Jagged Embrace

Chapter 33 - Ander

Maeve stretched against him and murmured something intelligible. Her breasts pressed against his chest as she moved. Ander tried to ignore it, but his body refused to cooperate. His erection pressed against her and made him dizzy. He needed to get out of the bed before she woke up enough to notice, but as he attempted to untangle from her, she moved closer to him and sighed in her sleep. He laid stiffly and went through several medical procedures to calm his mind and his body's reaction to her.

It did not help that he had recently casted. He was always more sensitive to touch after. It was only due to spellcasting that he had ever bedded any females. After using magic, he felt confident, powerful, and positive he could obtain any female he came across and, for the most part, that had been correct. He could have bedded Maeve last night, felt those rosebud lips against his, held her soft breasts in his hands, buried himself inside her heat. She moaned and pressed her hips into his before she fell back against the bed. Vaguely, Ander heard Will's snore behind him.

Ander gazed down at her closed eyes and slightly swollen lips. Last night when he had cast the warding, he had tried to ignore her bloody lower lip, but it was impossible, especially when she offered herself to him. He shook his head. Ander was uncertain what caused her lapses in judgment at the other moments when she seemed incoherent and interested in him.

However, last night was absolutely because of his spellcasting. She had said as much herself. He fiercely craved her, but she was not his. More than that, she had only offered herself because of his power, as the other women in the past had. He could never accept her in that circumstance. It was only his power she had reacted to.

And what did that say of his character? It reminded him of Wyatt. He was an abomination, unworthy, and always the villain. If she gave herself to him because he willed it to be so, it meant somewhere in his mind, he did not respect the boundaries in place, or that she was Will's. His fingers moved across her cheek and her eyes fluttered open, a slow smile forming on her lips.

"What time is it?" she asked.

Always concerned with time, perhaps even more than he was. "Around eleven."

"Did you sleep okay?" she asked with a yawn.

He nodded. It was impossible not to sleep well with her next to him. Behind them, Will coughed before he snored again. Her brow wrinkled with concern.

"Are we going to let him sleep, or do we need to wake him?" she asked in a small voice.

"We have not received the order to engage yet, so he can remain asleep."

She raised her hand to his temple and traced the side of his face, her lips parted. "Your eyes are still glowing, but just barely."

Part of Ander hoped they would stop before Will woke simply to avoid the confrontation. The other part of him did not want them to return to normal, because Maeve preferred them that way.

"Why do you always wear your contacts? I like your eyes the best."

He raised his eyebrows.

"I know you have to wear them when we travel and during a mission, but when we're just here," she breathed.

"You do not want me to wear them at all while we are in the room?"

"No, I told you before," the color rose in her cheeks, "your eyes are beautiful." She bit her lip and then grimaced. 

His eyes moved to her lips, his heart picked up pace. "All right," he said in a rough voice.

"Alright?"

"I will no longer wear them in the room. It is habit, I suppose."

She smiled at him and it caused his heart to thunder in his ribcage. He pulled away from her, fearful she would realize his increasing excitement. She flipped back on her side and rolled toward him, which was precisely what he did not want.

"Do we have to get up now?"

"I suppose we do not have to, but what would we do?" he asked.

She shrugged. "Talk?"

"All right, what do you want to speak about?"

"Tell me about the Gorgon. I mean, what you found out when you did your examination."

Ander raised his eyebrows in surprise again. He had not expected her curiosity regarding the gorgon.

"You worked on it all night and you wanted to preserve information for the Soldiers of Night, so you had to find out lots of interesting things, right?"

"Yes," he paused. "Quite a bit, you truly want to know the details of my examination?"

"Why wouldn't I? I meant to ask earlier, but I wasn't in the right mindset and I want to be focused so I can pay attention."

Ander's stomach fluttered at her words. "Of course, that makes sense. Do you want to have something to eat while we talk?"

"If you don't think Will is going to wake up."

Ander closed his eyes and listened to Will's breath for several seconds. "We should be fine for a couple of hours. He must have gone out to drink last evening."

She looked down, a frown crossed her features. "That's what I thought," she paused before she brought her eyes back to him and smiled. "Let's eat while you teach me things."