Plans
I was on my back in my bed and coming into Tanyn’s mouth.
Half a second after that started, I was on my back in my bed, taking Tanyn’s cock while he was devouring my mouth.
I tasted me and him, but only felt him driving inside, banging against my sensitive clit, so I had no idea if it was just a very long orgasm, or one transitioned into two.
What I did know was around the time his hand cupped my ass and lifted it so his thrusts would land deeper, that caused orgasm two (or three…whatever).
But he was getting his one.
Even having my own, I felt his, heard it, so that made two (or three) last even longer.
As such, I was spent after he relaxed into me, still inside, and started to nuzzle my neck.
Gosh, I liked that.
All of it.
(So screwed.)
Dinner had been delicious.
The wine he selected, perfect.
Our conversation, stilted.
Well, my side was.
Tanyn was totally comfortable and feeling chatty.
Yes, the tax bill had been voted down.
Yes, the castle had made a statement of support for the protest march and had offered an official and exhaustive list of the companies to boycott so their pockets might not be as deep, and their campaign contributions would have to be rethought because their patrons weren’t at all happy.
I did not share I thought this was mega.
But I thought it was.
Onward from that…
No, they hadn’t found Tatra.
News, what they had found was that two Red Watch agents had been given that controlling drug, unbeknownst to them.
Since Tatra’s disappearance, it had worn off, not completely, but enough for them to make some hazy reports.
And they were mortified to report that a variety of beings had visited Hectic Castle.
Known associates of Arnaud’s who had disappeared after he’d been deposed.
And this meant she was up to something.
They hadn’t been privy to what was discussed.
But she was still up to something.
Onward from that, the witch who created the potion had also created an antidote that you could take not only to reverse the effects of the drug, but as a safeguard that would counteract it if you took it.
This had been administered to the Red Watch agents, and they were able to confirm their hazy reports.
Also, the charges against Tatra were multiplying, because it was super-illegal to drug someone against their will.
The antidote had been ordered in vast quantities, so those who were hunting Tatra, and those who might be targeted by her (including Tanyn and me) would be ready should she find some way to slip it to us.
Dinner consumed. Cannoli (Tanyn ate one of mine, grr) consumed.
And it was then, Tanyn started kissing me, and I hated to admit it, but I didn’t hesitate to respond to his kiss.
And now we were here.
He pulled out (still hard, how could that happen?), dropped to his back, and immediately ordered, “Roll here.”
“You roll into me,” I returned.
He did not roll into me.
He shoved an arm under me and rolled me into him.
Whatever.
“I hope you have a good cleaning service,” he said to the ceiling.
I had my head on his shoulder, but I lifted it to look at him when he said that.
“Why?”
He was grinning.
Again, deliver me.
Because oh-so-crazily, I was oh-so falling in love with him.
And I knew this because I was already totally in love with that grin.
“Baby, your nails are lethal.”
“What?”
“You tore my back to shreds.”
I pushed up. “What?”
“This is not a complaint.”
“Turn around,” I demanded.
“As you know, I’m a demon. I’ll heal in five minutes.”
I slapped his generously swelled pec. “Turn. Around.”
He shifted to his side so I could see his back.
Whoa.
I did a number on him.
Yikes.
He dropped to it and pulled me on top of him.
“It’s not as bad as it looks,” he murmured, his hands moving on me.
Actually, all over me.
“I should put a medi-pad on it.”
“Again, they’ll close in five minutes.”
“But medi-pads have antibiotics in them.”
“In the unlikely event I have one, my body will beat back an infection within an hour.”
“I know. But if I put a medi-pad on it, your body won’t have to fight an infection.”
“Can we not tarry on this unimportant conversation so I can tell you Mira’s new plan?”
Mira had a new plan?
“I haven’t decided yet if—”
“Stop it, sweetheart,” he whispered. “You crossed me. I reacted. Foolishly. You apologized. I apologized.”
Hold on.
“Did I miss your apology?” I asked.
That damned gorgeous grin returned. “I shot it into you twice. And ate it out of you once. And I put a fair amount of effort into all of that.”
I refused to quiver with happy memories and instead frowned down at him.
“Do you want to know Mira’s plan?” he inquired.
“Is it going to annoy me?”
“I don’t know why it would. Except you’re Catla Truelock and get annoyed pretty easily.”
Don’t rise to the bait, Catla!
“Okay. Hit me with it.”
“We come out at the engagement party.”
This confused me. “That was already the plan.”
“And nobody gets shit from us until then. We spring it on them. In the meantime, if you can come up to Sky’s Edge on the weekends, you do. If you can’t, I’ll rearrange things so I can come down. And the time we have is just ours.”
