Good.Much better.
When he’d swallowed it down, he nodded to himself. “Damn, I outdid myself with this batch, huh?”
Before I could answer, his phone alarm went off in his pocket, and he jumped up. “Blackcurrant truffles are ready, finally cooled!”
I shifted in the booth, watching as he bounced over to the fridge, all that compact hard muscle putting on a delicious show with the swagger he affected on his way.
He opened the fridge in the next moment, then carefully took out the plate he’d positioned all the little truffles on—in perfectly aligned concentric circles.
He hummed to himself as he brought it over to the island and rested it on the shimmering black surface.
Leaning down, he breathed them in, and then went to pick one up.
And stopped.
A choked sound escaped him, and he stared at the pink crystal plate, his lip wobbling.
I pushed to my feet, grimacing when he slumped against the counter dejectedly.
“Zayn?” I spoke softly, walking to him.
“I can’t… they’ve become Win’s favorite—even rivaling the Frosted Moon Petal Cakes fromVantiqe.I thought making them and us eating them would be a way to have him here with us and then… but, no, without him here it feels... wrong.”
“It’s okay,” I said, reaching out and stroking his nape. “We’ll save them. I can put them in a protective ice stasis to keep them fresh for when he gets back.”
“When he gets back,” he mused.
I could see where his mind was going, and I interjected quickly, “Yes.When.We’ll bring him back to us. That’s not even a question. It’s an absolute certainty.”
He stared at me for several moments, rubbing his worry stone bracelet.
And then he looked away and cleared his throat. “Then, when he’s back with us, we need to make sure we also have the Frosted Moon Petal Cakes here for him.”
“Okay, little hellion. We will.”
I swept a wave of my magic over the plate, forming a shimmering glacial dome over the top. It wouldn’t technically freeze the truffles, just preserve their freshness and keep them exactly the way they were currently even when more time passed.
Then I opened the fridge with a spark of my magic, and levitated the plate over, settling it inside.
Zayn beamed at me. “You’re incredible, you know that?”
“I may have heard it mentioned once or twice.”
His lips quirked. “As you should have. Many, many times. All the time.” He ran his gaze the length of me, then pushed into me, all that hard muscle pressing against me. Eyes hooding, he turned his head into my touch, and it had me gliding my fingers down over his shoulder, along his arm and all those intricate chaotic tattoos. His pulse picked up and I scented his need. A growl rumbled in my throat as it sent a rush of desire through me.
He trailed his fingers over the neckline of my top, across my bare shoulders, then down over my breasts, making my breath hitch, licks of sensation intensifying my growl. His eyes shone in response. “Did I tell you how fucking sexy you look in this?” he breathed, fingers trailing lower. “Love this blue on you.” He fingered the hem of my top, then slipped his hand underneath, gliding over my stomach and touching me skin to skin. His heat, the need, it was like freezer burn, such a heady feeling. “Like these edgy streaks in your hair,” he said, playing with them. “Fuck, icicle, you’re always so beyond sexy.”
He slinked behind me, then pulled my top up over my body, tossing it across the kitchen. “Yes… flawless,” he rasped, rubbing his hands all over the lace of my bra. I threw my head back against his shoulder as he slipped two fingers under each cup and rolled my nipples.
I reached back and fisted his hair and yanked him to me, our mouths colliding.
We kissed hard and deep.
His tongue curled around mine, tasting, exploring, savoring.
I pushed back against him, heat spearing me as I felt him so hard for me, so wild for me. Even though he didn’t have an animal nature technically, he could sure bring primal to the table in a hot-as-hell way. I loved it when he got all wild and chaotic during sex. It was all-consuming, such a heady thing. He made it so immersive.
And I could feel it from him right now—he wanted me to get lost in it, to give me a reprieve from everything threatening to suffocate us.
