As he talked, her breathing deepened. With a sexy roll of her hips, she ground her pelvis against his erection. She groaned, “Quick and dirty. Oh God, I could almost do it. No, I can’t. Not down here. Xavier’s such a gentleman — I know he knows about sex, but if we happened to get carried away, I really don’t want him to see me like that.”

“Upstairs,” he growled.

She raised her head. Her beautiful eyes had glazed, and a dark wash of color tinged her cheeks.

Suddenly, she moved. Rolling off him, she raced for the hall.

For a second, he held frozen. He had been teasing.

A crack of laughter snapped through him, and he leaped after her. Even when he was young, he hadn’t felt this young. Their mischievousness made him feel buoyant and recharged.

He pursued her up the stairs and into his suite. Once they were both inside, he slammed the door. She was already tearing off her top and kicking out of her pants. The feminine hourglass of her body was magnificent. The tuft of private hair at the juncture of her thighs was a dark gold, and her plump nipples were rosy pink.

He lost the impulse to laugh, and his need became aggressive. He didn’t think he could ever get enough of her. Yanking the fastening of his jeans open, he snaked an arm around her waist and carried her to the wall, flipping her so that she faced away from him. A breathless whine broke out of her.

Pulling her back against him, he spooned her and whispered in her ear, “Is this okay?”

Nodding, she wriggled back against him. “You’ve got some catching up to do, soldier,” she gasped. “I’m starting without you.”

That was when he realized she was fingering herself, bracing herself against the wall with one arm.

A growl ripped through him. With a greedy, irrational sense of jealousy for those fingers, he sank to his knees to watch her pleasure herself. She had a heart-shaped ass that was begging to be bitten. He rubbed his teeth along her skin, hissing with frustration. He had bitten her too many times already in the past few days.

Her hand moved rhythmically between her thighs. “Not fair,” she gasped. “I’m seriously aching here. Where are you? You better not be jerking off down there.”

He burst out laughing. She paused to give him a glare. Rising to his feet, he spooned her again, took her by the hips and knocked her feet wider apart. She collapsed against the wall even as she groped between her legs for him.

Grasping his penis, she arched her hips back and guided him into place. He pushed in.

Entering her from behind made him feel more massive than ever. She was so tight, so hot, clenching on him like a wet, velvet fist. He pressed his face into her hair and started to swear through clenched teeth.

Then he was all the way in. She caressed the base of his cock and his testicles. Her fingers were soaking with her own arousal. Her inner muscles tightened on him as she pushed back, fucking him as he fucked her. He was ecstatic to be inside her, and furious at the world.

“Why can’t we find any time, goddammit?” he growled against her shoulder.

“I know,” she gasped.

Never any time. They wasted so much time.

He had wasted so much time. He had done this to them.

Grasping a fistful of her long, luxurious hair, he shoved in and in, while her gorgeous body moved and flexed with the onslaught. He needed to suck on her nipples and nuzzle her breasts. He needed to lose himself in the beautiful folds of her flesh, tease that tiny, exquisite clitoris of hers, listen to her gasp in his ear, and whisper things she would never dream of saying to anybody else.

He needed to be surprised into laughter by the next thing that fell out of her mouth, and to shelter her from all harm.

This was not the quick and dirty sex he had been expecting.

Something burning fell out of his eyes and splashed onto her shoulder. She twisted, staring.

“Stop,” she said.

He reacted immediately, pulling out. She flipped in his arms until she faced him. Whatever she saw in his expression caused her to fling her arms around his neck and cling to him.

He couldn’t speak. In her head, he whispered, I want to take back every ugly thing that ever came out of my mouth. I’m so sorry, Melisande.

He sank down to his knees. She came down with him.

I’m so sorry too, she told him. I got pissy because my feelings were hurt, and my pride was wounded. I didn’t fight for you, and I should have. I promise you now, I’ll always fight for you. I’ll never let you fight alone again. Never.

He could barely comprehend what she was saying. It almost didn’t matter. He would be happy to listen to her read the phonebook.

She straddled his hips and guided him back inside her. She whispered, “We have all the time in the world now. Nothing else matters.”

He took her mouth, kissing her as deeply as he could. He was desperate for her. The power of what he felt for her eclipsed everything else. He was probably leaving bruises. Jesus, he needed to get a hold of himself and ease up. She was the light of his life. He couldn’t continue to act like such an animal.

Then she ground against his pelvis and shook all over. She clawed at him and bit at his neck and jawline, and she was so gleefully savage about her own climax, he forgot everything that had just run through his mind, gripped her by the hips and exploded into her tight, welcoming sheath.

Afterward, he realized he was breathing heavily. Fine tremors shook through his muscles. She rubbed her cheek against his, nuzzling him with her eyes closed.

“You know what I miss?” she whispered. “Lake Tahoe. You remember how beautiful it was that winter? We closed out the world.”

“I bought the cabin we stayed in,” he confessed.

Her head snapped up, eyes flaring wide. “You own it?”

He nodded as he smoothed her hair off her forehead. “I never use it. I keep thinking I might go up there. Take some time off and see if I can remember how to fish. Then I’ve never gone. Why should I bother to learn how to fish? It’s not like I can eat them. And something or other keeps cropping up. Truthfully, I didn’t want to go back without you.”

She took his hand and kissed the palm. “Let’s go. Soon as we get done dealing with stupid Justine and all the stupid problems she’s caused.” She frowned. “Unless the cabin’s a dilapidated mess by now. After all, it’s been a long time.”

He waved that away. “There’s a caretaker that keeps up the property. I sank some money into some renovations not that long ago. Every once in a while they ask if I’ll rent it out, but then I think again about going up there, so I always tell them no.” He smiled into her eyes. “We’ll go as soon as we can.”

She smiled back. “You can relearn how to fish, and I’ll eat them.” She frowned. “Wait, let me revise that. You can relearn how to fish and clean them, and I’ll cook and eat them. How’s that?”

He laughed. “You’ve got a deal.”

Then his smile faded. “This time we’re going to do it right. We’ll learn how to be with each other again, and we won’t let anybody else come between us.”

Leaning forward, she pressed a kiss on his shoulder. “And we’ll make love in front of the fireplace all night long. I’ll take a pile of books that I’ve been meaning to read forever.”

“I’ll watch sports on TV,” he said.

They looked at each other. Grinning, she shook her head. “No, you won’t.”

Chuckling, he replied, “You’re right. I probably won’t.”

Stroking her thigh, he thought ahead. He needed to contact the caretaker to make sure the cabin was cleaned. Maybe they would also stock the kitchen with food.

He knew that he and Melly were glossing over many challenges. The truth was, many people were going to dislike their liaison now — just as many as had disliked it before. Some people in the Nightkind demesne would be looking to take advantage of a closer relationship with the Light Fae in Southern California, but several would oppose it. Saboteurs were likely.