She tore her gaze away, her cheeks bright red.
She’s too much fun to tease.
I took her cup and set it on the side table in the office, then slid my hand behind her neck to pull her closer. “If the coffee isn’t doing enough to wake you up, I have another idea…”
“That will just wear me out more…”she argued, though I didn’t get the feeling she was putting up too much of a fight.
“Then you can take a nap afterward. Think of it as my way of ensuring good sleep for you.” I leaned in and brushed my lips against hers. The touch was a question, like it always was with us.
I never pushed her. After so many years of feeling pressured into things I didn’t want, I always ensured to never put anyone else in that place. It meant even when I embarrassed her, even when I drew her in closer, even when I knew damn well what she wanted, I let her cross that last line.
And she always crossed it. Today, she slid her leg over my lap so she straddled me, then took my lips in a full kiss.
I groaned as my hands found their way to her waist, squeezing tight. We’d come so far together, overcame so many fears that had held us back. She’d allowed me to enjoy this connection in a way I didn’t think I’d been capable of. She’d taught me to trust, that there were people who wanted me for who I was and not what I could give them.
“I love you,” I whispered against her as I turned us, laying her flat on the couch. I broke the kiss so I could stare down at her. “You’re everything to me.”
She slid her arms around my shoulders and tugged me down, against her. She didn’t need words to answer me, to wash away the fears that still lurked inside my head. Instead, she simply accepted me—all of me.My kind self, my fears, my incubus, everything.
She gave herself over to me.
Who needs sleep?
* * * *
Wade
I glanced at the clock on the wall and snorted softly. Hera was late.
Again.
She’d taken to her new position as Director at the newly reformed and upgraded Larkwood Academy. She’d resisted the new job, of course, but after all she’d done, all she’d risked, no one else could do a better job.
Well, maybe someone who understands how to read a schedule.
“Don’t worry,” I assured Soshi when she frowned. “She’ll be here.”
Soshi nodded, glancing toward the other three kids seated at the table. In the past, the Warden had never given a damn about meeting people new to Larkwood. That was yet another example of the changes Hera had made.
The door opened and Hera rushed in, looking frantic and disheveled.
And what was it about that that made me all the more smitten with her? Sure, I liked when she was cool and collected. I couldn’t deny my less than pure feelings when she’d faced off against the Warden after blasting a hole in the side of a building like a total badass, butthiswoman was just as tempting.
Hell, I think I loved every last side of her and that was the real problem.
Her cheeks were red as she turned to look at me, and boy did that tell me a bit.
Such as the way her clothing was askew, that the flush on her skin covered her chest, and her breathing was hard.
I’d seen Hera in that condition enough to easily tell what exactly had made her late, and I couldn’t stop the way it made me want to toy with her. Not to mention that she still smelled like Knox, with his pheromones hanging off her.
“Hey, Hera,” Soshi said with her normal bright smile.
One of the other kids elbowed her, then whispered, “You can’t call her Hera. That’s theDirector.Call her Ms. Weston.”
“Soshi here gets special privileges, and you’re late,Ms. Weston.”My tone with that name made it perfectly clear I was mocking her. I dragged my gaze over her slowly and lowered my voice as I moved past her, whispering into her ear so only she would pick it up, “You missed a button. Also, tell Knox to not leave hickeys where they show. They give me ideas that aren’t appropriate in front of kids.”
She turned her back to the kids and looked down to find that I’d been one-hundred-percent right. She fixed the buttons quickly, her lips moving as she probably cursed both Knox and me.