“Try the freezer.”
He complied and she looked over his shoulder as he surveyed her collection of saturated fatty goodness with an air of horror.
“Come on, partner, let yourself go for once. A Hot Pocket won’t kill you.”
“How about I make us an omelet?”
“If you can make it quickly, go for it. I’m starving.”
He took off his coat and jacket and loosened his tie. “Make some toast.”
By the time they’d finished eating, it was almost five in the morning, and the sunlight was beginning to filter through the gray, foggy skies.
Vadim stretched and rubbed his eyes. “I left my car at the hospital. We’ll need to get the ferry in the morning.”
“Or use magic.”
He almost smiled for the first time. “You like that mode of transport, then?”
“It’s pretty cool.” She waited until he set the dishwasher running and then took his hand. “We have to be at work by nine. If we use the ferry, we’ll get much less sleep.” She led him toward her bedroom. “We need our sleep.”
He already looked exhausted. Had the struggle with the Otherworld sect drained him so completely? Or was it more a case of hurt pride? Ella pushed on his chest until he sat on the edge of the bed. She slowly unbuttoned his shirt and then knelt to unbuckle his belt. His hand covered hers.
“You don’t need to do that. I can just...”
She bent her head and kissed the bulge of his cock. “I like doing it. Shut up.”
He sighed as she slowly unbuttoned his pants and drew down the zipper. Underneath, he wore tight blue cotton boxers that now strained to contain his growing erection.
“Nice.” Ella dropped a kiss on the crown of his wet cock, which had already escaped the waistband of his boxers. “Now, be quiet and let me concentrate.”
She helped him ease out of his pants, socks and shoes and then returned her attention to his cock, sliding her hand inside his boxers at the back to stroke and cup his awesome ass. His hips jerked forward.
“Ella...”
There was a note of uncertainty in his voice that she’d never heard before. She kissed his shaft through soft cotton that did nothing to hide the length and girth of him, nibbled at the dampening fabric until his hand clenched in her hair, demanding more, trying to direct her mouth to more needy places.
“Patience is a virtue, Morosov.”
His answer was a low growl in Fae that made her nipples ache and her lady parts ready for action. But this wasn’t about her. It was about giving him something she’d never attempted to give a man before...
Love, caring, support? She didn’t want to name it. That screamed of some sort of permanency or security or need on her part. She just wanted him to feel better.
That was it. Sex made everything better.
She slid her thumbs down the sides of his boxers and pulled them off. A birthmark in the shape of a black crescent nestled in the lickworthy crevice where his hip met his groin, and she kissed it. With a happy sigh, she studied his cock.
“Lie back on the bed, Morosov.” The hand in her hair tightened. “I mean, Vadim.”
He lay back and she knelt between his thighs and studied the perfection of his abs, chest and beautiful face.
“I like it when you do what you’re told.” She bent and licked his cock.
“I noticed.”
His eyelids were lowered, his voice a soft rumble of lust and need that made her want to start at his feet and kiss every luscious inch of him. She magicked off all her clothes except her bra and panties, which didn’t match, but who the hell cared? The way Vadim was looking at her, for once, he certainly didn’t.
“Let me touch you.”
She shook her head. “No, this is all about you. Put your hands behind your head and behave yourself.”
“If you insist.”
The darkness was disappearing from his eyes and he was visibly relaxing—apart from the important parts that stayed impressively erect. She shook out her hair and then bent over his cock and sucked the first inch into her mouth. His groan encouraged her and she took more. He rolled his hips and she sucked on him hard, one hand cupping his balls as she worked her mouth and teeth along the length of his shaft.
His thoughts flooded hers, his desire for her a living thing that knew no boundaries and needed no words. She could tell when he was near a climax and ease off, or push him even closer... She teased and tantalized him until he was pleading with her, begging her to let him come.
With some reluctance, she released his cock and straddled him, the cotton of her panties rubbing against the base of his shaft. As he watched, she slowly removed her bra and cupped her breasts, teasing her already tight nipples to needy buds.
“Ella, let me, I—”
She smiled at him and rubbed herself and her swollen clit against his cock, the fabric of her panties wet from both his need and her own.
“Please.”
His stark request echoed through her head, and she disposed of her panties. Watching him the whole time, she slowly lowered herself over his cock, her groan joining his as his thick length pressed inward. She started to move on him. He helped her, thrusting upward into each down stroke, so in tune with her that every sensation was doubled and trebled and...
She climaxed and he followed her, bringing her hard down on him as he pumped upward. She nestled her cheek into the angle between his head and neck and sighed.
“That was awesome.”
Tomorrow was soon enough to analyze why she’d felt compelled to tend to Vadim’s complex needs in such a way. Tomorrow was also soon enough to deal with the horrors of Adam and the Otherworld sect.
Chapter Nine
“So you’re saying Ms. Phelps died from inhaling your magic shield.” Feehan frowned. “Has that ever happened to you before?”
“No.” Vadim glanced around the room at the rest of the team. “It was unprecedented. I do, however, accept prime responsibility for Ms. Phelps’s death.”
Ella shook her head. “I was there too, Morosov. There was nothing either of us could do against that amount of power. We just weren’t prepared for it.”
Feehan paced in front of the whiteboard. “If this thing is growing stronger, maybe it’s time to call in the Otherworld authorities.”
“I don’t think Adam was acting alone this time,” Vadim forced himself to say. “The level of power that was used against us was far too high and too complex to belong to one being.”
“I agree.” Liz’s Fae-Web was busy lighting up over her head. “What happened wasn’t normal. I’ve never seen anything like it either.”
Before Liz could start asking awkward questions, Vadim spoke up.
“I’m meeting with a member from my family today to ask for additional information about Adam.”
“Whom exactly are you meeting?” Mr. Feehan asked.
“A cousin of mine called Rossa.”
“Rossa?” Liz grimaced. “I know him. He’s a devious little shit.”
He smiled at her. “You’re right, but he’s also afraid of me, and terribly indiscreet.”
“Then you should learn a lot.” Liz’s smile disappeared. “But you also need to be careful, Vadim. I’m seeing you as central to this case, even more central than the poor victims.”
“That’s certainly worrying.” He hesitated. “Would it be better if I removed myself from the investigation entirely?”
Everyone else in the room except Ella looked at each other. Mr. Feehan cleared his throat.
“We did think about that, Vadim, but Liz doesn’t believe it will help.”
So that was why everyone had already been in place when he and Ella arrived. What time had the nine o’clock meeting really started?