Braxton finally destroyed the last of the vines, and before I could blink he slammed into me with the force of three hundred pounds of muscled dragon man. His arms wrapped around me and lifted me off the ground. There wasn’t much room here so we ended up planted against a large, gnarled trunk, his hands roaming over me. Not in a feel-me-up way, more of a check for injuries and make sure all limbs were accounted for. Of course, someone forgot to tell my hormones that those large, bronzed hands caressing my bare limbs were just checking for injuries.
My hips arched up as his hands crossed over my thighs, the heat of his palms intense through the ragged tears. I almost moaned but swallowed the sound down. What the fuck was Braxton doing to me? I was about to self-combust.
I wasn’t sure when it happened, but the line I’d drawn in the sand with all the Compasses … well, it was blurring between Braxton and I. Very, very blurry. I was starting to think our friendship pact was going to be tested very soon. Like in the next five seconds.
Braxton had been so focused on examining me for injuries, making sure I was safe, that he’d missed my rapid breathing, dilated pupils, accelerated heartbeat, and that distinctive scent of arousal.
I knew the exact moment he realized. He stilled, his pupils stopped darting across my face, and something dark and dangerous rose in his eyes. Low growls started in his chest, enough to rock us both, a predator in his gaze, built on instinct evolved over the last million years. Both animal and supernatural instinct.
His full lips parted. I could almost taste the scent of him on my tongue, and not only was it his usual combination of spice and heat, but also arousal. Holy shit. Braxton wanted me, in a way I’d never felt from him before.
My eyelids fluttered down, lashes tickling my cheeks. A relief to block him out, but the pulsation of energy between us was too tantalizing. I couldn’t keep my eyes shut.
Unable to pull away, I was almost a hundred and fifty percent certain I was about to burst into flames. My skin was surely an eruption of scarlet, the hot pumping of my blood a roar in my ears. Kiss me, I silently begged.
I’d never wanted anything more in my life. More than want, needed. If he didn’t move his ass, I was going to take what was mine.
Braxton leaned into me, and just as those delicious, morsels-of-sin lips were about to close the final millimeters between us, he stopped. Mere inches from me.
“There is something moving out there,” he said, husky tones brushing over me. “It’s close enough that I don’t think we should be staying still right now.”
I could hear his resigned disappointment as he shifted into protective mode. Probably the only thing which could have stopped him.
I sucked in a few deep breaths, trying to fill my oxygen-starved lungs. He let me slowly slide down his body, his attention still firmly on me as though he was very reluctant to end this moment. As I descended, my bare feet landing on the rough ground, I could feel that Braxton was hard … everywhere. That moment had affected him as much as me. His arousal had not left his melting blue eyes, it had just been shelved while we tried to stay alive.
“Where are we?” I said softly, facing the tawny skin lining his rock hard pecs, still trapped between him and the tree.
He didn’t answer immediately, which was a worry. He was shifting his gaze around the area behind me. What the hell was he seeing?
Finally he focused on me again, still pressing against me pretty intimately. I expected him to move back, place some space between us, but he didn’t.
He dropped his chin so that our faces were closer together. “I have no idea where we are, this is not a place I’ve been, and the scents are … unusual.”
Not reassuring.
I pouted in false annoyance. “You could have just lied and said we were still in the sanctuary. You suck as a friend.”
His expression softened, a ghost of the dimple even appeared. “Sorry, Jess. While your happiness is my number one priority, I’ll never lie to you.”
I thought he was kidding around, but the serious tilt to his head indicated that wasn’t the case.
“Do you think we should start moving? Shouldn’t we wait here to be rescued?” I shifted my head, the rough bark catching in my hair as I attempted to see the room I’d woken in. Maybe it was time to take the other desert scented door. But, of course, a thorough scanning of the area indicated that the forest had eaten the round room.
I wondered if that door had led back to the desert part of the sanctuary. I’d be okay with taking it now, even if we had to deal with the jinn, but it seemed that avenue was gone. Typical magic. I’d chosen the forest, chosen Braxton, and that had negated the other doorway.