Dreams Made Flesh

their legs again. His arms wrapped around her, his hard cock pressed against her.
    Up, up, up.
    "Ready?" he asked.
    "For what?" she yelled.
    He laughed, folded his wings, and twisted. For one endless moment, they hung motionless before they plummeted toward the ground far below them. And in that moment when they began the fall, he thrust into her.
    The speed and exhilaration of free fall. He spun them, laughing, while in another place, his body thrust into hers, pushing her toward climax.
    She squeezed her eyes shut and swore at him as the ground rushed toward them and pleasure burst through their bodies.
    He opened his wings, changing the picture in his mind as he glided over treetops to settle them in a glen that was one of his favorite places in Ebon Rih.
    As he laid her on the grass near a pool of water, he unwrapped the power that had held her captive while he withdrew from her body.
    Fully back in the bedroom now, he settled beside her, pulling the sheet up to their waists. They would deal with the practicalities in a few minutes. It wasn't something she needed to see just yet.
    "Mother Night," Karla muttered over and over. She finally opened her eyes. "Is that your idea of a good time?"
    He grinned. "Actually… it is."
    She swore at him.
    She looked a little pissed, a little dazed.
    "It's done," he said gently.
    "What's done?"
    He rested a hand on her belly.
    She stared up at him. "Done? But… how? When?"
    He laughed. "When you were watching the ground come up to meet us."
    "Who said I was watching?" She blew out a breath and finally began to relax. "Well, that was a unique experience."
    He watched the tension build in her and worried about the grim expression that settled over her face.
    "Lucivar," she said, staring at the ceiling. "When I asked Uncle Saetan to arrange this, I wasn't thinking about… I wasn't thinking. But it's not my fertile time. I swear it's not."
    "It's all right. I've been drinking a contraceptive brew for a few weeks now." He'd never had to think about it when he'd lived inTerreille, never had to wonder if the bitches who had used him could get a child out of him. He'd known that he'd somehow made himself infertile in a way the witches who had wanted him for stud couldn't undo. Just as he'd known within a week of Marian's coming to live in his eyrie that he'd turned the key in that lock so that he could flood her with ripe seed. He wanted a child with her, but not without a bond, not without commitment.
    "Why are you drinking a contraceptive brew?" Karla asked. Her eyes widened. "You have a lover, don't you?"
    "No."
    She moved fast, surprising him enough that he ended up on his back with her on top of him.
    "Who is it?" Her mouth curved in a wicked smile. "It's the hearth witch, isn't it? The one you made the garden for."
    Just the thought of Marian primed him. He shoved Karla off him and slipped out of bed while he still could. "Let's get cleaned up."
    "Cleaned—" Karla flipped the sheet back. "Oh."
    When she turned pale, he grabbed her arm and dragged her out of bed and into the bathroom.
    "There's no need to get snarly about it," Karla said.
    He turned on the shower faucets, waited until there was a hint of hot water, picked her up, and planted her under the spray.
    She let out one breathless squeal and tried to punch him when he stepped in behind her.
    He soaped one cloth and shoved it into her hands. "Wash." Soaping up another one, he spun her around and started on her back.
    "If you've been drinking the contraceptive brew for weeks now, you're safe," Karla said as she washed her breasts and belly. "So why aren't you lovers yet? You want her, don't you?"
    "What I want doesn't matter," he growled.
    Swiping the hair out of her eyes, she turned to face him. "Does she want you?"
    "How in the name of Hell am I supposed to know what she wants?" Gritting his teeth, he began washing himself. He watched for signs of interest, didn't he? If he pushed too fast, she'd run. Hell's fire. He hadn't even tried to kiss her yet because he was afraid she'd run, and he needed her there. He needed to be around her.
    His hands curled into fists. He closed his eyes.This wasn't the time or place for anger of any kind. Before he could get his tongue around an apology, Karla nudged him.
    "I'm washed," she said. "Trade places. I'll do your back."
    Frustrated and miserable, he obeyed.
    "It's summer," Karla said as she moved the cloth over his back. "Which means you wear what Eyrien males usually wear