Page 31 of All's Fair in Love and Magic

“So my anatomy is what you were thinking about when you had your hand between my thighs?”

His eyes narrowed. “What would you rather I thought about, Clove? The weather?”

I shrugged. “I don’t know. It was the heat of the moment. Emphasis on theheat. Maybe I imagined you wouldn’t be thinking at all.”

“I had your wet, silky clit on my hand for the first time in my life. I was trying my damndest to make it good for you while fighting like hell not to fill your hot little cunt with my fingers or cock. Every part of me was very much aware of every part of your anatomy.”

My cheeks went red with his words. I was still working on ignoring the slickness between my thighs, and it got much more difficult when he said things like that.

I ate another french fry. “Guess that’s what I get when I try to crack you.”

He barked out a laugh.

An actual laugh.

It was rough and gritty in a way that said he didn’t make the sound often.

“Guess so.” Liam finally opened his box of food. “I had someone from the tech team set up a phone for you, and I sent someone else to the store for new clothes. We can return whatever you don’t want. They should be delivering everything in the next hour or two. Think you can stay up that long?”

I was pretty sure that if I went to sleep, heat was going to get worse. But staying awake would be really, really difficult.

So… we’d see.

“I’ll try. You can just wake me up when they get here, if I crash. It would be nice to figure out the clothing situation tonight.”

Liam nodded.

“Does sleeping make heat worse for you?” I checked.

“Not really. In general, the magic doesn’t seem to affect me the same way it affects you. I just feel an intense need to take care of you,” he explained.

“That doesn’t make sense.”

“It’s a magical mating process made to end with you accepting me as your partner for the rest of our lives. I don’t think it was designed to make sense.”

I made a face.

“Is it worse for you at night?” he asked.

“Maybe.”

He narrowed his eyes. “Don’t hide the truth from me, Clove.”

“It’s still Sage,Steam. And it’s not nighttime that makes heat worse. Not that I can tell, anyway. Sleep seems to be a much bigger trigger.” I ate the last of my fries.

Interest lit his gaze. “You dream of me?”

“I think I’ve shared a lot more than you tonight, don’t you?” I stood up, ignoring the warmth on my cheeks as I took my empty box to the trash bin. The kitchen wasn’t new or luxurious, so there wasn’t a drawer or cabinet or anything to conceal the bin.

“What do you want me to share?”

“I don’t know. I don’t really know you.”

“I’ve spent most of my energy for the last few decades trying to hold the wards together. It hasn’t left much time for hobbies,” he admitted.

“What did you do before they started falling apart?”

Liam shrugged. “The same things everyone else does for fun on this island. Surfing. Swimming. Water sports. Eating good food. Playing cards.”