Page 79 of Waltzing With Witches

I peer around my office. I don’t think I’ll ever be able to enter this room and not think of it as the place I took my mate for the first time. Even if I had to get Ben to hold me back. Striding to the door to head for the comm center, I pause at the last moment, stroking my hand down the door frame.

“Thank you for your assistance, Ben. I think you’ll agree she is our greatest treasure. I…” My voice dies as my thoughts unravel. The thought of hurting Morgan, of being the one to do that to her, it’s more than I can take. Especially now that she’s sunk so deeply into my soul.

A strip of wallpaper unpeels from the wall and snaps at my ass like skyball players in a locker room. I jump out of the way in time, laughing as I jog to the comm room. The usual tension in my chest is gone. For the first time in a hundred years, I feel…light.

Long minutes later, I’ve identified that there’s nothing to worry about, and Ben has sent me the sound of water running in the tub multiple times to remind me of the woman waiting for me upstairs.

Pulling myself from the work, I rush up to my room and across it, stopping only when I get to my bathroom. A black metal tub sits in the middle of an all-black room. Not a single window lets light in on the ornately burled black wood and black slate tiles.

Morgan sits in the tub with bubbles up to her chin, her hair piled on top of her head in a seductive bun. When my mouth drops open, my breath coming faster, she laughs.

“You look ready to burst, Abe. Everything okay?”

I cross the room in half a second, dropping to my knees and dipping my hand into the water. “For so many years, I thought this wasn’t a possibility,” I admit. “To see you in my tub, soaking as if you don’t have a care in the world? It’s blissful, Morgan.”

“Get in here with me and let me show you bliss.” She grabs my hand and pulls me toward her.

I quickly slip in, water sloshing over the sides. She giggles as I straddle her and rest her head against the tub’s edge, kissing my way down her slim neck.

“Can’t. Stop. Kissing,” I whisper into her skin, wishing this afternoon would never end. That we’d never have to leave and deal with the fact that a male is dead, and I have no idea how someone managed it.

Half an hour later, the water’s cold as I take my mate’s lips over and over, kissing, biting, tasting. When we part, she strokes my jaw.

“Spending this time with you has been delightful, but we’ve got to get ready. Ben has been politely flipping the lights on and off for about fifteen minutes.”

Chuckling, I extricate us and step out of the tub, not missing the way her eyes drop to my dick. I’m still hard for her. I want what we did earlier again. But duty calls.

I reach down and slip my arms under her thighs and around her back, lifting her carefully out of the tub. Morgan laughs, her head falling back.

When I set her down, sliding her soapy, wet body along mine, I can’t help but growl. After gripping her wrists, I pull them to her lower back. Dark nipples pebble as her eyes flash in fading afternoon light that comes in from the bedroom’s windows.

“If we start this up again, we will most certainly be late,” she says on a growl. “And I’m coming with you.”

I bring my mouth to her ear, sucking gently at the lobe. “Next time, I want you to chase me, Morgan.”

A pleased sound leaves her throat. “Sounds fun, minus the part where you’re really fucking fast.”

“And competitive,” I remind her. “And I can fly, which is an unfair advantage.”

She sighs and presses both hands to my chest. For a long moment, her black magic heats my skin.

“Sorry, I don’t know if it was appropriate to use my magic on you; it felt so strong for a second. I can feel the thing inside of you, Abe. Like a wrongness that makes me want to scream.” Her voice becomes a whisper. “I don’t know how to fix this; it’s like it’s trapped.”

Sorrow fills me because I don’t know the answer, either. And I can’t make this situation any better for her.

“C’mon,” I whisper, stroking her hair away from her forehead. “We don’t have to think about it right now. I’m fine.”

She nods, but her eyelids flutter as her gaze drifts away. She is most definitely still thinking about it. Turning from me, she leaves the bathroom and heads for my closet. I stand in the doorway and enjoy the view of my mate walking away from me. When she pauses inside the closet, I cock my head to the side. What is she doing?

She casts a sultry glance over her shoulder. “Ben moved all my things in here while you were in the comm room.”

I grin. Cheeky castle.

“Shall we move them back out?” she asks, her voice careful.

Crossing the room, I press my body to hers and walk her against the wall, kissing a path from her shoulder up her neck. “Absolutely not,” I whisper. “Ben knows best when it comes to us.”

She laughs and rests her head against my chest. But there’s something unspoken between us, some question that needs answering. I can sense it in the same way I sense what many people need, despite sometimes having trouble understanding their emotions.

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