Page 138

Story: Dawnbringer

“As much as I would like to continue this,” she murmured, voice hitching as he dipped inside her. “Um… my, um, coffee is getting cold.”

Skye growled against her breast.

“Priorities, Skye. Coffee before orgasms.”

“Your priorities are backward.”

She pinched his shoulder, and he rolled to the side with a huff. He knew better than to get between that woman and her morning cup of coffee. “Drink fast.”

Grinning, she threw off the rest of the blankets, and Skye was man enough to admit it. He whimpered at the sight of all that soft skin, those curves… Shards help him.

She settled back against the headboard, wriggling to get comfortable. His eyes tracked every bounce and shift. “You know, I don’t get you?”

She hummed around a sip of coffee. “How so?”

“Last night, you were covering yourself every time you rolled over. But in this?” He tugged at the strap of the camisole, letting it snap back into place. A damp circle clung to the fabric where his mouth had been. The little pair of teal underclothes hugging her hips were just as flimsy. “You realize this is see-through, right?”

She shrugged. “It’s different.”

“How?”

“It just is,” she said around a yawn, stretching without thinking. The shift of her body made the flimsy fabric pull tight. Skye swallowed hard. “This is probably a little late to be asking, but should we be worried about…” She made a vague gesture.

He arched a brow. “I don’t know whatthis”—he repeated the gesture—“means.”

“I haven’t been taking a contraceptive tonic.”

“And?”

“And I know that Fey are…challengedregarding reproduction, but how likely is it that last night… Exactly how fast do I need to get my ass to an apothecary this morning?”

Skye laughed—he didn’t mean to. And he was quick to rectify his mistake when Taly frowned. “An apothecary won’t be necessary,” he said, letting his knuckles graze her bent knee, dotted with small scars from a human childhood. “Even if you were in season right now, the odds of getting pregnant without a healthy dose of fertility magic cast onbothof us is slim to none.”

She breathed a sigh of relief. “When I was human, Sarina made it sound like all I needed to do was wave at a man, and I’d be tracking him down in nine months. Compared to the Fey, I suppose it must seem like that.”

She chewed on her bottom lip, thinking. “I’d still feel better if we both started taking a contraceptive tonic. Just to be safe.”

It was unnecessary, but Skye nodded. If the price of her comfort was choking down that nasty concoction once a week, he’d gladly pay it.

He watched her drain the cup, his hand sliding up her calf, prying her legs apart—

But she twisted her fingers over the top of the mug. A spark of golden aether had the dark liquid instantly refilling.

Taly took another sip, eyes flicking to the front of his trousers and the evidence of his readiness to move to the next activity. “Don’t look so surly. You kept me up late last night.”

She hadn’t been voicing any complaints at the time.

No doubt, his eyes were a little wild, a little hungry. “If you never want me to bring you coffee again, this is the way to accomplish that,” he warned.

She called his bluff with another long, luxurious sip. Coffee made her happy, and happy women wanted sex—it was basic male logic, and he wasn’t about to self-sabotage.

When she lowered the mug, she looked thoughtful. “I guess this is it, huh? We’re… a thing.”

“Why do you sound so nervous?”

“What do I call you now?”

“Mate,” he offered, but her nose wrinkled. “What?”

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