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My eyes felt crusted and the only thing I wanted to do was snuggle deeper into the warm body wrapped around me. Sunlight lit up my eyelids, telling me I had to get up. There was stuff to do.
Had to track down Laikynn
Figure out how to help the fae addicts.
And settle my feelings with the guys.
Reality was coming fast, and I knew I was going to hate what that was for me.
“You’re thinking too hard,” a gruff voice said.
I finally opened my eyes and smiled at Waylon. His sexiness called to me. The sleepy honey-brown eyes, the five-o’clock shadow, the sexy way his mouth curled up.
“I’m making sure I don’t wake up from this dream.”
Waylon’s chuckle shook me as he ran a hand through my hair. “I promise, this isn’t a dream.”
“You’re really here.”
“I’m really here. Have been all night and morning.”
Humming, I ran my hands over his wide chest, enjoying the feel of his hard body. He wasn’t as wide and muscular as the others, but he was still fit, all that running honing his body into something sleek and powerful.
I hadn’t gotten a good look at his tattoo last night, so I studied it, tracing the lines with my fingers. He reached up and wrapped his hand around mine.
“When did you get this?” I asked. “And what is it?”
“Instead of only touching it, how about you look closely,” he said in a soft voice.
I leaned closer, following all the lines until finally, I had a full picture. It curled around his shoulder, traveling to the bottom of his neck. It almost reached his nipple, it was so big.
“You didn’t,” I whispered.
“I did.”
“I almost forgot about this.” I traced it again, now fully understanding what it was I touched. None of us had tattoos and we had planned for our first ones to be done together after we were married. And it was one I had designed. Drawing had been something I did as a hobby, and I was pretty good at it. So I designed one that I felt told our journey together from childhood to adulthood to our grand love and happily ever after.
I had studied the Celtics so extensively that I used their symbols to tell the story, weaving them together for a full story. I followed the curves and turns now.
“It’s not finished,” I whispered.
“We never finished it,” was his simple response.
I blinked back tears and leaned against his chest.
“I can’t believe you got this,” I whispered.
“The night that was supposed to be the first night of our marriage. I got wasted and went out and did it. I needed something to hold on to and the tattoo ended up being it. The story you had drawn didn’t come as you thought, but it was still our story, still our past, and I kept hoping it’d still be our future too.”
“You don’t regret it?” I asked.
He kissed the top of my head. “Never. Like I said, it’s my past. A huge part of it. Why would I not want it engraved into my body like it is on my soul.”
I moved back enough so that I could kiss him. My body hummed, wanting more of him. With the limited time that we had, I was determined to get as much of him as I could.
I ran my fingers through his light sprinkle of chest hair before circling around his nipple. The hand that rested on my hip flexed, and I turned my face into his chest to hide my smile.
“Careful, I don’t think you want to start anything.”
“Mm, I’m more than happy starting something.”
He rolled us over so he was pressed against me. His kiss was hot and deep, his warmth almost scorching, chasing away any chill that had been remaining. No doubt, if he moved away, it’d come back, but for now, I let his passion scorch me, on the cusp of begging for more.
Waylon pulled away, breathing heavily. ”The others are getting breakfast ready. You’re mine for a little bit longer.”
Eyes still on me, he slipped a finger inside me, working me over into a frenzy.
“I never in a million years thought I’d ever have you underneath me again,” he whispered, kissing along my neck. “I never thought I’d be able to touch you again, feel you.” He bit gently, pulling a gasp out of me as he lit my body on fire. He worked his way down to my breasts, all while his fingers pumped in and out of me. “I never thought I’d hear you make these cute little noises ever again.”
He pulled my nipple into his mouth, biting gently before kissing his way to the other one and doing the same.
When I came, I thought I had fallen apart completely, my body refusing to go together again. Waylon wasn’t done with me though as he turned us so that we were both on our sides. He lifted my leg and then pushed into me gently.
He groaned, eyes closing. “I never thought I’d get to taste you ever again.” He moved slowly, finding our rhythm.
“Me too.” I gasped, holding on to him, needing him pressed tight against me. “I keep thinking I’m going to wake up from this dream and find myself still in Faerie. That they are making me live another cruel joke.”
“This is real,” he said. “So, very, fucking, real.” Each word was followed with a thrust. He took our lovemaking slow, something he had always been good at doing. He drove my body to the brink over and over again until I was ready to beg him to let me come.
When we were finally spent, we cuddled for as long as I could, our bodies cooling down.
I grimaced. “I need a shower.”
He kissed me briefly. “Want me to join you?”
“Mm.” I sighed. “I love the offer, but I think we need to get moving.”
“Back to reality,” Waylon mumbled.
“Exactly.”
