Page 9 of Hers to Keep

The smile wilted on her face, and tears pricked at her eyes.“Did I do something wrong?”

“Oh no.Sweetheart.Come here.”He pulled her into his arms and pressed his face to her temple.“I meant I don’t want you to pay me anymore.I called Esmé this morning and gave her my two weeks’ notice.She told me to fuck off and fired me.”

Mari laughed into his chest.“That sounds like her.”She angled her head to look up at him.“That’s what upset you in my office?”

“Yeah.”He blew out a breath.“The idea that you thought I was only taking care of you because you paid me.It hurt my feelings.”

“I never thought that, Dante.I mean, I was paying you, but only because that’s what we had agreed to.And I wouldn’t be mad about keeping on paying you either.But I know you care about me, and I’m sorry I made you feel bad.”

He kissed her forehead.“Apology accepted.”He reached for one of the sandwiches.“Now, eat this.”

She chuckled as she unwrapped the sandwich.Her stomach wasn’t thrilled with the idea of eating, but that was probably because she’d had too much coffee and not enough food already today, and she knew she should put something in there, especially after the night she’d had.“So, is this what I can expect from now on?”

He watched with narrowed eyes as she took a bite of the egg salad sandwich.“Probably.I know Rio tries to make sure you take care of yourself, but he’s got business stuff keeping him busy a lot of the time.I talked to him this morning, and he’s fine if I help.”

She rolled her eyes when he handed her a glass of water but sipped dutifully all the same.“I’m an adult you know.”

“Uh-huh.An adult who pushes herself right to the edge of exhaustion and doesn’t think about taking care of herself until after everyone else is taken care of.”

“Guilty as charged.”She sighed and took another bite.It really was a very good sandwich, with just the right amount of mustard.

He rested a hand on the back of her neck.A line formed between his eyebrows.“Headache is back again?Thought I took care of that last time.”

She felt the warm touch of his magic permeating her spine, relaxing her in an instant.“Probably just dehydration.Yesterday was a complete madhouse, and then today I’ve had too much coffee and not enough water.”She offered him a guilty smile.Saints, had their failed date just been yesterday?It felt like a million years ago.

He huffed and kept up the slow trickle of healing magic.“At least you can admit it.”He curled his fingers into her neck a bit to work at the tense muscles.“Finish that up, and then I’m going to get you into bed.”

“You want me to sleep here?”She took another bite, glad that her stomach had settled.

“Yeah, maintenance crew is cleaning up the glass from last night and replacing the windows in the pool house, so it’ll be quieter in here until they’re done.I already told Rio this is where you’d be.”

“So, you’re both mother hens now?”she asked, smiling at the thought.

“Yup, at least until you start taking care of yourself.”He nodded at the glass, prompting her to sip.“You went through a ton of magic yesterday, and today you’re running on empty, and you were just going to keep on pushing through it, even after your magic was slow to rebound this morning.”

She finished chewing the final bite of the sandwich and took another drink of water.Much as she might love to argue his points, she had responsibilities to all the people in this house and under her protection.Letting herself get worn down wasn’t going to help any of them.“You’re right.Thank you for caring, and thank you for looking after me.”

He took the glass and the wrapper from her and set them both on the tray before scooping her up in his arms.“I’m prescribing one orgasm and at least an hour of sleep.”His grin was wicked.“How do you want it?”

“You pick.”Her eyes already felt heavy, and she didn’t want to make any more decisions right now.She trusted him completely.

He put her down in the middle of the bed and pulled off her flipflops before tossing them toward the door.“Mouth it is.”Peeling off her joggers and panties with no fanfare, he made himself comfortable between her thighs and set to work diligently, delivering a toe-curling climax that built up her magic nicely before tucking himself around her.She kept all that magic for herself rather than releasing it into the wards and fell asleep in seconds.

When she woke a while later, Dante wasn’t in the bed with her, but Dohal was, watching her with lidded eyes.

“How is Luis?”she asked, after her brain came the rest of the way online.

“As well as can be expected.”He placed a hand on her hip and sent his magic tickling through her.“You should sleep more.”

“I must really look like shit today,” she grumbled.“Everyone keeps telling me to go back to bed, even when I’m in bed.”

“You look beautiful today and every day.”A wry smile twisted his lips.“But you are also exhausted.You used more magic in a day than some witches do in a year.”He sounded impressed, and a little scared.

“It was close, wasn’t it?”She didn’t say what it was, but they both knew—frying all her magical pathways and burning the magical ability out of her entirely.

“I think so, yes.”He slid his hand up along her body to curl a lock of her hair around his fingers.“You undid a spell it had taken ten incubi to create.It should not have been possible.”He lowered his voice to a whisper, “You should not have attempted it.”

“I wanted to free you, and that was the only way.”

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