by Abigail Kade
“What is going on here, Henry?”
He held the phone up so the chat participants could see the room and everyone in it, and they could hear our conversation.
“Did you forget what today is?”
“Henry, I was in a coma for two weeks. I’m not even sure what year it is at this point.”
I heard a shrill yell coming from the phone, and a female voice shouted out, “Fucking hell, Finn, it’s March twenty-fifth. Read the banner, dude. It’s our baby’s first birthday.”
Finn turned the phone around, and a small woman with brilliant blue hair sat next to an obvious member of the Fae who had silky strands of lighter blue hair cascading over his shoulders. Finn turned the phone more toward me and did introductions.
“Henry, this is Nic, one of the Nightshade Guild Mages, and one of her men, Marik, who is also a relative of our sweet princess.”
I waved and then helped Ameria focus on the screen so she could wave at them too. While they talked and cooed to the baby, I walked us over to the table. I gave Finn a jerk of my head and a raised eyebrow, and he got the hint to cut the chat short.
“Okay, it’s party time. Do you want to stay and watch, or do you want to go?”
“Hell yeah, we want to stay! This is awesome. I don’t want to miss her digging into the cake.”
I helped Finn arrange the phone so they could have a good view, then we joined the party. I introduced Finn to all my siblings and all of their children. There were about twenty adults, including spouses and partners, and just as many kids of all ages. The party was chaos, but also very special. If Finn had been on the run with the baby by himself, none of this would have even been possible. The cake was introduced to Ameria, and she did not disappoint. Her little fingers dug in, and she tried to eat both fists full at the same time. Pictures were taken, and the night went by in a flash.
As the crowd dwindled and the phone chat eventually ended with thank yous all around, my mother came and gathered our sleepy princess for bed.
“I’m going to take this little miss to get a bath and go to bed. You two go get some sleep. It’s been a long day for you both.”
We both kissed Ameria goodnight and then went through the house to the bedroom Finn had occupied for the last few weeks. Alone. I had only had one night of sleeping by his side, but I missed it when I couldn’t be next to him. Now he was here with me, and I was nervous—excited, but nervous.
“Henry, go take a shower and get ready for bed. I’ll go after you.”
Feeling bold, I slowly let my linen robe fall to the floor, then pulled my shirt over my head and dropped my pants. I was standing in front of Finn naked and hard before I answered, “I think it would be more fun if you joined me.”
I sauntered to the bathroom, putting a little more sway in my hips than normal. All the warning I got was a low growl from behind me, and then I was hoisted over his shoulder to the shower.
Finn was a dedicated lover and knew exactly how to make me moan with pleasure. He washed every inch of me reverently, and then it was my turn to get him clean before we got dirty. While I was washing him, his hands wandered, eventually finding my ass, using the soap to slip one, then two fingers inside. I was hard and leaking by the time he worked his way up to three.
“I don’t ever want to hurt you, Henry.”
I melted from his sincere love and concern. When his long finger reached in and found my prostate, I nearly howled with pleasure. He knew my body already, and it was amazing.
After the shower, Finn toweled me off and took his time carrying me to the bed and laying me down. He took one foot in hand and then kissed the instep, then the top, then the ankle. He kissed every part of my leg, then when he got to the upper thigh, he went back to the other foot and started again.
“You tease! Kiss me where I need it, Finn. Please?”
Finn smiled through that thick gorgeous beard and just kept kissing my leg one inch at a time. His lips were so soft, and his beard tickled in places. He wouldn’t let me giggle or get distracted. He’d slow down and wait until I was paying attention again. This time when he got to the upper thigh, he bypassed my raging hardness and leaned up to kiss my belly, then my chest, finally settling on my nipples. After he drove me crazy, sucking and licking and nipping each one until they were red with need, he kissed my neck and then nibbled my ears. He kissed and loved every single part of my body, except the part that was begging for attention.
“Finn, please. I need you. Please.”
He smiled and kissed me long and deep, our tongues dancing in unison, not fighting for dominance, but playing with each other like we’d been practicing for years. As he kissed me, I felt him reach to the side and use the lube I’d put there earlier before the shower. Once he had lubed up, he lined himself up with my entrance and kissed me lovingly once again. As he slid in and made us not two, but one, he spoke against my lips. “I love you, Henry. Now and always.”
When he pushed all his length inside for the first time and said the words I loved to hear, I threw my arms around him and told him words from my heart.
“Fuck, I love you too, Finn.” I squeezed my canal and forced a deep moan from him, making me smile in triumph. “Now that that’s out of the way, fuck me like you mean it, big guy.”
And damned if he didn’t fuck me, make love to me and everything in between all night long. And then the following morning, we started all over again.
It was heavenly.
Chapter 13
Finn
“I can’t believe our time is up already.”
Henry was having a hard time with the fact that Ameria would have to go to the next Mage today. I’d texted with Jemma already and told her I would summon her to this realm to make a safe transfer. We had spent the last few days playing and exploring the forests that were so different than the ones I was used to. It was fascinating that even here, the trees and plants bent to get nearer to her.
I looked up from the journal where I was making my last entry to let Jemma and the others know what we’d done and what milestones she’d reached this month. Granted, I had been involuntarily asleep through some of it, but Henry had filled me in on the details.
