Page 79 of Throne of Secrets

God, shecouldmake him lose it. She was able to make sure his eyes never wandered, and that feeling of power flooded through her. She doubled her efforts and cupped his balls with her free hand. Ethan jumped, and seconds later, he arched and came into her mouth. His hips pumped, and she took all of him, swallowing at the very end of his orgasm.

She crawled up his body and stared down at him. The smile on her face was that of a woman knowing she’d made her partner crazy in the best possible way. When he opened his eyes, he smiled at her and pulled her down on top of him. “You look like the Cheshire cat.”

She licked her lips. “The cat that got the cream.”

Ethan blinked and then barked out a laugh. “My God, the things that come out of your mouth.”

“Or the things that come in my mouth.” She laughed when Ethan’s laughter became almost uncontrollable. He wrapped her in his arms and moved them so they were lying on their sides. Then he pushed her hair away from her face. “I don’t know how you could ever think you wouldn’t be enough for me. You’re everything, babe. Everything.”

She stared into his eyes. “I think I may be starting to believe I could be.”

“I’ll tell you every night for the rest of my life.” Leaning forward, he kissed her.

“Promise?” she asked when he pulled away.

“Promise.” He stroked her cheek with his thumb and searched her face. “And you’re the only one I’ve ever made that promise to. There is and will be no one else.”

“For me, too.” She laid her head against his chest and listened to the steady beat of his heart. She was lost, and he was the only one who’d been able to find her. She closed her eyes when she realized how literal that statement was given the previous day. Ethan was her hero, her rescuer, and her lover. Even her stupid curse couldn’t ruin what was between them.

CHAPTER21

Ethan leaned back in his chair, stretching his fingers before refocusing on his screens. All his security feeds were open. One showed a cycling view of Guardian’s offsite servers and another monitored the systems of non-Guardian assets. The next screen ran anomaly detection in encrypted data transfers. He checked on active operations that Guardian teams were deployed on and the high-priority inquiries being worked on with Domestic Operations. Con, Ring, Brando, and occasionally Jewell supported the Shadows, so they were in good hands. The last screen was dedicated to Star. He'd labeled the system that monitored her alarm system and house as his Star Curse Prevention Protocol. Max had thought it was funny but agreed it was probably the most useful system Ethan was currently monitoring.

He smirked at the live feed of her house. Star sat cross-legged on the couch, a stack of old books beside her, absently flipping through one with a furrowed brow. Thor perked up at his feet, sensing his shift in focus. He stood up, stretched, and wandered over to him. Ethan scratched his neck scruff. Thor had come through the surgery like a trooper. However, the vet cautioned him that Thor had arthritis, and his eyesight was starting to fail, which rationally Ethan knew was due to his advanced age, but emotionally, he didn’t want to face.

He gave Thor some undivided attention and a treat before returning to his systems. Max was online, and everything was running smoothly. He tapped his earpiece.

“Are we on for tomorrow?” He and Max continued to spar at the gym, and Max had pulled out some spectacular moves in the last three months. Ethan loved learning the new techniques and moves.

“Yes. Things are quiet today. We can go remote.” Max sounded disappointed.

Ethan chuckled. “I agree. The bad guys are behaving for once.” He sent the system alerts to his watch and phone. If he needed to work the situation, he could start defenses for all systems on his phone and then take over the response on the computer systems when he got to his office. In reality, he could handle most minor breaches via the phone protocols he and Max had developed.

Ethan frowned as he looked at the video feed of Star’s living room. She was still on the couch. He zoomed in on the books. They looked like they were wrapped in something and tied with strings. He adjusted the camera angle. Yep, books, and they looked old.

Sighing, he pushed away from his desk, grabbing his hoodie and keys. "Come on, Thor. Let’s make sure Star hasn’t accidentally unearthed ancient witchcraft books and begun the process of summoning a portal to hell."

He locked his office and retrieved his phone, pocketing it. When he got upstairs, the phone rang. He glanced at the face and smiled. “Hey, Pops. In the area?”

“Nope. At home. Just calling to see if you’re still in one piece.”

Ethan laughed. “Yeah, everything is going pretty well.”

“You just jinxed it.”

“You don’t believe in that shit.” Ethan leaned against the kitchen cabinet.

“I do now. Your woman is a magnet for trouble. Your mother agrees; you two need to move back home. She can’t get into too much trouble here.”

“You say that. Are you sure there isn’t a fault line under the mountain?”

“Shut your mouth, boy,” his father growled.

Ethan laughed. “The idea of moving to Colorado has been a topic of discussion. Star wants to finish the house and sell it. Her work can be done anywhere; the long pole in the tent is moving my systems and the down time.”

“Max can cover it. He did it for eons.”

“Eons? Should I tell him you said that?”

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