Page 17 of All's Fair in Love and Magic

We ate in silence.

When I was finished, I handed him the paper box and refocused on the magic. “Are you opposed to me using runes to strengthen the spell as I repair it? I can use them directly on the bubble. It’ll take longer, but it should make everything a lot more stable.”

“Do whatever you think is best.”

I nodded, grabbed a sharp pin out of my hair, picked up my plant cuttings, and went to work.

Hours passed as I fixed the bubble, then slowly covered the newly-repaired spell in runes. It was painstaking work, but giving up on it wasn’t an option if we wanted to keep the framework for the rest of the wards. Which we did, because I couldn’t even identify most of the spells. Let alone remake them myself.

The sun wasn’t beating down on me while I worked, but sweat still dripped down my back and between my breasts.

My slickness coated my bikini’s bottoms. My body still wasn’t getting the memo that I wasn’t interested in Liam’s heat, even after he left me on the bench for a bit when he went off to deal with something.

The sun set.

My entire body was coated in sweat. My clothes were wet with it.

Sweat, and desire.

Fucking heat.

Liam put a hand on my thigh as the sun finished setting, interrupting me gently. I had vaguely noticed him return a few minutes earlier, but I was buried in the magic.

“You need food and rest, Clove.”

“I need to finish this,” I mumbled.

“No. You need a break.” His voice was calm, but he didn’t leave any room for arguing. “Heat is hard on your body, and you need to rest.”

“I’m almost done.”

He growled, but I ignored him.

Lowering my pin back to the wound I’d created on my arm, I started to dip it in my blood—and stopped abruptly when a large hand plucked it from my grasp.

Said hand landed on my arm a moment later, and fire blazed over my cut. The wound closed immediately, the blood vanishing.

I gasped out a curse as liquid pleasure rolled through me with the burst of his magic. “You can’t do that.”

“Sorry.” There was a beat of silence. “The wards are already in much better condition. I can feel it. You can finish what you’re doing in the morning. You need food and rest,” Liam repeated, nowhere near as apologetic as I would’ve hoped.

“Fine,” I gritted out, holding a hand toward him for my pin.

He looked at me warily, but returned it.

I stuck it back in my hair and stood up. Everything swayed around me, and I had to grab the bench for support.

Slickness rolled down my inner thighs.

More sweat dripped down my back and between my breasts. My hair was soaked with it.

I waited for the world to stop swaying.

And waited.

And waited.

Finally, I let out a huff and closed my eyes.