“This time,” he whispered against my neck. “I want to be the one doing all the touching.” He slammed our hips together, earning another cry from me.
“You’re definitely touching all the right spots.” I bit my lip when he drove even harder, pushing deeper, clear into my soul. He kissed me as he thrust in and out, in and out, until my climax hovered just out of reach. I lifted my hips just as he buried his cock, and it shattered me.
I called out his name, over and over, as my orgasm consumed me. He swallowed my cries and groaned into my mouth as he erupted. His element bonded with mine, and I swear to all things holy, it was the most intense surge of power I’d ever felt. We rode out the release, rocking and writhing, until we both collapsed to the bed. He rolled to his back, and we lay there, panting as we stared at the ceiling.
I wanted more and turned to my side, running my hand along his chest. Something had changed between us. I felt it. I know he felt it. I saw him in a new light. I’d always loved his hazel eyes, his crooked grin that brought out that dimple. Loved the way his sandy-brown hair always appeared perfectly groomed. His barrel chest. His wide shoulders. His enormous…confidence.
But this? This was more than something tangible. When he looked at me like I was the only girl in the world, he peered right into my soul. And I felt him there. Sweet baby Jesus, did I feel him there. “Am I allowed to touch you now?”
He laughed low. “Absolutely.”
I crawled on top of him, straddling his hips and resting our nether regions together. “Like this?”
He grasped my hips and moved me back and forth, back and forth, sliding me up and down his rigid flesh. “How about like this?” He lifted me and thrust his cock deep inside.
I threw my head back and hissed. “Yesssss.”
Unbelievably, he still had some power left to transfer to me, which he did as we seated each other together, over and over, until I cried out as another orgasm hit me. He groaned as his climax consumed him. I collapsed to his chest, panting and shaking from the violent release.
I rolled to my back, and we resumed the position of lying there, gasping for air as we stared at the ceiling.
“How’s the hand?”
I held it up for both of us to see. The glow was gone. “All better. How about you? Did I completely drain you?”
He nodded as his lids grew heavy. I had more energy than I knew what to do with, so I dressed quickly and tucked him in before kissing him and leaving the room. Rob was still on the front porch, so I joined him. “Hey.”
He had a cocky grin as he eyed me. “Hey. I take it everything went okay.” It wasn’t a question. He lifted his gaze to the trees. “They were dancing. A lot.”
So were my lady bits. “Shouldn’t you be back at the academy?”
“Professor Layden gave me permission to stay. I knew Bryan would be drained, and I had no idea if it’d work enough to heal you.”
I held up my hand for him to inspect, which he did. “See? It worked.”
“Good. I guess that means you won’t go all Dark Phoenix on us again.”
I laughed, appreciating a reference I actually understood. “What time is it?”
“It’s after midnight.”
A yawn snuck up on me and popped my jaw as I let it out. “There’s no way I’m getting up early for 3C tomorrow.”
“That’s actually something else I wanted to talk to you about. I wanted to talk to you both.”
“Bryan’s asleep.” I didn’t like the troubled look clouding his expression, creasing his hooded brow. “Rob? What is it? Is it about what happened at the extraction?”
“No.” He moved to the other side of the porch and leaned against the railing, staring out into the darkness. “It’s so peaceful out here. No sounds at all.”
It was dark. Really dark. “Not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse.” I flashed a wide smile when he shot me a sideways look. “What? Not a ’Twas the Night Before Christmas fan?”
“Not in August.” He returned his attention to the woods surrounding the cabin. “Stace and I talked before she left.”
“Stace? Since when are you and the 3C professor on a first-name basis?”
“Since she offered me a job with the Council.”
“What?” My shout of surprise echoed through the trees. This was a conversation best had close, so I hurried to his side. “What sort of job?” Please don’t say—
“Patrol. I’d be hunting down the clans of dark elementals.”
No. Nonononono. When Stace had told me she’d only be going on patrols until they trained more elementals to fight the dark side, I had no idea she’d be stealing one of my boyfriends. As if I wasn’t having enough of a heart attack knowing she was out there hunting down dark elementals.
“It’s a great opportunity for me,” he went on, oblivious to the confusion and sorrow twisting inside me. I knew we’d never stay at the academy forever, and I knew he’d be the first to leave since he’d been there the longest, but I didn’t think I’d lose him so soon after finding him. “She said with the level of my power and my experience from extractions, not to mention everything that happened last year, the Council would waive my probation. I’d actually start as a full-fledged member of the patrol. The pay is pretty decent too, so I’ll be able to afford my own place since, you know, I won’t be
