each other for nearly a decade, but it’s not my story to tell. If you want to know how, you’ll have to ask him.”
Some of my anger drained away. “Okay,” I said slowly, “why not just say that before?”
Loch ran his hands over his shaved head with a frustrated noise. “Rhys knows me well enough to get under my skin, and he loves meddling. I lost my temper with you, when he was the one who pushed me to the edge.”
I made a noncommittal sound. I could feel the heat of his gaze but I steadily finished my food. When I placed my napkin on my plate, Loch turned toward me. He cupped my jaw and turned my head so he could meet my eyes.
“I was a jerk,” he murmured. “I saw you retreat behind your mask, and I didn’t like knowing that I was the cause of it. I’m sorry.”
I’d never been one to hold grudges, so the last of my anger dissolved with his apology. His thumb traced a blazing path across my lips. Heat spiraled through my system. The man was dangerously attractive, especially when he wholly focused on me.
“Rhys and I are just friends,” I said. “That’s all we’ve ever been. But even if that wasn’t the case, your behavior was unacceptable. You were a jerk. And for what? Because I asked a question that didn’t have an easy answer?”
Loch growled and dropped his hand. “Because I didn’t want to admit I was jealous.” His eyes flashed in defiance, as if he expected me to throw the words back in his face.
Now we were getting somewhere. Jealousy hinted at a depth of feeling I hadn’t been sure he had. And if he got to be jealous, then I ought to be able to stake a claim as well. A tiny voice at the back of my mind screamed a warning, afraid I was getting in too deep, but I reminded myself that he would be gone tomorrow. One day of possibilities was safe enough—this would not be a repeat of my first season.
“You have no reason to be jealous,” I said as I pivoted toward him and leaned in.
I gave him plenty of time to back away, but he held his ground, his gaze hot. I took that as permission and closed the gap, ghosting my lips across his in a featherlight caress. Sparks of lust shivered along my nerves. I pressed deeper, sucking on his bottom lip, then I slid my tongue into the heat of his mouth.
He made a rumbling sound and dragged me closer with a hand on my hip and one buried in my hair. I slid forward until I was clutched against him, straddling his strong thigh. My breasts rubbed against the muscles of his chest and I moaned low.
His tongue thrust into my mouth and I welcomed the invasion. Loch’s hands clenched and he pulled me closer, molding our bodies together. I rocked against him, mindless with pleasure. He pulled back and I chased him, pressing kisses against his lips and jaw.
I ran my hands over his head, relishing the scrape of barely there stubble against my palms. He groaned and the hand on my hip slid up to cup my breast. I hissed out a breath when his thumb brushed over my pebbled nipple. He reclaimed my mouth at the same time he rolled my nipple between his finger and thumb. Pleasure lanced through me and I arched into him.
“Loch,” I gasped.
“I’ve got you,” he murmured against my mouth. He trailed burning kisses down to the sensitive spot on my neck. The scrape of his stubbled jaw made my skin hypersensitive.
Then, with disorienting speed, he slid me into my chair and backed away. I stared at him stupidly for a few seconds before I heard Lin’s voice just outside the door. Heat flooded my face as I realized I’d been so lost in the moment that I’d forgotten my surroundings.
Loch watched me with smoldering, predatory stillness, his hands fisted on the table. Lin entered the mess hall, talking a mile a minute. Veronica trailed behind. She took one look at us and grinned. Busted.
Lin climbed up in a seat across the table from us and started questioning me about the different components in a ship while Veronica fixed his afternoon snack. Loch listened for a little while, then stood. On his way up he paused to murmur in my ear, “We are not finished, sweetheart.”