by Lexi C. Foss
“I love you,” she whispered. “I don’t know how it happened, but it’s true.”
He smiled against her lips. “I love you too. And I also want you.”
“Yeah?” She teased his mouth with her tongue. “Well, I need you.”
“Minx.” He lifted her into his arms to carry her to his room.
“Jay, this is a wedding-night tradition.”
“In this house, it will be an every-night tradition. And maybe a morning one too.”
She laughed as he dropped her on the bed. “Is that a promise?”
“Consider it part of the vows,” he replied as he crawled over her. “Do you realize what you’ve agreed to, Red?” He pulled his shirt over his head while speaking.
“An eternity of staring at your abs?” Lizzie asked as she admired his torso. “No, an eternity of petting your abs.” She ran her palms over his abdomen.
He caught her wrists and pinned them on either side of her head. “No, Red.”
“Yes, Jayson. Definitely, yes.”
He chuckled. “Mmm, no, you’ve agreed to an eternity in my bed.”
“Our bed,” she corrected.
Jayson smiled. He liked the sound of that. “Our bed,” he agreed as he trailed his fingers down her forearms. “Don’t move your hands.”
“Yes, sir.” The taunt in her voice stirred all his darkest desires.
“I’m going to enjoy teaching you the art of pleasure,” he murmured as he traced her curves down to the edge of her shirt. “But we’ll start slow.” He rolled off of her and onto his feet.
“Slow?” Lizzie went to her elbows. “I’m not sure I like ‘slow’ if it means you leaving me all hot and bothered alone in bed.”
“You moved your hands,” he noted as he pulled open the top drawer of his dresser. “My future wife is not very good at obeying commands.”
She snorted. “Your future wife will never obey commands.”
His lips curled. “Good. I don’t want an obedient wife. I desire an impish one.” He found what he wanted and returned to stand beside the mattress with his hands behind his back. “Take off your clothes.”
Lizzie’s tongue peeked out to lick her bottom lip as she ogled him openly. It took her about three seconds longer than he anticipated for her to comply. Her tank top went first, followed by the shorts and the lingerie underneath. Normally, he would require a slower reveal, but this worked for tonight.
He took his time studying her in the low lighting of his room. “You look amazing in our bed, Red. I think I’ll keep you here for a while.”
She relaxed into the pillows with a come-hither expression. The innocent woman he fell for existed beneath the surface, but a vixen prowled on the outside. His dick more than approved.
He let her see the item in his hand as he placed a knee on the bed.
“A blindfold?” she asked, her voice breathy.
“Starting slow,” he repeated as brushed the silk over her cheek. Her flaring pupils told him she approved. “Close your eyes.” She did, and he secured the fabric around her head. “Good?”
She nodded. “Yes.”
He stood again to remove his jeans and did so as silently as possible. Her nipples pebbled under his gaze, and her thighs clenched—all signs he scanned for in an aroused woman. Someone approves of the blindfold.
“Do you feel my eyes on you, Red?” he asked, voice pitched low.
She nodded as her pink tongue darted out to dampen her plump lips. “I want you to touch me.”
“Show me where,” he said as he slipped out of his boxer shorts.
Lizzie touched her chest far too lightly for his taste. “Here,” she whispered.
“Just like that?”
She shook her head. “No, harder.”
“Show me,” he murmured as he palmed his cock and gave it a lazy stroke.
She swallowed visibly but grabbed her breast and squeezed. Her moan teased the air in the sweetest way.
“Only there, Red?” His voice had taken on a husky quality caused by the show on his bed.
“N-no.” She whimpered as her fingers traveled down over her flat stomach to the thatch of red curls between her thighs. “This is wicked.”
“It is,” he agreed. “Now tell me how wet you are.”
“Oh God.” Her back arched off the bed. “This shouldn’t be turning me on so much.” Her hand slid lower, stirring a violent tremor from her. “So wet…”
She stilled as he knelt beside her on the mattress. “Let me see your hand, Red.”
