His palm slid over my shoulder and down my arm. “And now I’m miserable without you.”
I shrugged. “I’m addictive, like hard-core drugs. It’s part of the package deal that comes with me. Just ask Natalie.”
“I think about you when I shouldn’t be,” he said, catching my hand.
“That’s a side effect of the love potion I pour into your coffee each morning.”
He lifted my hand, kissing one knuckle at a time. “I can’t imagine my life now without you in it.”
I thought of how my kids and I had thrown his bachelor life a curveball. “It would certainly be less sticky.”
He lowered my hand, his expression sobering. “When I saw you writhing in pain with that bastard tearing you up inside and I couldn’t do anything to help …” He stopped, his face tight with pain.
I gripped his hand, squeezing. “But you did help.”
“I haven’t been so afraid of being alone since my parents died.”
I placed my other hand on his chest, wanting to erase his anguish. “Doc, if anything happens to me, you know I’m going to come back to haunt your ass until the day you die.”
My attempt at levity fell flat. His gaze held mine. “I can’t lose you, Violet. I’m in way too deep now.”
I wanted to assure him that I wasn’t going anywhere, but I couldn’t give that guarantee, not with the monsters filling out my hit list and my trips to dark places full of hellish creatures. Instead, I leaned in and kissed him, putting my heart and soul into it.
He kissed me back, his mouth hungry, his hands spanning my hips and pulling me tighter against him.
With all of the emotion in the air between us, everything quickly spun out of control. My kisses mixed with gasps and heated moans, and his body hardened under my touch. I wrestled his coat off his shoulders and tossed it aside. He unbuttoned mine, nipping at my neck as I shrugged out of the warm cashmere. I unbuttoned and tugged off my shirt while I was at it.
“See,” he said, ogling my lace-and-satin-covered chest. “Perfect.”
“Not perfect.” I frowned down at the girls. “And a little lopsided after having twins.”
“So beautifully perfect that I can’t stop thinking about you.” He shifted under me, unbuttoning his jeans. “Now help me with my pants.”
I took care of his zipper, slipping my hand inside his boxer briefs for a moment. “Like this?”
My touch made him groan. Then his mouth was heating me through my bra, his tongue making me tingle and ache for more of him. I ran my hands up his chest, over his shoulders, and then sank my fingers into his hair so I could hold him even closer. He slid his hands inside my waistband, palming my hips while he rubbed against me.
“Still too many clothes,” I complained and tipped his head back. I covered his mouth with mine, flirting with his tongue as I unbuttoned his shirt and shoved it partway down his arms. He pulled away to drag his arms free of the sleeves and tug off the T-shirt he wore underneath, too.
His lips returned to mine, and I rocked my hips against him. Groaning, he unfastened my bra, bringing his hands around to palm and squeeze me.
“Boots,” he said in the midst of kissing his way down to my cleavage. His beard tickled, lighting fires deep inside of me. The heady smell of his cologne on his skin had me licking my lips, wanting to taste and feel so much more of him.
I closed my eyes as his thumbs worked their magic. “What?”
He pushed me slightly away. “Pants off now.”
I wasn’t sure if he meant mine or his, but I leaned to the side to slide one leg out of my pants and underwear. That was good enough. He’d made fast work of his own pants during my struggles. I sank back down onto him, rubbing flesh on flesh now, teasing, holding just out of reach.
“Vixen,” he growled, his face tight with a mixture of pleasure and pain. “Let me inside.”
“Doc?” I whispered, sliding over him again.
“What?” He gripped my hips.
“I’m here to stay.” I gave in, taking him all of the way.
“Oh, my God,” he breathed, holding me still for a moment as his head tipped back and his eyes closed.
I leaned forward and kissed him, taking his bottom lip between my teeth and pulling on it playfully. “Are you just going to sit there, old man?” I teased.
He growled and then started to move under me, holding me tight. He licked my neck, whispering praises as he sent me higher and higher. Between his compliments and touches, it wasn’t long before I spiraled out of control, my body tightening with pleasure around him as I told him how much I loved him in between heated cries.
With a curse, he shifted and laid me out on my back on the seat. He slid between my legs, filling me again and again. I pushed against the door to hold my own as his muscles clenched and strained over me. Then he called out my name in a harsh, guttural voice that warmed my heart and he collapsed on top of me while his body shuddered and quaked.
We lay there without talking, our breath slowing. My heart thudded against his. The song on the radio had changed at some point, and now Christine McVie was singing “Everywhere.”
He lifted off of me a little, grinning down at me. “So, was that what you wanted to talk about?”
“Yeah.” I chuckled. “And a crazy notion about killing a lidérc.”
His grin dimmed. A quiet sigh followed. “Okay.”
I stilled under him. “You mean, ‘Okay, you’ll help me’?”
“I mean, okay let’s finish off that bastard for good.”
I smiled. “I love you.”
His gaze narrowed. “It’s not fair, you know.”
“What’s that?”
“Using your body to change my mind. I’ll lose that battle every time, Boots.”
I moved
