Chaos Burning (26 page)

She needed the time to work through this and he was very stingy with that. It would be something they probably would always butt heads over. She understood why he pushed and bossed. It was who he was. But she was not to be pushed and bossed around, especially about important stuff.

Just because she accepted that they had a deep connection didn’t mean she ceded her entire life to him. Keeping him in line would be a tiring job. It was a good thing he had so many other wonderful qualities.

She’d gotten some wonderful advice from an unexpected quarter when she’d gone in to talk to the folks at the archives when she’d returned from Lycia. Sheila Kelly had said to her,
“All these notions of time and courtship and all that, those are human ideals. We often use them because they make sense. But what you two have is more than an attraction. You and he are fated. Fate doesn’t mess around and it sure as heck doesn’t give second chances. If you can accept that you’re able to send a fireball from your fingertips, why not accept the concept that you and he are meant to be?”

She’d been right of course.

Lark stepped from the shower and toweled off before she noticed he’d come in and left a pair of panties and one of his T-shirts. They were supersoft cotton and she had taken to stealing them when he wasn’t looking. She should have known he was looking.

Feeling better, she wandered out to the smell of bacon and eggs. And the sight of a naked Lycian in his bed, waiting with food and a promise of something altogether naughty on his face.

“Damn. I feel like it’s my birthday.”

He laughed. “Come to bed.”

She did, settling where he’d fluffed her pillows. “You look better.”

“I guess I’m busted over the shirts.”

“You have no idea, do you, pixie?”

She paused after taking a huge bite of eggs. “Hm?”

“When you wear my clothes, you’re wearing my scent. My beast goes crazy for that.”

She blushed, flattered and flustered. Her normal state around the man. “Oh. Well, good.”

They fit nearly to her knees so it wasn’t like it was form-fitting or even revealing. That he found her sexy for an entirely different reason pleased her.

“Drink the tea. It’s the stuff your mom sends. By the way, I called and asked her to send more.”

She nearly choked. “You called my mother?”

“I did. I like her.”

Oh man.

“Why would you do such a thing? What did you say?”

“I told her who and what I was. I told her you were mine and I wanted you to have plenty of her tea as you were on the trail of something nasty and you, being you, would run yourself down unless you had me to make you rest. She liked that part.”

Oh, she bet. She bet Rain absolutely adored Simon.

“In fact, I think it’s safe to say your mother is totally in our corner. She said she wanted us to come down when this was over. Or that she and your father would come here. She also wants to meet Tila.”

Unbelievable! “Really? Like I was four and in nursery school? You called my mother to tattle? Just how long were you two on the phone?”

It was clear from the look on his face that he finally figured out she was pissed. “It wasn’t like that. I wanted to meet her. She’s your mother.”

“I haven’t had the chance to even talk to them about you. That was my job, Simon. My responsibility. You can’t just do this stuff on your own because you want to and no one has ever told you no.”

“I can’t believe you’re making a big deal out of this. How many females would love their men for calling their parents to tell them how much he loved their daughter?”

“Only if they were crazy.” She sighed. “I get that you want to take care of me. I get that you’re a bossy, bossy alpha male who likes to make life easier for those people he loves. But you can’t just call my mother to tell on me and then announce you’re my lover and arrange for visits to another realm.”

“I want to know more about you. Is that so wrong? Is it so bad that when I worried about you I sought out your mother? To try to know her because she’s your mother?”

“You seem to miss the point where
I
tell my parents about you and
I
make the choice to speak about our relationship. You can’t live my life for me. I agreed to see you. I agreed we have something special but I told you I needed the space to work it all through. Calling my mother isn’t giving me space. It’s trying to manage me. I have enough people trying to manage me. I don’t need it. I don’t want it. I want a partner, not a fucking parent.”

He blinked at her, clearly flummoxed by her reaction and she had to harden herself to his charm. She cared about him deeply. Was touched that he wanted to help and reach out to her mother. But she had to push back when he went too far or he’d think it was all right.

