“No.” He pushed forward and came to take her in his arms. She let herself relax against his chest. “The Assembly is looking into it, of course, but that’s a question we might never get an answer to.”
“Officially, anyway.” They might hear through the grapevine, or Millie might let them know what she found out, but Selina doubted the Assembly would ever publicly admit there had been a cursed talisman still floating around out there.
He kissed her forehead. “I can’t believe Gregor turned it over.”
“He’s not evil, you know. He’s just not that good. There’s a difference.” Gods, didn’t she know that. She’d seen the clear distinction between the two Night brothers. One who lived by his own tarnished code of ethics, the other who had none at all. “My question is, did he know Isaak had it in New Orleans or did he find out here, like the rest of us? Another question we’ll probably never get an answer to, huh? I doubt Gregor’s stopping back in for a debriefing.”
“Yeah, that’s unlikely. I don’t want to talk about our enigmatic Mr. Night.” Jack nudged her chin up and smiled at her, everything she felt reflected in his eyes. “I’m much more interested in making love with ... my wife.”
The word sent a shiver through her. Gods, she was married. It was insane, and it felt amazing. There’d been no frills to it, but she didn’t have time or patience for that anyway. It had been just right. He took her hand and led her toward the bedroom. He didn’t have to tell her twice. She couldn’t get enough of him, and she doubted she ever would.
He pulled her into his arms and danced her up the hallway and through the bedroom door. When he stopped next to the bed, she leaned in to kiss her husband. His lips moved over hers, savoring. Damn, but he could kiss. She smiled against his mouth, sliding her tongue in to deepen the contact.
He groaned and drew her closer, his arms tightening until she could feel his erection prodding her belly. Heat unfurled within her, spreading tendrils of lust and magic to every part of her body. She coasted her hands up his chest, enjoying the bunch and flex of muscle there. She moaned when his big palms curved around her ass and pulled her up on tiptoe so that his cock settled in just the right spot.
Releasing her lips, he worked his mouth along her jaw and down her neck. He sucked and bit lightly until her breath rushed, and magic began to sizzle over her skin. He groaned. “Give me the spell.”
She did, twining their desire together until they were one. His cravings stoked hers, and everywhere he touched her left a trail of golden light that glowed on her flesh. He tugged at the bottom of her shirt and pulled it over her head. A grin spread over his face when he caught sight of her magenta bra. “I do love your lingerie collection.”
He bent forward and sucked her nipple into his mouth, right through the fabric. The lace scraped against the sensitive flesh, and her back bowed as lava flowed through her veins. She let her head fall back, whimpering at the intensity of the feeling. So good. She bunched her fingers in his shirt, wishing she could stroke his skin instead. Her magic responded to the barely formed wish, and his clothing disappeared.
Biting down on her nipple, he made her cry out, shuddering and twisting in his arms. He straightened to look at her, his pupils dilated so that only a thin rim of blue showed. “No fair. You still have clothes on.”
“I wanted to touch you.” She suited actions to words and drew her hands down his torso until she cupped his hard cock. She pumped his thick shaft between her fingers, and he groaned, his hips arching to increase the stimulation.
Jerking away from her touch, he flicked open the fastenings on her pants, hooked his fingers in the waistband, and drew both slacks and panties down her legs. “Step out of them.”
The low rumble of his voice made moisture flood between her thighs. She loved when he used that tone. Goose bumps went down her arms and legs as she obeyed him. She reached behind her to pop open her bra and let it slide away.
Dipping his fingers into her sex, he stroked her clit until she was grinding her hips into his touch, her hands braced on his shoulders. Pleasure spells whipped out of her, flowing like liquid fire over their bodies. His fingers pierced her sex, driving in hard. The heel of his hand rubbed over her clit, and his fingertips curled until he hit her in just the right spot. She bit her lower lip, her nails digging into his flesh, and her sex spasmed. So close. She was so close.
He pulled his hand back, and she cried out in denial. He couldn’t stop
now.
But he did. “Get on the bed.”
“You had better make that up to me.” She turned and crawled onto the mattress, not at all surprised when he swatted her ass.
A chuckle rolled out of him, affection warming his tone. “I love you.”
Her heart turned over. She reached for him. “Jack ...”
He rolled them to their sides and she hooked her leg over his thigh. The hot stretch of his cock penetrating her sex made excitement quiver through her. When he was seated to the hilt within her, he stopped. His eyes were a dark, fathomless blue. “I want to hear you say it, Selina.”
She hadn’t said it much since that first time, too terrified to let herself really believe that she could keep something so good. It felt like forever since anything earthshakingly
good
had happened to her. Only death and loss and loneliness. She held his face between her palms and met his gaze, no pretenses, as open as she’d ever been in her life. “I love you, Jack. I love you so much. You make me happy.”
