* * *
I wakewith her mouth on my cock, Rez lazily stroking up my side.
"I woke her. I'm sorry. I didn't realize you were dreaming together."
"She started it," I gasp out as she swirls her tongue around the head of my cock and laves my sensitive opening.
"Clever Spark," he says fondly, reaching out and caressing her cheek. "Is this what you want, Lucy? Or do you want Yaelyn to fuck your face while I eat your cunt?"
Her desire spikes, sweet and potent, always so responsive.
And what a pretty picture she is, on her back, her legs hitched over Reznik's shoulders, her head hanging off the side of the bed as I plunge between her plump lips.
Her arousal fills the room and all my senses, drugging me, filling me up in a way I haven't experienced since she left us. She gives me all of her pleasure, lets me feed on every soft cry, every tremble of her thighs as my demon holds her open, his tongue driving between her folds.
We come together, her longing and devotion flooding through me, filling in all of the cracks she left behind.
When we're cuddled up in a boneless heap afterward, her phone rings from the pocket of her jeans, and Rez slips from the bed to fish it from her pile of hastily discarded clothes.
She answers the phone, and her expression grows serious for a moment. "Aron, what is it? Fuck, are you crying? Aron, it's okay. I'll be there in an hour and–" Tears well in the corners of her eyes and she looks at me, her lower lip trembling. Then all the fear floods from her emotions and she lets out a bright, watery laugh and cuts her gaze sharply to Reznik, mouthing a very clear,What the fuck did you do?
Rez grins, his oil-slick eyes shining with... with love.
"Oh, Aron. That's great news. No, I have no idea who it could have been," she lies. "Tonight? Um, can I bring, um, my guys?"
I hear her demon foster-father's exclamation and she ducks her head, but she can't keep from smiling. "Oh my god, Aron. Stop. I'll ask them, I promise. Yeah, I want to see the kids. Can we bring anything? No fae fire whiskey? You're no fun. Yes, I'm bringing a flask. All right, love you, Pops."
She tosses the phone onto the covers and squirms down between us, hiding her face. She tries to sock Rez gently on the shoulder, but with her eyes hidden, she misses and punches him straight in the pec. She grunts in pain and shakes out her hand, but joy and relief shine out of her, as bright and warm as sunlight.
Dark gods, sometime when we were sleeping, my grouchy-on-the-outside-gooey-on-the-inside demon saved her beloved Shadow House.
Rez peppers her with kisses, every inch of her he can reach, and when she finally looks up, tears shining in her eyes, he captures her mouth in a single, solemn kiss that he pours all of his love into. I've never felt anything more beautiful until her joy and love answer his. "Happy Yule, Spark," he murmurs. She kisses him and he smiles against her lips. "You wanted to ask us something?"
Lucy cringes, squinching her eyes shut. Her request comes out in a nervous rush. "Um, do you want to go to a Christmas party tonight at Shadow House and, um, meet my dad? He was so overjoyed about the whole anonymous donation thing and AronlovesChristmas, and there's no stopping him when he's made his mind up and–"
I loop my arms around her waist and pull her close, dropping a kiss on her bare shoulder. "We'd love to, sunshine."
"Demons are supposed to celebrate Yule," Rez grumbles, but there's affection in his low, gravely words.
"Don't tell that to my dad if you want to keep your wings. He drank the Christmas Kool-Aid the moment he came to this realm. Don't be surprised if he dresses up as Santa for the little ones. He goeshardthis time of year."
"Fine, fine," my demon relents, but I can feel the grin in his voice. "But first, we're celebrating Yule. The proper way."
* * *
For the past few centuries,Reznik and I have spent the blessed Yule deep in solemn prayer and reflection, beseeching the old gods for the Light Bearer's return. We've told stories before the fire, as is Yule tradition, but we've been together for so long that we know all of each other's stories, but they're not old comforts: they're scars. Stories of the Light Bearer we served who never returned.
Until now, I think, as the three of us tumble into the shower.
"So how do we celebrate Yule?" she asks, stepping beneath the hot spray, hissing when it stings her still-pink ass.
Rez gives her bottom a rough squeeze that makes her squeal, then lathers shampoo into her fox-fur red hair, the tips of his claws dragging lightly over her scalp in a way that makes her shiver.
"We're going to be celebrating in the bedroom if you don't stop working her up," I chide Rez, but without any real censure. Lucy's pleasure is too beautiful, too pure and soothing to my battered soul for me to ever deny her, and Rez, dark gods, after nearly a millennium, he's happier than I've been able to make him on my own. I don't mourn for the happiness I haven't been able to give him. We love each other and we've done our best, but part of our soul was stolen from us the day the Light Bearer fell. I will never begrudge the man I love a moment of the happiness he finds with Lucy. Not ever.
He growls, capturing her mouth in a kiss, kneading her sore ass in a way that makes her moan. "There will be time enough for that. It's the Longest Night tonight and I'm tying you up like a present, Spark, and in Yule tradition, we'llfeastthe night away."
She wraps a leg around his and grinds against him, her pleasure so potent I go hard instantly. "If that's how you celebrate Yule, count me the fuck in. Let's start now."
