Page 13 of Devotion

She cooed happily and crunched down on another fish, then threw some at me.

Groaning, I bent down and picked up her offering. “Freya’s pendulous teats,” I muttered before giving up and tossing a cracker in my mouth in solidarity.

“Fishies!” she shouted again, tossing more into the air.

Heaving a sigh, I rested my back against her pen. “Goodjob, Eden. You’re very clever. Your mother is going to be thrilled when she hears about this.”

As if sensing my mood, she crawled over and patted my shoulder in what I could only assume was supposed to be a reassuring fashion.

“What am I going to do with you?” I asked, turning to look at my mischief-maker.

She held out one of her treats, poking my lips until I parted them so she could feed me. “Fishies.”

I crunched on the tiny cheese-flavored cracker and chuckled, “Fishies.”

Chapter

Four

CALEB

Walking through the grounds of Ravenscroft, you wouldn’t know it had been decimated during War’s failed apocalypse. Likely a multitude of witches and other mages had been instrumental in restoring the hallowed halls to their former glory. The university was an icon for the community. To change a single brick of the original layout would be akin to admitting defeat. Restoring it was a bit like giving the horsewoman our collective middle finger. She could tear us down, but we would rise together, stronger than before.

“It’s kind of surreal,” Sunday breathed as she took my hand, and the two of us strode down the main hallway, my gaze catching on an alcove where I’d drunkenly and desperately accosted her once upon a time.

Following my gaze, she laughed. “Planning on a repeat, Father Gallagher? Should we find you a drunkard to feed from before you give in?”

“I don’t need to alter my senses in order to take what I want any longer, Miss Fallon. I could shove you into a darkened alley any time I desire.”

“Thank God for that.”

My palm cracked down on her arse before she finished speaking.

“Father Gallagher!” she gasped, eyes twinkling with laughter. “Keep your hands to yourself. You’re a respectable figure, remember?”

“Stop taking the lord’s name in vain.”

Her grin was wickedly seductive. “Do I need to repent already? It didn’t take long for me to start causing you frustration, did it?”

“You assume you ever stopped.”

“Old habits die hard.”

I glanced around, the campus nearly empty save a groundskeeper off in the distance. “It’s a good thing term hasn’t started yet.”

“Why is that?”

“Because there will be fewer people around to hear your screams through my office door.”

“Is that a challenge? I bet we could make Old McKenzie over there blush.”

I couldn’t help but laugh. “If you know what’s best for you, you’ll stop teasing me.”

“Why would I do something stupid like that?” she asked, curling her finger over my ear and trailing the tip along the side of my neck. “I love making you smile,headmaster.”

If she wasn’t careful, I’d take her right here and damn the risk of an audience. Though perhaps that’s what my mischievous little wife was after. She did so love being naughty. If only because she wanted to earn some time bent over my knee.

Pulling the antique key to my new office from my pocket, I stopped in front of the door, heart in my throat.

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