Her thighs squeezed together in protest. “I’m so close, Jayson.”
“I know, sweetheart. Now give me your hand.”
Lizzie trembled but relaxed her thighs for him. Her sweet arousal scented the air as she lifted her palm for his inspection, causing his abdomen to clench in yearning.
My future wife.
He drew his nose across her soft skin, inhaling deeply. “Mmm, I think that might be my new favorite smell, Red.”
She squirmed beside him as he held her wrist. “You’re killing me.”
“The feeling is definitely mutual.” He wrapped her fingers around his shaft and groaned at the sensation of her wet heat caressing his sensitive flesh.
She stroked him from head to base and back again, nearly undoing him. And that tongue of hers, licking her lips in anticipation, only worsened matters. He learned during their time in Bora Bora that she enjoyed sex of the oral variety, but he wanted to come deep inside her tonight, not in her mouth.
Jayson needed to claim her.
He gently removed her hand and grinned at her responding growl. “Someone’s impatient.” He kissed her wrist before stretching her arm over her head and introducing her fingers to the iron bars decorating his headboard. “Hold on to this, Lizzie.” He caught her other hand and positioned it similarly. “Spread your legs.”
She complied with a sweet moan, and he admired her damp, red curls. Her legs shook as she waited for his next move, but he purposely prolonged it, heightening the tension. He shifted subtly without touching her.
“I could admire you all night,” he admitted softly. “So beautiful.” He leaned over to blow against her sex, and she bowed off the bed in response. “Mmm, so needy too.”
Sweat glistened over her skin. “Please, Jayson.” Her raspy tone prompted his balls to tighten in anticipation.
Mine.
He knelt between her legs and drew a finger through her slick folds. “An eternity of loving you will never be long enough,” he whispered reverently. “You’re perfect in every way.”
“Take me,” she begged. “I need you inside me.”
His palms slid beneath her ass to lift her pelvis from the bed as he thrust into her waiting heat. She cried out from the intense position, and he gave her a moment to adjust, even as his body implored him to take her the way he needed. Hard and fast.
“More,” she demanded. “More, Jayson.”
He smiled. “As you wish, future wife.” He pulled almost all the way out and drove back in to the hilt on a groan that she echoed through the room. So, so good. He repeated the action faster and faster until her screams of pleasure rent the air.
God, he loved that sound.
And he would hear it for the rest of her very long life.
Fuck.
He wanted to own every inch of her, and he did with each hard stroke. Her legs quivered as her orgasm mounted, but he knew she needed more. He remained inside her as he lowered her to the mattress and found an angle that would send her over the edge.
His mouth met hers as he slipped a hand between them and found her clit with unerring precision. It took two circles to send her over the edge into oblivion, and, fuck, it felt amazing. Her walls clamped around him so tightly, so deliciously, he couldn’t help but follow her into ecstasy.
“Lizzie,” he groaned as his essence combined with hers in the most intimate way. But he couldn’t stop. He craved more. And he wanted to see her eyes this time.
Jayson removed her blindfold and smiled at her sated expression. Mmm, they were nowhere near finished. “Arms around me this time, sweetheart.”
“Oh, yes, sir.”
*
Lizzie was never leaving this bed. Ever. The silky sheets smelled of Jayson and sex. So much sex.
She smiled as she stretched languidly, feeling more than satisfied.
“All right, I need you to help me solve an age-old debate,” Jayson said as he returned with a pizza box in his hands. He set the greasy deliciousness beside her on the bed.
She flipped open the top to grab a slice of pepperoni as she asked, “What’s the debate?”
He took his own piece and relaxed into the pillows beside her. “B says pizza isn’t a romantic food. I say he’s wrong.”
“He’s totally wrong,” Lizzie mumbled around the cheese in her mouth. “It’s sexy.”
“Right?” He took a bite, chewed, and swallowed. “I think pizza should be a requirement post-sex.”
Lizzie nodded eagerly. “I approve of this rule.”
