Page 49 of Last Rites

I nodded frantically. “Yes, just move, please… Kit, please.”

A nervous chuckle rumbled out of him, and he did what I asked.

My grip on his arm must have been bruising, but I couldn’t bring myself to relent as he thrust into me. Slowly at first, matching the pace of his carefully controlled breaths.

The pools of his eyes swelled with his arousal, and he panted out a few words. “Let me take care of you.”

His movements remained gentle and measured as his strokes grew deeper. It was a far cry from the bumbling efforts of my youth. This was smooth and so damn satisfying I could do little more than moan and relent to Kit’s efforts as my mind went blissfully blank.

I worked my palm slowly over my own length, timing my strokes to Kit’s thrusts. My eyes slid closed again, and, head thrown back, everything was Kit and me, moving in tandem.

Kit’s fingertips burrowed into my thighs, pulling me against his hips as they eased forward. Every repetition fueled the pleasure coursing through me, carrying me swiftly toward the peak of climax as the minutes wore on.

“Are you—” Kit puffed a labored breath. “Are you close?”

My groan proved answer enough, and I peeled an eye open to glimpse the focused scrunch of his face. He was trying to last, so determined to satisfy me, and the sight gripped my heart. I stroked myself harder, faster, and finally released his arm to grab his nape instead. Hauling him forward, I nearly collapsed us both as I dragged him to my mouth and caught him with a kiss.

Kit whimpered against my lips, then spilled inside me. The heat of him had me whining, alternating kisses with nipping bites while I fisted over my erection. My release followed his, warm and wet between us.

I kept my hold on the back of his neck, pinning him to me. I kissed him through his panted breaths, savoring his skin and invading the wet warmth of his mouth.

When he finally eased back, I mourned the loss of fullness, of unity. But still, I felt more tethered to him than I had in weeks. I hadn’t realized how badly I needed him to make that advance. To rebuild that connection. Assure me that even if I was never good enough for Cedric or Merrick, I was good enough for him.

He settled beside me, staying close and ghosting kisses across my shoulder and collarbone.

“We always do this backwards,” he mumbled against my skin.

I rolled my head to the side so I could meet his eyes. For the first time in weeks, there was a light in them. Humor, not guilt. The pressure of relieved tears built, but I blinked them away.

“Do what?” I asked.

“Take a bath first, and then get sticky.”

The smile that curled his mouth felt like a rare sight after weeks of mourning, and I couldn’t stop myself from devouring it in another desperate kiss.

He was chuckling when I pulled away.

“Two baths never hurt anyone,” I whispered against his lips.

18

Kit

The next morning, Merrick caught me before I even entered the ritual room. He walked with me the rest of the way and held me as a captive audience for his complaints about Penny’s intrusion the previous afternoon. When I made it clear that I wouldn’t listen to him disparage my intended any longer, he changed tack and told me to keep better control over his half-brother if I didn’t want to hear about future failings. When I retrieved a torch from the wall and hauled open the door to the tunnel, he finally took his leave amidst ominous promises that he would find a new job for Penny before the week was out.

When I arrived at the caverns and made it to the main chamber, Philippa caught me long enough to comment that I was looking a bit brighter. She attributed it to the sleeping draught helping me rest. I didn’t have the heart to tell her I’d stashed it in the top of the cabinet in my kitchen the day she gave it to me. It remained there now alongside the half-full bottle of whiskey neither Penny nor I had touched in months. I did concede, however, that Penny and I finally had a chance to spend some time alone together after weeks of my grueling work schedule making it impossible.

Her knowing smile told me she suspected exactly the kind of time we’d spent together. Luckily, she didn’t comment on it, just patted my arm and told me she was glad to hear it.

The remainder of the day was uneventful. We broke around dinner time and filed through the tunnel back to the Ossuary. Klaus was waiting for me in the ritual room when I stepped out of the dark, though he only lingered long enough to tell me to go home. Merrick had things to attend to, and I could wait to give him my daily report until the next morning.

I didn’t have to be told twice.

It was a novelty to get home before twilight. I trudged up the steps of the house ready to put a pot of coffee on the stove, enjoy a warm dinner with Penny for once, and then finish out the day tangled up with him on the couch.

But when I pushed open the door, I was greeted by the sounds of conversation. I braced before I saw the gathered resistance members making themselves at home in our small living area.

Rosie was perched on the arm of the sofa next to Penny, and both of her parents stood by the fire with Reimond’s father, Hugo, all nursing mugs of tea. On Penny’s other side were Thoma and Isla, who both turned toward my approach with varying degrees of trepidation.