The Nymph's Curse: The Collection (90 page)

“No, but we have each other and we can make one helluva team.” Jasper drew away his hand. “Just as long as we play it smart.”

“Smart. Yeah.” Starling nodded. She yearned for the return of his touch, anything to keep from thinking about the seduction that would have to come. Devon was an egotistical, chauvinistic leech who thought himself God’s gift to women—and in a matter of hours he would be slobbering all over her.

“Where do you want me to sleep?” Jasper asked. “I’m more than happy to be on the floor, but I may need a blanket.” He stood up. The place where his fingers had touched grew cool, and she could barely withstand the urge to reach out and pull him back to his place beside her.

“You can’t sleep on the cold concrete. A man your age might not be able to stand up in the morning.”

He answered with a playful growl. “You know I’m only a few years older than you. If I’m old, what are you?”

“I’m dignified,” she said, faking a stuffy air as she straightened at the edge of her dirty red dress in an attempt to lighten the mood.

Jasper’s laughter filled the room. It sounded so good to hear him laugh.

“Whatever you say. Just remember that I saw you trip over your own suitcase,” he teased.

“That wasn’t a trip, it was a defensive maneuver, and don’t you forget it.” There had been so much stress since he’d started once again being more than a shadow that she’d almost forgotten how good it felt to have a carefree moment, a moment of complete surrender. If only this moment could last forever.

“Oh I won’t.” His eyes sparkled.

“As far as tonight, you can sleep in the bed with me.”

“Only if you promise to not use any of your
defensive
maneuvers,” he pretended to grumble.

For a split second, she imagined his hand gliding over her skin, finding the curve of her thigh and sliding down. She shifted in the bed, making room for him on the other side. “Don’t make me have to.”

“Turn on the light,” he said, pointing toward the lamp on the nightstand. “And I’ll turn around for you to get changed.”

She clicked on the light. “What are you going to wear?” She got out of bed and grabbed her bag. Unzipping the suitcase, she rifled through it. There was nothing but some dirty clothes and a few pairs of clean socks and underwear. “I don’t think I have anything in here that is going to fit.”

“Don’t worry about it. I’ll sleep in my clothes. But if you’re okay with it, I may take off my pants. Cool?”

“You’re wearing underwear, right?”

“Nope. Freeballing.”

“Then keep the pants on. I don’t want to wake up with something squishy pressed against me,” she said.

“Something squishy, eh? I don’t want to know what guys you have been sleeping with.” There was an edge of jealousy in his voice.

“Oh, there was nothing soft going on with any of the men I’ve slept with.” In truth, she’d only slept with one guy. That had been over a year ago, and their relationship had ended after she had caught him cheating. Since then, she’d sworn off sex, but now, within Jasper’s reach, her celibacy seemed like a ridiculous idea.

“I don’t know want to know.” Jasper said, his playfulness gone. He walked over to the light switch by the door and clicked off the overhead light. “Get changed. I won’t watch.”

She took out a pair of her barely worn boxers and a dirty tank top. She slowly lifted off her dress, letting the cold air of the room rush against her skin, cooling the heat of her unwelcome desire. The red dress she had worn was the only sexy thing she owned, and she had wasted it on Devon.

Glancing back, Jasper had sat down on the other side of the bed, judiciously diverting his gaze. Disappointment crept through her. Unclasping the back of her bra, she slipped it from her shoulders and dropped it into the bag.

Her self-consciousness took over as she changed and quickly slipped between the cool sheets of the bed. How she wished she had something that resembled one of those scantily clad women in an underwear catalogue that men always drooled over. As it was, the only model she could have passed for was one out of a postdated Sears catalog.

She rolled on her side, afraid that if she faced him in the thin light of the bedside lamp, she wouldn’t be able to control her need to feel him against her.

At least she wouldn’t have to worry about him being so attracted to her that he couldn’t help himself. Although, it would have been far better than okay if he let his warm fingers trail down her skin all the way to the soft mound of flesh between her thighs.

“Starling?”

“Hmm?” she asked, keeping her back to him as he perched on the side of the bed.

“I have to tell you something.”

She rolled over. “What?”