Everything in me screamed to stay in the warm bed, but I managed to get on my feet and go into the bathroom. Just to help stop any temptations from either of us, I locked the door. It was hard, but it was needed. There was too much to do and staying in bed all day and making love to all the guys was not an option for me.
So I forced myself into the shower and to get ready for the day. By the time I was done, I felt normal. Still tired, but nothing I couldn’t handle.
“Something smells good,” I said, coming out of the bathroom, drying my hair. Jason was in the room, at the end of the bed.
Jason grinned, and it slipped away into something more primal as he took me in. My towel was wrapped tightly around me, thicker than even a dress, and yet with the way he looked at me, I might as well have been standing there naked.
He cleared his throat. “I made you breakfast. How are you feeling?”
“Breakfast?” I looked down at the tray he had in his hands. “You made that?”
Waylon snorted, understanding my reservations. He had gotten dressed while I was gone, and by the glistening in his black hair, took time to claim the other shower and wash up. I hadn’t exactly been quick while I was in the bathroom.
“Hey, none of that now. I’ve had practice over the years. I’m pretty decent now?”
“Oh, really?” I glanced at Waylon, hoping for some kind of verification. He only shrugged. The man wasn’t going to give anything away.
“How are you feeling?” Jason asked.
“Tired,” I admitted. Being that cold had completely exhausted me. The bed still looked enticing. It’d be so easy to crawl in, pull the covers over my head, and go back to sleep.
Waylon frowned as he stepped closer to me, resting his hand on my cheek. His thumb grazed underneath my eye. “Should you rest more?”
I pulled away and shook my head. “No. We have work.” I rubbed hard at my face. I should have been feeling better with the rest that I had, but somehow, I felt worse. Granted, the cold was gone, but I still wanted to topple over and make friends with the floor.
“I was going to surprise you with breakfast in bed, but I guess you’ll want it downstairs?” Jason asked.
“Yes, please. I’ll change quickly.”
“All right.” Jason managed to lean forward and give me a chaste kiss on my cheek before disappearing.
Waylon kissed my forehead before brushing my nose with his. With a small smile, he slipped out too.
The instant quiet was insufferable. I didn’t like it. It gave room for all my thoughts to slip in and none of them were good.
I shook out my limbs, working to fling off the dark negativity that was trying to bring my high down. I was in a good place. Everything was fine.
Blowing out a harsh breath, I forced myself through the process of getting dressed, tossing on a dark emerald green blouse and black jeans. My fingers were clumsy as I tied my sneakers.
Feeling decent enough, I went downstairs, where all three guys were already waiting, their own breakfast before them. Berry was sitting in front of the balcony doors, staring outside, his ears twitching.
When he heard me coming, his ears moved, clearly trained on me. Still, he said nothing. The big baby was pouting now. He knew I didn’t tolerate that and until he was ready to be an adult like he was, then I was going to ignore him.
“Morning,” I said with a shy smile.
The guys grinned back, the moment surreal. It was almost like we were back to when I was human still and everything was perfect.
“Eat. Then we can get to work.” Foster motioned to my food, set on the coffee table. It was loaded with eggs, sausage, pancakes, and potatoes. More food than I could eat.
“I still can’t believe Jason cooked.” I sat down and grabbed the plate, poking at the potatoes.
“It’s all cooked, I promise.” Jason sat next to me with a grin.
“Digging in,” I said and took a bite.
It was good. Not amazing, but good. Edible. Jason laughed, noting my pleasantly surprised expression.
We kept breakfast light and were finishing up when my cell phone rang.
“Oh, perfect timing,” I said and answered it.
“Judah, what do you got?” I asked, biting my lip, hoping for good news. For too long, the search felt stagnant until yesterday. I still didn’t know what to think about that. Laikynn was so much more powerful than he should have been, and I wasn’t sure how that was happening. It should have been impossible.
“Joslyn, this is not good. I traced him to a college campus. I’m still searching, but nothing has come up.”
I frowned, sharing a glance with the guys. “He’s faculty or a student there? Maybe admin?”
“No. I searched the database already. No employee or student matches with him. They require photo ID to get around, so that was easy to check. I checked all the headshots already. That also includes their staff, cleaning crew, cooks, construction crew. Everyone. As far as the college is aware, this man does not belong. I can do a more in-depth search, but I’m not as strong as Laikynn. He has wards set up around the campus, barely noticeable to even me.”
Meaning any other fae from this realm wouldn’t feel them at all. Only the most powerful would, and that would most likely only be me.
“Then it looks like we’re going to have a busy day today,” I said, rubbing at my face. The exhaustion had never left and running around a campus all day wasn’t going to help. Doing my best to keep it from showing, I forced a smile and stood up. “I better get looking.”
“We’re coming too,” Jason said.
The other two nodded.
My heart warmed. “All right.” I was okay with that. At this point, not having them nearby didn’t sit well with me. I needed the three of them where I could keep an eye on them.
