The Gender End (The Gender Game #7)

“Don’t,” I breathed into his ear a moment later.

His response was immediate. The next thing I knew I was lying on my back, Viggo’s body over mine, our underwear gone. He hesitated, just for a moment, and as I was about to cry out for him to do something, please, he was suddenly there.

The discomfort I felt was quickly lost in the overwhelming sensation of him. I grabbed his shoulders and held on as he made love to me, waves of slow and steady pleasure pulsing through me.

Something began happening, something… incredible. I closed my eyes and clung tighter, trying to urge him to do… something… more… less… I didn’t know. Viggo did, however, and continued to take us both higher and higher…

Until everything broke and I was shattering into a thousand pieces of prismatic light, my vision going white as I rode an unbelievable, earth-shattering wave of bliss. Viggo exhaled my name from above me, and I clung to him as I came apart around him, holding him tight as we broke apart on each other, comforted that as we broke, we were also growing back together, only this time inexplicably closer.





22





Viggo





It seemed as though we stayed there, wrapped around each other, for a long time—long enough that Violet’s breathing eased, and the incredible, intense look in her gray eyes softened into pleased exhaustion and she closed them, breaking our shared gaze for the first time. I eased off of Violet, wearied and spent, and so incredibly happy. She murmured something incoherent as I drew away, making a sound of protest, and I smiled as I tugged her closer to me, tucking her in under my arm.

She immediately nestled her head into my shoulder with a soft sigh, her breath coming slow and even as she drifted off to sleep in my arms. I watched her sleep, my hand rubbing soft circles on her shoulder.

I was every bit as tired as she was, but I wasn’t ready to give myself over to unconsciousness yet. My heart was still pounding, and, even now, looking down at her as she settled into sleep, a hungry voice was urging me to wake her up gently so that we could begin again. I felt insatiable, still on fire from her hands and soft cries. My name breaking on her lips as she lay beneath me. The trust she placed in me when she gave herself to me completely, trusting me to take care of her.

I pushed the hunger aside, and it went easily enough, the remaining desire I felt submitting to overwhelming exhaustion. I stretched and settled deeper into the bed. Violet made a little huffing sound, and her leg drifted up over my hips, her arms reaching farther across me, snuggling in tighter, almost possessively. I smiled and continued to watch her breathe, matching my breathing to hers. I’d just watch her for a few more minutes, to make sure she was well and truly asleep, and…

A sharp rap on the door jolted me from my sleep, and I checked to make sure Violet was covered. But the sound had awakened her, and she was sitting up, a sheet between her hands, hiding her bare form. It was on the tip of my tongue to tell her that she needn’t, that I would make whatever it was go away, when Amber’s voice came through the door, muffled by the wood.

“I’m sorry to disturb you guys… but there’s a situation with Maxen. We need you down in the conference room.”

I groaned and flopped back in bed, running a hand over my face and letting out a sigh of irritation. It felt like I’d only been asleep for moments, but the light outside the tiny window was subtly different, and I realized we must have slept at least a few hours.

“We’ll be there in five minutes,” I announced, looking over at Violet. Amber’s footsteps moved away from the door, and I sighed. “I wonder what the hell Maxen has gotten into now.”

“Knowing him?” scoffed Violet, standing up gracefully enough to keep the sheet wrapped around her—though I would have appreciated the view if she hadn’t bothered. My imagination immediately flashed to images of me moving up to her and kissing her so well that she dropped the sheet, and then taking her immediately back to bed so that I could have my way with her again. “Who knows? Probably threatened somebody or said something that made someone angry.”

I watched her move, a possessive smile on my face. “Maybe we got lucky and somebody hit him. I’m more than happy to pass that job on to somebody else.”

The look Violet shot me was half annoyance, half bemusement, and I grinned at her as she pulled some clothes out of her bag. I was surprised to see our things here—I had noticed pretty much nothing but Violet earlier in the night. Amber or Margot must have deposited the bags here before the ceremony so we wouldn’t have to worry about it later. It was a nice thought, and I made a mental note to thank them as I grudgingly got out of bed.

Violet cast me another look, her cheeks flushing, and I smiled to myself, caught up in the memory of last night. It had been… so incredibly worth the wait, but it was adorable how shy she was being. I wanted to tease her. I also wanted to ignore whatever drama Maxen was bringing us and drag her back to bed.

I wisely chose neither, and quickly got dressed. Violet was ready by the time I put my boots on, and I looked over and frowned at the pair of running sneakers she was wearing.

“Where are your boots?” I asked.

She shrugged. “I traded them for my wedding dress.”

“As much as I loved your wedding dress and how amazing you looked in it, you really need boots. You know you could’ve married me in anything and I would’ve loved it, right?”

Violet put her hand on her hip and arched an eyebrow. “I know that, but the dress felt important. Besides, the woman I was trading with really needed them. I’ll find another pair. I’m sure there’s a Matrian warden prisoner who is the same size as I am.”

I nodded, assuaged by her forethought, and finished tying mine. “I’m sorry,” I said, standing up and pulling her into my arms. “I just know that sneakers don’t stand up to the kind of stuff we do. Now let’s go tend to the errant, soon-to-be ex-king.”

She nodded and slipped her hand into mine, pulling us toward the door. We moved in comfortable silence to the conference room—the halls were pretty empty and everything was quiet—and a quick check of my watch told me it was nearly five-thirty in the morning. As if looking at my watch triggered it, a yawn caught me by surprise.

Violet looked over her shoulder at me, a knowing smile playing on her lips, and I resisted the urge to pull her off into one of the side closets and get us both thoroughly distracted. The effect she had on me was palpable—and it hadn’t gotten better since I’d actually gotten a taste of what loving her felt like. If anything, the urge was stronger than before.

The conference room was empty, but the remnants of the party remained. Violet made for what had once been the food table, letting go of my hand in the process, and Henrik looked up from whatever soft conversation he was having with Ms. Dale to wave at us.