But I think I was.
I raised my head a little and kissed his lips. "You begged."
He smiled and wiped the sweaty strands of hair out of my eyes. "I growled ‘enough.' That's different."
"Only by a matter of degree. I win. You lose."
He grinned. "Actually, I rather think I won even if I did technically lose."
I chuckled softly, and let my gaze run over the planes of his face, half wondering how nature could be so cruel as to give such perfection so little real emotions. I could have happily settled down with Lucian if he'd been anything other than an Aedh, with no want or need for anything beyond fulfilling the desires of his body. "So what are you doing here at this hour of the morning? And how did you even get in?"
Not only did we have one of the best security systems installed in our converted warehouse home, but Ilianna had finally figured out the magic used in the wards—which were basically stones that could repel magic, spirits, or evil, depending on the spell infused within them—that my father had left behind the last time he'd talked to me, and she'd used that magic to install wards of her own around our home. Which meant no Aedh—or even reaper—could get in. And I knew for sure Azriel couldn't, because he'd apparently tried more than once—and it was something of a blessing given this morning's session. The thought of his witnessing such a wanton display had embarrassment stirring in me, although I wasn't entirely sure why. I was wolf—or part wolf—and lovemaking in full view of others wasn't exactly a new experience to me.
Lucian nuzzled the side of my neck. "Ilianna let me in as she went out, and I thought it was pretty obvious what I'm doing here."
"And I thought you said you had several important meetings to attend today and that I wouldn't see you until later tonight."
"Something came up."
"Yeah." My tone was sarcastic. "And I'm still feeling that something."
He chuckled softly. "What can I say? Your body drives me insane."
And his avoidance of questions was driving me insane. "Seriously, I saw your schedule. You had meetings starting at eight thirty, then rolling right through until almost seven tonight. They can't all have canceled."
"You snooped through my appointments calendar?" He nipped my earlobe just a little harder than necessary and I flinched. But even so, my treacherous hormones began to stir and hum. "That's not polite."
"Neither is reading my mind during sex," I replied testily, as his teeth caught my lobe again and gently gnawed it. A shiver that was half expectation, half apprehension rolled through me. "But that doesn't seem to stop you from doing it."