“I find I’m at your disposal,” he said with a grin, and linked his hands behind his head. “Do your best, brat.”
“I do love a challenge,” I said.
I slid a hand through his curls, stroked his bottom lip with my thumb, then lowered my lips to his mouth, kissed him in bites and nips until he was thoroughly fed up.
He sat up, with me still straddling his waist, and wrapped his arms around me. And his mouth wasn’t gentle, but ferocious in its focus. In seeking pleasure and giving it.
His hands found my breasts again, stoked the fire that already burned between us with love and desire and magic. And then his hand was between our bodies, and he found the center of mine. He fueled the fire until I was moving against him.
“That’s my girl,” he said, and I could hear the smile in his voice. “Take what you need.”
And then pleasure was a flame that covered me, consumed me, and left me trembling in his arms.
But I wanted more. I shifted over, away, pulled him down to me. I wanted the cover and heat and weight of his body. His mouth found mine again and, when he joined our bodies, paused with his forehead against mine, shaking with need.
I pushed dark hair from his forehead. “Take what you need,” I said.
He kissed me hard, began to move his body, put a hand beneath me to lift me up and increase my pleasure. We moved together, sharing ourselves, bodies undulating in the beautiful darkness of dusk.
“I howl for you,” he said. “I fight for you. Iburnfor you.”
His voice trembled; then his breath caught. And the agony of pleasure filled his face. That sent me over the edge, both of ustumbling together through the darkness and landing in each other’s arms.
“Let’s stay here forever,” he said.
And then the cat, somewhere beyond the closed bedroom door, made a horrible howling sound.
“She also howls for you,” Connor said.
“But out of hatred, not love. And she would definitely not fight for me. Not like you.” I glanced up at him, found his eyes closed, a peaceful smile on his face.
“I fight for you,” I whispered, and kissed his forehead.
* * *
I found Alexei downstairs with Lulu. I’m not sure what was happening between them, except that they were on the couch and hands and lips were moving.
I hadn’t even had coffee yet.
I cleared my throat as loudly as I could, which had them splitting apart like guilty teenagers. I covered my eyes as I walked through the kitchen and grabbed my jacket from a chair. “I saw nothing.”
“You can stop,” Lulu said dryly, but there was a hint of amusement in her voice.
“Really rather wouldn’t,” I said, and shifted my fingers to look through them. They stood beside each other, but no pink parts were in contact. She looked truly, deliriously happy. He looked…victorious. Very shifter of him.
I cleared my throat again. “He’s sleeping, and I think he needs more rest.”
“After the bout you two had,” Lulu said with a sly grin, “I don’t doubt it.”
So, her revenge was swift.
I gave her my steeliest stare, which was probably not convincing given the flush on my cheeks. Then I looked at Alexei. “Are you going with her or staying with Connor tonight?”
“He’s staying with Connor,” Lulu answered. “Connor needs a hand, and I don’t. Clint will be at the site today with some of his people. Safety in numbers and all that.”
“All human?”
“Yes, and one supposedly has a black belt in something. The demons don’t have any reason to be interested in me, and the violence is only sporadic. So far.”
