“About eating you?” His lips trailed down her neck, each kiss a burning brand on her skin.

“Not that.”

“Then you’re going to have to be more specific.”

“A few times over the past few weeks.” She gasped as his magic traced the boundaries of hers, pulsing, burning, pounding. “You’re distracting me.”

“That’s the point.”

She gave him her scary glare, the one she used to stare down monsters and misbehaving supernaturals. Misbehaving like this mage. Oh, god, she wanted him to misbehave… No, she really needed to talk to him.

He chuckled. “You’re so irresistible when you try to be scary.”

Then he leaned back against the kitchen counter, perfectly relaxed. He looked good enough to eat, but Sera forced herself to focus.

“You’ve been talking about us living together,” she said.

His magic stilled. “I wasn’t sure you’d noticed.”

“I was distracted. It took some time to process.” She fidgeted with her hands. “Have you changed your mind about wanting that?”

“No. Once I’ve decided on something, I don’t change my mind.”

Sera remembered how Kai had talked to Tony, calling her his ‘future wife’. She took a deep breath. One thing at a time.

“We are practically living together already,” she said, focusing on the air over his shoulder.

He didn’t say anything.

Bring on the consequences, right? “What I mean is, I’d like it too,” she finished quickly, the words gushing out. She looked up, tentatively meeting his eyes.

He smiled, and it was like all the clouds dissolved at once.

“Of course we’re really busy now,” she babbled. “But we’d have to pick a date, and then I need to figure out if Alex still wants to live in that house we rent after she comes back home and—”

Kai brushed his fingertip across her mouth. “You’re making this far too complicated, Sera. As always.”

He pulled a key out of a small drawer. His hands dove into her purse, emerging with her keychain. He attached his key to the ring, then set her keychain down on the counter.

“See? It’s as easy as that.”

“What if I don’t want to live here?” she teased.

He didn’t even have to think about it. “Then we’ll move.”

“So, if I want to live in a barn,” she began.

“Then we’ll find a barn,” he told her. “But a renovated one, right? Barns can have a very ripe odor.” His nose crinkled up.

She laughed. “I’m just kidding. This place is great.”

A devious look took spark in his eyes. “So about my job offer—”

“Don’t push your luck, mister.”

He chuckled. “You can’t blame me for trying.”

She kissed him. “Sure I can.”

Sera leaned forward, rising to her tiptoes to kiss him. His mouth tasted of wine and something sweet. Something chocolaty. Maybe he’d tried one of the fairy brownies too. His magic sizzled like a hot pepper that had been slowly dipped in dark chocolate. Sweet and spicy, it snapped at her senses. The scent wrapped around her magic. Her barrier popped as his magic took a bite out of her.

One by one, she opened his buttons. Her hands traced the contours of his chest, which tensed, hardening under her touch. She peeled the shirt from his body and tossed it to the floor.

His hands closed around her arms, pulling her against him. He dipped his mouth to hers, his kiss urgent, forceful. Like a river of fire, his magic crackled down her chest, cresting the hard, hot points of her nipples. His hands followed. They trailed up her back, rolling over her shoulders, plunging down to snag on her dress sleeves. He slid one sleeve off her shoulder, kissed her naked skin, then removed the other. Her dress slid down to her waist. He met her eyes for a moment, a smile tugging on his lips. Then, slowly, he unclasped her necklace and lifted it off of her neck, his fingertips lingering on her skin for a moment before he set the necklace down on the counter.

“So beautiful.” His finger traced her bra strap. “So soft.”

He peeled the lacy garment from her skin, tossing it aside. Then his hands ventured lower to cup her breasts. His mouth followed, dipping to close over a nipple, flicking the peak with his tongue, drawing it hard into his mouth. Hot desire shot through her, burning inside her veins. She lifted her hands to touch him, but he trapped them, pinning them to the counter. His eyes, ignited with blue lightning, met hers. Then he closed his mouth over the other nipple. She squirmed, the desperate need to touch him taking over. His grip tightened.

He chuckled. “None of that now.”

“Let me touch you.”

She gasped as he flicked her nipple with the tip of his tongue. Her pulse pounded hard, throbbing with white-hot heat. He looked up at her, the need in his eyes, in his magic, burning through her. With a devilish smile, he pinned her hands in place with his magic.

“I could break this spell,” she growled, pushing against his magic.

“I’m sure you could.” His hands traced down her sides. “But what would be the fun in that?”

His hands locked around her hips, lifting her onto the counter. Despite the shift in position, her hands remained stuck firmly in place. Her heels slammed against the cabinet below the counter. When she tried to move them, they didn’t budge. Not a single inch. He’d pinned her there too.