"You know, I wouldn't have it any other way. I just need you. Both of you." Which was the honest-to-god truth. Yes, she loved being able to be an exhibitionist with Ax, because she knew he would erase anyone and everything that caught their interludes, but she loved just plain being with them as well.
"Mm, you saucy little thing." He grinned at her. Then his eyes flicked past her and he pouted. "But I have to go to work," he whispered, whimpering ever so slightly. He looked to her, then past her, to a point beyond her, and leaned in pressing his forehead to hers. "It's just not fucking fair."
"You will be okay." She patted his chest. Lifting her face, she brushed her lips to his chin. "I love you, Gav." She stroked her thumb over his cheek and nodded. "Now, get to work before your ass gets chewed, and not in a good way, either."
Growling at her, he sounded a lot like Ax when he did the same thing. "Not helping the tightness in my pants, woman. Damned female," he muttered. Cupping her face, he kissed her deeply before letting her go. "I will see you in the morning and you'd better damn well be naked."
"I plan on it." Lilly licked her lips and winked. "Now, get the hell out of here." She moved back away from him so that he could actually leave and so she didn't throw herself at him again. She sighed when Ax wrapped his arms around her, and all but melted into him. She was a very, very lucky woman, that much was for sure.
Gavriel gave a groan, adjusted himself in his pants, and huffed out a breath. Grabbing up a wrapped sandwich from the fridge and a bottle of water, he muttered under his breath. "I'll see you in the morning, woman," he said. It sounded like one hell of a sensual threat, the look in his eyes all hot promise before he headed out.
Artaxias rested his chin on her head and gave her a squeeze. "You should stick around here tomorrow with him. Until we get the office cleaned out of all that crap causing you issues, it's best anyway. Plus you need time with him, too."
"That's kind of what I was thinking as well." She loved Gav just as much as she did Artaxias. "Besides, he will never let anything get to me either, will he?" She knew that he wouldn't. He might not be as old or as powerful as Ax, but he was a hell of a powerful Spiryte and she knew without a shadow of a doubt that Gavriel would never let her be harmed. "I do love my alone time with the both of you."
"Of course he'd never let anything get to you," he snorted. "While he might be young still, in comparison to me, for example, I've taught him things that no one outside the Vhampire realm has ever been taught. Truthfully, that could get me in serious shit now that I think on it. But, whatever." He waved a hand. "Gavriel is quite effective when he needs to be and, when protecting his mate, a man will do anything. So, too, will a woman. Get off your high horse," he muttered. Obviously he'd caught her expression, and that made her grin.
"I know that he will." Lilly just grinned at the look on his face and smirked."It's a very good thing that I love you as much as I do. That I know what you are doing." He was trying to get her to smile, to make her happy, and that made her happy. Very much so.
Looking down at her, he frowned at her. "Whatever are you meaning, woman?" he asked. Lifting a brow, he stared at her. "What is it that I'm doing? Hmm, do tell, please." He smiled slightly at her. Oh, he knew well enough, and was just playing with her.
"Well you see, here's the thing. You are an amazing man and I love you more than I could ever possibly tell you. You are making me smile because you know I feel a little guilty about being so pleasured today without Gav being around. I've seemed to lean on you far more than anyone else, and you are just making sure that I realize that is okay."
"Oh, that." He waved a hand and made a scoffing sound. "It's nothing, nothing at all. Besides, it is completely all right, Lilly. We will both have our alone time with you over the years to come. And we will always have you between us when we are together. There is no reason to feel even a little guilty about something that is natural. We're bonded, love. That means discovering everything there is to know about each other, and the best way to do that, normally, is a little one-on-one time. Tomorrow, you will spend some one-on-one time with Gav while I raise bloody hell and threaten dismemberment and bloody deaths to those at the office. We'll both have good days tomorrow."
"This is very true," she said with a grin, a grin which faded as quickly as it rose. "Damn, that's right, we do have to figure out just how the hell they are able to still affect me with their poison or mental triggers." It wasn't poison. It was mental triggers that had her freaking out and hurting.
"The carpets were today, but the Gods only know what else they did around the office. That's why I got you out of there as fast as I did. I'll have to tell the captain, and he'll need to suspend all janitorial services for the time being. We need to find out who in that section has been doing it, and on whose authority. Because we both know that he'd never put your, or any agent's, life in danger like that."
"Oh boy. People are seriously going to love me. No janitorial services for a time. Yep, they are gonna be ever so happy about that one. But whatever, they will get over it," she said with a shrug. "And you are right, he would never put any of us in danger. He's gruff and everything, but overall a decent man."
"Especially once Zhubin let him off his suspect list," he muttered. "We'll have to hire in from a different firm for a short period of time. But they'll need to be watched by security, so there will be some overtime hours there. Not sure how the captain will swing it, but it needs to be done."
"Yeah, no kidding." She sighed and shook her head. "I feel like such an ass. I really do. I feel as if this is all my fault. I mean, I know that it's not, but that doesn't mean that I'm not feeling that way. If that makes any kind of sense at all?" she asked quietly.
"You rarely do when you are babbling, my love. But I adore you anyway, so that's really all that matters. I sort of got your point, though," he said, kissing her neck gently. "It's not your fault, this has never been your fault and you need to stop blaming yourself. You need to get mad, and then we need to get even."
She sighed and nodded. "I know that it's not my fault, but I still can't help but feel like a complete and utter tool. And on the ‘getting mad' part … " She shrugged and grinned up at him. "I'm there, and I want my revenge. I want these fuckers to pay for hurting us."
"Good, now come up with creative ways to dismember them with the most amount of pain," he advised. Dropping a kiss to her lips, he drew back. "Let's get you fed, and then we'll go for a run or something before collapsing for the evening. Which, I have to tell you, really runs counterintuitive for me. This whole working-the-day thing really ruins a Vhampire's reputation for slinking around in the dark, stalking innocents and all that other stuff."
"Sounds like a plan to me." He was being sweet, getting her to think of ways to kill the bastards in the most painful of ways possible. "Yes. I am starving, and a run would be nice, but I think that perhaps I would do better with laps in the pool and then a hot tub or steam room for a short time?" To loosen her muscles.
"Well, then you can swim and I'll hit the treadmill. I need to burn off some excess energy, I think, before we do anything tonight. But give me a shout when you jump in the hot tub or wherever and I'll come keep you company."
That had Lilly grinning like a cat. "I would love that. To have you joining me in an already nice and steamy place." She sighed happily. "Yep, totally have to do that. I want that. I need that. I am going to do laps for an hour, so if I don't get out of the pool before your timer goes off, come get me?"
Nodding, he leaned over to kiss her. "Go, do your laps and I'll go get sweaty for a while." Another kiss to her lips and he headed for the stairs. "But after all that, you are damn well eating a meal," he called over his shoulder, just as he hit the steps and raced up them.
"Yes sir," she called out to him with a giggle. Stripping out of her clothes at the edge of the pool, she didn't bother with a suit, just dove in and began to swim. Lilly loved swimming. It calmed her, centered her, and eased her mind a great deal.