He grinned. “Then it’s settled. Pizza multiple times a day, post-sex. And they say marriage is hard.”
She giggled. “Sex multiple times a day as well?”
“Obviously,” he replied. “I’m making that a rule too.”
She enjoyed another dose of cheesy goodness while considering. “You’re going to take that back when I get fat.” Lizzie frowned. “Oh God, I’m going to get fat.”
He stole her pizza and flattened her beneath him. It happened so fast she didn’t know where the food went. Hopefully, in the box.
Okay, maybe pizza in bed isn’t very sexy after all.
He kissed her soundly on the mouth before nibbling her chin and neck. His lips created a path that led from her throat to her belly button, where he paused.
“Do you have any idea what the image of you carrying our child does to me, Red?” He looked up at her so she could see the heat in his gaze. “The problem won’t be me not wanting you, Red; it’ll be me wanting you too damn much.”
She shivered. “I think I’ll enjoy that.”
“I’ll make sure you do,” he promised with another kiss to her stomach. “If the tests could already show that you were pregnant, I’d say this birth might be accelerated. Did the CRF files mention how far long they thought it might be?”
She shook her head. “We didn’t get that far before you walked in.”
“That’s okay. We have several physicians in Hydria, including B.” His expression darkened. “No, not including B. I don’t like that idea at all.”
Lizzie giggled. “I’m sure he would be professional.”
“Oh, he definitely would be, but no. That’s not happening. We’ll talk to Lara. She’s a Hydraian with healing abilities as well.” He nodded, deciding. “Yes, I prefer that plan.”
“Jealousy,” Lizzie mused. “That’s very interesting, Mister Masters.”
“You’re mine,” he replied simply. “I’m not sharing.”
“You’ve mentioned that.” She smiled down at him, happier than she’d been in a very long time. “I’m okay with not sharing.”
“Good.” He relaxed his lower body against hers and rested his chin on her stomach. “You still owe me cookies.”
She laughed. “I do. I’ll bake them tomorrow.”
“I think it’s only fair that you bake them naked considering I’ve had to wait so long for them. While I supervise, of course.”
“Will you also be naked?”
He shrugged. “If the chef requires it.”
“She does.”
“Then consider me naked.” He grinned. “I better tell Tom and Amelia to find a new home.” His grin slipped. “Actually, that may be more difficult now that several Ichorians are moving onto the island.”
Lizzie ran her fingers through his hair while she asked, “What do you mean?”
“Well, rescuing you from Osiris didn’t quite go as planned, and several of our Ichorian allies were outed in the process, including Issac.”
She paused. “What?”
“Right, you weren’t there. Let me fill you in.”
He told her what happened after Jacque teleported her to Hydria, how Osiris managed to sequester all the Elders, and about his showdown with Stas.
“So now he knows which Ichorians are not on his side,” she said when he finished. “And you think this will start a war?”
“Yes. Their defection tips the scales even more in our favor. Aidan’s bloodline is very powerful, and all of them have officially chosen our side. It’s possible more will request asylum as well, or go into hiding.”
Lizzie considered everything he said while combing her fingers through his hair. He hadn’t moved from her belly, his chin resting right over their future child.
What kind of world are we bringing you into, little one?
“I’ll protect you both with my life, Red,” he vowed, following her thoughts. She imagined the concern had flashed across her face.
“What about Jonathan?” she asked with a shiver. “He’s still out there.”
“Not for long.” Something dark flashed through his eyes as he said it. “His time on Earth is short-lived. He’s created too many enemies.”
“But you said he’s partnering with Osiris?”
He grinned. “My guess is that partnership is one-sided, in Osiris’s favor. And I’m not worried. Jonathan will die. I promise you that.”
She studied the conviction in his expression and decided, “I’m okay with that.” It surprised her. Violence and death were two subjects she avoided. But the idea of Jonathan dying? Yeah, she could get behind that. “What if he’s immune to your gifts like Osiris is?”
