Compromising Kessen (Vandenbrook #1)(64)

Nick and Duncan whispered, and then shook hands.

“Done!” they yelled in unison up to her.

“Good! Now let Christian go. He’s had a rough day, what with that badger nearly killing him.”

Christian moaned again as Duncan and Nick shot him questioning glances.

At least now Kessen had an excuse to stay in her bedroom and sleep rather than stay up all night with Christian. That would have been a terrible idea, and he knew it.

As she drifted off to sleep, a smile plastered itself across her face as she thought about what Nick and Duncan would say when Christian explained to them he ran from a woodland creature.

****

Kessen breathed in the morning air as she rose from her bed. Her curtains were still drawn, and she wasn’t at all surprised when she looked out her window and saw Duncan, Nick, and Christian lying in sleeping bags by a smoking fire.

A camp out, of course.

It was most likely a dare for Christian to be a real man and sleep with the woodland creatures rather than let his fiancée scare them off with rocks. It must have worked, because they all looked as peaceful as could be.

An odd warming sensation bubbled in her chest when she looked at Christian’s perfect face. She had never watched him sleep before, not that she was one to do that to anyone, since it was creepy and all, but still she couldn’t help but stare at him.

He had the face of what she imagined a fallen angel would look like. His skin was perfectly stretched across strong cheekbones and a commanding nose. His eyes, although closed, boasted long eyelashes. Not that she would see it from her window, but she knew they were long, and silently wondered to herself what they would feel like brushing up against her cheek.

His lips were another story. They were too sensual for their own good and simply didn’t belong on a man. It wasn’t at all fair. They were plump and deliciously shaped.

A snore broke her concentration as she looked at Nick who, mouth wide open, was making ungodly breathing sounds. With the spell of her silent appreciation of Christian’s body gone, she moved on to the bathroom and got ready for the day.

****

Christian hadn’t seen Kessen all day; the reason could have been she was hiding from him after shamelessly handing his head to the paintball gods on a silver platter.

It was around three in the afternoon before they finally crossed paths.

“Where have you been?” he accused, not understanding the sudden urgency of why he needed to know her whereabouts.

“Reading.” Kessen shrugged, then walked on past.

Was she avoiding him? Playing hard to get?

“Thanks for last night,” he said leadingly, hoping she would take the bait and at least try to engage in conversation with him.

She quickly turned on her heel to face him. “Last night?”

Oh, so she was going to play innocent. Fine.

“Yes, last night.” He crossed his arms. “Should I refresh your memory?”

She smiled.

He circled her like a lion circles its prey.

“Last night, when you fed me to the wolves—or should I say, the paintball maniacs—by pushing me down, so you could escape.”

Kessen tilted her head to the side in amusement. “What about it?”

“I have more welts.”

“Let me see.”

“No!” He pushed her away.

“Yes!” She stepped closer

“No…” The words faintly left his lips, and he reached out and cupped her head with his hands.

He kissed her feverishly, as if he hadn’t been doing exactly that for the past few days.

It was turning into an addicting habit.

One he had no plan to quit anytime soon.

Her book dropped out of her hand as she wound her fingers into his shirt and lusciously moaned his name.

His self-control was shot at this point. All he could bring himself to do was chant three more days, three more days, as Kessen’s kisses urged him to step further over the edge of sanity.

What he wasn’t counting on was that his thoughts would soon become his words as he accidently spat out, “Three more days” across her lips.

“What?” She backed away just enough to look into his eyes.

She was beautiful.

“Until we’re married.” He smoothed a piece of hair from her face and kissed her forehead.

“Oh, right.” Her body language was proof she wasn’t the least bit excited.

And maybe it was the kissing, but in hindsight he would like to think it was the fact his self-control had simply snapped a few days ago, leaving him irritable and annoyed, but he yelled.

Christian never yelled.

“How can you react like that?”

Kessen looked dumbfounded. She obviously was not used to people yelling at her. Then again, Christian wasn’t used to yelling. They were at an impasse.

“Christian, calm down. What are you talking about?”

“This!” He pointed to her. “Us! This thing we have; we’re getting married. Forever, Kessen, and I’m not going to lie to you and say it doesn’t terrify me, because it does. But could you at least pretend you’re a little more excited?”

“I was just showing you how excited I truly am.” Her face seemed to darken with anger.

“Not that! I know we have that!” He muttered a swear word under his breath and paced in front of her. “We lust after one another like teenagers, but I thought—I don’t know. I thought—”