Eyes lifting, Carrick puts the book on the nightstand. “All talked out?”
I yawn as I move to my side of the bed and flop onto it, rolling to my back and coming to rest beside him. I stare up at the ceiling. “I’m totally all talked out. Meaning, we really only talked about me.”
“Understandable,” he says, flipping to his side and leaning on an elbow to slightly hover over me, forcing me to look at him and not the ceiling. “You’re going to be far more open. She’s going to be closed tight as a clam. You have to give it time.”
“I know.” The whine in my voice isn’t flattering. “It’s just… we don’t have a lot of time. The new moon is around the corner, and I’ve lost twenty-eight years with her. Not only am I trying to make up for that, but I’ve also got to learn how to break through the wall she’s put up around herself.”
“I have faith in you.” Carrick dips his head, then brushes his lips over my forehead. “So what exactly did you two talk about?”
I scoot up onto the pillow, rolling to my side to face him. He drops down to his pillow, too, our arms both curled under ourselves for support. “I fed her light information first. Me as an adult, dropping out of college, all the jobs I’ve had, and then finally my rise through One Bean to owner. Kept it simple and let her ask questions if she was curious to know more.”
“And was she? Curious?”
“She was,” I reply, taking note of the relief I feel now like I felt earlier when she showed genuine interest. “Eventually, she got around to asking about our parents. That led to talking about the changeling ceremony. I could tell she was relieved the daemon that stole her had frozen them, so they had no clue what had happened.”
Carrick nods. “Making it clear she was not forsaken or abandoned.”
“Exactly,” I concur. “She knew there was no one to save her.”
“Save her from what is the question,” Carrick murmurs thoughtfully.
“We most certainly didn’t get into that,” I say with heavy regret. “But it’s what I really need to know. I need to know what was done to her, so I can help her overcome it.”
Eyes locked on mine, Carrick brushes hair behind my ear. “You’ll get there, I promise. I think over the next few days, you two need to spend some focused time with each other. Keep it laid back with no pressure for her to talk about anything if she doesn’t want to. She’ll eventually open up.”
“And you know this how?” I ask skeptically.
Carrick smirks. “Five thousand years of living. You learn a few things about people.”
“Your wisdom is indeed unparalleled,” I commend with a grin.
His smile back isn’t playful. Instead, it borders on lecherous as he moves back up to his elbow to loom over me. “Want to see what else I’ve learned in five thousand years?” His voice is a deep rumble that I feel throughout my entire body, but most concentrated between my legs.
“I thought I’ve already seen all you had to teach me,” I tease, scooting in closer.
Carrick’s eyes start to glow as he runs his gaze down my body, sucking his lower lip in between his teeth. “One thing I’ve learned is foreplay really shouldn’t be marred by the painstaking and often awkward task of clothing removal.”
I don’t immediately comprehend what he’s saying until, with a wave of his hand, I’m suddenly as naked as he is. I can’t help but laugh in delight. “What else did you learn?”
Carrick rolls partially over me, pressing his palm down into the mattress at my ribs and caging me in. His head hangs low, lips just out of reach of mine. “I’ve learned that magic can be used in foreplay.”
And without him touching me in any way, it feels as if a thousand tongues and fingers are between my legs.
I groan, my back arching and my legs spreading as I’m probed, prodded, licked, and sucked while Carrick remains perfectly still and watches me closely for a reaction.
I manage to pry my eyes open, staring at him helplessly as pleasure takes my body hostage. Magical touches are felt on my breasts, my clit, between my ass cheeks, and inside of me. Within just moments, I’m wracked with an orgasm that shreds me to pieces.
“Fuck, that’s beautiful,” Carrick growls.
I’m delirious, only half aware Carrick is pushing my legs apart and driving himself into me. My legs automatically wrap around his hips, my arms around his neck, and I hang on as he fucks me as if his life depends on it.
I feel like my life depends on it, too.
Our lovemaking is turbulent as I dangle from the slim ledge of a precipice, afraid to fall without him. But then Carrick drives deep, gathers me tightly in his arms, and buries his face in my neck as he unleashes inside me.
So… I let go.
I fall into bliss with him, cherishing this moment in my heart because I don’t know what tomorrow will bring.
CHAPTER 10
Finley
I watch Zora reach for another croissant, which has become her favorite breakfast food, meaning Zaid has made sure there are plenty every morning. He set us up to eat out on the patio even though it’s a little chilly, but once he fires up the outdoor heaters, it ends up being simply perfect.
My elbows on the table, both hands around my coffee cup as it hovers in front of my face, I watch Zora slather butter and jelly on the flaky pastry and then take a large bite. I have no clue if someone taught her table etiquette in the Underworld, but I think the way she attacks food has less to do with manners and more to do with taste and abundance.
I look down at my bowl of fruit and oatmeal, and then longingly at the croissants in the center of the table.
Fuck it.
You only live once, right?
Well, actually, I’ve lived many more than that, but I am currently in this life. Putting my coffee down, I glance at my watch before reaching for a croissant. Before long, we’ll be heading over to One Bean. The interior re-build is done, so there’s nothing left to do but move in equipment, furniture, and decor. Rainey wants to show off her progress today.
It will be Zora’s first foray out of the condo and into the city.
The last three days, everyone has given us space to hang out as we continue to learn about each other. As evidenced by Carrick taking his breakfast in the kitchen with Maddox, Titus, and Zaid while we sit out here looking over the Sound on another uncharacteristically sunny day.
While Maddox is living at the condo permanently now, Titus is not. He explained he has a hotel where he stays in the evenings, but he spends his days at the condo since we continually discuss options, plans, and contingencies. He and I have started working out together in the gym each day… just like old times.
I’ve learned a lot about my sister the last few days, but it’s mainly surface stuff. Most of it revolves around the differences between the Earth realm and the Underworld as she makes continual and delightful discoveries.
For example, the first time she tasted a strawberry, I thought she might faint from pure pleasure. I learned there was no such thing as fruit in the Underworld. There was merely protein derived from animals that were cultivated there—and I shudder at the memory of some I had seen during my dream trip—grain from low-yielding crops grown with artificial sunlight through magic and a handful of vegetable varieties grown the same way.