“I don’t know much about them beyond liking to paint them. But I know that much.” There was a heavy pause. “It will get complicated. There’s a high chance he won’t find out, but if he does…”
“I know. My clan can’t get involved. They are dealing with enough. I can’t add to the burden of them needing to defend themselves all over again. They did that too many times with too many enemies. As for you…” She battled with words, with emotions. She clung on to sanity. “It’s wise for you to stay away, too—”
“Over my dead body.”
The force of the words had her halting, then gaping.
“What?”
“I’m not leaving.”
Hope flickered. “You’re not?”
“Are you kidding me? You are the best thing that happened to me, and this is just a hitch in the road.” He sighed. He skimmed a hand down her waist and hauled her closer. “Alexa?”
“What?”
“You will have to get used to having me around, unless you want to pry me away with a crowbar.”
“I don’t want to pry you away with a crowbar,” she replied. She kept secret the fact that his words made butterflies in her stomach, something that had never happened before in her lifetime. It stunned. It made her feel alive, forgetting about her troubles at that moment.
“Good. That’s good.” Another seizing and she was on his lap, where he held her while his mouth founds hers. She gasped from the kiss, then just sank in when he cajoled her to respond. The soft, comforting brushes gained momentum enough for him to let out a shaky exhale in her mouth before he pulled back. Even his tone was uneven. “Hold on. One second…no, ten minutes. You need to unpack. I don’t want to see that bag again. Let me take Archie to bed.”
A thrill ran down her spine before her heart fell—just like that, headlong into something she had no control over and shouldn’t experience a second time around. But there was no time to analyze it as he was back in no time, probing her with darkened eyes.
“How long is the brewery event going to take?”
“It depends, but it can go all night long.”
“Good. Very good.”
The next kiss was hungrier as if the short time apart made him yearn more. She sank into it, powerless to the effect their contact had. A spark blossomed in her stomach and spread wider until it consumed her body, which he lowered to the bed.
“The door—”
“Locked.”
“Archie—”
“Sound asleep,” he murmured. “My love, let me have you. Please.”
All resistance melted as his kisses rained down her body, memorizing lines and spaces she didn’t know would be so sensitive. She muffled her moans, then let them out in his mouth when he found her core and glissaded his fingers in. Then she bit back her cries when his cock was there, filling her up until even her heart was full.
“Alexa…”
Just that one word and she was lost in him, more than ready for the first thrust. The slow, almost dream-like rhythm set her body on fire, an inferno that sizzled from head to toe. When his grunts became breathless and his thrusts became erratic, she gripped his shoulders and pushed until he was rolling on his back and she was on top of him.
Molten blue met her gaze, his hands caressing her hips. Then he was clutching hard when she rolled her hips and started her rhythm, one designed to take him faster. The dream-like state popped like a balloon as they were hit with the rush, and soon he was meeting her repeated descents with a lift of his hips.
He plunged straight and found her pleasure point, then gyrated against it. He found her tits and latched on, sucking until she was begging, then easing with licks until she was trembling. He sat up and the angle changed, hitting her deeper until she was on the brink. Then Alexa surrendered to it completely, falling apart in his arms as he followed in a mass of groans and quivering muscles.
He left in the morning when Charlie was still asleep, smart enough to avoid her brother, who wasn’t shy about giving him dirty looks. He returned shortly after with two bags in hand and a moodier Charlie blocking his path, but Edmund simply offered him a cheerful greeting and strolled in with confidence. Alexa sent Charlie a warning look, relieved when it was heeded. She opened her mouth to ask, but Edmund beat her to it.
“Your nephew manifested powers and might be hunted down. Your sister didn’t want to alarm the clan when it could be a theory. I’m staying here because I want to watch over them—and frankly, you have a very good spot for painting.”
Charlie ogled him, not saying anything for the longest time. Then the younger man cleared his throat. “I’m staying here, too, if that’s the case.”
“Oh, good. Two strong individuals are always better than one…three, counting your sister. Four, counting your nephew who might be able to throw rocks at you with a look in the future.”