She frowned.She wasn’t sure what Aodh meant by responsibility or what ‘everything’ entailed.Kai couldn’t think about that now.He had her body so turned on she couldn’t string more than two words together in the same sentence.
“Fine,” she whispered to end the conversation for now.
His gaze held hers for four heartbeats.Satisfied with what he saw, he nodded.
When she started to step back, his words stopped her.
“Kai, do not place the powder in the water when you help your sister with her bath.”
Tipping her head to the side, she reminded him, “Morlie has been ill and bedridden for a long time.I think the powder would help remove the tiredness and soreness in her muscles.”
He placed his hands inside the jacket on her hips.“Trust me.The hot water and eating will restore her just fine.”
She wanted to argue his points.She’d used only a pinch after their sexcapades, and it had worked a miracle on all her swollen and tender parts.“But—”
His fingers flexed into the soft swells of her round hips as he drew her closer.He lowered his head, set his lips along her ear, and whispered, “Yes, it heals aching muscles.But the powder causes a secondary reaction in humans.”
The warmth of his breath was making her breath catch in her throat.She swallowed, trying to stop the moan from coming out.She failed.She wanted to remove her clothing and feel him breathing the hot heat all over her bare skin.“What kind of reaction?”
Even as she asked the question, she remembered what had happened to her the first time she used it.But she recalled the reason for the achy, unsettling feeling that made her want to rub her body all over or stroke up against something to quench the need was because Ninki had dumped a significant amount in her bath.
Shifting, he bent his knees, causing his stiff shaft to press right at the juncture of her thighs.He arched his hips and ground his length over her clit.
She whimpered.She moaned.Dropping her head to his chest, she wanted to beg him to drag her next door and take her—giving both their bodies what they needed.
This is ridiculous—pure madness.
Not moving away from Aodh, Kai turned her head just enough to glimpse her sister in repose.Thank goodness Morlie still slept.Kai would have been horrified if her sister had borne witness to her rapid spiral into a shameless wanton vortex—an addict seeking pleasure.
“A sexual one.”He thrust again.
Kai’s eyes slammed shut as her knees buckled, and she gripped his biceps.But there was no need because Aodh’s firm grip on her ass kept her in place.
He squeezed her plump, roundness and used his hold to grind her against him.
Her breath was heavy against his skin.She didn’t have to open her eyes to feel the ribbons of heat running through his markings.From experience of their days and nights together, she knew they’d be blue—a deep blue, signifying Aodh’s arousal level.
He held her in place for a long moment, no longer moving.
Kai thanked the gods.However, it didn’t matter because Kai’s sex was creaming, and her clit throbbed with the need for release.
“One night, Kai,” he rumbled.
“One night.”The words spilled from her mouth of their own volition, confirming her body’s desire.She glanced up and met his gaze, and cerulean flames winked at her.Her breath caught in her throat.
Aodh kissed the corner of her mouth before he released her and walked out.
Damn.Kai crumbled to the floor as her legs gave out.Kai knew she was in trouble.
~YH~
“Where are we, Kai?”
Kai tended to her sister.She sat on the side of the tub, massaging the soap into her sister’s scalp as Morlie bathed and soaked in the water.Cleaning Morlie’s short cap of curls didn’t take much soap.She recalled when her sister had cut it.One day, Kai came up from her collecting job to discover Morlie hacked off all her hair.When Kai asked her why she did it, her sister said it took too much energy to detangle it daily.Morlie had been feeling unwell for a few weeks, slowly declining.That was a significant sign to Kai that her sister wasn’t getting better, not with any concoction she’d spent money on to help her.Morlie confessed that she’d been passing out and vomiting, but she’d hidden it, not wanting to worry Kai after their parent’s untimely death from the same disease.
Now, she watched her sister briskly rub the soapy cloth over her body for the third time to cleanse it.Kai had bathed repeatedly, too, the first time—never feeling clean enough.Morlie hadn’t slept as long as Kai thought she would, having been near death’s door for so long, but she didn’t seem to have any ill effects now.Hell.Kai had dragged around for what seemed like days, even after she’d slept and eaten a meal.
Where are we?
