Chapter 21
twenty-one
LIV
Niall peeled his shirt over my head and dropped it on the floor. His hands skimmed my bare chest, gliding slowly over my nipples with something akin to worship in his eyes.
"You're so fucking distracting, Livvy," he said in a gravelly voice. "It's a miracle anyone gets anything done with these perfect tits around."
I laughed, and he gave me a grin that was all beast as he lowered me to the tile, placing my head against the t-shirt to cushion it.
"God, I love you," I said with a smile.
"No gods. Just us." He positioned himself over me, still wearing that grin and a pair of shorts as his gaze swept over my face like he wanted to remember this. The way I looked beneath him. The way we were together. "Did you see the new painting in our room?"
"No. I was too busy panicking when I woke up alone. What is it?"
His grin widened. "You'll see."
"Don't tease me."
"Someone has to." He lowered his mouth to my breasts and slowly dragged his tongue around one of my nipples. I arched, trying to get closer to him as I buried my fingers in his hair. He pinned my back to the ground with a hand to my ribcage.
He licked.
Sucked.
Kneaded.
Squeezed.
His obsession with my tits had never been reduced to distraction.
He knew I could come from nipple play alone with enough effort, and when he was in the mood for it, there was no stopping him.
He finally dragged his teeth over my sensitive nipple just right. I swore as my hips jerked, my bare core sliding over his abdomen while I moved against him.
The fire in his eyes was molten, his hands hot on the insides of my thighs as he slid down my body, opening me wider.
I yanked on his hair. "Later. Taste me later. I want you inside me."
"That's not how this works, Livvy." He kissed and licked his way down my abdomen, making me groan.
He was always so determined to drag it out. At first, I thought it was just his way of burning off my energy, but I'd realized eventually that he genuinely enjoyed it.
My body.
My taste.
Me.
I sucked in a breath as he gave my clit the slightest kiss before making his way down my inner thigh. The drag of his tongue and press of his lips and tug of his teeth were just light enough to drive me crazy. And just rough enough to make me desperate.
His nose brushed my clit. Then his eyes met mine.
"You're mine, Olivia Morning. Say it."
"I'm yours, Niall Vallen. And you're mine."
"Always have been." He dragged his tongue over my clit, and my lips parted as my head tipped back, a desperate cry echoing in the plant-filled studio behind us.
It was wrecked, but we could fix it.
Just like we could fix us.
The tip of his tongue circled my clit as he slid two thick fingers inside me, not bothering with one.
His knuckles brushed my g-spot as he teased my clit with his tongue, and I came again with a curse.
His rumble of approval as I arched and cried out would've been enough to drive me crazy, if he didn't already have me there.
He played my body like a fucking instrument, licking, sucking, and biting as he filled me and fucked me with his fingers.
I came again, pulling his hair and rocking against his face.
Finally, he gave my clit one last kiss before he slid his fingers out and pushed his shorts down his thighs. My chest rose and fell rapidly when he fisted his cock. He slowly dragged his hand down his length as he stared at me, taking in the way I was bare and slick and needy.
"Fuck, you are stunning." There was grit in his voice that sent goosebumps down my arms. "How are your feet?"
"You're talking about my feet right now?"
He narrowed his eyes at me.
"They're fine, Niall. Pretty much healed." I propped myself up a little. "How long are you going to make me wait?"
His lips were still shiny with my pleasure. "Not much longer."
"You should drive me insane," I said, with a smile I couldn't fight. "Why am I so obsessed with you?"
"Because you love me." He took one of my thighs in his massive hand as he lowered himself over me. The head of his cock met my slit, and our eyes were locked together. "And because I make you feel just as alive as you make me. Ready, Livvy?"
"You know I always am."
The tip of his cock pressed into me, the thick swell and pressure of it a delicious stretch on my body despite the way I'd already ridden his fingers.
I sucked in a breath. "Oh, fuck."
"You can handle me." He lifted my hands to his hair, knowing I'd draw blood on his shoulders and back if he didn't. He didn't care if I made him bleed, but he was well aware of how much I hated hurting him.
He thrust in deeper, the motion slow and smooth until he bottomed out inside me, filling me completely.
I didn't have the words to describe the sensations.
Full—perfectly full.
Consumed—overwhelmingly so.
Wanted—desperately and blissfully.
Niall gave me a minute to adjust to the feeling, his gaze hotter and wilder.
I smiled, and his lips stretched in a grin.
Finally, he moved.
The moan he tore from my lips with the first slow, rough thrust was almost animalistic.
My head tipped back, my lips parting and my eyes closing.
Niall's growl was even more beastly than the sound of my pleasure. "Your body fucking loves mine."
I laughed breathlessly, already nearing another climax as his thrusts grew rougher. "You're so confident."
"More like stubborn." He lowered his mouth to mine and kissed me slowly as he drove into me again and again, hitting my g-spot with every motion.
It was so much.
Too much.
I gripped his hair like it was the only thing anchoring me as I came with a desperate cry. The wave of pleasure was so intense that as it rolled from my head to my toes, I felt like I'd been swept away in it completely.
Niall came with me, filling me with his pleasure, driving it deep inside me with every thrust.
There was nothing but him and me, for a few minutes of pure, delicious bliss.
My eyes stung as I came down from the high.
How had I ever ended things with this man?
How had I ever thrown his stuff out of our house?
How had I ever not believed him?
"I love you," I whispered, our eyes still locked. "And I'm sorry."
