shaker, licked the back of her hand, dusted the white substance on her skin, snatched the shot glass, and downed the alcohol. A fiery burn slid down her throat.
He moved so quickly his finger blurred when he held the lime to her mouth. Tania couldn’t draw in a breath. All she could do was stare at the green slice.
“Suck it,” his low, rumbled command had her creaming.
Tania squeezed her thighs together and glanced up at him. Without a moment’s hesitation, she sucked on the tart citrus slice while locked onto his gaze.
Clang! Clang!
Tania spit the wedge into her hand and whipped around to find the source of the sudden noise.
“My bad.” Lycus retrieved his knife from the floor. “Here come your parents and your brother. According to the recently adjusted seating arrangements” —he smirked at Axe— “your father’s at the head of the table along with your uncle and aunt and their daughter.”
Absently, she said, “Daughter-in-law. My uncle and aunt had only one child. A son. Robert.”
“I see.” Senior Chief Johnson appeared totally bored with her volunteered information.
Grateful for the interruption and the warning, Tania shoved the plate, shot glass, shaker, and squished lime slice under the floral centerpiece nearest to her.
“I take it your parents don’t know you drink.” Axe angled his head to the evidence she’d hidden.
“My father thinks tequila is unladylike. He prefers I drink wine or champagne.” Tania answered on autopilot. She touched the perfume pulse points behind her ears. Had she applied enough of Eva’s scent mask? Her father’s sense of smell hadn’t diminished one whit as he approached his sixtieth decade. She had showered twice.
“And do you always do what your father prefers?” Axe scraped his chair closer to the table and stirred a glass half full of amber liquid.
His sexy aroma furled around her and compounded the intoxicating effects of the tequila shot. She sneaked another peek at him. He had his scarred cheek to her side. She studied the intricate white lines and made out what looked like an oriental symbol within a mass of intricate zigzags.
“I can move if my scars offend you that much,” he muttered before shooting her a scowl that could spear a moving target.
Chapter Six
The strains of a waltz resonated through the dining hall.
“I thought the dancing didn’t happen until after the dinner.” Tania scowled at the musicians crowding a narrow podium to the right of the head table.
She focused on her pink painted nails all the while fussing about Axe thinking his scars offended her. Had made her light out like a hit and run driver. A waterfall of shame and remorse heated her from within.
Until she’d gone to boarding school, Tania hadn’t realized that the Wylfen as a species held a deep-seated prejudice against any kind of physical imperfection. That her mismatched eyes were such an imperfection.
“You’re wrong.” Axe fished the folded program from a pile of paper sheets in the center of the table. “According to this, there’s dancing before and after dinner.”
All the insults and taunts the other Wylfen girls had thrown at Tania during her adolescence crowded her brain with a stinging vengeance. She had worked diligently to shed her Wylfen prejudices. Axe’s scars didn’t bother her a whit.
“I went to your suite. You’d already checked out.” Tania bit her wayward tongue. Why had she spit out that tidy tidbit?
“Why?” He finger-stirred the ice in his drink.
“I didn’t want you to think I’d left because of your scars,” she whispered.
He snorted and said, his voice low, “You can’t even glance my way.”
She replied in a similar tone, “For cripes sake. Not because of your stupid scars. If my brothers or my father gets even a hint of—”
“Senior Chief Smith, what happens after Jaz finishes BUD/S?” Tania knew Mishe had deliberately interrupted her conversation with Axe.
Had her
He moved so quickly his finger blurred when he held the lime to her mouth. Tania couldn’t draw in a breath. All she could do was stare at the green slice.
“Suck it,” his low, rumbled command had her creaming.
Tania squeezed her thighs together and glanced up at him. Without a moment’s hesitation, she sucked on the tart citrus slice while locked onto his gaze.
Clang! Clang!
Tania spit the wedge into her hand and whipped around to find the source of the sudden noise.
“My bad.” Lycus retrieved his knife from the floor. “Here come your parents and your brother. According to the recently adjusted seating arrangements” —he smirked at Axe— “your father’s at the head of the table along with your uncle and aunt and their daughter.”
Absently, she said, “Daughter-in-law. My uncle and aunt had only one child. A son. Robert.”
“I see.” Senior Chief Johnson appeared totally bored with her volunteered information.
Grateful for the interruption and the warning, Tania shoved the plate, shot glass, shaker, and squished lime slice under the floral centerpiece nearest to her.
“I take it your parents don’t know you drink.” Axe angled his head to the evidence she’d hidden.
“My father thinks tequila is unladylike. He prefers I drink wine or champagne.” Tania answered on autopilot. She touched the perfume pulse points behind her ears. Had she applied enough of Eva’s scent mask? Her father’s sense of smell hadn’t diminished one whit as he approached his sixtieth decade. She had showered twice.
“And do you always do what your father prefers?” Axe scraped his chair closer to the table and stirred a glass half full of amber liquid.
His sexy aroma furled around her and compounded the intoxicating effects of the tequila shot. She sneaked another peek at him. He had his scarred cheek to her side. She studied the intricate white lines and made out what looked like an oriental symbol within a mass of intricate zigzags.
“I can move if my scars offend you that much,” he muttered before shooting her a scowl that could spear a moving target.
Chapter Six
The strains of a waltz resonated through the dining hall.
“I thought the dancing didn’t happen until after the dinner.” Tania scowled at the musicians crowding a narrow podium to the right of the head table.
She focused on her pink painted nails all the while fussing about Axe thinking his scars offended her. Had made her light out like a hit and run driver. A waterfall of shame and remorse heated her from within.
Until she’d gone to boarding school, Tania hadn’t realized that the Wylfen as a species held a deep-seated prejudice against any kind of physical imperfection. That her mismatched eyes were such an imperfection.
“You’re wrong.” Axe fished the folded program from a pile of paper sheets in the center of the table. “According to this, there’s dancing before and after dinner.”
All the insults and taunts the other Wylfen girls had thrown at Tania during her adolescence crowded her brain with a stinging vengeance. She had worked diligently to shed her Wylfen prejudices. Axe’s scars didn’t bother her a whit.
“I went to your suite. You’d already checked out.” Tania bit her wayward tongue. Why had she spit out that tidy tidbit?
“Why?” He finger-stirred the ice in his drink.
“I didn’t want you to think I’d left because of your scars,” she whispered.
He snorted and said, his voice low, “You can’t even glance my way.”
She replied in a similar tone, “For cripes sake. Not because of your stupid scars. If my brothers or my father gets even a hint of—”
“Senior Chief Smith, what happens after Jaz finishes BUD/S?” Tania knew Mishe had deliberately interrupted her conversation with Axe.
Had her
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