“I’m not going to apologize for worrying about you. You haven’t introduced them to me. You haven’t told them about me. I wanted to meet them in some way. Wanted to be sure they knew you were taken care of by someone who cared about you.”

She wanted to get out of bed and storm off. She would have with anyone else. But her entire body hurt. She was exhausted and emotional and she wanted to be with him.

“I don’t ask you to apologize for worrying about me. I want you to see that you stepped over the line. I want you to see that if we mean to make this work and have a relationship you can’t take over. I don’t want that, even from you.”

He sighed, clearly annoyed. “Drink the tea. She’s sent a new batch next-day air. Should be here today as it happens. She said if you get out of hand and you won’t rest to call her and she’d take care of that for me. She also told me that if I ever harmed you she’d hunt me down and neuter me. I should have told her you’d do it yourself it if needed doing. I’m not trying to control you. That’s abusive and shitty. I just want to protect you. I’m sorry I overstepped.”

He was truly adorable. And he made her happy and anxious all at once and maybe that’s what love was. “Rain said that? About neutering you?”

“She did. I like her name. She said she named you Lark because when she was pregnant with you birds would come and sit on the fence. That birds have loved you since then. I can’t believe I never noticed that. But once she mentioned it I totally realized it. Even in Lycia the birds loved you.”

She shrugged, suddenly shy. “It’s really her. We joke that she’s a hippie and she is. But she’s special. She is every inch an earth-mother witchy type. Birds, bees, butterflies, dogs, kittens, whatever. I’ve never seen an animal, or anyone else for that matter, who didn’t love my mother.”

His grin made her blush. “She and I pretty much said the same about you.” He fed her another piece of bacon. “Eat.”

He leaned in and kissed her gently. “I love your world because I’m in it. I don’t love you bruised up and exhausted. So finish eating and then you will sleep for at least six hours. Period. I get why you’re upset about the call, but I won’t cede worrying about you and your health.”

Why should she argue? Lark understood her body, knew what she needed to stay strong. She was strung out and on edge. She’d used her magick and tapped into the font as well. Sleep worked wonders, as would this breakfast of his.

He moved the dishes when she was finished and she snuggled down into the blankets. Blankets he’d added to his bed to entice her. He didn’t need it; the man was a blast furnace. But he knew she did so he took care of it. He took care of a lot of things, she realized not for the first time.

“You take care of me,” she murmured as she let herself relax and feel safe.

“It’s my job.” His voice rumbled through his chest as he got in with her, pulling her close.

“No, it isn’t. You have a big job and a big club. But you make me part of your life. Thank you. No one’s ever really done that for me before.”

“You’re mine to protect, pixie.” He kissed the top of her head and she let herself go and sleep.

SHE
woke while the sun was still high in the sky. Behind some clouds of course, but it was there.

His warmth left her lazy so she let herself wake up slowly. A glance at the clock told her it was two. She needed to get up and check in. But not just yet.

She snuggled into him and noted the smile on his face, though his eyes remained closed. “What have we here?” His arms encircled her and held her tight. She sighed happily and listened to the steady beat of his heart against the cheek she rested on his chest.

“Afternoon.” Waking up next to someone was something she
hadn’t done in a while and it took getting used to. She’d broken up with someone a few months back and he’d slept over a few times but he had a day job and her job was really about the nighttime so their schedules often just didn’t mesh. That and he was probably out with other women and thus too busy to spend any with her. Not that she knew it until far later. Or maybe she did but she didn’t really care or want to face it.

Meh.

What she had now was far better. And more challenging. If this male cheated on her, she’d kick some ass.

“You’re smiling. It makes me nervous,” he murmured as he shifted her to her back and kissed her soundly.

Once she got her breath back she found her voice. “I was just thinking that if I ever caught you cheating, I’d have to harm people.”

There was this little thing he did when she said stuff. He’d pause and cock his head as he struggled to connect whatever she’d said with some matter of context. It was rather adorable and she couldn’t lie to herself that it amused her that she flustered him right back.