"Me too, Livvy. I love you so much it fucking hurts." He lowered his mouth to mine, kissing me the way he always did.
We made love again on the floor before Niall carried me to the bed, and fucked me until we passed out in each other's arms.
Ding-dong.
Ding-dong.
Ding-dong.
Ding-dong ding-dong ding-dong ding-dong.
Someone was ringing our doorbell over and over again, way too early in the morning.
Niall groaned into my hair.
I blinked sleepily at that stupid clock he always insisted on leaving on the nightstand.
11:04
Okay, maybe it wasn't early in the morning after all.
My family members all had the code to my house, so there was really only one person who might be ringing our doorbell like that.
"Your brother is such a pain," I mumbled.
"I told him to wait until I talked to you."
Larson continued ringing the doorbell.
"Guess he's done waiting." I kissed Niall's arm before peeling it off my waist and rolling out of bed.
I stopped abruptly, two steps from the mattress, when I came face-to-face with the erotic painting Niall had mentioned.
It was an image from his view, looking down as his cock entered me, buried almost hilt deep. My leg was wrapped around his hip, and his inked fingers dug into my thigh while he fucked me. I could see the slickness on the base of his cock, and on my core.
I fought the urge to fan myself.
"You painted this while we were apart?" I asked.
"Last year. Couldn't get it out of my head."
"I might need you to fuck me again every time I look at this."
He laughed.
I picked his shirt up off the floor and pulled it over my head. It fell to the middle of my thighs, so pants were definitely not necessary, unless you were an over-possessive shapeshifter.
I wasn't.
So I walked out.
"You need pants, Livvy," he called after me, and a ball of fabric came flying through the door. It hit the wall I'd just stepped past.
"Your brother is not attracted to me, and deeply in love with Rob," I called back.
"I still don't want him seeing your ass again!"
"My ass is plenty covered!"
I reached the front door and pulled it open. Larson finally let go of the doorbell with a grin. Rob was standing next to him, also grinning. He was about as tall as Lars, with tan skin, light brown hair, and bright blue eyes.
"You look properly fucked. Good for you," Larson said, throwing his arm around me for a half hug before stepping inside.
"He's right," Rob agreed, pulling me in for a fierce, full-out hug.
"Fuck off, Lars," Niall grumbled as he walked out of the hallway in nothing but a pair of shorts. Unlike him, I had no problems with my lover's partial nudity.
"I have better things to do. Like finally fix the rain." Larson strode into the kitchen, and I saw the gleam of a bluish spell in his hand. "You can go back to bed after we're done with the magic. It's going to wipe Liv out anyway."
"Sorry about him," Rob said, his lingering grin at odds with his words as he released me.
Niall covered the distance between us and draped his arm over my shoulders.
Rob looked between us. "You two look cozy. Figured things out?"
"Yup," I agreed.
Niall kissed the top of my head in response.
"Finally." He winked. "I'm going to help Larson set up." He padded into the kitchen, and we looked over at both of them.
Lars practically vibrated with nervous energy. Considering how this had gone the last time, that was to be expected.
"You can still back out," Niall murmured to me. "He was supposed to wait until I talked to you."
"It's okay. I'm in," I said, ignoring the ball of nerves tangling in my stomach too.
We stopped in our room for a quick shower before meeting the spellcaster couple in the kitchen. I'd gotten dressed in another one of Niall's shirts, mostly because it was comfortable, but also because I thought it might put him at ease.
I'd paired it with a pair of short, spandex shorts, but as far as he concerned, they didn't cover nearly enough of me.
I ignored his concern on that matter, like usual. We joked about it constantly, but he did accept that I was going to wear whatever I wanted.
"You’re sure it’s going to work this time, right?" I asked, as Lars disappeared into my pantry, undoubtedly looking for a snack.
"We’ve spent the last two years reviewing it, so it should go smoothly," Rob said. "Larson asked about a dozen other spellcasters to chime in too, and no one found any problems with it."
"What was the problem with the last one?" I tugged Niall toward a chair. He sat down next to me, his arm draping over my shoulders again.
Rob looked at Larson, who didn’t respond. He was officially just hiding in the pantry.
"Nothing was wrong with it," Rob admitted.
Niall eyed the pantry. "Other than the way Larson tried to power it himself."
"Delusions of grandeur get to the best of us at times," Rob said lightly. "Now, Larson knows what to do if one of the fae we need has a possessive mate."
Larson stepped out of the pantry with an armload of snacks. "We just ignore them."
"I wouldn’t try that with Kat," I warned. "Callum is not rational when it comes to her."
"We all tread carefully when it comes to that scary fucker." Larson plopped down in a chair.
Rob lifted two bags of takeout food I hadn’t noticed earlier. "We brought lunch as a peace offering."
"Painted our nails too, to get on your good side." Larson wiggled a hand of black-painted fingernails in my direction. We'd bonded over a good coat of shiny black paint countless times.
Rob handed me a bag of food, and I saw that his nails matched Larson's.
"As much as I wish it wasn't true, you bastards are already on my good side." I opened the bag, trying to ignore the dread that was gathering in my lower belly.
Were we really going to do this again? Risk our lives to stop the rain?
This particular portion of the wards was too finicky to have any kind of certainty about how a fix would go.
But Rumor had to stay standing. The humans outside wanted us dead too much. And the constant drizzle was hard on everyone in the city. Some more than others.
So I was going to have to do it.
I'd just cross my fingers that whatever understanding Niall had of my magic would be enough to keep me alive if everything went to shit again.