Page 75 of Outside the Veil
“You what?” Diego turned and saw only the blanket in a heap. He hooked a finger under one edge and lifted to find a large, black badger where Finn had been, the coffee mug still clutched in its claws.
“Burrow,” Badger-Finn growled.
“Oh.”
He folded the blanket back from the furred head and sat down beside him. “A little better?”
“Beginning to be.” The black muzzle nudged at Diego’s hand. “I am sorry, my hero, that I’ve worried you.”
“I thought you were sick.” He reached out for the mug, careful of thick, digging claws. “Here, you should shift back. I don’t think badgers drink coffee.”
With a grunt, Badger-Finn relinquished his hold. Blue light danced over his fur and he melted into an indistinct glow, his shape elongating and reshaping until human Finn once more sat on the kitchen floor.
Diego took him under the arms and helped him into a chair. “Please eat,querido. Make me happy.”
Finn took a tentative sniff of his lunch then, with a pleased growl, devoured the first enchilada in three bites. He held out his mug for a refill without slowing down on the second one.
“Half a cup,” Diego insisted.
Intent on his food, Finn didn’t argue. The caffeine in chocolate had never bothered him, but his body’s reactions were unpredictable. Black tea had caused a fit of tremors once.
“Any idea what brought all this on?” Diego asked as he wiped down the counters.
“Too blasted cold here,” Finn grumbled. “Winters are dark in Eire, but not so harsh.”
“Ah.”
Quiet settled over the kitchen as Diego cleaned and Finn ate like a ravenous wolf. Diego became so lost in his own thoughts, he jumped and yelped when a hand landed on his hip.
“Your pardon,” Finn breathed against his ear. “I did not wish to startle you.” He slid up against Diego’s back, erection pressing against his denim-clad butt. “I’m feeling much more awake.”
“I guess so,” Diego whispered as those long-fingered hands stroked his chest and stomach. Finn popped the button on his fly and slid his hand under the waistband. “God…I’ve missed you so…missed this. Not used to being celibate anymore.”
Finn turned him gently and lifted his head for a tender kiss. “My heart, my light, if you needed relief, why didn’t you seek out another lover while I slept?”
Diego peeled out of his shirt, desperate to feel skin against skin, and wrapped his arms around Finn’s ribs. “I know it’s hard for you to understand, but I can’t.”
“Of course you can.” Finn nibbled along his jaw and kissed a searing line down his throat. “You are beautiful and charming and—”
“And completely devoted to you. Oh, dear God.” Diego let his head fall back as his knees turned to sand under Finn’s sudden passionate onslaught. “I’m yours,mi vida, and no one else’s. I can’t just hop into bed with someone else.”
A growl rumbled in Finn’s chest as he slid Diego’s jeans and boxers down to mid-thigh. “But I don’t wish for you to be lonely and in misery.”
“Only you,” he whispered. “I won’t have anyone else.”
Finn straightened, eyes searching his face. Then he seized Diego by the waist and lifted him off the floor. His astounding strength had been unnerving at first. Now Diego found it arousing, a lover who could wrestle him to the floor, but in whose hands he was completely safe.
Two steps forward and a turn later, Diego found himself bent over the kitchen table.
“Stay there, my love,” Finn demanded softly with a pat to his naked backside.
Diego rolled his hips to rub his erection against the cool wood. “Yes, sir.”
The fridge door opened and closed behind him, and he yelped when something cold and slippery touched his crease. “Holy shit—what’s that?”
Finn took his time answering, letting the substance tease over his puckered entrance before he slid the pad of one long finger inside. “It’s just butter, love. Relax.”
“Butter?” Diego laughed. “Are you getting me ready or basting me?” He moaned as a second finger slid inside him.
