as soon as she walked in the door.

“I've never noticed this place before,” Jason said as they took a seat on a metallic-green vinyl booth. A small jukebox sat on the table, but when Ava pressed a few buttons, no music came out.

“How'd you find out about this place?” Jason asked as he pulled a menu from behind the jukebox. He handed one to Ava and took one for himself.

“One of my old charge's grandkids opened the place. The food smelled amazing, and I always wanted to check it out.”

“You keep track of your charges after you're done?”

She shrugged. “I don't have a spreadsheet of family trees or anything.” She looked away when she spoke because, well, she just might be lying.

“You don't?”

“Okay, so I do… I just like to know that they're all doing okay.” She waved her hand. “Besides, this place is cute.”

He nodded. “You just want to support.”

“Exactly.”

“So why haven't you?” Jason asked.

She shrugged. “Didn't want to go by myself.”

He smiled. “Well, I am happy to accompany you.”

A waitress came up and they ordered their food—eggs for Jason, a burger for Ava. The waitress brought their drinks as they visited.

“So how did you…” Jason asked, waving his hand as he spoke.

“My parents were…” She let the words hang in the air, and he nodded. “When I was of age, I was given a choice. I could follow in their footsteps, or I could have a normal life.”

“How old were you when you picked this?”

“Twenty. Then I trained for fifteen years.”

“Wow. That's serious training.”

“It's part of the path. You have to, for one, be sure. Because it's a very long job. So training takes a while. And two, some people may not be cut out for it.” The words were heavy, and, again, frustration filled her over Cupid's meddling in her work. Yet if Cupid's interference had been revealed years ago, she wouldn't be here with Jason.

And Jason was the only good thing about this coming to light now. Because if her sentence was banishment, at least—well, maybe—she'd be able to spend more time with him. If he wanted her around, that is.

She hoped he would. After all, they were rather compatible—at least in the bedroom.

But she was smart enough to know, no matter how much fun their bed sport was, it didn't always mean they could be
together
.

“So what happens to the ones who shouldn't be there?” Jason asked.

“It depends on the case. Some are moved to different areas. Others are, shall we say, released, with benefits or without.”

“So you get paid for this?” Jason asked.

“Yes and no. It's magic. I can get whatever I need. Like my friend Christy? She's due for retirement, and so's her husband. So when she finishes with her case, she'll be able to retire. Her record is spotless, so she'll get the highest possible benefits.”

“Like what?”

“She'll get her pick of a home, money, job, those kinds of things.”

“So they do place you when you retire.”

“If you're Christy, yes. Me? With all this stuff? I don't know. I would count myself lucky if I were handed a twenty-dollar bill and told to figure it out.”

“Well,” he said, “if you are, come to me. I will help you any way I can.”

Ava felt her cheeks warm.

Jason's attention darted to the door. A glint of light flashed across their table.

“Thank you. I appreciate that,” she said.

“No problem,” he said, staring at the new arrivals.

Ava turned.

Well, look who walked in.
“Interesting,” Ava whispered. Through the door came Tessa and Lucas, and not looking very broken up, either.

“Can you, uh, cloak me or something, so she doesn't see me here?”

Ava smirked. “Sure, I can do that.” Ava materialized her wand and with a quick flick of her wrist, a shimmer swelled around Jason, making him look a bit different. Darker hair, deeper complexion. Just enough that he didn't look like himself, but not enough that anyone else would notice the change.

Jason glanced at his hands. “Am I invisible?”

She shook her head. “No.” She pushed the chrome napkin holder to him.

“Oh wow,” Jason said, touching his face. “Now that's a cool trick.” He kept staring at himself. “I'm different, but I'm not.”

“Put the napkins down,” Ava whispered. “People are going to start staring at you.”

Jason set them down and looked just past Ava's shoulder.

She turned.

Lucas and Tessa had sat at the booth just behind them.

Jason raised his eyebrow. “Did you?”

She shook her head. “Not this time.” Yet she couldn't help smiling at the twist.

At least, maybe, we could figure out what was really going on between them,
Ava mused. She hadn't been playing both sides of this, like usual. Of course, part of that had to do with not being able to stand Tessa.

Ava and Jason's conversation came to a standstill as Tessa and Lucas started speaking.

“I don't know why we had to come out and discuss this,” Lucas said to Tessa. “We could have done this at home.”

Ava glanced at Jason and mouthed, “At home?”

Jason shrugged.

“Because at home, you and I would have been yelling at each other. In public, neither of us will cause a scene.”

“We went over this last night,” Lucas said. “What else is there to say?”

Silence.

“What were they doing last night?” Ava whispered to Jason.

Jason leaned closer. “They had talked at one point, but I don't know what about.” He very quickly, and quietly, explained about his date last night.

“Jason wants to start dating me again,” Tessa said, jarring their attention.

“What?” Lucas burst. “You tell him no!”

“Why should I? Jason is a nice guy, Lucas. He doesn't fight with me all the time. He doesn't tell me what to do. And he always did what I said.”

“That's because he was a damn wimp. And that's why you left him.”

“Possibly. But he's not anymore.”

“Are you sleeping with him?”

“Does it matter?”

“Yes.”

“Oh, and you're not sleeping with all the floozies I've seen you with over the last few months.”

“We broke up. You didn't want to have anything to do with me.”

“Is it wrong that I don't want to constantly fight?” Tessa said, her voice cracking. She coughed, and her voice dropped. “You don't
listen
to me.”

“Because you're not always right, Tessa,” Lucas said. “You are smart, beautiful, witty, amazing in so many ways, but not everything is yours to control! I have a brain. I can use it. And as much as I love you, and have always loved you, I will not let you turn me into your whipping boy, like you did Gregorian.”

Jason's eyebrows went up.

Ava put her hand over her mouth. “Is that true?” she whispered to Jason.

“I d-d-didn't think it was that bad, but she
was
bossy.” Jason—or rather, facsimile Jason—didn't look very proud admitting that.

Ava reached across the table and patted his hand. He squeezed her fingers. She took a sip of her soda, sucking the drink down as she focused on Tessa and Lucas. She wanted to hug Jason, but didn't want anyone to notice her, or him, if at all possible.

“At least he would do what I said. Unlike
some people
.” Tessa's voice had gotten a touch loud as the waitress delivered Jason and Ava's food.

“Because I don't take the route you think is best to go someplace? Or I use a different virus software on my laptop? Or I don't put the dishes away exactly like you would? Tessa, nobody can be you.
You
are you. I am
me
. If you want a clone of yourself, fine. I hear they're doing that in Austria. Go. Have fun. I'm a person. And I will do things my way. You have to understand that.”

Ava didn't turn, but she heard a sniffle come from behind them, and Jason's hands tensed as he held his fork, hovering in midair over his plate.

“Put your fork down,” Ava whispered.

Jason didn't move.

She reached across the table and touched his hand, which made Jason jerk his attention to her. Gently, she guided his hand down.

His gaze turned to the tabletop, and an embarrassed smile passed over his face.

“Quit obsessing about his life, and focus on mine,” Tessa said very softly.

“Exactly,” Lucas said.

Ava sat up straighter and glanced at Jason, who beamed at Tessa's words.

“You said that,” she mouthed at him.

He grinned.

And the booth jostled. Ava turned and saw Lucas climbing into the booth next to Tessa, where they embraced and started to kiss.

“Looks like they're getting back together,” Ava said.

Jason fiddled with his meal. “Yeah. Looks that way. So what does that do to you?”

Ava reached across the table and touched his hand. “I don't know.”