Page 13 of Tempting Her Grumpy Protector (Kindred Tales Spicy Shorts #7)

GREER

Greer was still feeling the heat of Sunny’s lips on his chest—and the far more dangerous heat of her mouth on the head of his cock—when there was a disturbance in the crowd.

Their Thropp’ian guide was pushing his way through the women.

“Chief Lowhung wishes to meet the male Protector of Dr . Craythorn , the lovely scientist with the huge milk-makers!” he announced, grinning wide enough to show alarmingly sharp teeth Greer hadn’t noticed before.

Greer’s protective instincts roared to life at once.

He shifted subtly in front of Sunny , but it was too late—the guide’s round, unblinking eyes—all three of them—had already taken in the swirls of melted gold pigment painted over her breasts…

and the faint traces of the same color smudged at the corners of Greer’s own mouth.

The guide’s gaze swept over them both and stopped. His third eye widened.

“Wait…what is this ?” He pointed to the bold golden spirals on Sunny’s breasts and the kisses made in scarlet on Greer’s own skin. “ The pigments? You’ve marked each other?”

“Well…” Sunny began but the guide’s expression had turned scandalized.

“The Chief will be most displeased! He was told you were not a mated pair—so why are you painted as such?”

“Well, you see, the women here were—” Sunny began.

“—all over me,” Greer finished flatly. “ Touching inappropriately. My female?—”

“ She’s not your female! ” the guide interrupted, hopping from foot to foot. “ You have already admitted it! So why have you defiled the pigments?”

Greer felt the muscle in his jaw twitch. The guide hadn’t seemed this uptight about the pigments before—why was he “freaking out” as the humans said, now?

“We were encouraged to prove a claim to stop the others women from trying to place a Claim on me. It wasn’t?—”

“Enough!” the guide flung up both hands. “ The Chief will decide. Come .”

They were marched to the back of the long hall, where Chief Lowhung lounged on a carved wooden throne, bare-chested and bedecked with beads. His enormous lower lip jutted and his third eye bulged in displeasure when he saw them.

“What’s this I hear?” he demanded. “ You are not mates—yet you wear the markings of mates? Do you mock our customs?”

“Oh, no, your Chiefliness . That was certainly not our intention—” Sunny began, but Greer spoke over her.

“It was necessary,” he said, firmly. “ Your women?—”

“My women know better than to take what belongs to another. If they thought you were unmated, then you are unmated. No markings!” Chief Lowhung slammed a hand on the arm of his chair. “ This is an insult.”

“We didn’t mean—” Sunny tried again, but the Chief wasn’t listening.

“If you are not true mates, then the pigments must be removed at once! ”

He snapped his fingers and barked an order. Several attendants scurried away and returned moments later with the largest tub Greer had ever seen—big enough to hold two full-grown Kindred .

And it was filled to the brim with icy water. Greer knew it was cold because some of it sloshed out and hit the side of his leg.

“You will remove your coverings,” the Chief declared, “ And wash each other clean— thoroughly —while I watch to ensure the insult is undone.”

Sunny made a squeaking noise beside Greer and from the corner of his eye, he saw how she was twisting her fingers together nervously.

Greer’s gut tightened. Stripping naked and putting his hands all over his Ward while that pompous asshole looked on? Absolutely fucking not —except… refusing would insult the Chief further. And insulting him again might be dangerous for both of them.

He’d gotten Sunny out of a lot of difficult situations…but he didn’t think he could get her out of this one.

He clenched his fists.

“Little one,” he murmured to Sunny , “ I don’t think we have a choice. We’re going to have to do this.”

Her eyes were wide and pink was creeping up her cheeks, but she gave a small, tight nod.

The attendants waited expectantly.

With a low growl, Greer untied the leaf kilt and let it fall. Then he kicked off his boots—he wasn’t about to get them all wet. Then he stepped into the tub.

The cold water lapped against Greer’s knees and he was glad it wasn’t high enough to reach his balls. Despite the jungle heat around them, the water was icy.

Sunny slipped off her skirt and shoes and followed him in, her movements hesitant, the flush still on her cheeks. The chill hit her softer skin and she gave a little gasp, her arms crossing over her breasts instinctively. It was much higher on her—almost up to the tender V between her legs.

Greer told himself to look away. To keep his eyes on her face. To remember what he was—her Protector , nothing more. They had already gone too far tonight—much further than was allowed by protocol.

But the melted gold paint streaking her generous curves made her impossible to ignore. He couldn’t help running his eyes over her naked body.

“Remove it,” the Chief ordered from his lounging seat, his voice smug.

Greer reached for a clean cloth hung on the side of the tub, but one of the attendants snatched it away, shaking his head.

“With your hands. Always with the hands,” he murmured.

Sunny’s eyes widened, and she swallowed hard as she looked up at Greer .

“I… I guess we should get it over with,” she whispered.

Greer nodded.

“Guess so, little one.”

He dragged a wet palm slowly over the spiral he’d painted across her breast, then he cupped the heavy globe in one hand, palming it as he rubbed his thumb over her tight nipple.

Sunny gasped and gave a little moan, her eyes going half-lidded. The cold water beaded on her skin, mingling with the streaks of gold until they swirled together and bled away beneath his fingers. She shivered—not entirely from the chill.

“Oh, Greer …”

“Sorry,” he murmured, even though he didn’t feel sorry. Not one fucking bit. Not when she felt this warm and soft beneath his hands and he could see by her eyes and smell in her scent that he was pleasing her…pleasuring her.

“You’re just… doing your job,” she whispered back, though her voice trembled.

He cupped her other breast, rubbing to clear the last of the pigment as his thumb grazed the tight peak. Her breath caught as he teased both nipples at once, watching the color rise in her cheeks and smelling the scent of her feminine arousal rising to meet him.

Suddenly, guilt knifed through him. This wasn’t right.

A Protector didn’t touch his Ward like this.

Sunny wasn’t his—she could never be his.

And yet… she wasn’t pulling away. Her gaze met his, pupils wide, and something flickered there.

Lust …desire…a need so deep it seemed to reach inside him and twist his heart.

Greer looked away, breaking the moment. They couldn’t be looking at each other like this—not when their relationship was supposed to be strictly professional.

He moved on, running his palms over the generous curves of her body, taking his time to rinse the paint from every inch of her skin. She shifted closer, her wet body brushing his, and the muscles in his jaw locked.

Greer had fought in a hundred battles, faced enemies twice his size without blinking—but right now, he was hanging by a thread. One wrong move and the control he prided himself on would shatter. He wanted to take her— Goddess help him! He wanted her so fucking much.

And still, he kept washing her. Because the Chief was watching. Because stopping would be an insult.

Because his hands didn’t want to let her go.