“That was...amazing,” she said softly. Finding the strength to stroke his hair bordered on miraculous.
He lifted his head, perspiration cooling on her skin as soon as he did. After a quick kiss on the lips, Sebastian frowned. “You’re exhausted.”
“I’d love to deny it, but I am,” she replied.
“I forget that you’re still new to this lifestyle. You should have said something to me before...”
Before they’d had sex. “And miss out on that? No way, buddy. That was definitely worth getting up early for.”
He chuckled, grimacing a moment later when Alice groaned. He slowly extricated himself. The area between her thighs pulsed from overuse, a sure sign she’d be feeling their actions even hours from now.
She went airborne seconds after Sebastian stood. “Hey!” She squealed, then wrapped an arm around his neck. Being carried by him, the ground seemed ominously far away. “I can walk, you know.”
But hell, it felt good to be held and pampered like this.
He snorted.
“What’s that mean?”
“It means you don’t just look tired, you sound it too. Your words are starting to slur.” His stride was smooth and even as they left behind the kitchen and crossed through a second living room. “Don’t allow me to take advantage of you like this again.”
“If by taking advantage, you mean having crazy good sex, you most certainly will take advantage of me. And often.”
“You stubborn woman. I can do so much more than you’ll ever be able to. Seriously, don’t let me forget how fragile you are. When I’m holding you like this, it’s easy to remember, but when I’m lost inside you, I’m truly lost.” He shook his head, as if the memory of their coupling was too much for him to process.
He pushed open the door to his bedroom with a foot before Alice realized where they were. His bedroom. It couldn’t belong to anyone else.
A large king-sized bed rested in the middle of the room, perfectly made with crisp white sheets that were covered with a pale green comforter, which was also draped with a brown decorative throw. The latter item perfectly matched the leather headboard, dotted with bronze rivets. There couldn’t have been less than six pillows on the bed, four of them probably for show, based on the way their colors went along splendidly. The leather footrest seemed big enough to hold the extras when they weren’t in use.
Next to the bed, a wide band of earth-toned bricks went from floor to ceiling in precise patterns, only broken in the very middle to house a fireplace. Before its maw, a cream-colored rug stretched across the floor. At its edge, a leather recliner and ottoman guarded more decorative pillows. A stack of books had been piled next to the plush seating area.
Effortlessly, Bast walked to the bed and rested her in the middle of it, right between all those fluffy pillows. His clean coconut scent immediately wafted up, and she had to wonder what kind of detergent he used. The bed itself though felt like heaven stitched together. She almost moaned but bit it back when he pulled the comforter up over her body.
“Sleep now,” he said. That same tenderness from before came back and with an embracing coziness.
“What about youu?” This time she heard the slur he’d accused her of before. Also, a new slowness to her speech.
“I have the Council to deal with. Gray and I will be working up a strategy for making sure things don’t completely fall to shit. Get some rest for now. I’ll be in as soon as I’m able.”
“You’ve had...one hell...of a...night.” Even saying that took some effort. She’d never been this fatigued from an hour of loving before, but it was a small sacrifice.
“Yeah, I’m tired, but I need to sort this out. It won’t take longer than an hour or so. I’ll be in to join you before you know it. Promise.”
“Okay, but—”
Sebastian suddenly blurred then became two distinct persons sitting next to her. Alice blinked the apparition away, startled when it dissipated only to form again. She blinked harder, putting more effort into squeezing her eyes shut.
“Alice?”
She focused on his frown, but even that seemed to happen in slow motion. She moved through invisible molasses as she opened her mouth to tell him she was okay, but just tired. The room went brilliant in those moments, right behind Bast’s head. It lit him up in the sweetest ray of sunshine.