Page 182 of Monsters in Love

I dug my fingers into Rothgar’s thighs as pleasure rolled over my body. My hips rocked back as I wailed, nonsense words tumbling from my mouth as my orgasm overtook me.

Even so, Declan plowed on until he was finally, finally spent.

My limbs trembled with exertion as I collapsed in a heap where I’d been stretched out over a chair. I didn’t care that I was sticky with sweat, slick, and seed. The weight of my academic future could have crashed down upon me, and I would have taken it without flinching.

A male chuckle rumbled against my cheek. Jalen had scooped me up in his arms and I hadn’t realized it until now. I wanted to stare at his beautiful face, but I couldn’t quite lift my head. “Where are we going?” I asked, my voice husky.

He shifted me up so he could kiss my temple. “We are going to wash a good little witch before we feed her.” He turned on the shower without jostling me.

“Are you joining me?” I asked.

“I can if you would like.”

“I didn’t want you to feel left out.”

A reddish gleam tinged his eye, promising wickedness. Instead, he traced a gentle finger along my cheek and over my lips. “Do not worry, my Capricorn. I plundered you plenty over the course of the night, if you recall.”

My cheeks bloomed with heat, as I did indeed recall. His words, his touch, the way he gripped my neck…

He stepped into the hot shower, still carrying me. “But I will never turn down an invitation from you.”

A thorough shower later, and I was towel-dried and clothed in one of the tavern’s robes. The fabric was as airy and light as clouds. I sighed as Declan wrapped it around me.

Beyond him, I saw a neat stack of clothes folded on the foot of the bed.

“Your Tia has provided these clothes from her store rooms,” Declan said, “but you shall not need them for the moment.”

Without further comment, he swept me off my feet and carried me to the breakfast table which was laden with silver-domed dishes.

“These had been delivered a few moments before,” Declan said. “If Jalen was going to take any longer with you in the shower, we would have had to speed up matters a bit.

Jalen snorted. “I would have loved to see you try.”

In that moment, it was as if the air was sucked out of the room. Pressure as if from a coming storm pushed against me. I didn’t like it. It felt like some kind of dominance game, and I wouldn’t participate in it.

Especially within a close-knit clutch. A one-night stand with a stranger shouldn’t trump a relationship like that. Not over me, at least.

“So what did we order?” I said.

Like rainfall, the immediately dissolved the tension in the room.

Declan sat me down on his lap as Rothgar uncovered the dishes, revealing all my favorite breakfast foods. As delectable as it all looked, I reached for the coffee decanter first. Tia’s coffee was to die for. The source of her coffee beans and roaster were strictly confidential, and I understood why.

I savored my first sip with a deep and low moan.

Declan's hand ranged all over my back. “We will need to keep this on tap, given how much you love it.”

“No worries about that. Tia’s already given me free reign with this.” I leaned against Declan’s formidable chest and he fed me choice pieces of the breakfast meats and eggs. Rothgar slathered the appropriate amount of butter and whipped cream all over the waffles which was to say that the waffle was barely visible after he was done.

Salacious sex followed by my favorite breakfast and coffee? All in all, this was the best morning I could possibly have envisioned, and went a long way to renew my outlook on my final term of the academic semester.

They asked about my plans for the rest of the school year, and if I had any plans afterward. I didn’t want to mention Coventry, as it was such a gigantic leap. So I deferred to other

“So I am assuming that since you are doing all of this that means you are not staying for too much longer,” I said.

Rothgar’s leathers were already on and even as I ate, somehow Jalen went from wearing his loose pants and top to his full gear including a utility belt that slung across his hips. There were also leather harnesses that wrapped around his shoulders and though they were empty I could see where he would have been able to stash various weapons including a sword or rod of some sort that could be hidden within a spine sheath.

“Yes unfortunately our hunt cannot be delayed any longer. Plus we have an errand that an elder at Elfhame wants us to look into.”

---