Page 13 of Double Bind (Cosmic Mates #6)

Marshall awakened to gray light and morning wood, the significance of the day bringing a smile to his face. They were off —and their friends weren’t, so they had a whole day to themselves—including dinnertime. Work had been crazy busy since Tailless hurt himself a few days ago. He, Bragg, and Zhara had been reporting in early and staying late to compensate.

Pending reassignment to a position where he couldn’t injure himself or others, Tailless was back in the shop, but on clean-up duty, putting away tools and sweeping up sawdust—as best he could with two smashed fingers in a splint. He was more of a hindrance than a help, getting in the way when they were trying to work. The woodshop had been a poor occupational fit for the accident-prone male.

At least the overtime would ease up soon— two workers, new arrivals to Refuge, would be joining them. It couldn’t happen soon enough to suit him, but for now, he was grateful he and Amity at least had a respite day. When possible, Artisan’s Loft put spouses on the same work schedule so they were off on the same day.

Careful not to disturb her, he stretched.

“I thought you were never going to wake up.”

He turned his head to see her watching him.

“You should have woken me up,” he said.

“On our first day to sleep in?” She shook her head.

He reached for her, and she curled up next to him, pillowing her head on his shoulder. “Mm…” she hummed with pleasure.

“I’ll second that,” he said. There was nothing more satisfying than having his wife’s soft, warm, naked body snuggled up against him. They’d taken to sleeping nude since they now had a toasty horniger fur blanket. Her contribution made him anxious to get started on the sofa and provide for their household.

But later. He forgot about the sofa when she caressed his chest and then circled down to grasp his erection. “Did you make this just for me?” she purred.

“I did,” he said.

She lifted her face, and he kissed her, groaning in satisfaction. Desire and tenderness entwined to fill him with gratitude at his good fortune. A morning in bed with one’s wife might be something other people took for granted, but he never would. He’d always yearned for freedom, but it would have been cold comfort without Amity.

She scooted downward and took his cock in her mouth, and it felt like the top of his head would blow off. He clenched his hands into fists as lightning pleasure crackled through his body. It didn’t take long before he squeezed his eyes shut and gasped his release.

He opened his eyes to find her smiling at him. “Proud of yourself, are you?” he asked.

“A little bit. But that was too easy. You don’t present much of a challenge.” She giggled.

“I’ll show you a challenge!” He grabbed her.

Her squeal turned to a moan of pleasure as he homed in on the center of her desire, and then it was her turn to gasp, her body arching as he brought her to the peak of ecstasy.

“You’re right,” he said after the tremors in her body quieted. “Not much of a challenge.”

“Challenges are vastly overrated.” She sighed. “I love how easy it is being with you.”

I love you, he thought. Instead, he said, “Same.” Love was new to him, and he needed to come to grips with this scary new emotion. He’d never loved anybody. He had no parents, no siblings. Not even a pet. Until Amity, he’d doubted he had the capacity to love.

He poured his emotion into his kiss, his lips lingering as her breath fanned over him like a gentle perfume. She moaned, and tender kisses turned more amorous. She began to stroke him, and then passion ignited. They went at it again, this time with a fervor that left them gasping and shuddering.

They fell asleep in each other’s arms, awakening for the second time to find bright light streaming through the windows.

“We boinked and napped through breakfast,” Amity said.

“I prefer boinking to breakfast any day.”

“They say if you put a coin in a jar every time you have sex in the first year of marriage then take a coin out of the jar when you have sex in the second year of marriage, you won’t even remove half the coins.”

“Oh, I don’t know. I think we’ll empty out the jar the second year,” he said, realizing he was counting on a second year, and a third—a lifetime of years. “What would you like to do today?”

“I don’t know. What do you want to do?”

He waggled his eyebrows dramatically. “Put coins in a jar!”

She laughed. “For that, I am going to need some sustenance. Let’s hose off and grab some lunch.”

“Sounds like a plan,” he said.

“Would you mind if we dropped by the library for a few minutes after lunch? Darmaine told me there are terminals for resident use. I’d like to figure out how to dye horniger yarn and fabric. I won’t research today, but I’d like to take a look at the terminal setup.”

“I don’t mind if you do a little research. I have some of my own to do.” He’d been hoping for an opportunity like this. If he could get some examples of sofas, he could start construction as soon as the new hires arrived.

“You do? For what?”

“Furniture blueprints.”

“So, you don’t mind?”

“Not at all.”

“I guess we have a plan, then,” she said. “Aren’t we the romantic couple, researching together?”

“The couple that researches together, stays together,” he quipped.