Page 23 of The Baby Hex (Mori’s Mementos #2)

“I put you on leave!” Medwin said, opening his car door and stepping out.

“You can be out and about but you have to take off the uniform. Tell me this isn’t one of those cases where you don’t own any other clothes.

I know a few of you guards are like that but I didn’t take you for someone who didn’t like to shop. ”

“I haven’t been home yet. We only just got here. We stayed at Moonglow last night, sir.”

“Sir?” Crilus laughed and bit his lip.

“He’s right. You’re on leave. Call me Medwin but take off your uniform.” He held up a hand to stop me from doing god knows what. “Not out here. Inside somewhere private. Somewhere it’s either appropriate to be naked or somewhere you have other clothes to put on.”

“Who stripped naked in front of you, Medwin?” Crilus asked, finally letting go of me and turning to face the First Mate of the Moonscale Dragon Flight.

I stepped forward and wrapped my arms around Crilus from behind again.

“You’d be surprised. I have two young children at home. I’ve learned to give very precise directions,” Medwin chuckled. “Are you two going to have your matingmoon here?”

“I’m not sure,” Crilus spoke before I did. “There’s glass to clean up and work to be done.”

“Take it from me. There is always work to be done. They’ll even be work to be done after you die, if you take on enough things.

Take some time off and enjoy yourselves but either way, out of the uniform until further notice,” Medwin said.

“I’m going back home now that I know it’s exactly who I suspected. ”

I wanted to tell Medwin that maybe I’d take it off for good and spend the rest of my life knocking up my mate. The thought sent a shudder of longing through me that I suppressed by sheer will alone. Neither of us said another word until Medwin’s minivan was out of sight.

“What about that made you so Frost-damn hard?” Crilus swore under his breath.

“Ummm… Nothing about him. More about taking my uniform off and never putting---” he turned to kiss me before I had a chance to finish the sentence.

His tongue plunged into my mouth and I took a step backward, leaning up against my car as my hands found the round, muscular globes of his ass again.

Sure, I needed to change and our chore list grew longer by the second but there was nowhere else I’d rather be than here with my tongue playing a wonderful game of push and pull between our mouths.

Crilus wrapped his arms around my neck. I could’ve pulled him into my car and devoured him.

The windows were tinted. The back seat was just about long enough, if we were both a bit flexible about things.

Only I couldn’t. Our first time together needed to be special.

It needed to be somewhere we wouldn’t be rushed.

Somewhere that no one could barge in on us and ask for help.

I’d spent years of my life helping others and now the only person I wanted to help was Crilus.

I wanted to help him get off. Then help him with the bar and for the rest of his life with whatever he needed.

Teddy could take care of Sharon Claudis, couldn’t he? Wasn’t that why he came all this way?

He leaned in and my dick twitched. I breathed in his scent, working hard not to grind against him.

Wasn’t it me that said mating wasn’t the end all be all?

It wasn’t. Of course, it wasn’t, but that didn’t stop me from wanting to give in to every baser instinct that danced through my thoughts. It would be so easy to---

“Do you think everyone would lose their shit if we disappeared?” Crilus whispered.

“Um… Where? I mean, probably not. It’s our matingmoon season.”

“Good. I’m hot. I thought the shower would help but it didn’t.

Heat? I’m not sure. I don’t know much of anything anymore, though.

Since arriving at Moonglow last night it’s gotten harder and harder to think around you.

It’s like the magic is gobbling up all my other thoughts.

I know I need to get the bar up and going again.

I need to help Mori and Preston. I need--- You.

I just need you and I hate it! I hate it, Pierce! ”

He said that and my heart fell into my chest.

“I hate how difficult everything is! I—I want to be the sort of guy who can just throw caution to the wind and ignore every warning sign flashing off! I hate that I can’t! I hate that I can’t concentrate—”

“Do you want to stop?” I asked. “You’re sending me mixed signals.”

“NO”! He said a little too loud and a bird across the street startled away from a dropped fry on the sidewalk. “I didn’t mean I hate us – this – whatever. I hate that it’s complicated and that there’s so much to do. Am I even making sense?”

“You are,” I nodded, relief flooding into my body. “You’re a naughty little workaholic who wants to be in two places at once. Here to clean up the bar and at my house so I can make good on all my promises to devour you.”

“Yes!” He nodded fast and hard.

“Would you trust a maid service to come in?”

“No,” he shook his head.

“Anyone who would help out that you would trust? Mori and Preston maybe?” I offered.

“I don’t know. I don’t know much right now. I want to take my shirt off. It’s so damn hot!” Crilus sighed. “Aren’t we supposed to have more time than this before the magic sets me off on a heat?”

“Feels like it,” I nodded, “but there’s no set timer on it.” I took his face gently in my hands. “Look at me. I need you to look at me before we go into any confined space together. Do you want to do this? You want to exchange our claiming vows?”

He nodded.

“I need to hear you say it, mate.”

“Yes,” he said.

“Are you on birth control?”

“Not anymore. I swore off romping after – well, the whole mess with Teal. No birth control equals no sex. I meant with him. Not with you. Not that I want to have sex with him or anything now --- I can’t seem to take my foot out of my mouth.”

“Shhhh,” I said, running my thumb over his cheek. “It’s okay. We could get you the fast-acting heat shot if you wanted.”

“No,” I shook my head. “That gave me nightmares for weeks the last time. No shots except cum shots.”

I laughed despite how serious this conversation needed to be.

“Do you want me to use a condom? If we don’t---”

“You’ll put a baby in me.”

“Yes, but we can wait for that until things—”

“Take me home with you,” Crilus said, leaning against me again. “Take me home with you before Medwin has to come back and tell me to put my clothes on. Does your car have a good AC? It’s really hot out here.”

“You get in the car. I’m going to make sure things are locked up here,” I said.

Once he was in the car, I made a quick circle around the bar, dropping a plop of blood from my palm at each of the major directions: North, South, East, and West. Now if someone fucked with the Raven’s Perch, I’d be the first to know about it.

They’d have to fuck with my shields before they ever got near my mate’s magical protections.