Hah! Didn’t mean Slade wouldn’t try to conquer me into submission.
I tossed the tomatoes in with the spinach and rocket lettuce. “Just because you used the word beautiful doesn’t mean you softened it.”
Castor’s dark chuckle sent a burst of tingles down my neck into my back. “That obvious, huh?”
“For a genius, that wasn’t very clever.”
“Sink your fangs deeper, Sorceress.”
I put down the knife and spun to face him. Hurt burned in his maple eyes. Insults to his intelligence were below me.
“I’m sorry.” I reached for him, touching his upper arm, wanting to erase what I said. “Babies are a sore topic right now. I’m not ready when I’m still getting used to having a seven-year-old.”
“We all are. Me, especially.” One kiss on my cheek evaporated the pain I caused, his eyes returning to their warm, honeyed brown.
Adjusting was the hardest for him and he deserved the most credit for doing so well. Fuck, he made me so happy when he gifted me a bank card with a shared account and surname, wanting to take the next step with me and be a real family with Mia. His earlier question led me to believe he wanted a child as part of that arrangement when he still wasn’t ready to mate and make me his. Shit. Maybe I snapped at him for that reason.
I splayed my fingers, sliding them back and forth over his cheek and ear, loving the resistance of his holiday’s stubble. “I think the shifter heats and hormones make me pissier and moodier, and I snap easier.”
“It’s okay, Sorceress.” He pulled me closer so our chests were flush, my breasts pressing into him, my nipples puckering.
“No, it’s not,” I replied. “I was a brat. The topic of shifter heats and pregnancy sets me on edge, and I got defensive when I shouldn’t have.”
Castor’s smirk stoked the growing heat in my belly. “Slade’s just so fucking happy we found you. That you agreed to stay. That you’re ours. He gets carried away. He goes big and goes hard, like with the damn house. Eight residential lots and a fucking mansion? C’mon.” His lips burned on my neck. “That’s just who he is.”
I hiccup-laughed. Didn’t I know it, but that was part of his charm. Why I fell for him hard. The man was all my firsts. First one to fuck. First one for me to give my heart to and tell him that I loved him. First one to get his shifter tattooed on my skin.
“Just tell him to back off.” I relaxed into Daddy’s hold. “He’s not taking the hint. Most of the time we come to an accord, but I feel like this is a lost battle.”
Castor’s palms stroked my lower back, lingering, the bond telling me he wanted to dive lower. “I’ll have a word.”
“Thank you.” I went back to cutting up squares of feta cheese for the Greek salad.
Castor popped an olive in my mouth, making me suck it from his fingers, hissing when I did. “Good girl.”
Arousal licked at the bond like kindle catching fire. Daddy was here. I could tell by the darkening of his eyes and the authority pouring into his words. He positioned himself behind me again, grasping my hips, moving me to the beat of the rock song.
I reach behind me to caress my man’s stubbled jaw, liking the bristle of dark shadow. “I better arrange for Mia to go to her grandmother’s for those few days of my shifter heat.”
The dancing and rubbing against Castor awakened his wood and he ground it into my ass. “I think that’s a good idea, Sorceress. You won’t be getting any sleep for three nights.”
We hadn’t had a long weekend session since Mia came to live with us, and the idea of being able to have kid-free time sounded like heaven.
Daddy took full control, his grip turning possessive, hands sliding into my hair, angling my head to the side, giving him access to kiss my neck. One palm cupped my breast, squeezing me through my bra, the other traveling south, destination underwear. Fire sparked in my core, darkening the wick, lighting a candle that could never be put out.
His hand inched under the hem of my dress, skirting along my thigh, cupping the junction between my legs. “Are you wearing my underwear set?”
“No,” I answered, the flame in me spreading throughout my body. “I’m wearing Zethan’s.”
Always his. I felt closer and connected when I did.
Castor growled his disapproval. When the curse was a thing of the past, I’d wear Daddy’s gift every day to make him happy.
His finger sank under the gusset of my panties, and they steamed up instantly. “When I break this curse, you will wear my underwear and anything else I want you to, when I tell you to.”
“Yes, Daddy.” I rocked against him, burning up for his touch. Nothing would give me greater pleasure than pleasing him.
Shit. Talk of my shifter heat moments ago made me itchy and edgy. One touch from Castor torched my reservations and burned them to ash. Damn these men for making me flick emotions so quickly.
