“Give me ten minutes. It’ll be worth it—promise.”
Twenty-Four
STEVIE
Exactly nine point five minutes later, I return to the bedroom with my latest concoction.
Kirin watches me expectantly, his eyes full of happiness and anticipation, his energy matching exactly.
“It’s a variation of my best-selling Red-Hot Rendezvous,” I explain, handing over the mug. “Chocolate Pu-erh tea blended with cinnamon, ginger, orange peel, a pinch of chipotle powder, and two rose petals. But tonight, I also added crushed witch’s cauldron.”
“Stevie.” Kirin stares at me, barely suppressing a laugh. “Did you seriously just brew viagra tea? Because I can assure you, my potency isnotthe problem here.”
As if I needed proof, he peels back the sheet covering his lower half, revealing averygenerous bulge beneath his sweatpants.
“That looks…”Like something I need inside me right fucking now.I clear my throat, forcing my eyes back up to his face. “Uncomfortable.”
“A side effect of your half-naked presence in the bedroom.” Kirin smirks again, but his humor fades quickly. “Stevie, I appreciate this. I do. But I’m not sure how your spicy romance tea is going to help. I’m already in a state of… well. In a state. This tea—while I’m sure it’s delicious—isn’t going to control my Tower energy. If anything, it’s going to make things worse.”
“It’s not the physical potency we need to harness—clearly you’ve got that covered. It’s the mental potency.” I sit next to him in bed, careful not to spill his tea. “Kirin, you’ve got all this excess mental energy swirling around your head about what it means to be with me. You’re so worried about your Tower energy causing chaos that your brain is creating scenarios where one little orgasm brings the whole dorm down on our heads.”
“It might.”
“Okay, but what if instead of causing six-point-five on the richter scale, we harness that energy, channel it away from your thoughts and our external environment, and channel it instead into each other. Into enjoying each other’s company.”
Kirin sips the tea, his eyes closing in pleasure, but I can tell he’s still on the fence.
“You’re the Tower,” I continue, “and yes, that comes with a lot of intense energy, often destructive, but always illuminating. And I’m the Star. In our Arcana line, the Star appears after the collapse, so to speak—the light that shines through after the fall. I represent the healing that can take place after a tragedy, sure. But the Star can also be a beacon. Light, darkness… We exist in relation to each other. Joining together like this…” I brush my fingers along his jaw, offering a sincere smile. “It’s you and me, Kirin. We belong together. Our gifts, our magick, our hearts… I know this is right. I can feel it.”
He hesitates only a moment, then downs the rest of the tea and abandons the cup on the nightstand.
“Does this mean you’re willing to try?”
In response, he strips out of his sweatpants and climbs on top of me, smothering me with his delicious weight, his eyes bright.
“You are my favorite kind of genius,” he whispers.
And then he’s kissing me again, deep and deliberate, the taste of chocolate and cinnamon fresh on his tongue as he claims my mouth.
Gone is the frantic fumbling in the library, the scared, gasping kisses beneath the Towers of Breath and Blade. Right here, right now, everything is perfect.
Kirin kisses his way down my chest, tugging at my underwear with his teeth, but I can’t wait another moment. I need him inside me, filling me, giving and taking all the things we’ve denied ourselves for far too long.
I arch my hips as he slides my underwear down my legs, and then he’s coming back to me, kissing another hot path up to my mouth.
“I think your romance tea is working,” he breathes, stealing another kiss.
“Was there any doubt?” I part my thighs, and with no more hesitation, no more fear, he plunges inside and fills me completely, so perfect and amazing I almost cry from the pure joy of it.
He cups my face, his eyes filling with tenderness and love, with passion, with amazement.
“You take my breath away,” he whispers, sliding in deeper, never breaking our gaze. “From the first day I laid eyes on you in Kettle Black, and every day since.”
I smile and pull him down for another kiss, winding my fingers into his hair, gingerly feeling my way into his slow, delicious rhythm as he brings me to the very edge of bliss. It’s not long before our careful, deliberate movements give way to wild abandon, my hips arching up to meet his every thrust, his mouth hot and demanding on my neck.
My body tightens around him, and Kirin moans against my skin, sliding a hand down between us and seeking my clit.
I try to hold back, to prolong the intensity of this moment, but I’m no longer in control of my body. The softest brush of his finger has me trembling, and then he increases the pressure, drawing slow, intense circles as he fucks me harder, deeper, the last of his own control evaporating, everything inside me coiling tight and then…
