Page 26 of Magic and Muffins

My mouth opened with a silent cry when his hips snapped forward the last inch. He kissed me briefly, then set a steady rhythm, bringing me closer to the release I now needed.

The connection I had with him as he held my gaze was more than sex. He was loving me in every way he knew how, and it was unraveling me as much as his sure touch.

When I was close to breaking, he rasped, “Tell me I can still have everything.”

“Taste me, Cross,” I said, turning my head.

He growled, and his mouth closed over my neck. Teeth pierced the thin skin. A flash of pain and then there was more pleasure than I’d ever known in my life as he sucked at the small wounds.

I toppled over the precipice with a cry, clenching around him uncontrollably. He sucked harder. My climax felt never-ending until he withdrew suddenly with a grunt. He caged me in his arms, and I felt his release wash over my stomach.

His tongue stroked over my skin, sealing the small wounds, then he set his forehead against mine as we both caught our breaths.

“Tell me that won’t be the last time we do that,” I said, panting.

“It won’t. There is nothing I wouldn’t do for you. However, Shepard may have an opinion on the frequency at which you request I sample you.”

It didn’t feel wrong talking about Shepard just then. It felt right. Inclusive of his thoughts and feelings.

“You might be right.” I sighed.

Cross chuckled as he lifted himself off of me and kissed the tip of my nose.

“Don’t move.”

He left for a cloth to clean me; then, he swept me off the bed and carried me to the shower he’d started. Rather than leaving me there, he joined me, washing my hair.

“I asked Vena and Anchor to pick up a few books I put on hold at the market,” he said as I leaned on him so he could massage my scalp. “They should be here soon.”

“Should we be co-ed showering then?”

“I think Vena would approve.”

Snorting at how Vena would react, I took over rinsing and conditioning my hair, and we finished in record time. Cross dried and dressed at supernatural speed—the cheater—and went to open the door for their arrival while I finished getting ready at my human pace.

When I finally emerged, Vena and Anchor were already there. Vena sat at the table, going through the books with Cross. Anchor leaned against the kitchen island, watching them.

“Cross, you amaze me sometimes,” she said, sounding like she meant it.

“Just sometimes?” he asked.

“How did you find these, and I didn’t?”

He smiled. “A secret.”

“I know what the secret is. It’s money.”

“It does help,” he acknowledged.

I glanced at the books and didn’t recognize the languages on the covers. Rather than fawning over books I couldn’t read, I headed toward the kitchen.

“What does everyone want? I’m feeling up to being a short-order cook, so whatever you want.”

“An omelette with some leftover French toast casserole?” Vena asked. “Oh, and bacon.”

I looked at Anchor. “What about you?”

“The same would be more than fine.”

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