THIRTY
Layla had been away from home for less than a month, yet it felt like a lifetime. Thinking about her kids plunged a knife into her chest, talking to Benzio twisted the blade, and not knowing when she’d see them again made her sick to her stomach. The only time she found peace was when she lost herself in Quin or pushed the limits of her body until physical pain overwhelmed the heartache, so she threw herself into her training.
Every morning, following a healthy breakfast and an emotional phone call, she flew to the Arena to run, weight train and run some more, increasing muscle strength, stamina and speed. She usually avoided using magic, determined to get her body into shape before working on her mind, which was learning a lesson in patience as she spent night after night in the library, scanning irrelevant books for earth angel references. There wasn’t a single title that focused on the subject, and the reports of angel sightings she’d come across described misty and ethereal apparitions. Of the dozens of books she’d searched, she hadn’t found any evidence of angels born into human bodies. Nevertheless, she kept looking, forcing Quin to spend his evenings pacing the library, and she didn’t take a break until her eleventh day in the city. It was the second Monday she’d woken up in a magical lakeside bedroom, and she had every intention of dragging her ass to the Arena, but Quin had other plans.
After kissing her awake, he summoned a cup of coffee. Then he handed it over with one of his t-shirts and a pair of pajama pants. “Use the bathroom and get dressed. I have a surprise for you.”
She sipped the yummy brew and eyed the clothes. “You call this getting dressed? I can’t work out in this.”
“You won’t be.” He leaned in for a quick kiss then got out of bed. “Meet me upstairs when you’re ready.”
She watched him ascend the spiral staircase, her lips on her mug as she considered arguing, but she didn’t need to say it for him to sense her reluctance.
Right before disappearing around the curve, he looked at her and flashed a dimpled smile that made her core quiver. “Humor me.”
He moved out of sight, and Layla took a few more energizing drinks before heading to the bathroom to wash up and dress in the sloppy, yet oh, so comfy clothes. She used magic to make the pants fit. Then she reveled in the masculine scent of the shirt while making her way upstairs, speculating about the surprise. It probably included a fancy breakfast and a fresh bouquet of flowers, but she hadn’t caught a whiff of food or flora.
Quin stood at the top of the stairs, offering a hand as she emerged, and her ears perked up as voices floated from the back of the cottage. Flipping her gaze around, she found Diamond and three Crusaders focused on one of the walls while debating where to put it, whatever it was.
“What’s going on?” Layla asked.
Diamond straightened and whirled around. “You’re here!”
Layla laughed at her enthusiasm. “Is something wrong with the cottage?”
“Not at all,” Diamond answered. “It’s getting an upgrade.”
She rotated Layla and pointed toward the coffee table, which was topped with something way better than flowers. She was getting her own phone!
She managed to reduce her squeal to a squeak then looked from Diamond to Quin. “Our own line?”
“Yep,” he confirmed. “Diamond pitched me the idea last week, so give her the credit.”
Layla floated her mug to the nearest table. Then she pulled Diamond into a hug. “You didn’t have to do that, but I’m so grateful you did. I could just squeeze the sweet out of you.” But she refrained and took her by the arms. “Thank you.”
Diamond glowed, her gaze darting between Layla and her lights. “You’re very welcome, but please don’t let this keep you from visiting. I love the company.”
“We’ll still come by, and you’re welcome here. Are you letting us pay for this?”
“I didn’t have much choice. Quin was adamant.”
Layla smiled. “Because he’s fair.”
“He sure loves you. You two are just about the cutest thing I’ve ever seen.” Diamond turned toward the Crusaders. “Are you almost done? The angel has a phone call to make.”
She winked at Layla as the soldiers mumbled a response and double-checked the connection. Then they filed out, leaving Quin and Layla alone.
She spun toward him and hooked his waistband with her fingers, tugging him close enough for her to kiss his heart. “This was a wonderful surprise. Thank you.”
His hands drifted through her messy hair as his breath tickled the top of her head. “You’re welcome.” Then he took her hand and led her to the sofa, grabbing her coffee along the way. “We have texts.”
He handed over the cell, and she beamed as she curled up on the couch with him. “Even better.”
Bryce had been taking their cell to Avasummus nearly every day to send and receive photos, so Quin topped off their coffee and settled in to look at the newest additions. They oohed and awed and laughed over the photos of their kids and Arabella. Then they shut off the phone while releasing deep sighs.
Layla wiped away tears and laid her head on him. “They’re growing even faster now that we’re gone.”
“It does seem that way.”
He played with her fingers and hair, but it was the slow and inward flow of his aura that drew her attention to his vulnerable expression, the nervous flexing of his jaw, the insecure slant of his eyebrows, and the glistening of his downturned gaze.
“Will you take the day off?” he asked, avoiding her stare, as if the simple request was a source of shame.
Maybe it was. Maybe the guardian part of him laid a guilt trip on the man she loved every time he dared to ask for her time. They’d squeezed in a few quick romps over the past week, but they rarely got more than an hour alone during the day, and the intense workouts left them exhausted at night. Of course he wanted a break. She could see the strain every time she looked at him, but this was the first time he’d asked for one since they started training, and he’d sweetened the deal with a personal line to their family.
