Having showered and got ready as far as she could without a dress, or any of her dates, Eira pottered around her flat in just her underwear, not caring if any of her men walked in. Maybe it would encourage Rueben to get a move on and kiss her if he walked in. And if it was either of the other two...well she wasn’t exactly going to say no. She took a sip from the glass she’d placed on the dining table earlier, hoping that it would cool her down. Metaphorically speaking that was, her core temperature never really seemed to change.

A knock sounded on her door, and deciding to try something out, she flicked her hand towards the door, sending a mixture of snowflakes and green sparks towards it. Much to her surprise, the trick actually worked, and the door swung open to reveal a bemused looking Leth with a large dress box in his hands.

“Useful,” he said, before properly clocking her. “Wow.”

“Evening, Leth.” She smiled at him, leaning over slightly so that he could truly appreciate the cut of her bra. He dropped the box onto her sofa and slammed the door shut behind him, before stalking over to where she was standing by her dining table.

“You shouldn’t walk around dressed like that,” he said, a slight growl in his voice.

“Why on earth not?” She looked up at him, trying to look as innocent as possible.

“That look isn’t going to work on me.” His eyes glazed over, and she gave herself a metaphorical pat on the back. The look had clearly worked perfectly. She bit her lip, and that was all it seemed to take to completely capture his attention. He made an odd growling noise, lifting her up with two strong hands on her waist and placing her on the table. Her legs fell apart, and he stepped between them, bringing him closer to her. She could feel the warmth emanating from him, and wanted to lean into him.

“You sure?” she asked, already a little breathless and wanting him to continue. She brought her hands to his chest, and slowly began to unbutton his shirt, speeding up when he did nothing to stop her. In fact, rather than stop her, he reached around and unhooked her bra in a split second. He almost ripped it off, and she was just thankful it was strapless, meaning she didn’t have to pause in her quest to remove his shirt. Really, if she’d thought about it, she should be more careful given that he was already wearing his tux, but at this point, she was past caring. She wanted him. No, she needed him, and she didn’t want to even wait until he was fully undressed to have that.

Having rid him of his shirt, which was now lying in a puddle on the floor, she fumbled with his belt and fly, finally managing to make enough room for her to slide her hand into his boxers and take him in it. Unsurprisingly, he was already hard, and as she stroked him as he groaned, only exciting her more. His hands trailed over her skin, the temperature difference making things more intense for her. With one hand on her thigh, and the other on her lower back, pulling her closer while keeping her on the table, he was already exciting her more than should be possible. Not that she cared, he was her mate, she just wanted him.

“Frostie,” he ground out. “We should move to the bed.”

“Nuh-huh,” she replied. “Now. Here. You.” The words came out strained. She normally hated sounding so desperate, but she found she no longer cared, it was hard to when she could barely think straight.

“It’s not romantic,” he pointed out.

“Fuck romantic,” she got out, palming him more firmly and watching as his eyelids fluttered open and closed in response. “We can have romance later,” she added, omitting that if he started being as insistent as Rueben on the whole perfect moment front, then she would find a way to freeze them both.

“If you’re sure?”

Instead of answering, she pushed his boxers down slightly, not bothering to remove any of the rest of his clothing properly. Or her own for that matter, though if she could call what she was wearing clothing. Small scrap of lace was more realistic, maybe she’d skip putting it back on later. It’d make life easier. He gave in, reaching down between them and taking her hand from him, replacing it with his own. Watching intently, he guided himself towards her, and the moment he entered her, she tipped her head back and almost screamed. The feeling of him filling her, and the warmth that radiated from him, was nearly too much. It was intense, as good as it had been with Josh, but completely different at the same time.

Her last fleeting thought before sensation took over was of what would happen when their powers merged. Summer and winter weren’t normally a good mix, and yet here they were.

With her head tipped back, Leth had easy access, and seemed to take advantage kissing a path from her collarbone upwards. Reaching the shell of her ear, he began to nibble, surprising Eira, but also sending darts of pleasure through her and adding to the release that was building inside her. She rolled her head, pushing his head out of the way, but Leth had other ideas, and move the hand that was on the small of her back so that it was threaded in her hair. With a tug that was neither gentle, nor rough, he moved her head back to the side, giving him access to her ear lobe once more. Hot damn, he was going to end her if he carried on like this.

“Let go, Frostie, I got you,” he whispered. She tried to shake her head, but another tug to her hair stopped her in her tracks. “Let go,” he repeated. It was all too much, and she began to shake, everything that was happening becoming too much. Leth tugged on her hair again, and that seemed to be the final straw. Her release crashed through her, taking Leth with her.