Happy. The feeling was so rare, so precious. She’d loved her family, even the ones who’d turned on her, but happiness? She wanted to hold on to this forever.
“Again. Say it again,” he whispered, and plunged his cock into her slick sex. The rhythm he set was slow, but he powered into her with each stroke, burying himself deep. He picked up speed and force, and it was all she could do to hang on to her control.
“I love you, Jack. I love you, love you,
love you.
” She chanted the words in time with his swift thrusts, and every movement pushed her closer to the edge. She laughed, holding him tight. Clenching her inner muscles around him, she made him groan for her.
It was as good with him as it had always been. No, it was better. The feeling was somehow richer, deeper. There was none of the desperation to forget the past or the future, no need to deny the present. It was honest. Perhaps more honest than anything she’d ever done in her life.
He sank into her, and every other thought disintegrated. The way he filled her was so right, the fit as perfect as if he’d been fashioned just for her. She tightened her leg around him, arched her body into his, and let herself revel in being alive and with him. Her heart pounded, her muscles shook, and she teetered right on the edge of orgasm. The sound of their skin slapping together was loud in the room. Each time he entered her, his pelvis made rough contact with her clit. Her pussy contracted around his cock, and she couldn’t hold back even if she wanted to.
“Jack!
Jack!
” Her back bowed, shoving her forward so that her pussy sealed tight to the base of his cock, taking all of him. Pleasure burst within her, and magic exploded out of her. Her sex clenched again and again, milking his shaft.
The sound he made was like a human volcano erupting, and he hammered into her sex. His hot fluids flooded her pussy, and the sharp ecstasy of his orgasm crashed through her mind, dragging her under yet again. Her pussy spasmed as she came hard, the pleasure endless. Magic and physicality merged, became one. Their desire was one need, their love was one feeling.
“I love you, Selina.” His voice was low, husky, and shook with emotion. He squeezed her so tight, her ribs compressed. He buried his face in the crook of her throat. “When I saw you in that hallway, I thought I’d lost you. Hell, you
and
Grim. There was so much fucking blood. Jesus.”
“I’m here.” She stroked his hair, his back, everywhere she could reach. “I love you. I’m not going anywhere.”
“Don’t. Don’t ever leave me.” There it was, the deepest wish in his soul. The spell that connected them had sunk far deeper than she’d ever let it before, and she knew far more than his lust for her. She knew his utter need. Just the way she needed him. To never leave her, to always want her.
“I love you,” she whispered.
“I love you, too.”
In the quiet afterward, she lay in his arms, her back to his front, and felt the stirring of magic within her. She pressed her hand to her belly. The tiny life inside her, just a bundle of cells, was emitting a small shimmer of her own magic.
A child. She could ask herself when this had happened, or even
how
this had happened, but she knew. The exact moment she’d opened herself up to the possibility of a child was when Jack had asked her if she wanted any, and the clear vision of her daughter had come to her. Apparently, she’d inadvertently shut down the magic potions that were supposed to keep her from getting knocked up. Wonder suffused her, which didn’t quite cancel out the shock she had yet recovered from. Over four hundred years old and she was going to be a
mother
for the first time.
This child’s life would be so very different from hers, she would make sure of it. This child would never be called a bastard. She would have parents who loved her and loved each other. This child would know she was wanted. The depth of feeling that shook Selina was both heady and terrifying.
It was another bond, when she’d spent so many years refusing to open herself to any of them. She’d been drifting since Bess died, disconnected from any other person. Grim had been a slim tether to the here and now, but as much as she loved the damn dog, he wasn’t the same as human contact.
But Jack.
Gods, Jack had been like a hand reaching into the darkness of her world, grabbing hold of her and refusing to let her drift away entirely. He was a connection she couldn’t escape, couldn’t deny, even when she had wanted to, even when she’d been ready to let go.
All those people and familiars spilling into the courthouse to be there for her wedding had shaken something deep inside her. The loneliness, the isolation. She’d been alone for so long, just her and Grim, that she’d stood there stunned for a moment, just staring around at the joyous noise and chaos. Her familiar had sat in the middle of it all, a kitten pouncing on his tail and one of the most powerful witches in the world stroking his ears. He’d looked about as dumbfounded as she’d felt.
But it wasn’t bad. She might even learn to get used to it. The mattress dipped as Jack shifted in bed, returning her to the present. He squeezed her to him, brushing a kiss over the back of her shoulder. His hand moved down to settle over hers, covering where their child grew within her.
Yeah. She could definitely get used to this.