“I think that’s a compliment.”

“It totally is. I’ve never actually wanted to burn something down when anyone else I’ve been with has done something unforgivable.”

He nipped her bottom lip. “Yeah? So what did you do to them instead?”

“I walked away.”

His gaze narrowed as he burrowed a hand under the shirt she wore and found a breast. “There’ll be none of that.”

She started to laugh but he found her nipple and pinched it between two fingers. So she gasped instead. “Okay.”

“I’m afraid I’ll hurt you.” He leaned over her, so large and male. Yet he touched her with utter gentleness.

“I bruise easily. Really, I’m fine.” More like dying to have sex with him.

“You on top.”

“Be right back.” She ran to the bathroom and cleaned up, brushing her teeth on the fly. He of course was gorgeous
and smelled good. But she was not in that league and needed to wrangle her hair and stuff before she could really get into the sex part. Her face was a riot of blue and green bruises on the left side. She tossed the shirt and ignored the rest, returning to him in her panties and a smile.

He pulled the blankets back and she knew he wasn’t all
that
bothered by the bruises. Or one part of him wasn’t anyway.

And man was he gorgeous. Lying in bed just waiting for her. Long and massive, all tawny skin and muscles. She had to swallow back a gulp at how hot he was. “You’re like dessert for breakfast.”

“Come eat me up then.”

Laughing she scrambled atop him and kissed that mouth until the need for him wasn’t as razor-sharp. Then she kissed over the stubble on his jaw. Over that spot just at the back of his jaw, under his ear that made his whole body tighten as a ragged groan seemed to tear from him. Down his throat and over his collarbone.

“You’re a masterpiece,” she murmured before scraping her teeth over his right nipple. When he shivered and arched, she did it again and moved to the other side, repeating and getting the same response. Down that chest and over his belly. She rubbed her cheeks over his belly button and then kissed a trail down that line of hair leading to his cock.

She kept her eyes on his as she gave it a kiss. His mouth quirked into a smile. A confident sort of cant to his lips that sent a sensory punch to her gut. And other parts.

Grasping him at the root, she angled him just how she wanted and kissed and licked to her heart’s content.

Or, rather, until he grabbed her upper arms and moved her back. “I want to be in you. Now.”

“You were.”

He trailed fingers down her belly and cupped her pussy. “Here.” One of those fingers traced the seam of her body and dipped inside, tickling her clit until she had to gulp back a moan. “You’re ready for me.”

As if there was a doubt?

Thank all the heavens she knew her cycle and he didn’t
have to use a condom. Lycians didn’t carry STDs he’d told her, and she’d had a little dance party in her head knowing they could be skin to skin.

She shimmied up and reached back to guide him true as his fingers did magical things to her clit. When she slid down, taking him into her fully, they both groaned long and low and she had to pause to catch her breath as he filled her.

She moved on him as his hands roved over every part of her he could reach. Nearly reverent. The way he touched her made her feel like a goddess.

And skilled, no doubt about that part either.

He teased pleasure from her in ways she’d never experienced before. A caress at the base of her back, just at the bottom of her spine made her want to purr like a cat. He drew circles around her breasts, slowly. Starting wide and slowly tightening, until finally, as she was nearly breathless from anticipation, finding her nipples.

She couldn’t tear her gaze from those hands on her skin. The size of him, the contrast of his skin against hers. Caramel to cream. He rolled and tugged just right. Just right until she nearly whimpered from how close he’d taken her to climax.

And then one of those hands wandered away, tickling over her belly button, sliding back and forth down her belly, over that very sensitive skin just above her pelvic bone. And then he spread her open and caressed the heart of her. Before she even had time to register it, she found herself sucked under by a bone-shattering orgasm as he took over, thrusting up as she moved down.

She managed to keep her eyes open long enough to see the pleasure take him too, to watch the changes play over his face as he thrust up one last time and stayed deep; the snarl on his lips was her name.

Chapter 22