CHAPTER FOURTEEN
One second, he was talking to Roxie and giving her a good scolding for acting so hot and cold and driving him crazy with her mood swings and her generally crazy personality.
The next second, all words ceased to exist as she reached out with her hands and yanked him towards her until he was stumbling forward and pressing her against the door. Then her body was surging forward as she pressed her mouth against his.
Shock filled him. But shock was instantly replaced by something else as she kissed him for all she was worth, opening her mouth and using her tongue to tease and lick and challenge. An answering challenge rose up in Isaac, and his own mouth opened as he kissed her back and reveled in the taste that seeped into his system.
She tasted like the freshest of fruits, and she smelled like crisp autumn leaves and mint. The combination exploded inside him as she clung onto him—and instead of pushing her away like he originally intended, he found his hands already running all over her skin and his own body molding against her soft, subtle curves.
Warning bells sounded in his head. A moan came out of her lips, and the warning bells dimmed, to be replaced by lust so strong that it racked his whole body.
Her tiny hands scratched his back, then tugged his hair. His mouth cruised down to that sexy mole, then the skin of her throat before returning to suck on her tongue, and the panther inside him hissed in recognition. Something ripped, and he realized it was his claws coming out before he shifted them back to nails. Then his hand slid in and found one of her breasts, which was smaller than he was used to touching but so, so warm. Her nipple pebbled against his touch, and his hand burned as raw desire hit him.
A groan came out of his throat. “You’re not wearing anything underneath.”
“I’m supposed to be…a boy,” she gasped out against his mouth. He ground against her and felt an answering throb in between her legs, and he knew without a doubt that she wasn’t wearing anything underneath her pants, either.
The world blanked as he kissed her and touched her everywhere, and whatever agenda they had disappeared as they became man and woman, with only that desire between them. His cock hurt so bad, wanting to slide inside her and fuck her until she was screaming out in pleasure—then, screaming out his name as he pounded into her.
He wanted to taste every inch of her skin, particularly the wetness he knew would be between her legs.
“You don’t taste like a boy,” he growled, nipping her lower lip.
“Shut up,” she said, sucking on his.
There was ripping again and the sharp feel of his talons, and he just about damn lost his mind as he cupped her other breast and thumbed the stiffened tips. She ground against him and palmed his erection, the talons now gone, and the need for her grew higher until his panther was screaming to be let out. His body urged him to plunge in, then bite on that lovely throat and draw blood—
No.
The thought shocked him enough to come back to reality.
With a curse, he used every inch of self-control left to push against the door and pull away from her until the kiss was broken and their bodies were no longer connected. A whimpering protest came out of her before she stilled and stared as he kept walking back.
He studied her now—swollen lips, eyes and hair back to their original color, and breasts exposed and looking like plump, perky fruits with coral-tipped nipples.
His mouth went dry at the sight. He wanted her so badly, and the intensity of it had him saying the words he didn’t think over.
“Were you trying to distract me from sleeping with Andra?”
She looked like she’d been slapped in the face, and he was immediately sorry. It was simply the wrong thing to say. But before he could step forward, Roxie had closed her eyes for a second, then opened them again. The flicker of hurt he saw earlier was gone, replaced by a blank look as she nodded.
Was it his imagination?
“Yes,” she said steadily. “Now quit thinking about sleeping with Andra and let’s find another way to—”
The door opened with a bang, and Roxie was launched towards him. He caught her before she could stumble, and they both turned to look at the door. The pirate had his hand down his pants, leaving no doubt what he was planning to do in an isolated closet.
He stared at Roxie’s rose-gold eyes, then at her exposed breasts, realization sinking in. Then he was shouting before they could stop him.
“Intruder! Autumn fairy! ROSS IS AN AUTUMN FAIR—”
Roxie knocked him with a punch, looking remorseful and pissed off. She yanked her blouse together and slipped out. With a curse, Isaac followed.
It was too late. The shout had been loud, and everyone was running in their direction. Roxie kept running towards the back end of the ship, and shots were fired until Isaac felt a spark hit his arm. It burned. He glanced back and saw more pirates aiming for them, then looked at Roxie, who was—
Diving towards the sea without thought.
Isaac shouted at her. She didn’t listen. With a curse, he went out at full speed.
Then he dove into the ocean after her.
*****
They both swam until they were well away from the sight of the pirates, who didn’t bother looking for them—or maybe they did bother and really just didn’t see them. When they were well out of sight, Roxie created an invisible floating circle with her magic, where they both climbed in and huddled together against the harsh heat of the ocean.
The Summer Court really was holding up to its summery name, and Isaac wasn’t pleased anymore.
They paddled for half an hour, discussing courses and never mentioning what happened in the closet again. In Isaac’s mind, it was for the best. They talked of survival, and how they were going to get out of this situation they were in before conversation drifted off and they both lay down on their float, gazing up into the night sky.
A few minutes later, she sat up in a flash, making the float wobble.
“Hey! What are—”
His words were interrupted when she suddenly dove into the sea. Isaac scrambled to the edge and stared down, but he couldn’t see anything through the darkness. Fear shot through him when he realized the possibility of her getting enchanted by something again—
The fear eased off when her head bobbed up, a grin on her lips. Her eyes sparkled, and he stared angrily before the anger died off, too.
“What?”
“I found a ripe spot,” she gasped out. Then she was pulling him down into the sea with her and telling him to catch up to her swimming. “We’re diving under. I need to concentrate.”
With those instructions, they were under. It was relatively clearer under and deeper than he thought, with the glittering floor way below and out of their reach. Jewel-colored sea life swam about, none of them bigger than Isaac and Roxie. Roxie closed her eyes, tried to concentrate, then swam back up after a few minutes. He swam up with her and watched as frustration radiated off her.
“I can’t create the portal. I keep losing breath down there and—”
“Do you trust me?”
“Yes.” No hesitation on her end. Something inside him jolted.
“Then let me handle the breathing end,” he said. Then he was the one dragging her under, and he watched her eyes widen as they both stared at each other.
Then he was pressing his mouth against hers and lending her the air she needed.
She stilled in his arms. He gave her a reassuring squeeze, and she finally nodded. Then she closed her eyes and concentrated while he kept pressing his mouth to hers and tried not to think about how soft she felt.
The portal opened bit by bit, the swimming creatures below attracted to the brightness of it. When the swimming creatures started flocking up and the portal was big enough, Isaac tugged Roxie. Then they were both slipping in, and the sensation of traveling spread through him as he held onto her and didn’t let go. Soon, the hotness of the ocean water was replaced by crisp, clean air, and Isaac felt himself fall down on the ground with a crunch. A few seconds later, Roxie was falling on top of him with a grunt.
He opened his eyes and cleared his senses, looking around at the forest the portal opened up to before winking out of existence. Orange and red trees were everywhere, along with a calming feeling that he was all too familiar with when he’d first come there.
They were now in Autumn Court.