“Don’t forget, I go after the ones that are too unpleasant for anyone else to adopt,” she said, brushing her fingers over a grass stain on the front of his jersey. It gave her a scorching memory of just a few hours earlier, him rubbing his cum off of her thighs with a handful of grass as she lay spread before him as if on an altar.

Tonight definitely had been one of her more memorable nights.

“Do you think I’m unpleasant?” Magnus asked, moving forward and bracing his hands on the kitchen counter on either side of her, pinning her in.

Her heart fluttered at how near his face was to hers, that kissable grin just begging for her mouth on it. “You forget,” she teased. “I have a soft spot in my heart for surly creatures. I find that most of them can be tamed with the right amount of petting.”

His eyebrows waggled at her. “So you’re taking me home to . . . pet me?”

“Maybe a little bit of stroking,” she said breathlessly. “It would depend on what you responded to.”

“I’d definitely respond to stroking,” he told her, moving in so close that his lips brushed against hers. “Most definitely.”

“Then you’ve come to the right place,” Edie said, and kissed him.

His mouth was just as heavenly as she remembered, his lips soft and his tongue possessive. He kissed her as if he wanted to devour her. There were no soft, gentle kisses from Magnus. He kissed as if she were something to be conquered, and his open-mouth, tongue-sweeping kisses made her weak in the knees. She sagged against the counter as his mouth claimed hers, stroke after stroke of his tongue reminding her that she still had no panties and oh, god, she was so damn wet for him still. Her hands went to his shoulders—and banged into the ridiculously huge shoulder pads.

Magnus made a small growl in his throat. “Bedroom? I need to get out of this uniform before I kill someone.”

Giggling, she pointed at the door to her room.

“Hold on,” he told her, and swept her up into his arms.

She clung to his neck as he opened the door to her room and pushed inside. At his growl of frustration, she knew what he was thinking. Her room had a slanted ceiling, as it was tucked under the staircase, and was barely tall enough for him. In addition, her room was so tiny that her full-sized bed barely fit between the two walls.

“Please tell me that Bianca’s room is as small as yours?” Magnus asked, irritation in his voice.

“The bigger room does me no good if it’s upstairs, does it?” Edie told him as he set her down on the bed.

“You’re letting your sister take advantage of you—”

“And how is that any different than you and your brother?” she asked, indignant. “He farts around all day and won’t work while you’re tearing your hair out. Now go on and tell me that I need to be sterner to my sister.”

“Farts around, huh?” Magnus’s lips twitched. “I suppose you’re going to tell me that Bianca works hard all day long?”

“At least she works!” Edie retorted.

He leaned in, teeth bared. “Are you trying to piss me off so I’ll lose my temper and fuck you hard and dirty?”

“Well, no,” Edie said in a shaky voice, pinned by those gorgeous eyes. “But now that you mention it, that sounds pretty damn good.”

Magnus pressed his mouth to hers and gave her another searing kiss, then pulled back. His gaze hot on her, he straightened and began to pull his jersey off. She watched in fascination as he tore his clothing off his body, his arms hitting her slanted ceiling when he raised them over his head. Gone went the jersey, onto her floor. Next went the shoulder pads, and then his undershirt. Then Magnus was topless in front of her, and he rubbed a hand across his chest, as if bringing attention to the fact that his pectorals were utterly perfect.

“You sure don’t look like a computer nerd,” Edie murmured, her mouth practically watering at the sight.

He gave her one of those cocky grins. “I like to work out when I’m stumped. I’ve been working out a lot lately.”

“I can tell,” she murmured appreciatively, then gestured at the pants. “Take it all off. I want to see everything.”

“Bossy woman,” he said, but his hands went to his laces and he began to undo them with quick, decisive movements. When he stripped down to nothing but pads, underwear, and an athletic supporter that could barely hold his erection, her mouth definitely watered. He kicked his shoes off and pulled the rest of the clothing off in quick motions. Clearly the time for fucking around had passed; it was time to just fuck.

When he stood naked in front of her, he put his hands on his hips, his cock jutting. And, okay, it was a damn impressive cock—thick, with a heavy crown and a big pair of, erm, balls. It felt weird to point out that he had the biggest set of balls she’d ever seen, but really, he was magnificently formed. He also wasn’t moving. “Are you waiting for an engraved invitation?” Edie asked.

“Edie’s pussy requests the honor of my presence in roughly thirty seconds?” Magnus said, grinning. “And no, I was waiting for you to get naked. I want to see all of you.”

“Oh.” Of course he was. Feeling a little awkward, she tugged her top over her head and tossed it onto the floor. Her bra went next, and then her skirt and shoes. Her panties were still MIA from their earlier interlude in the gardens, and Edie was a little thrown off when she saw black streaks on the insides of her thighs. “What’s this from?”

He leaned forward and touched one of the streaks, then laughed and touched one of the nearly-rubbed off streaks of black paint under his eyes that had been part of his costume.

A hot blush scorched Edie’s face. How had she not noticed that he’d rubbed them off on her thighs? Dear lord. “Next time, maybe you should be an astronaut,” Edie said primly. “Girls won’t grab your junk then.”

He rolled his eyes as he climbed forward onto the bed and over her. “Are we going back to that?”

“Seeing as how we never discussed it? Yes, yes we are.”

“I didn’t even know who that girl was. She just started talking to me and then grabbed my dick. I told her to fuck off. The only one I want grabbing my dick is currently under me,” he said, giving her a long, thoughtful look. “And she has a pretty banging body, I must say.”

“All except the knee,” Edie said lightly, feeling a little tense. It wasn’t a pretty reconstruction. Hell, she was lucky it was functional, even if it was hideous in full light.

“I don’t mind the knee,” Magnus said, leaning in to drag his mouth along hers. “Least now I know when we play sexy games, I can always catch you.”

“That is a horrible thing to say,” she told him, but she laughed anyhow.

“Maybe I say horrible things just to make you smile,” he said between kisses, and pressed her back on the bed. His body covered hers, chest on hers, thighs between her own, his cock pressing against her sex. His hands sought hers and he linked his fingers with Edie’s, and gave her another kiss. “Maybe I like that under that tough exterior is a woman with the backbone of a noodle and a heart of gold.”

“Bullshit,” she said softly.

“Truth,” he said, propping up on his elbows. He rocked his hips against hers and she groaned as his cock pressed against her core. “You forget, Edie,” he whispered into her ear. “I’ve been inside you. And I know just how soft . . . and wet . . . and delicious you are.”

She moaned at his words.

“Now, wait right here,” he told her, nipping at her jaw. “And I’m going to get those condoms and then I’m going to come back and fuck the hell out of you, just like you want.”

“Hurry.”

He gave her a boyish grin and then flung himself off the bed with such haste that she laughed again, and he disappeared into the living room. A moment later he returned with the condoms they’d brought in and tore open the box. He unwrapped one condom and then rolled it on his length while Edie watched, breathless. Then when it was on, he looked up at her, gave her another scorching look that made her toes curl, and prowled back toward the bed once more. “This isn’t going to be a long, drawn-out fuck, I’m afraid.”