“I had a really good night, all things considered,” he murmured against my lips. “I don’t want to lose my family again.”
“You won’t.”
I fell into his kiss and we slowly shed our clothes, savoring the glow of a night deepening our bond and extending our family. I had a feeling Jimmy would really like Mac despite the difference in magic, and I already had a fondness for Mimi. Earnessa would hopefully grow on me, and even if she didn’t, I felt like with time we could become friends. And as far as mothers-in-law went, I’d had a lot worse.
We crawled between the sheets, and I cuddled up against Austin’s heated skin. My body fit against his sensuously, and my heart beat slow and sure.
“I think Kingsley really likes you,” he told me. We still lay on our sides, our hands roaming.
“I think Kingsley really likes you,” I replied, feeling up his broad back, tracing the muscles there.
“My relationship with him is probably going to get complicated before long.”
He kissed down my neck. “It got complicated earlier today, and you two still had easy camaraderie.”
“I barely pushed back earlier today. We didn’t do much more than almost challenge each other.”
He sucked in the peak of my breast, and I let my eyes flutter shut.
“I think it’s good that family time and work time is separated.” I moaned softly as he moved to the other before wrapping my legs around his middle as he worked back up to my lips. “If you two fight about work, at least you can spend quality time together and remember you’re brothers.”
“Eventually, fighting about work is going to be fighting about his choices as alpha, which is as good as insulting his entire way of being. It’ll bleed into family time.”
I captured his lips, opening them with my own and swiping my tongue through. “Not if we figure out a way to keep it from devolving.”
I angled my hips up to his hard length as I wrapped my arms around his neck.
He groaned softly. “Always the problem solver, hmm?”
I smiled through his kiss. “Not totally. I had to tell my parents that I was in a cult to explain my current situation. We can make this work. Even if things get rocky, you’ll have time to mend them. If we pull through with Momar.”
“When we pull through,” he growled, and a shiver arrested me.
“Yes, alpha,” I said in a silky voice, clutching his shoulders as he plunged into my depths and filled up my world. “I love you so much, Austin,” I murmured, tilting my head back to soak in the exquisite feelings. “I love that we complement each other so effortlessly, and that you like public displays of affection.”
He moved faster, and heat blistered through me, so delicious and heartfelt. Consuming.
“I love you, too,” he said, reaching between us to work what I needed.
I fell into his touch. Into the emotion coursing through our bonds. I felt limitless with him, like anything was possible. Nothing would stand in our way.
An explosion of pleasure tore me apart. I cried out, digging my fingers into his back as he shuddered out his release. Our breathing was harried and my heart knocked against my chest as a lovely euphoria set in.
I smiled, my eyes growing heavy, sighing softly at the welcome feeling of his weight on me.
“That better have been good to compensate for how loud it was,” we heard through the wall.
Clearly Nessa had stayed in this evening.
“I forgot how thin these walls are here,” Austin whispered, the bed shaking with his laughter.
“Why are the sheets fresh?” I asked. “This place doesn’t seem like it was shut up for fifteen years.”
“They said my mom was looking after it, but I wonder if my niece or nephew used it from time to time. When I left, I said in my note that they could.”
“Hmm.” I kissed his cheek and snuggled a little deeper into the mattress, tightening my arms to keep him put.
“One more time,” he murmured, lifting to kiss me again, already hardening. He was never sated for long.
“No way. We can’t do a marathon tonight. For one, Ulric and Jasper always embarrass me about it, two, we have a lot of stuff to do tomorrow, and while I can heal, that doesn’t totally compensate for zero sleep, and three, when you really get going, there’s no way I’m going to keep the volume down, and the whole house will be up all night.”
“Okay, okay. Just one more, though.” He started moving slowly. “I’ll stop at the one, I promise.”