Page 113 of The Aether

“Have you ever seen a magical child sugared up, Masters?” he asked with a wry chuckle. “It isn’t pretty.”

“As evidenced by the glitter bomb,” Creed called from the sideboard where he was refilling his drink.

With a wide grin for his friends, new and old, Damian hurried from the room and up the stairs. When he entered the primary suite, he inhaled sharply.

“Ah, Viv. You take my breath away.”

Perched on the bed, with her back to the headboard and with her smooth legs—encased in lacy white stockings and secured with garters—bent under her where she knelt, Vivian spread her arms wide. The frothy white lingerie gave the impression of an angel’s wings, and her exposed breasts played peekaboo through the long strands of her tumbling platinum hair. Her grin was devilish, at direct odds with her celestial appearance.

“Do you know what day it is? What time?” she asked teasingly.

He did.

Frowning, he shut and locked the door, then strolled to the bed as if he had all the time in the world. When he reached her, he crossed his arms and tapped his chin as if struggling to recall.

“What day… hmm… let me see…”

A pillow hit him square in the face.

Laughing, he dove for her, rolled, and drew her down atop him. “Of course I know,” he assured her with a hard kiss. “Today is the anniversary of the day you showed up at my door for the first time.” He trailed her creamy skin with his fingertips, running them over her forehead, brushing her brow, then down her smooth cheek to caress her lips. “Long after I’m dead, I’ll still remember.”

She seemed melancholy when she asked, “Did you ever believe our lives would turn out this way? That night, when you told me you intended to marry me, did you see all of this?”

“I’ve never expected our lives to be easy, Vivian. But if asked, I’d say ours is the greatest love story ever told.”

“Like a favorite love song,” she said softly as she caressed his mouth. “The kind that never gets old and makes you want to play it on repeat.”

“Solid gold. One that will never go out of style and makes you smile whenever you hear it.”

“Yes,” she agreed as she nuzzled the column of his throat.

“At least we’re not one of those heartbreaking country songs, and I’m not mourning the loss of my pickup truck over my woman,” he teased as he shifted to allow her better access.

She lifted her head. “How doyouknow about country songs?”

“I hit a dark period when you left.”

Laughing, she straddled him and ripped his shirt apart, scattering buttons. “It had to be pretty dark if you know about pickup trucks in place of Bentleys, Porches, and Land Rovers, darling.”

“I believe our soundtrack will forever be beautiful and never grow old.”

Her smile was blinding. “Yes. I believe it will.”

“How do you feel about more children?” He asked, parting the frilly material to play with her pert nipple. Her moan traveled straight to his groin, and he groaned as she ground her pelvis against his.

“The two we have aren’t enough for you? I don’t know how many more tribunals we have in us, Damian.” She held his head away from her to meet his gaze. “When I saw the cage… the burns on your hands…” Releasing him, she gripped his wrist and pressed her cheek into his healed palm. “It was like watching a horror movie through that scrying mirror. I thought I was going to lose you both. I was getting ready to teleport there when I saw the Sentinels gather. Thank the Goddess for Draven’s coin.”

“Clever planning on his part. A contingency I should’ve been prepared for, but wasn’t.” Shifting to a kneeling position, he cradled Vivian’s beloved face. Ducking to meet her solemn eyes, he smiled. “But what’s life without a little risk? How can we appreciate these finer moments if we have nothing to lose?”

Snorting, she wrapped her arms around his neck and drew his head down to hers. “Well, I suppose if you don’t feel too old to have a few more—”

She screamed a laugh as he tackled her to the mattress.

“I’ll give you old, woman!”

“That’s what I’m hoping,” she replied with a bawdy grin.

EPILOGUE

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