Page 90 of Galen

“Yeah, yeah.” Simon smiled over at me. “Is it weird that I’m kind of happy? I mean, yeah, there’s the whole demons after me, possible end of the world thing. But…” He moved his gaze throughout his store. “I’m happy. More than I ever thought I could be.”

Warmth swirled in the center of my chest as I tugged him close. “You’re so strange, Simon Parks.”

As I held him in my arms, the scent of rain lingering in his sandy-brown hair, I realized I was happy too. And it fucking terrified me.

I recalled what Alastair had said about hanging on by a single, frayed thread. Maybe that thread had hold of me too. I just didn’t know it yet.

Chapter Sixteen

Simon

I knew I was dreaming.

My body felt weightless as I walked through my antique shop. Dark clouds showed through the open windows before the curtains shut, sending the room into darkness. Everything appeared a bit warped, like my brain hadn’t pieced the scene together fully. I went down the hall and turned into the storage room.

Then I saw it. The box.

The lock popped open just like it had the first day I found it, and the lid lifted with an ominous creak. My blood turned electric as it shot through my veins. I reached into the box and grabbed the ring.

A dark shape flitted across my peripheral vision, and I looked that way. Black smoke swirled and consumed all the space around it, filling gaps and taking over everything. Chills spread over my skin, and I tried to move, but my legs wouldn’t budge. My feet were cemented to the floor.

Within the shadows, a figure cloaked in black arose and drifted closer.

Red eyes appeared right in front of me.

I woke with a start, my skin damp with sweat.

“Simon?” Galen stirred beside me.

“I’m fine,” I said, breathing hard. “Just a weird dream.”

“Come here.” He pulled me against him. “Do you want to talk about it?”

I kissed his collarbone and let his sandalwood scent envelop me. “I’d rather get lost in you for a while.”

He grabbed my jaw and closed the gap between our lips. As we kissed, he pushed me to my back and slid between my legs, the sheet moving low on his naked hips. The weight of him on top of me made me feel safe, and the tremors in my body leftover from my dream finally faded.

My ass was still a little tender from fucking Galen the night before, but it was an ache I couldn’t get enough of. I wanted to feel him inside me again, to have him fill every inch of me.

To claim me over and over.

I heard the soft snap of the lube cap before he squeezed some into his palm. He exhaled against my parted lips as he coated his cock. I captured his mouth in another hot kiss as he eased into me, my ass stretching around his thickness.

“I love being inside you,” Galen murmured, pushing deeper.

I gripped his sides and angled my head back, meeting him for another kiss. My heart thumped hard in my chest, banging against my rib cage as he took me faster. I was high on pleasure. High on the warm spicy scent of him all around me. High on my love for the amazing man in my arms. I hadn’t said I loved him yet, but I felt the truth of those words all throughout my body.

He made my soul soar.

The quick morning fuck was exactly what I needed. After blowing my load and touching Galen just the way he liked as he blew his, I lay in his arms, my limbs heavy and my body sated.

“Feel better?” he asked, his gravelly tone a little breathy.

“Yep. You’re a miracle worker.” I dropped a kiss to his chest before grabbing my glasses off the nightstand.

His arms came around me from behind, and he nipped at my shoulder blade. I smiled and relaxed against him.

“Is this what you truly want?” he asked, his breath tickling my skin. “A life with me?”