“Yes,” she agreed, “but I don’t want to go out. Just you, me and that phone.”
He released the breath he’d been holding and wrapped her in a hug. “Perfect. Make the first call while I cook breakfast.”
She wiggled with excitement while summoning the phone to her lap. “Beyond perfect.” Then she dialed out while giggling at the kisses he sprinkled on her head.
~***~
Layla stayed on the phone for over three hours – the longest call she’d ever made. Then she left brief messages for Travis and Phyllis, reminding them she cared.
Quin was happy to relax on the sofa, cater to her needs, and watch her talk. She sat with her back against a cushioned armrest and her legs over his lap. Her hair was a mess, she had breakfast crumbs on her wrinkled shirt, and her baggy pants bunched up around her knees and hung off her hips, yet he’d never loved her more.
The body beneath her saggy clothes bore witness to her dedication to training, rippling with muscles that weren’t visible a week before. She could probably crush his head with her thighs, and his fingers no longer dipped into soft flesh when he wrapped them around her waist. She’d transformed herself in a matter of days – her physique, mind and personality – and though he constantly struggled to keep up, he loved the new her as deeply as ever. She never failed to inspire and enrapture him with her drive and perseverance, but it was her willingness to drop everything and focus all her incredible energy on him and their family that warmed his heart, eased his mind, and tranquilized his tired body.
He’d been rubbing her feet while she talked to Phyllis’ machine, and when she hung up, she smiled, stretched and wiggled her toes in his palm. “I want to call again.”
“Our family?”
“Yes. With a phone so close, it’s hard to resist.”
“Go for it,” he encouraged, summoning the receiver and dialing the number. Then he handed the call to his beaming angel.
“Hey,” she happily greeted. “Did the triplets finish their bottles?”
She stayed on the line for another hour before telling them she’d call back that night, and Quin smiled as he considered the likelihood of her caving to another call before dinner.
While returning the receiver to the base, her lips twitched with a grin as she nudged his shoulder with her foot. “Don’t say it. I’m ridiculous. I know.”
“I think it’s sweet.”
“You know what’s sweet? You and Diamond conspiring to put a phone in here. Thank you.”
“You’re welcome.”
“Was it a bribe to try to convince me to take the day off?”
“Maybe a little.”
“You could have just asked.”
“I could have, but this was better.”
“It’s probably the most convincing bribe you could have offered.”
“I’m not known for my subtlety.”
She giggled while dusting crumbs off her clothes. Then she rose to her hands and knees and slinked toward him like a feline, nuzzling into his throat while straddling his lap. He instantly grew, and she instantly felt it, pressing down on him as her hips shifted.
“Yeah,” she breathed, “not subtle at all.”
He lightly laughed while burying one hand in her hair and sliding the other down toned curves. “There’s no hiding what you do to me.”
She bit his neck, shooting a chill down his spine. Then she moved to his lips for a kiss while climbing off his lap. He instinctively gripped her tighter, aching for her to stay, but she just smiled while slipping through his fingers.
Next thing he knew, his shorts had vanished, leaving him nude, and she knelt at his feet, her hands on his thighs as her gaze travelled from his chest to his twitching erection. He couldn’t help but grin at the sublime view, but he managed to tame his hands, which itched to take her by the hair and pull her mouth closer.
She licked and bit her lower lip, and he laughed while stretching his arms out over the backrest. “I could do this all day.”
She glanced at his face. “Do what? Watch me?”
He smirked while rubbing a thumb across his lips. “Yeah, love, watch you. But you should take off that shirt.”
Her cheeks lifted with a smile as she obeyed, revealing the breasts with which they’d both become obsessed. She’d lost her milk supply over a week ago, and the effects of drying up had faded, but without magical intervention, they’d never be like those she had before she got pregnant, and they both preferred it that way. These were better, slightly bigger and notably softer, and though they weren’t quite as perky as they once were, her workouts kept them firm enough to disregard a bra. But the biggest turn-on had nothing to do with the way they looked. It was her new attitude toward them that fueled his reignited love affair. For the first time since he’d met her, she seemed to get as much pleasure from her breasts as he got, and she was much quicker to display them than she’d been in the past. She wasn’t the least bit shy about demanding he give them attention, and her pain tolerance had increased, allowing him to get lost in pleasure without the fear of hurting her.
She was playing with them now, cupping their weight while tweaking pink nipples until they were hard, but her seductive gaze was on his face, taking in his restrained fascination.
“You’re a tease,” he accused.
Her smile stretched as she pushed on his knees, giving herself room to move closer. Then she gathered her gorgeous breasts and wrapped them around his hard shaft. “What were you saying?”
His lungs slowly deflated with a quiet hiss as he throbbed within pillowy flesh. “I don’t remember.”
Her chest shook with a laugh, drawing more blood to his groin while igniting goose bumps. Then she tossed back her curls and bowed her head. “Put my hair in a ponytail.”
