Ace of Pentacles

Chapter 5

Chapter 5

A short moment later, Ciaran came back in with a grin on his face and a remote control in his hand. “It was a flying surveillance camera. This entire place is serviced by robotic staff. No humans. You can do whatever you want here without anyone gawking . . .”

He continued to speak, but all she could focus on was her sinfully handsome husband. It didn’t matter what he said now. He was safe and sound. That was all that mattered to her. She shuddered recalling the battles they had just been through to get to this universe.

She couldn’t forget the warmth of his blood on her hands. She had been tormented by hopelessness when he was going down and she didn’t know what to do.

But they had left those incidents in the past. And she hoped never to experience that feeling again.

She smiled at him when he said something about the use of technology. She really did mean to tell him about her precognition. But hell, her stomach quivered with lust every time he spoke. She could easily forget the universe and drown in the sight and sound of him.

She still didn’t understand how he could possibly be hers. Called her biased, but her husband had to be the most gorgeous and intelligent man in the cosmos. Six foot three—or maybe even taller. His slender frame made his clothes or whatever he draped himself in look elegant. Beneath the material were the muscles that were disturbingly and distractingly beautiful.

His long, thick black hair almost touched his shoulders, framing the God-given face she loved. His intense gray eyes always seemed look straight into her soul. They twinkled when intrigued, and she loved it when they twinkled because of something she had said. His lips were made for kissing, and to that point, that was exactly what she wanted to do right now.

Ciaran paused at the expression on her face. Then he smiled, and his eyes twinkled. He approached the bench where she sat, brushed his thumb across the dimple on her left cheek.

“My first councillor, what’s on your mind?” he asked and kissed her. Apparently, he didn’t expect an answer.

As much as it embarrassed her, she couldn’t help but let out an audible purr at his kiss and touches. The movement of his hands on her body was heavenly. He knew every curve on her body better than even she did, but he still traced them with his long fingers—those of an artist.

Perhaps he was an artist—an artist in lovemaking. He was so inventive that she couldn’t keep up with him. Every time they made love, it was like the first time. But this was the first time they had been intimate in this strange universe.

She slid her hands underneath his shirt. He knew her body. She knew his. They gave. They took. They moved together in perfect rhythm. A brush of the lips. The heat of a tongue on bare skin. The pressure of fingertips on sensitive spots.

They knew it all.

They had done it all.

But each time, it was a new experience.

And they enjoyed it. Taking each other to the pinnacle of pleasure.

After a while, they lay still until she hopped up and propped herself up on her elbow, glancing around. “Where exactly are we?”

Ciaran chuckled. “I’d call this a broom closet. But with the lack of a broom or other cleaning tools, I’m guessing it’s some kind of storage room. What it’s storing, I have absolutely no idea.”

He kissed her forehead and lifted her chin. “Why are you so reluctant to go to Sciphil One residence? It will be yours soon.”

“I’m not staying with you? If my memory serves me correctly, I’m your wife—so I ought to be with you, staying here.”

“In the broom closet?” he teased.

Madeline played with his hair. “Why are you so reluctant to stay here? It’s yours now.”

Ciaran fingered her dimple again and drew her into his arms. “I need more people around to take care of you.” He kissed her cheek. “You’re pregnant.”

Madeline snorted. “If we keep up this broom closet activity, it will happen soon!”

“You’re already carrying our twins, Madeline—a boy and a girl.”

Madeline stared at her husband, speechless.