“Then we’ll kill him the old-fashioned way. With a bullet.” He kissed her belly. “I will do whatever I need to do to guarantee the safety of you and our child, Liz. I promise you.”
“I believe you,” she whispered. “Now come up here and kiss me.”
He grinned. “Forgetting who is in charge again?”
“I might require another lesson on that.”
He crawled upward to cage her between his hard body and the bed. “I’m happy to teach you, Red—every day, every night, for the rest of our very long lives.”
She wrapped her fingers around his nape to pull him down for a kiss. “I love you,” she breathed against his lips.
“I love you too,” he murmured. “Forever and always.”
Lizzie wandered up the hill in the direction of Luc’s home. Jayson had given her directions earlier after saying Issac and Stas were staying with Luc for now.
His home wasn’t near the other houses and seemed almost secluded up here, but the view was breathtaking. Dark blue waters rolling from almost every angle, white homes with blue tops, and cobblestone streets. So gorgeous.
Lizzie admired it all, including the adorable architecture of his home, before knocking softly. Jacque answered without his usual grin.
“Oh, hi.” He palmed the back of his neck. “Uh, Luc’s not feeling up for visitors right now.”
“Is he still recovering from what Alik did to him?” Jay had explained everything that happened, including what it meant for Alik to use his gifts on someone.
Jacque nodded. “Yeah. They all are. I can tell him you stopped by.”
“Oh, I actually came to see Stas. Is she here?”
He shook his head. “No, she went down to the beach with Issac. Want a lift?” His eyes brightened with that last part.
He likes to be useful.
“Actually, yes, that would be lovely.” She could totally walk by herself, but she didn’t mind the teleport, and his responding smile at being needed confirmed her choice.
He held out his elbow, and she accepted. The scene dissolved into the beach a second later. “That’s a really cool talent,” she admitted.
“It’s awesome,” he agreed. “Exhausting, but awesome.” He nodded toward the beach where Issac and Stas strolled hand in hand, d
eep in conversation.
“I, uh, I think they’re officially ending things,” Jacque whispered. “We should leave them alone.”
“What do you mean?”
“I mean, I think they’re finally having the talk.” He glanced at them with a grimace. “You know, breaking up.”
“But…” Lizzie paused as Issac stopped to face Stas, his expression tightened with despair. “Couldn’t he just, I don’t know, not bite her?” It seemed simple enough to her. Most couples didn’t bleed around each other, right?
Jacque gaped at her. “Whom is he going to feed from?”
“Donors?” Lizzie suggested.
“Feeding is a sexual process for Ichorians, and also, our blood is alluring. If he loses control for one second during intimacy, he’ll die.”
Lizzie frowned. “From what I’ve seen, Issac is very determined and in control.”
Jacque considered, nodding. “True, but a relationship of that nature between an Ichorian and a Hydraian is unheard of.”
“Just as I imagine having a bunch of Ichorians moving onto this island is unheard of as well,” she pointed out.
“Touché,” he replied. “Regardless, it’s considered impossible, and the others wouldn’t approve.”
“It’s not really up to them, though, is it?” Lizzie said, slightly irritated on her friend’s behalf. “If they want to try, they should.”
Jacque shrugged. “I guess we’ll see.”
Lizzie had hope. If anyone could figure this out, it would be Stas. Her best friend was the strongest woman she knew. “I should probably talk to her later,” she said as Issac cupped Stas’s cheeks and pressed his forehead to hers. “They look pretty caught up in their conversation.” And it felt a little weird watching them.
“Back to Jay?”
“Yes, please. I owe him some cookies.”
“Cookies?” Jacque repeated. “Sign me up.”
Lizzie grinned. “I’ll have to make a few batches, because Jayson doesn’t share.”
“As he shouldn’t,” Jacque agreed.
Stas tilted her face up for a kiss that Issac tenderly returned just as Jacque teleported himself and Lizzie from view.
Lizzie’s lips curled into a smile.
Their story is nowhere near finished.