I hated that I loved this plan.
“But this weekend, I’m here,” he carried on. “And next weekend, I am too, because Zyr and Manny want to come down.”
I did not hate at all that I loved that more.
“Seriously?” I breathed.
His hands stopped roaming so he could wrap his arms around me.
“Seriously.”
Speaking of…
“Where’s Hurley?”
“My beings are looking after him.”
“Where?”
“At the Sky’s Edge embassy.”
“Why didn’t you bring him with you here?”
“Because I didn’t want to use him as a prop. I wanted this to be you and me without any manipulations or making you think I was using him as a trick.”
That sucked because it was mega.
“So let’s get into that,” he said.
“You comming your staff to have them send over Hurley?”
No grin this time, but he gave me a smile.
“He was wondering where you went,” he told me.
“And I was wondering where you kept him when we were at Berg Castle.”
His lips turned down. “Where I kept him?”
“I didn’t see him the whole time I was there.”
“Ah,” he said. “That’s because he has a doggie door.
Precisely, five of them. He’s free to roam, inside and on the grounds.
And he does that a lot. He slept beside me, like he usually does.
You were just asleep when we returned to you that first night.
” His eyes got soft. “And due to me acting like an ass, you weren’t with us the second night. ”
“Oh,” I mumbled.
“Now that’s out of the way, let’s tackle the rest.”
“The rest?”
“Yes.” He gave me a squeeze. “That being you admitting you’re falling for me. And both of us committing to taking that further.”
I wrinkled my nose.
He rolled us so he was on top.
“Catla,” he warned.
“Right, so catching you up. Gayle has been in touch. Not much, but we know she’s okay. I don’t think things are going great with her and Cormac. We have a conference comm scheduled to get the lowdown on Sunday.”
“All right.”
“And Mom and Dad aren’t speaking. Because of you.”
“Shit,” he murmured.
“They fight. They make up. Nothing to worry about. Mom’s pretty ticked, though. But she’ll get over it.”
“I didn’t miss she was ticked,” he muttered.
Go Mom!
I decided not to appear (too) smug and kept talking.
“And I have a spa appointment at Monique’s place tomorrow, which I suspect I’m going to have to cancel now.”
“Why?”
My eyes narrowed. “Why?”
“Yes. Why?”
“Because you’re here.”
“I can visit with Aleksei. I can meet with members of the staff at the embassy. I can chill here with Hurley. How long will that take?”
I counted out the treatments I was going to get and said, “Probably around four hours, with travel time there and back.”
“Wait. Four hours?”
He looked shocked.
It was cute.
“Yes.”
“At a spa?”
“Yes.”
“What are they going to do?”
“The works. Mon’s place is pretty popular, but I can comm and see if she can fit you in if you want.”
“Thanks, no.”
“Big, bad male demon doesn’t get a facial?’ I teased.
“Yes.”
I started laughing.
I had red lightning when I quit.
“I fucking love your laugh,” he growled.
And farg me.
I loved how much he did.
“So I’ll find something to do for a few hours tomorrow. And I’ll head back home before you get together with your females on Sunday,” he summed it up.
That did not thrill me.
“I’ll be back Friday night, sweetheart,” he said in a tone that shared he knew it didn’t thrill me.
We both had lives, so I had no choice.
But I didn’t get out of bed and do cartwheels about it.
“Now you need to know, I’m taking over your security,” he declared.
Although this made sense, and it was so great that Aleksei was offering the RS, it felt like a burden and definitely a favor I could never repay.
Still.
“Tanyn—”
“No discussion. I know the RS has it tight. But I’ll be sending Nayden to you, and I know he’ll have it tighter.”
Uh-oh.
“What?” he asked.
Okay.
No.
I was not at one with how well he was able to read me.
Even so…
“I’m not sure he’s my biggest fan.”
Tanyn didn’t make me explain.
He knew.
Either Nayden shared it, or he didn’t hide it.
Thus, Tanyn said, “He’s protective of me. I got into some shit at The Eyrie. He took my back. I’ll have a word with him and he’ll get over it.”
“Rewind,” I said tartly. “You got into some shit at The Eyrie?”
“Yes.”
“What shit?”
“I was the king’s castoff son.”
Oh boy.
I could feel my eyes turning red.
“Relax, Cat,” he said, his tone appeasing. “It was twenty years ago.”
“So you didn’t get into some shit. They gave you shit.”
“Yes. That,” he confirmed.
“Are you joking?” I snapped.
“Sweetheart, they were privileged prisses. Not to mention, teenage boys can be complete dicks. But I grew up on a frozen island, fishing, chopping wood, swimming in the Borea Sea…”
Was he crazy?
He swam in that sea?