Total pages in book: 96
Estimated words: 92996 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 465(@200wpm)___ 372(@250wpm)___ 310(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 92996 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 465(@200wpm)___ 372(@250wpm)___ 310(@300wpm)
I could, especially since he was still buried inside me.
“It doesn’t happen every time, but when it does, Xan, it’s like your whole body wraps me up, every nerve ending is charged, and it’s almost too much.”
Lifting my face from the hollow of his throat, I gazed down into his eyes. “I don’t want to ever hurt—”
“Listen.” He tapped my forehead with his finger. “Focus on my words. Yeah?”
I nodded.
“I said almost. It’s never more than I can bear, and that’s part of what makes it so fuckin’ good.”
Searching his eyes, I saw only honesty there. “Part of?”
“Yeah. The rest of it is when we’re that connected, your magic lays claim to me. It moves from you to me, and I feel it run into me and fill me like I fill you with—”
“Stop,” I warned him.
He chuckled as I sat up, surveilling his flushed, sweaty skin, his deep, dark eyes, tousled hair, and puffy, red lips.
“You look like I took advantage of you,” I told him.
“It was definitely the other way around,” he teased me, his voice husky and low, his smile lazy and smug.
I could not have stifled my whimper if I tried.
“We need to get in the shower before we both pass out.”
This was true. It was very late.
“And, you know, my gun should maybe not be sitting in the middle of our bedroom floor.”
I snickered.
“What’s so funny?”
“Your pants are still around your ankles.”
He growled. “Clearly, they are a bit too tight.”
“Yes, but they look really great hugging your ass,” I pointed out, defending the garment.
“You’re very good for my ego,” he assured me, pulling me down for another kiss.
When he rolled me to my back and finally eased gently from my body, I snuggled back in close, enveloped in the warmth and strength of the man, soaking him in.
“We need to change this quilt,” he rumbled.
Begrudgingly, I got up. The only thing that made it not so horrible was seeing Lorne finally get his pants from around his ankles. He seemed quite proud of himself.
Lorne put his gun away, hung the belt, and then got in the shower with me. I enjoyed scrubbing him from head to toe, and hugged him as well. I got lots of appreciative rumbling noises over that.
Once we both dried off, changed, and staggered back to the bed, of course there was a new quilt there, one I hadn’t seen in ages.
“Thank you,” Lorne murmured to the cottage, and I inhaled the lavender and verbena that wafted through the bedroom. To me, he said, “People will need answers about what happened to Kathy. I just got a text from the mayor, and she’s calling an emergency town-hall meeting at noon, so once that’s over, I’ll try and come home.”
“What are you going to tell them?”
“That we’re investigating. That’s all I can say until I get some reports back.”
We were certain we’d be up in a couple of hours, with Lorne having to perhaps drive to see the ME in Jamestown if whatever she found couldn’t be explained over the phone. He had the arson inspector to greet at the crack of dawn as well. I was hoping we could at least get a short nap.
EIGHT
I jolted awake, turned my head, found no Lorne, checked the clock, saw it was eight, called out for him, and got no answer.
“No,” I moaned, upset with myself I’d missed him. He had gotten up and left, and I’d slept through the whole thing. It was nice of him to let me sleep, but I felt terrible. And worried. More than anything, I was that.
Rolling sideways, I grabbed my phone off the nightstand. For perhaps the hundredth time since she’d gotten it for me, I thanked Amanda in my head as I hit the button to call the man I loved.
“Xan,” he answered on the second ring. “I’m in the middle of something, but I will be back as soon as I can. I promise.”
“But you left home without your—”
“No,” he said quickly. “You got out of bed and cast your protection spell, even though I don’t think you were actually awake.”
“I did?”
“You did,” he rumbled. “I promise. Now go back to sleep, and I’ll see you soon.”
“Okay,” I mumbled. “I love you.”
“Me too,” he whispered, then hung up.
So very pleased, I rolled over with the phone in my hand and went back to sleep. Somehow, in the middle of everything, I had forgotten it was Saturday.
First there was a bump, then a yawn, then the smell of banana, which wasn’t that odd since I made a lot of banana bread…though none that week. Rolling over, I opened my eyes to slits and saw JJ, Amanda’s youngest, now five, smiling at me.
“Why’re you in my bed?”
“’Cause it’s almost eleven and we were supposed to go to the farmers’ market this morning and then come here and make tarts.”