“You can tell her tomorrow at the breakfast table.”
I snapped my gaze up. “What?”
“She’s fine. She’ll be sleeping through the morning like a babe, but she’ll survive.”
“How?”
Christian wedged himself between my legs. “I’m tired, Precious. We can talk about that later.”
I nestled against his chest, a burden lifted from my shoulders. “You’re never tired.”
He stroked my back. “And where’s the little shite who’s responsible for all this mayhem?”
“I couldn’t bring him here with all the kids.”
“Aye, and you couldn’t turn him in either.”
I smiled against his chest. “I gave him to King’s father. Since King helped us, it seemed like a just reward.”
Christian braced his hands on my shoulders and held me back. “You fed him to the lions?”
“I gave him to the lions. I’m not positive they’ll eat him.” I searched his black eyes, wondering if he thought I was a monster.
Christian leaned in and kissed me passionately, his tongue awakening my arousal. “A woman after my own heart,” he said against my lips, his hands unfastening my jeans. The panties and shoes went with them.
He branded me with his kiss, deepening it as he consumed me like a tide. His rough hands were around my waist, under my shirt, on my bare thigh, palming my breast, pinching my nipple, grazing my sex, scooting me closer until I was on the very edge of the tailgate.
His kiss softened but never ceased. It became lazy and rhythmic until I wrapped my legs around his waist.
When he slid his cock inside me, he released a shaky breath. “I could kiss your lips for a thousand years.”
And it felt like he did. My body hummed as he kissed the corners of my mouth while gently fucking me. Then his tongue was inside my mouth, and I moaned.
Christian pumped faster, the truck rocking back and forth to his rhythm. “Lie down.”
I did as he asked, gripping the edge of the tailgate.
Christian devoured my body in a glance. “Lift up your shirt. Hurry.”
I peeled the tank top up to my neck, my breasts fighting against the bra as I rocked against his every thrust.
His fangs punched out. “Touch yourself.”
“Like this?” I gently cupped my breast before tugging down the bra.
“Aye,” he hissed. “Pinch your nipples.”
I felt my orgasm sliding closer as I saw the ravenous look in his eyes. When I turned my head and looked up, I gasped. “Christian, the camera!”
“Aye, love. The camera.”
“Someone might be watching.” I shouldn’t have said that, because he was seconds away from climaxing. “What if Wyatt’s recording us?”
He flattened his hands on either side of me and controlled the tempo, reading me like a book as he always did. I forgot the damn camera. I forgot my own name. Pleasure crashed through me as he pumped faster and then made that sexy noise he always made right before coming.
I rode the pulses, clenching on the final one that snuck up on me when he pulled out. Christian kissed my thighs while sliding his pants back up.
“Looks like another car wash is in my future.” I sat up and adjusted my shirt. Then I straightened my legs while Christian dressed me in my panties and jeans. “You really don’t care about the cameras?”
Christian chuckled. “Wyatt’s on drugs, and if you’ve ever seen him on those mushrooms, he won’t be coming out of his chamber for a good while. He’s not allowed to record anything anyhow. Besides, the case is over, we’re all tired, and no one gives a shite.”
Aside from the cameras, I liked the privacy the garage gave us. “Maybe we should cover them next time.”
He arched a brow, clearly titillated by the idea that I’d suggest doing this again. “Perhaps a can of shaving cream?”
“You haven’t shaved in a century.” I picked my keys up from the floor and grabbed the jacket. “Where did you toss my shoes? The floor is cold.”
Christian wrapped his arms around my waist and lifted me high off the ground so that I was looking down at him. I planted a soft kiss on his forehead and pinched his dark beard.
“Someday we’ll have a real date,” I said. “And maybe romantic sex.”
“Romantic? Are you not dazzled by the smell of motor oil? Besides, have you forgotten our rooftop date with burgers?”
I placed my mouth by his ear. “Of course not. I’m just joking.”
He walked toward the ramp. “Something I’ve learned in my long life, Raven, is that women never joke. What you consider a joke is really a veiled threat.”
“Is that so? What you know about me could fill a thimble.”
Christian tickled my waist and made me wiggle in his arms. “Don’t be using my words against me.”
These were the moments when everything about us felt normal.
“So how did you save Blue?” I asked.
“I gave her about four pints of my blood.”
There went normal.
Chapter 30
The kids threw our schedule into disarray. Sometimes they ate in the courtyard and other times the dining room. Due to the circumstances, Viktor allowed us to eat where and when we wanted until our guests left. I stayed in my room the next morning. After reading a magazine, I admired the trinkets I’d collected from previous cases, including Harper’s cigarette case. Maybe someday she’d want it back. Or not. It made me wonder what I’d hold on to if Christian died. Definitely his ring, but what else? An unwashed shirt? A candy dish? His motorcycle? Maybe it would be too painful to keep my necklace, a constant reminder of his devotion.
Around noon, I put on a tank top and my favorite jeans with all the holes and headed to the dining room, where I heard children chattering.
“Anyone seen Blue?”
Wyatt grabbed a leftover pink donut from a serving table to my right and moseyed back to his booth. “Maybe she had to go flap her wings. If you want a donut, you better hurry and eat the last one before I do. They’re still fresh, just cold. Ow!” He lifted his foot and plucked something off his sock. “Son of a ghost. Who lost a tooth?”
Shepherd launched out of his seat. “Give it to me!”
“I’ll give it to you all right.” Wyatt held up his hand as if making a hoop shot. The tiny tooth made an arc, struck the edge of Shepherd’s glass, and skittered across the table. “Blast!”
Some of the kids squealed, and one went flying into the gathering room.
Wyatt shuddered as he sat down. “I think I lost my appetite.”
Gem leaned back in her chair and snagged my attention. “I saw Blue in the courtyard earlier.”
“Thanks.”
I made my way down the hall and behind the stairs to the main door that led to the courtyard. Blue was lying against a statue of a winged man. I wasn’t sure why she liked such a depressing image. The kneeling man covered his face with one hand as if he’d lost everything. We hadn’t mowed in a while, so the grass came above her feet. Her tan cargo pants were rolled up, which wasn’t her usual style, but the white tank top caught my attention. Since her attack, Blue had stopped wearing tank tops and chose more conservative shirts. But now the gashes that sliced from her shoulder down her chest were visible, and she didn’t seem to care.