“Okay.” He gave her a lopsided smile. “Drive safely tonight.”
She didn’t correct him. What difference did one night make? “I will.”
Kay gave James a quick hug goodbye, promised to call from Wales, and jogged down the stairs. She didn’t want to hang around; Ethan would be home any minute.
She sped through London in the sunshine, reveling in the rumble of her Kawasaki and the open air, and remembering the ride they’d taken together. Remembering telling him that she was ready for more.
Ethan opened the door a few seconds after she had knocked. He was barefoot, with his jeans loose around his waist, damp hair, and a white T-shirt that somehow clung to every ridge of his body.
Kay stepped into his arms and let out a long, slow breath. Everywhere else in the world, she had to be strong. Elizabeth needed her to help with her visions. David needed her support with the Circle. James and Zach needed her to be part of their triad, the friend that balanced their two personalities. The Order needed her as a Guardian.
But here, with Ethan, she could just be herself. She could show him her worries and fears without being judged, and he was strong enough in himself that he wasn't threatened by her. Her Shadows settled for the first time since she’d last seen him, warm and contented.
He gave her a soft look as he led her inside and took her bag. “Everything okay?”
“I missed you,” she admitted.
They sank onto the sofa together as she continued, “And I hate feeling like I’m being held back.” She chuckled. “God, I would have made a bloody awful Seer.”
He pressed his lips to her shoulder. “You’re exactly what you should be.”
Damn. So many years, and hearing those words still meant more than she could explain. Especially coming from Ethan. She leaned into him, dropping her voice to a whisper. “Thank you. That’s… you’re important to me.”
He tugged her onto his lap and rested his forehead on hers. “You’re important to me, too.”
She tilted her head to kiss him and Ethan tangled his hand in her hair, angling her until they were perfectly joined as they tasted each other.
Kay’s Shadows rose through her body, filling her, until they flooded over and joined where Ethan’s were pouring out toward her. This. This was what she had needed. Touching him. Being close to him. Being seen for who she was, just as she saw him.
Ethan pulled her T-shirt up and she lifted her arms over her head to help him, revealing the silky red lace. His breath hitched and she shivered under his gaze.
He ran his teeth down the side of her neck, tipping her chin until she was leaning back, held up by his strong arm. She balanced in his lap while he ran his tongue along the mound of her breast and into the dip of her cleavage before finding her nipple and biting through the silk, tugging and teasing with his teeth.
She wanted his hands on her, to taste his mouth and feel his body inside hers. But first, she wanted to give him something. She shifted out of Ethan’s lap, slowly lowering herself to the floor until she was kneeling between his open legs. He watched her with heavy-lidded eyes, one big hand reaching out to rub a calloused thumb in teasing circles over the damp red silk of her bra and the pebbled nipple underneath. She arched back, closing her eyes as he touched her, letting the sensations build until she wanted to writhe and pant and beg. Instead, she opened her eyes, and he slowly leaned back, legs splayed, like an ancient king on his throne.
He rested one arm along the back of the sofa while he ran his free hand up her neck to tug at a strand of hair. He wound it slowly around his fingers as she pulled down his zipper and released him.
His cock was heavy in her hands, thick and hard, already leaking as she leaned down and licked. His breath hitched and she did it again. Then she took the head slowly into her mouth and sucked.
He threaded his hand further into her hair as she took more of him into her mouth and hummed, delighted by his low groan as his hips nudged forward.
Ethan tugged her hair lightly, questioningly, and she pulled back to look at him and smiled. It was the answer he needed. He gripped her tighter and took control, guiding her fully onto him and then off in a slow glide as she swirled her tongue along his length.
He kept the pace languid, a slow ratcheting up of pleasure, as their breathing deepened. The connection tightening between them was sultry and intoxicating, while the world around them fell away.
Ethan’s eyes were half-closed when Kay pulled the Shadows into her palms, but they widened to watch as she unbuttoned her jeans and spread her legs, sending Shadows to coil and tug around her clit.
She shuddered at the additional sensation, allowing Ethan to guide her mouth while she gripped his thighs and twirled her Shadows in a steady, maddening circle. A long moan escaped her and he shuddered, hips pushing forward, eyes so dark they were almost black.
And then he pulled her all the way off, his voice rough and low as he growled, “Enough.”
Kay let the Shadows fade as he stood, lifting her into his arms, and carried her to the bed. He pulled her jeans and the triangle of red silk and lace down her legs before undressing himself, and then stood above her, looking down possessively as she undid her bra and threw it to the floor.
He stepped closer and lifted her leg to sink his teeth into her ankle. Then he did the same to her calf. Above her knee. Her upper thigh. The crease of her groin. He reached for her other leg and began torturing her again. Licks and bites and long, slow kisses running up her inner thigh.
Finally, he ran his hot mouth over her mound. Almost, but not quite touching where she needed him. His tongue flicked out, taking tiny tastes as she lifted her legs and squirmed, trying to get closer. Aching and wet and desperate.
It wasn’t enough, and nearly too much, as she whimpered, arching her back. And then he was there, spreading her folds with his fingers to run his hot tongue over her clit at the exact moment that sharp clamps fastened to her nipples.