He sat up, pressing deeper into cleavage as he gathered her long locks in one hand, but before he could secure them with magic, her hot breath hit the tip of his arousal. Then her soft mouth took it in. His chest hopped as tingling jolts skipped from her tongue and spread throughout his limbs, and it wasn’t until she raised her head that he remembered he was supposed to be putting her hair up.
He quickly replaced his grip with a magical band. Then he took her cheeks and tilted her had back. “You’re heavenly.” He went in for a deep kiss, but after drowning his taste buds in her flavor, he sat back and returned his arms to the backrest, ready to have his mind blown.
She licked her lips while glancing down, and a blush touched her cheeks as she adjusted to his stare and the control he’d given her. The next time she opened her mouth, a trail of saliva dripped to her breasts, slicking the valley between them, and his veins nearly burst when she pressed her cleavage together and spread the spit around. He moaned at the ceiling, squeezing his eyes shut as he flexed his hands, but he quickly shook his vision clear, looking back down just in time to watch her glide wet flesh down his shaft while enveloping the excess with pouty lips. His vitals spiked as she increased the pressure and sucked, and curses tumbled into his palm as he wiped his mouth. When she raised up and shocked him with a rush of air, he gave clearance to the rumble in his chest while tugging on his hair.
“I don’t know what I’m doing,” she confessed.
“You’re perfect,” he insisted, his coarse voice exposing his greed. “Keep going.”
She tucked her lower lip in her teeth while returning her attention to her breasts. Then she made sure they remained slippery before gliding them back down his arousal. Instinct thrust his hips forward, demanding more, which she surrendered without hesitation, taking him to the brink of the fall.
When she heightened the friction and began swiftly bouncing her breasts, his scattered brain severed restraint, and he sat up while taking hold of her ponytail. “Come here.”
He pulled her closer. Then he firmly held her there as the pressure built to a point of no return. Moving his free hand to her pout, he urged her to open her mouth, and his thumb kept it from closing as the first shot of pleasure surged. It streamed over her lips and dribbled to her tongue. Then he looked down as the rest painted her cleavage.
“Holy shit,” he breathed, shivering with a rush.
A throaty laugh skipped from her open mouth, drawing his attention to the mess he’d left on it, and his ego swelled as he braced to take a risk. With her hair still clutched in one hand, he hovered the other in front of her lips. Then he scooped up the mess with his forefinger and slipped it in her sexy mouth. “Suck it.”
Her eyes drifted shut as her tongue curled around his offering, pulling it deeper inside, and every nerve ending in his body buzzed as she sucked his finger clean. Her breasts were a mess, but he ignored it as he pulled her into a kiss and lifted her onto the sofa.
Laying her back on the cushions, he braced himself on the armrest and leaned over her. “That was magnificent.”
He’d done nothing to quell her arousal, so her aura raced as her lungs heaved. “It’s a thing, right? Getting a guy off with your tits? I think they call it a boob job. Not to be confused with breast implants.”
He laughed while vanishing the evidence from her chest. “I’ve heard that phrase and one other, but I don’t like them. Did it feel like a job?”
“No.”
“Did you enjoy it?”
“Yes.” She waited for him to clean her up then took his hand. “Why haven’t you ever suggested it?”
“Because that would feel about as disrespectful as suggesting you suck me off. It’s one thing to eagerly accept the parts of your body you offer me. It’s another to ask for those you don’t.”
“It’s all yours, Quin. You know that.”
“I like to say that, but it’s only true in the sense that I’m the man you share it with. It’s still your body. Its different parts aren’t mine to choose or disregard like merchandise on a shelf. I’ve never treated women like that, and I won’t start with you. I see you clearly enough to know when my boundaries have expanded, and I won’t hesitate to explore new territory, but I won’t suggest you hand it over in a one-sided exchange that leaves you with all the work and me with all the pleasure. If you want me to have it, you’ll give it to me, and because of that, it will be the best I’ve ever had.”
She stretched his hand over her head, putting him in the perfect position to pin her to the armrest. Then she vanished the rest of her clothes and opened her legs wider, teasing herself with his recuperating manhood. “So that was the best you’ve ever had?”
He lowered his head and swept his lips across a nipple. “That was the only time I’ve had it.”
“Nuh-uh.”
He smiled while moving to her other breast. “I swear, love. This was a first for me, too.”
She failed to reply, and he glanced at her sparkling aura before tickling her neck with kisses. “You like being my one and only.”
“I love it.”
He gathered her wrists in his left hand. Then he reached down and stroked her slippery entrance. “I love it, too.”
He pressed two fingers inside, making her gasp, and as soon as her breathing resumed, he opened her up and let himself in. He shivered with a full-body rush as their lights brightened and blended, but he didn’t hurry toward the finish line. He’d already gotten off and could probably sink into her for over an hour without needing a break.
Turning his head, he nibbled her ear then whispered across her temple. “Getting off on your breasts was magnificent, but this will always be my favorite way to love you.”
Her cheek lifted with a grin as her muscular legs locked around his hips. “Me, too.”