Before I moved out of his arms, he cradled my chin, kissing me in a way that told me he hadn’t forgotten about last night’s moonlit show. Then heboopedhis nose with mine, giving me a salacious grin. “Get this witchling fed. I’ve got this.”
He walked me to the nursery and waited for me to sit down in the rocking chair before handing me Aspen. A minute later he was in the kitchen, the sounds of cabinets and drawers and the fridge opening and closing. Undoing the clasp of my halter, I latched Aspen to me, stroking his cheek softly as he relaxed into his meal.
* * *
“Hey.”
The whisper made my eyelids flutter open, finding Aspen passed out over Lynx’s shoulder. He swayed back and forth, continuing to speak in hushed tones, not wanting to startle the sleeping witchling. “Sorry to wake you, but I got worried when you were in here awhile and he was starting to make noise. I didn’t want to disturb you.”
The only thing that disturbed me right now was the trail of drool hanging from my chin. I wiped it away, then rubbed my eyes, noticing that my halter had been redone. Probably better than just being conked out with my boobs showing, like usual. “Guess I was more tired than I thought.”
“Understandable.” Lynx moved with Aspen toward the crib. “That was no low-level magic spell and you don’t have much to pull from right now.”
He hesitated a moment, so I slowly stood up to help him. “It’s okay. He shouldn’t wake when you lay him down.”
Setting him on the mattress, Lynx let his hand linger on the side of the crib, watching Aspen sleep. “I envy that peace.”
“You and me both.” I chuckled.
“I’m sorry the locator spell took so much from you,” he whispered, laying a hand on my shoulder.
“I’m not. It got us more answers. I know that she’s alive.” I took his hand, sliding it down to the base of my spine as I wrapped myself closer to him. “So I guess it’s a good thing last night happened.”
Saros had said he knew about us and that he was okay with it. This would be temporary. Casual. If I didn’t test the waters now, it might never happen. Sure, I hadn’t done that in years, but maybe it would be easier this way.
“I’d say it was a good thing for many reasons, but yes.” He kissed me, then interlaced his fingers with mine, leading me out to the kitchen. Pulling out a small plate from the fridge, he set it on the counter, along with a few other ones that were already filled. “I conjured up some cheese, crackers, and grapes.”
“Thanks.” I grabbed a grape, popping it in my mouth and savoring its burst of sweetness.
Within the next ten minutes, I’d eaten about two-thirds of what he’d set out. Goddess, nursing and using my magical stores made me ravenous. It also probably didn’t help that I’d skipped a handful of meals since Hazel hadn’t come back from her date.
Lynx smiled, seemingly pleased that I’d demolished what he’d put together for me. Leaning on the counter, he nodded toward the nursery. “If you want to go nap longer, you can. I can keep an eye on him and watch him when he wakes.”
“When did he fall asleep?” I asked.
“Just before I woke you.”
“I think I’ll shower, then.” I nodded toward my room, taking a few steps in that direction. I paused. Maybe it was the warmth of his gaze on my back that made me bold. Maybe I just didn’t want to give myself time to overthink it. But I took a deep breath before turning back around to face him. “Join me?”
He choked on the cracker he was eating, little bits falling onto his shirt and the floor. Quickly grabbing a napkin, he cleaned them up, the look of surprise never leaving his face. I had to admit, I was enjoying sending him off his axis. It was only fair.
“Why don’t we get cleaned up together?” I offered with a shrug. “You said it yourself that you’re stinky.”
“I did say that, didn’t I?” He smirked, the sienna hue of his irises darkening into molten amber. “Still worked up after spending time with a certain sexy brewista?”
I clenched my thighs together, my chest heating, flush with embarrassment.
“Oh, Wicked, even in silence I can read you loud and clear.” He moved away from the counter, prowling a few steps toward me. Then he gripped my chin to meet his gaze. “But I do want to make sure you’re certain about this. I need tohearit.”
“Yes,” I managed to rasp out. My body leaned toward him like a blade of grass reaching for the sun, and I clutched his shirt, feeling the strong panes of his chest. “We’ll have to keep an ear out for Aspen in case he wakes, but we should have twenty to forty minutes.”
Lynx’s smile grew as he took off his shirt at the speed of light. “Then what are we waiting for?”
Chapter21
Oakley
Goddess, I knew his body was amazing from the silhouetted preview I’d had last night, but being this close to him made my wicked heart giddy with all the things I wanted to do.