“I … I was the one who was sent to keep your mother safe. We knew about the Catharterians and that there was a faction who might come after the two of you, but we didn’t realize the full threat. I didn’t take the warning seriously; I was still dealing with the fallout after the deaths in Montana. And … and … I’m sorry.”

He rested his warm hand on her shoulder and softly stroked her bare skin. His eyes were filled with remorse. He clearly expected that she would be angry or hurt, but instead there was only the ache of pity. What a weight he must have carried to believe that he alone was responsible for her mother’s death. “Jasper, there were so many things going on in my mother’s life. She had made enemies.”

“I should have been there to save her.”

“I should have too, Jasper.” She put her hand on his. Her entire body tingled.

“Can you forgive me?” Jasper’s voice only made the tingle intensify.

“We both made a mistake,” she said.

The bed bumped against the wall as he lay down next to her. “You’re not afraid of the dark, are you?” he asked tenderly.

“I’m not afraid of the dark, only of the things in the night that I don’t expect.” Her cheeks warmed.

Jasper cleared his throat. “I’ll do my best to keep anything
unexpected
at bay.”

“You better, or remember those defensive maneuvers? Don’t think I won’t use them,” she said lightly, as she frantically hoped he could read between the lines of her banter.

“Can you feel that?”

She went still, but felt nothing. “What?”

“That’s me shaking with fear.” He chuckled.

“Ah, I thought it was an earthquake.”

“Oh, you think that was an earthquake … if given the chance, I could make your earth shatter.”

She tried to not read too much into his words, but she didn’t know exactly what to say. She wished she were one of those sex vixens from a Saturday night movie, a woman who had all the right moves and could make a man drop to his knees in a second. Starling paused. She was a sex vixen. When she had used her gift in the past, she had wrapped the boy around her finger. Maybe she could practice using her power on Jasper.

But the thought of treating Jasper like she planned on treating Devon bothered her. He deserved better. True seduction, seduction that meant something, needed control. And that level of seduction was best left to her nymph sisters who knew what in the hell they were doing. There had to be baby steps into the realm of sex vixen; her first was sharpening her flirtation skills. As it was, if she tried to seduce anyone, she’d probably only end up with another pizza.

“’Night, Starling.” Jasper leaned away and clicked off the light. “If you need anything, let me know. I don’t want you roaming around in the dark. I’d hate for you to find something unexpected.”

“’Night, Jasper.” A thin seam of light poured out from under the crack of the door, filling the room with deep shadows.

The minutes twisted by while she listened to the calm melody of his breathing. The sound was rhythmic and constant, the sounds of sleep. It was so quiet, it made the beautiful agony of not feeling his touch against her skin only the more painful. She stroked her arm, trying to remember exactly how good it had felt when he’d touched her last. He had to be fantastic in bed; she’d bet he was the kind of man who always made sure the woman was satisfied before thinking of himself.

Her entire body warmed and she rolled on her back. Lifting her shirt so her stomach lay bare, she continued tracing her fingers up and down her skin. The soft flesh of her belly was nothing like his muscular core.

If she ran her fingers over him, would he tense or relax under her touch?

Her hands moved down, over the cloth of her boxers, and she rubbed, soft and slow. She bit her lip as she tried to stop from moaning. She couldn’t make any noise and give away what she was doing—she would never survive the embarrassment if he caught her. Her fingers swirled faster at the danger of being discovered.

Jasper shifted in the bed and she stopped. His breathing grew more rapid. “Don’t stop,” he whispered, his voice hoarse. “I don’t want you to stop.”

“What?” she asked, trying to sound innocent, but her breathlessness had to speak of her guilt.

Jasper reached over and put his hand atop hers. He started to swirl. It was impossible to stop the rich moan that escaped her throat. Even her toes tingled with the euphoria of his touch, but she didn’t want to be alone in her ecstasy, so she slipped her fingers out from beneath his. Reaching over, she slid her hand under the elastic of his boxers. He was hot and rock hard as she worked his length.

“I thought we were going to be smart,” she said, her tone heavy with lust.

“Smart be damned.” Jasper leaned over, brushing his lips over her. His breath poured over her lips, making her taste his sweet desire.