She collapsed forward, her head resting on his bare chest, thankful that she’d removed his shirt earlier and could enjoy his warmth. It took her several minutes to regain her composure, and when she looked up at Leth, she was rewarded with a lazy satisfied smile.

“That was unexpected.”

“You expected sex with me to be bad?” she asked, genuinely shocked that he thought that.

“No, of course not. But I didn’t expect to be having any sex with you until later, when you’d forgiven me more.” While the laughter was still on his face, she could tell that his words were sincere.

“I have forgiven you, not forgotten mind.”

He groaned. “You have a look in your eyes that says you have a punishment lined up and everything.”

“I do,” she admitted, grinning widely.

“Is it a punishment I’ll enjoy?”

“I highly doubt it.” She supposed that there was a chance he’d enjoy working through her family history, but she doubted it. How anyone could enjoy reading that drivel was beyond her, even if the odd passage was of interest.

“Would bringing you a present help?” he asked, not pulling away from her, and she could feel him still hard inside her. If only they had time for more, but she had no idea when Rueben and Josh would be back, nor what time they had to leave for the ball, and she didn’t want to risk being late. From the little Leth had said, it was important to him.

“Depends on the present,” she admitted. If it was something like flowers, then probably not, they always seemed to die under her care.

“A dress.”

“Oh, yes, please.” She beamed at him, having completely forgotten that he’d said he’d bring her a dress for tonight while she’d been focused on more physical pleasures.

“Then you need to let me go, Frostie,” he said, the amusement returning to his voice. It was only then she noticed that her hands were hooked onto his belt loops, still holding him to her. She let go, and instantly felt like part of her was missing when he pulled back, zipping up his fly and refastening his belt, but mercifully not putting his shirt back on. She wasn’t ready to lose the view of his glorious chest.

Once he’d turned to collect the box he’d entered with earlier, Eira hopped off the table, straightening her underwear and grabbing her bra from where it had been abandoned and re-hooking it. Realistically, she needed to go clean up, but that could wait until she’d seen the dress Leth had brought. More than anything, she was intrigued to see what was customary for a fae ball.

He strode back over and handed her the box, which she took from him and eagerly set it down on the table. She’d never received a dress quite like this before, all wrapped up in a pretty box with a fancy label on it. Leth watched her intently, excitement burning in his eyes.

“Can I?”

He nodded, and she lifted the box, peeling back the pink tissue paper and revealing what looked like layer upon layer of tulle. Carefully she lifted the shoulders of the dress, which was covered in small glittering crystals, and lifted it from the box. The dress unfolded, showing her a full white skirt and... “You bought me a wedding dress?” she demanded, spinning on her heels.

“I did?” He smirked at her, not seeming in the least bit phased. He was well aware of what he’d done.

“A wedding dress,” she repeated, annoyance bubbling up inside her. “Is there something you need to tell me?”

He shook his head. “Nothing like that, Frostie. Its tradition is all.”

“Tradition?” She tapped her foot against the floor, trying to keep calm. When was he going to learn to start telling her things and not just doing them? Leth said nothing, and she could feel her anger rising. He gave her another smirk, and she cracked, sending a shot of ice his way. Unfortunately, it melted before it hit him. Damn him. Why did he have to be summer fae? He’d be forever melting her attacks.

“Frostie, it’s tradition. I promise, there’s no wedding of any kind. I mean for a start, you’re more than married to us anyway.”

“Well…” He had her there. It was difficult to get funny over marriage when a wedding was already too late for them. If rumour was to believed, then she’d mated with them all the moment she’d met them, sealing the bond the moment they slept together and their magic merged. “Our magic-?”

“It happened, just not like it will have with Josh,” he assured her.

“We’re not going to take on each other’s powers, are we?” She hadn’t realised how sad she found that until this moment, but it seemed wrong somehow, like their bond was incomplete.

“I doubt it, but you don’t want to take on my powers, Frostie, it’ll cause more problems than it’s worth.”

“Huh.” She’d never thought about it that way. Which just caused an even more surprising thought. What would happen when they had children? Would they be one or the other? Or a weird mixture of both? And more importantly, why was she thinking of children already? She was nowhere near ready for that.

“I just wouldn’t worry about it yet. Now go get that sexy ass into the shower, before I do something else to it.” His eyes twinkled, and she swallowed the slight lump that seemed to have formed in her throat. It wasn’t nerves, she knew that for sure.

“I might hold you to that promise later,” she said, taking him a little off guard.

“I look forward to it,” he responded after a moment. She turned towards her bathroom, and made sure to sashay her hips. He may have satisfied her for now, but it never hurt to leave him wanting more.