her eyes in bliss, enjoying the velvety richness of the cake and smooth, intense icing. "Oh, whoever baked this should win an award." Jason shook his head, catching her attention. Blushing, she mumbled around a mouthful of cake. "What?"
"It amazes me how much you can enjoy a bite of food." His voice had its usual grumbly tone, but his eyes warmed with a twinkle she hadn't noticed before.
"Good food deserves to be appreciated properly." She stood straighter. "This is a work of art. Chocolate is a wonderful thing."
He frowned, his expression doubtful. "It's a slice of cake."
"It’s chocolate cake, very moist, and with really good icing." She corrected him, holding out the slice. "Here, try some."
"Maybe a taste." He gave in, but he didn't take a bite from the slice she held. Instead, he separated the space between them, taking his taste from her lips.
Startled, she froze as his half-open kiss sealed hot over her lips. Heat washed through her, streaking through her body at the contact. His tongue flicked along the corner of her mouth before he sucked lightly at her lower lip and withdrew. His eyes shone almost silver as he stepped back, watching her reaction.
Before she could say anything, Ben stepped to her side. "Carri, we want you to come judge the next race."
"Oh, uh, sure." Dazed, she didn't fight Ben as he steered her towards the rest of the pack, but at the last second she caught the look he threw at Jason. It wasn't friendly, tweaking her temper. She planned to have a word with Ben about interrupting something she really would have liked to have let play out a little longer. It wasn't as if others weren't openly displaying affection too.
All around the clearing, couples traded little kisses or held each other in light embraces. They laughed and conversed, watched the antics of the young cubs, and generally enjoyed themselves.
Other adults took turns judging the races or contests of skill amongst cubs or juveniles. When her turn came, a few of the contests evolved into a more mature competition between some of the bigger and unattached males.
And the races get a little more testosterone-prone.
Carri smiled at the obvious effort to impress, feeling awkward and flattered but not nearly as interested as they might hope.
No lack of other female attention.
Other single females gathered, calling out favorites or challenging the males to greater effort. Sometimes those efforts met with applause and sometimes they resulted in hilarious accidents.
In the midst of it all, Jason slipped away. She saw him as he melted into the woods beyond the clearing, knowing the exact moment he’d withdrawn. Without him nearby, the cold winter air nipped a little more around her face, the chill seeping through her jacket. A gust tugged at her breath and stole it away, making her throat catch. She coughed to clear the itch away and sipped some hot cider.
Jenna materialized out of nowhere it seemed, looking at her with a critical assessment. "You've been out in the cold for hours, Carri. We're all used to it, but you're not. It's probably time for you to head inside and warm up."
"I'm having a good time, Jenna." The idea of a toasty room sounded wonderful, even though she’d enjoyed meeting all of the new people and the easy camaraderie of the pack. In truth, she missed the heat of Jason’s company more than any comfortable room. "But maybe it would be good to get inside and get warmed up again."
"There will always be other times. We'll make sure there are more chances to get together while you’re here." Jenna smiled with understanding, her eyes gentle as she tucked one of Carri's curls back into her hood.
"Aw, Jenna, so soon? The stray just left too.” One of the males stepped up to Carri as a couple of the others chuckled at his words.
"Excuse me?" Carri turned to face him. Bradley, if she remembered correctly, a fairly sturdy male with a pretty-boy face and sandy brown hair.
Her sharp attention forced him to step back a little, but glancing at his pack brothers he recovered quickly and gave her what he evidently thought to be an engaging grin. "He was a damper on the party; it's as well he took off. His kind does better on a solitary run, anyway."
"Explain, please, what his kind would be?" Her voice became dangerously quiet and calm, almost sweet, while her temper burned her ears, and judging by the expression on the unfortunate male's face,