“I know. It’ll be hard to let her go, but it’s for the best that she not get too attached to anyone while they’re solving the crime. Her parent’s murderer is still out there somewhere, and like they say, a moving target is harder to hit.”
Henry sighed and rested his head in his hand on the outdoor table, watching Ameria play with the other children in the grass. There were no harmful bugs here, which was very nice. The lack of mosquitoes and biting ants alone made this place close to heaven.
“I know we have to say goodbye, but she’s such a joy to have around. I’ll miss her and her little puppy and the sweet way she says tree. I wish there were a way we knew she could remember us.”
“There is.” I brought out the oak leaf pendant I ordered with all the other baby things at the beginning of the month. “We each get to give her a pendant to represent her time with us.” I handed the pendant to Henry. “This one can represent both of us. You saved her by that old oak in the forest, and the oak leaf symbolizes me and my Druid ancestry. She’ll remember both of us every time she sees it.”
“That’s really sweet, Finn, thank you.”
He handed the pendant back to me, then walked over to pick her up and bring her over for her snack.
I put the pendant on her necklace, then placed it in a special pouch in her duffle bag. The tin of magic formula was still in there, along with lots of other things we’d collected for her this month. Right on top was her favorite stuffed puppy.
“I put everything in there earlier. You can put the journal on top when you’re done.”
Henry fed her some soft fruit while I finished the last entry.
She learned several words this month, including milk, tree—twee, pup—for her puppy, and gorm—not sure what this is, but she usually has puppy growl when she says it
. She’s sweet and a joy, but don’t let her diaper get dirty, or there will be hell to pay.
Finnegan
Having finished the last entry, I placed the book into her bag, closed it up, and walked over to where Henry was sitting with his mom and dad and several of his brothers and sisters.
“They all wanted to say goodbye.” Henry was valiantly trying to hide some tears, and I was surprised to feel my own eyes tear up.
I hugged him as we watched all the family pass Ameria around, showering her with kisses and hugs and her favorite raspberries to her neck that made her giggle.
“I never thought I’d say it, but I’m going to miss her so much.”
Henry hugged me back and gave me a kiss to the neck, right below my beard, where I liked it the most.
“She’ll be all right, right?”
I let him go and met his worried gaze.
“I know that every Mage is going to do the absolute best they can to keep her safe, just like we did. We even caused a kidnapping scandal. What do you think they’ll run into?”
He chuckled and looked a little less concerned. “I don’t know, but I hope next month will be boring and nothing at all happens.”
As I touched the secret rune on my arm, hidden by my charmed bracelets, to summon Jemma here to hand over our charge, I hoped Henry was right.
An hour later, after saying our goodbyes and sending Jemma back with Ameria to her home in Greece, Henry and I went for a walk in the gemstone forest.
“You know, Finn, we have a very long future ahead of us. What should we do first?”
I wriggled my eyebrows at him and grabbed his butt with both hands to give it a squeeze. Through his surprised laughter, Henry yelled, “You weirdo, don’t look at me like that. We can’t get freaky every day for the next millennia.”
I kissed his neck and nibbled his earlobe. “We absolutely can, and I plan on seducing you with my kilts and hatred of technology.”
“Finn, seriously. What do you want to do? We can stay here as long as we want, but I’m not sure.”
I considered the opportunity provided us by this haven. We would never have to worry about anything ever again.
“I could step down from the Guild, and we could stay here. It would be peaceful, and we could be near your family.”
Henry thought about it for a moment, then shook his head. “As much as I want to think that would be perfect, and it might be in the future, I don’t think you’re ready to retire from the Guild just yet. You need to see that Ameria is safe and that the ones who murdered her parents are brought to justice.”
“You’re right. I’m not quite ready yet. But one day, I will be, and we can come back here. Okay?”
Henry took my hand and led me out of the woods and to the house’s rear entrance. “I think that’s a perfect idea. We can go back to the cabin in a week or two.”
“And what are we going to do for the next week, my Henry?”
He pulled me with much more force than necessary into the bedroom, and as he was closing the door, he replied, “We’ll be doing each other, my Finn.”
The End
Finnegan and Henry will be back in 2022 with a whole new mage adventure.
Ameria’s story continues with Jemma in the book Shadow Mage by Lia Davis available on April 29th. You can pre-order all of the books here.
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Keep reading for a sneak peek at Shadow Mage
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Abigail Kade lives on the Gulf Coast of Alabama with her husband of 25 years and their two teenagers, God help her. Her work ranges from super sweet contemporary, to paranormal, to deliciously dark, and she loves every single genre. She
believes everyone deserves their happily ever after, but sometimes it's a difficult or dark path to get there. Abigail spends all of her limited spare time dreaming and writing about all the interesting characters living in her head, and telling
anyone who will listen that instalove is a very real thing, no matter how flawed the characters may seem to be.
Also By Abigail Kade
Contemporary Series
Just the Way You Are
Until the Stars Fall (Book 1)
Until I Met You (Book 2)
Until Forever (Short Story)
Hearts Collide
Up Ship Creek (Book 1)
Paranormal Series
Beyond Fate
In the Lion’s Den (Book 1)
Familiar Magick
Discovering Destiny (Book 1)
Summoning Secrets (Book 2)
Multi-Author Series- Dark Romance
Criminal Delights
To Have and To Hold (Book 15)
Grim and Sinister Delights
Consequences of Crying (Book 13)