She exploded, screaming his name. Ecstasy surged over her, through her, inside her. She spasmed wildly, her fingers clutching the sleeping bag. The wild waves seemed to last forever. Finally, tears flew down her face and she went limp, blinking rapidly. He dropped her down to all fours, bent over her, and pressed his face to her jaw, jerking with his own release.
Silence descended. He let her go flat and limp on the sleeping bag, withdrew from her body, and settled at her side. Then he brought one hand down on her ass. Hard. “Don’t challenge me.”
Against all rational thought, she burst out laughing.
Chapter Sixteen
Sam accepted a beer from Nessa and stared bemused at the five trees that had caught fire while he’d had sex with Honor in the tent, having no clue they were blowing things up around them. “Sorry about that.”
Nessa shook her head. “We managed to take care of it, but when we go to the store later, we need more fire extinguishers.”
Huh. Sam shook his head. “I didn’t even realize we’d done that.”
“You were busy,” Nessa said wryly.
Sam would not blush.
A German shepherd barked once and ran full on for him, snagging his beer bottle and running behind Nessa. He watched, bemused.
“Roscoe, damn it,” a British human male yelled, stomping toward the food tent.
Sam pivoted to cover Nessa.
“Get out here now,” the Brit barked as the dog emerged and tossed the empty bottle at Sam’s feet.
Sam shook his head. “Your dog drank my beer.”
“Sorry about that, chap,” the British guy said, looking tough and sleek in dark jeans and an even darker jacket. “I’m only watching him for a friend and we’re on a bit of a hunt. We just stopped at the park so he could relieve himself, and he caught wind of the beer. Bastard has a problem.”
The dog wagged his tail happily.
The Brit glanced at the smoldering trees. “I have a fire extinguisher in my car if you need it.”
“We’re fine, but thank you,” Nessa said, smiling at the dog. “Don’t worry about the beer. He’s a special one.”
“You have no idea. Sorry about the beer.” The Brit turned and loped toward the parking area as the dog cheerfully followed.
Sam accepted a second beer from Nessa. “Cute dog,” he said. He took a deep drink and then caught sight of Garrett scowling at a couple of prospects, who were horsing around near a dartboard stuck to a tree. “Ah, shit.”
Nessa tilted her head to look beyond him. “Here we go again. Take care of it, would you?” The witch might have been half his size, but she had no problem issuing orders when she wanted.
“Maybe they all want to fight,” he offered.
She looked up at him, her eyes narrowing. Her very blue eyes with a hint of fire in them. “Samuel, you know I can throw as well as quench fire these days, right?”
When a century-old witch used your full name, you listened. Even if said witch was tiny with a pert nose. “Yeah. Okay.” He glanced over his shoulder at his tent, which was still zipped nicely up.
Nessa snorted. “Anybody could cause fires. She’s still in hiding?”
He grinned. “I took her a sandwich for lunch, but she has to be getting hot in there. I think it’s more the decibels than the fires.” Although the fall weather was pretty mild.
“I’ll take care of it. We’re supposed to go shopping in an hour, and I know she needs clothing,” Nessa said. “Go handle Garrett. I’m not in the mood to see blood today.”
Fair enough. He snagged another beer and strode over the uneven ground while keeping an ear open to the other camps. A club called Psychos was having problems, if the sound of fists hitting faces was any indication. The human club was at the far side of the party park, so he wasn’t going to worry about it yet. If ever. Probably never. He reached Garrett and handed over the sweating beer bottle. “Nessa says no blood today.”
Garrett accepted the brew. “Come on.”
“Nope. Walk with me.”
Garrett turned away from the other two and strode by Sam’s side toward the thick trees. “Fine. Has Honor come out of the tent yet?”
“No,” Sam said, but if he knew Nessa, Honor would be out soon.
“The female has some lungs on her,” Garrett observed.
Sam tipped his bottle and drank half of the contents. “I might’ve gotten carried away.”
“You nearly started a forest fire.” Garrett chuckled. “I like her. She’s smart.”
That she was. It was rare for Garrett to comment on Sam’s choice of a date. “Where’s your date, G?”
Garrett glanced back at his tent. “She’s taking a nap. I might’ve kept her up too late last night.” He rubbed a hand through his thick hair, for the moment looking just like his father. Cranky. “Do you like her?”
Sam paused. “Um, yeah. I mean, I haven’t had a chance to really talk to her, but she seems nice. She’s a vet, which means she likes animals and that she’s smart. The question is whether or not you like her.”
“I do.” Garrett looked down at his right hand and flipped it over to reveal his calloused palm. “No marking, though.”
Through the years, Sam had exhausted himself talking about the dreams, whether they were real or not, and whether Garrett was trying too hard to find a mate. The woman might not even be born yet. Garrett was young, still had centuries to mate. So Sam just finished his beer.
Garrett paused near a tree and drank his beer in two gulps. He turned to survey the area. “You feel them?”
“Yep.” Sam had clocked the two lions tracking them the second they’d moved toward the forest. “One’s a female.”
Garrett angled toward the forest. “They’re probably just curious. The Seven is such a mystery to everyone, and even we don’t know all of the details.” He tugged on his dark shirt just as Nessa apparently coaxed Honor from the tent across the way. He chortled. “I have never seen a woman blush that hard. Man. That’s gotta hurt.”
Sam turned and barely kept from laughing. He should feel bad, but his body felt too good. It was the best he’d felt in years, and it wasn’t as if he hadn’t warned her. Plus, they were in the middle of an MC ride for adults only. He could hear several couples going at it right now from different directions.
“The throes of ecstasy notwithstanding, you’re more relaxed than you’ve been in years,” Garrett observed. “It’s hard to put my finger on it, but it feels like her energy balances yours, when you’re not blowing things up?”