They lay a tangled heap of limbs, pillows, blankets, discarded headbands, and half-eaten pizza crusts.
Sheba collapsed onto the far end of the sectional, her spine meeting the cushions with a dull thud.
Her hair was a mess of stray glitter and streaks of emerald gunk.
She was sick from all the cheese and chocolate cannoli she’d indulged in, and her feet ached from running around so much.
She groaned, needing relief.
The doorbell rang, and she dragged herself to the front door, opening the door to find a gorgeous, tall, muscled vision of Sacran beauty in all black leaning against the door jamb.
He slowly lifted his molten eyes to her. ‘Madam, in need of a rescue?’
‘Do I ever, my freakin sexy god-knight,’ she cried out, reaching for him.
He gave her a long kiss before letting her lead him inside.
He stepped over discarded popcorn bowls and discarded streamers, staring at the chaos and the huddled group of messy, slumbering children in disbelief.
‘Forget Sulfiqar’s attack on Eden II, this is where the real battlefield lies.’
‘They’re finally out,’ Sheba rage-whispered. ‘Idan, it’s a war zone. I’ve survived planetary sieges that were less coordinated than these kids. When Kirin tried to use his meta powers to turn the water in the foot bath into a tornado, I almost ran away. I’m physically and mentally spent. Heal me, soothe me.’
With a chuckle, Idan moved his woman onto the expansive sectional.
The sight of her, covered in the remnants of a spa-night-gone-wild while surrounded by the sleeping heirs of the most dangerous people in the galaxy, stirred a fierce emotion in him.
‘You’re a natural mama,’ he teased.
‘Nada, I’m a senior nursing director who just realized I’ve zero training to deal with the carnage of kids,’ she shot back, leaning her head back into his palms.
She reached a hand back and cradled his jaw. ‘Kiss me again and bring me back from the land of the dead.’
He indulged her, melding their mouths in a tongue suckling and nipping her lips that she squirmed in his arms, pulling away, eyes dilated, desire arcing through her to him.
‘You continue like this, we’ll be having one of those,’ Sheba warned, eyes gleaming as she pointed to the kids.
‘The problem being?’ Idan countered, his eyes molten and blazing. ‘I want one of those for us.’
She tilted her head in shock. ‘Commander Simi’Ren Idan Caliostheles, have you lost yourgoddamn mind?’
When his eyes flared, she reared back. ‘Fokkyou’re serious.’
‘Language,salkia, andnaam, I want foreverand childrenwith you.’
She blinked. ‘Can I think on it?’
He reached for her, pulling her back to his torso. ‘Take all the time you need. But I’ll have you know we Sacrans are potent, and I’ll seed you with child before you know it.’
When she bucked in protest, he laughed and pulled her closer, shifting until she sat tucked into his chest.
His sinewed hands found the tension points at the base of her skull.
He kneaded the stress out of her muscles, his thumbs tracing slow, deliberate circles over her temples.
‘What did I ever do to deserve you?’ Sheba suddenly whispered.
Idan huffed, leaning her back and tipping her face to his. ‘It’s me who should be saying that.’
