Page 78 of Night’s Fall (The Four Realms #1)

“When Tim tore the room apart, I wanted to join him. It’s been a gods-damned ache since I learned. Standing in that cell with my brother, listening to his bullshit and not tearing his fucking head off feels like it cost me everything.”

Okay.

Farg this noise.

I went to him, pressed close, wound my arms around him and tipped my head back to keep hold of his gaze.

He was holding himself so still, his body felt like it was made of steel.

My poor Aleksei .

“You need to step back,” he warned.

“I’m sorry, honey. I tried. I can’t.”

“Darling, if you don’t, I might fuck you in two, I need so gods-damned badly to be balls deep in you.”

Yes, everything was making sense to me now.

“Then get balls deep in me, Aleksei ,” I invited.

He needed no further encouragement.

His fingers fisted in my hair, yanking my head back, a move that saturated my sex, and then his mouth slammed down on mine, and that left me soaking.

In short order, I learned what a male with a vulnerable female needed to do to release tension.

It was rough. It was fevered. There wasn’t an item of clothing on my body that didn’t end up torn, tattered and flung across the room.

He didn’t take off a stitch of his, simply tore down his zip to release his cock before he buried it in me.

My beast unfurled her welcome. His rushed to accept.

Aleksei marked me with his teeth.

I marked him with mine and my nails.

It was savage, and in some faraway part of my mind, I knew it would frighten me if he wasn’t mine.

But he was.

So I understood.

I knew.

I knew what he needed.

I didn’t give it to him.

I let him take it.

And Aleksei took it.

So we both got what we needed.

For my part, it was a world-rocking orgasm that forced his name up my throat on a sob.

For his, the dragon roared.

Oh yes, he roared, and I soared.

Make no mistake, this wasn’t use, this wasn’t intense sex.

This was making love.

The dragon’s way.

And it was beautiful.

He stayed inside when it was over and I took his weight, but I also took the spikes of my heels (the only thing I was wearing) out of the backs of his thighs, because those things were lethal.

I wrapped my calves around them instead.

His voice was guttural when he asked into my neck, “ Bissi , did I? —?”

I squeezed him tight. “ Don’t even ask. Your ache and mine are different, and mine was just assuaged. I needed to do that, Aleksei . Needed it. So we aren’t talking about it because it’s just the way. Okay ?”

He lifted his head, took some of his weight into his forearms and looked down at me.

It was then I saw it and settled.

Yes, I needed to do that for him.

Two days ago.

Which irritated me.

So I ordered, “ Next time, though, just fuck me. All right? And we’ll skip the you-being-a-dick part.”

His lips hitched.

“I’m in no mood for you to be amused,” I warned.

“Darling, you just came so hard, I thought you’d rip my cock off, your pussy clutched it so tight. How can you be in a bad mood?”

Was he serious?

“I slept alone last night,” I snapped.

He trailed his fingers down my hairline and murmured, “ I know, love. I’m sorry. I was scared shitless about the possibility of hurting you. I’d never needed to fuck anyone that badly before.”

And another nuance of why he was being so argumentative surfaced. He was dealing with some serious shit, but he was also trying to push me away from him in order to protect me.

“Well then,” I huffed. “ Now you know. So this won’t happen again. Because it wasn’t just me. The cats also had to pick sides, and that’s not cool. Nova might never recover.”

His lips hitched again.

My eyes narrowed.

He got serious and asked, “ Where are they?”

This was a good question.

“I don’t know,” I said, all of a sudden panicked, because I hadn’t seen them since I hit the suite. I hoped they hadn’t escaped the room while the staff was cleaning or filling my snack cupboard.

He kissed my nose (really, he had to stop being sweet when I wasn’t feeling it), pulled out (ugh, I hated losing him), rolled away and tossed a throw over me before he did up his slacks and sauntered from the room.

I turned to my side and reached for my grape sparkle because I was parched.

He came back carrying Nova in his arms, Comet trotting and complaining at his heels.

He’d taken off his jacket and was in waistcoat and shirtsleeves.

Aside from naked, that was my favorite Aleksei .

And we were back.

“They were in our bed,” he told me.

“I didn’t see them when I came in.”

“ Our bed, Laura ,” he said, sitting down beside me.

Ah.

So my babies kept me company last night, but for naptime, they sought comfort in daddy’s scent.

Comet hopped up and yelled at me.

“What’s wrong, baby?” I asked, reaching out to stroke.

Comet ducked his head, stepped away and shot me the evil eye.

“I woke him up,” Aleksei told me.

Oh boy.

Comet took his naps seriously.

“Silly Daddy ,” I said to Comet .

He jumped to the arm of the daybed, over to the snack cupboard, and as payback for his nap being interrupted, batted at the glass straws in their holder, making them clink.

“Stop him from doing that, he’ll break one,” I demanded of Aleksei .

“He’s fine,” Aleksei refuted.

Now look who was spoiling the children.

“Those straws probably cost twenty marks each.” Or more .

“He’s fine, darling.”

I heard more clinking.

Whatever.

Time for other things.

I reached out and ran my finger along the side seam of Aleksei’s trousers at his thigh.

He looked down at me.

“ Bissi ,” he groaned when he saw my face.

“I’m not a flower,” I whispered. “ A bruise doesn’t scar me.

A fierce wind doesn’t tear my petals off.

The end of a season won’t make me wither to nothing.

I’m a star, Aleksei . I’ll shine bright until the day, a long time from now, when I blink out, which will be the second before or after you do.

You know it hasn’t always been good for me, but I didn’t survive.

I just lived. That’s what I do. I get on with things.

I don’t understand the power behind your drive to protect me, but I know it’s there.

And I promise to be cognizant of it. However , I need you to understand that I’m in this with you.

I count on you, and I need you to count on me too. Don’t shut me out again. Please .”

He kept hold of Nova (of course) even as he caught my hand and bent to it, pressing his lips hard against my engagement ring.

He kept hold of my hand (and Nova ) when he promised, “ I won’t do it again.”

I squeezed his fingers. “ Okay .”

“Do you need me to run you a bath?” he asked.

I totally did.

That was some intense, awesome, crazy sex, and momma needed some soothing oil and a hot soak before she had to drag herself to dinner with a family torn asunder with all of us pretending they hadn’t been torn asunder.

“Will you get into it with me?” I asked.

“Yes.”

“Then yes.”

He smiled at me. “ I love you, Laura .”

Gods.

Gods .

I let out a breath it felt like I’d been holding for two days.

“I love you too, honey.”

He bent and kissed my temple.

Then he got up and strolled to the hall (with Nova ) and past the bathroom.

“You missed the bathroom!” I called.

“We’re bathing in our bathroom,” he returned.

Yes, we were back.

Aleksei wasn’t out of sight for a second before I heard a crash from the snack cabinet.

And there went the straws.

I heaved myself out of the daybed to find my robe, because I needed to quarantine the cats until someone could come up with a vac.

I couldn’t have them slicing their paws on broken glass and crystal.

But first, I had to take off my shoes.

Then, quarantine the cats.

Then, I had to take a bath.