“Oh my God,” he said in almost a whimper. “Starling … ”

She moved away from his fingers, pulled off her underwear with her free hand, and threw them on the floor. Moving between his thighs, she kissed the soft curves of the muscles on his stomach, inching down until she reached the hard arch of his hips. She eased down his underwear, revealing every inch of him in the faint light. Bruises lined his torso, and there was a scrape on his shoulder.

“Are you sure you are up to this?” She traced her finger lightly over a bruise that had risen near the top of right hip.

“Don’t worry about me. I’m fine as long as I’m here with you.”

She drew in a breath. He was even better than she had imagined.

“Come here,” Jasper whispered, his voice soft and sexy. She moved on top of his muscular body. Reaching up, he lifted the edge of her tank top and drew it over her head. It met the heap of clothing on the floor.

“Here I thought you were a nice guy,” she said with a sexy smile.

“I am nice.” He reached up and cupped her breasts, running his callused thumb over her nub, making twinges of lust flash through her. “You know the best thing about nice guys?”

“Hmmm?”

“Nice guys always finish last.” He smiled up at her, a diamond-like sparkle in his eyes. Sitting up, he licked the pink, erect tip of her nipple. He surrounded her flesh with his lips and gently sucked, driving pangs of want straight to the intersection of her thighs.

Dropping her head back, she moaned, deep and long, lavishing in the suction of his mouth.

Dipping her hips, she rolled her body against his; the action made his soft kiss harden. She leaned into his ear as she rocked her body over his. “I want you.”

He answered with a sharp inhale, the cool air pulling over her hot, wet nipple.

He took hold of her panties and ripped the sides.

“That’s not something a nice guy would do … ” she said, breathlessly.

Her body ached with desire as he pulled the moist fabric from between her thighs.

He tossed her torn panties to the floor. “Too nice isn’t what you want.”

She chuckled, but the sound was cut off by him running his warm, moist kiss down the side of her neck. Breathing into his hair, she took in a long draw of his scent, hot and manly, the rich odors of lust and sweat.

“No, it’s not.” Reaching down, she took him in her hand and led him to her body’s folds. Instead of being gentle, she drove him deep inside. His body tensed beneath her and he lifted his hips, sliding deeper.

Her body tingled as she rode him, faster and faster, dipping and twisting her hips in motion to the sounds of his breathing. Stars formed at the edges of her vision as a bubble of euphoria threatened to explode inside of her.

She slowed the movement of her hips, but as she did, he flipped her on her back. Her toes curled, and her fingers dug into his skin as he drove deep and broke the fragile bubble, throwing her into the throes of orgasmic pulsation.

There was something to be said for nice guys.

The bedroom door opened. “Get up,” Devon ordered. His face was locked into a tight scowl as Jasper moved his arm from under Starling’s head. She had fallen asleep on his bicep and he clenched his numb hand, trying to regain feeling. “We have to meet Virginia.”

Devon glanced at Starling and his scowl deepened. “You have two minutes. Make yourselves presentable.” He threw a clean set of black dress pants and a white, button-up shirt for Jasper and a white dress for Starling.

“Thanks,” she said. Sitting up, she pulled up the sheet, covering her naked chest, and grabbed the dress from the end of the bed.

Devon grumbled under his breath. He slammed the door shut.

“Do you think he knows what we did?” Starling asked.

“I’m not sure if you are aware of this, but you are not what I would call quiet in the bedroom.”

Starling’s cheeks reddened. She pulled the white dress over her head, covering her face.

“Don’t get me wrong, I’m not complaining,” he said as he recalled the way her body pitched and writhed in the throes of her ecstasy. He hardened at the thought of her soft skin and her little, pink nipples.

He reached over and brushed a strand of wayward hair from her face. “When we get out of here, I fully intend on letting you be as loud as you want to be.”

“Are you saying you want this to be more than a one night thing?”

“Don’t you?”

“It’s just not like you. The last time you and I spent time together, you left the next day.”

“I did what I thought was right, Starling. You have to know that.”

“All I know was that for the first time I really cared about someone, and then you left me.”