Page 227 of Fall Before Her Throne

“I was going to put a claymore at your doorframe, but Cas talked me out of it. We settled on this instead.”

“Gee, thanks.”

Cas shrugged. “It was the best I could do.”

Max cupped his palms on my cheeks and kissed me again. “I know it’s your birthday, but can I make a request?”

I nodded. “You’ve spent the last eight months in prison because you protected us. You can have whatever you want.”

“I know exactly what I want.” His voice dropped low, and his nose brushed mine. “I want to go home, take a shower, and then I want to spread you out and devour you until you can’t handle it anymore, and then I want to fuck you until you can’t walk. When that’s done, I’m not stopping until I’ve gotten at least eight orgasms out of you, one for every month I’ve been gone. And that’s just for today. Tomorrow, we’re starting all over again. We’re not leaving the house for at least a week, maybe more. I will make up for every second I spent behind those bars, mark my words.”

My core clenched, and I sucked in a breath.

Everyone stood frozen, eyes wide.

“Time to go,” Wynn said, pushing Ryu and Ciel toward the car. “We have work to do.”

75

MAX

Icarried Leona over the threshold into the house. Her legs wrapped around my waist while I kissed the fucking life out of her. The entire drive, the guys and I had been kissing her, teasing her, driving her as crazy as we could. But now we’d made it.

Home. My home. It had been too fucking long since I’d set foot inside this house, but I wouldn’t change what I’d chosen for the world. She was safe. She was happy. The guys were alive. That was all that mattered to me.

Balloons and a giant Welcome Home! sign hung from the kitchen ceiling. I grinned when Wynn, Cas, Ciel, Ryu, and Obi held up some poppers and they exploded confetti and streamers.

“Thanks, everyone.” I didn’t think I’d ever smiled as widely. “This means a lot. I’m glad to be home.”

Cas clasped my shoulder. “We missed you.”

Leona nudged my nose. “Best birthday ever.”

I set her on the counter before I went any further into the house. “What about a party? I want to celebrate you.”

“We got a cake for tonight,” Cas said with a smile. “But we’re welcoming you home first.”

“I don’t need a big party,” she added. Her eyes twinkled with mischief. “My last birthday didn’t go so great, if you remember.”

“I’m sorry⁠—”

“Don’t,” she laughed. “I’ll have a big blowout party next year. This year, I’d prefer to stay in and enjoy some quality time with my men.”

Quality time sounded excellent to me. My hands trailed over her thighs as I pressed a few more kisses to her neck. The other guys gave us space, for which I was grateful.

“I want to fuck you so badly, but I need a shower,” I murmured against her lips. I inhaled deeply, breathing the scent of her into my lungs. God, I’d missed her. So fucking much. Emotion choked my throat while I buried my face against her neck.

“I get it. Hurry,” she urged while her fingers dragged through my hair. “I’ll be waiting.”

She tried to disentangle herself, but I held her tight against my chest.

“I don’t want to let go.”

She laughed lightly. What a magical sound. “Go.”

I gave her one last kiss before I took two steps at a time up the stairs until I made it to my room. Just in case Ryu had left the claymore there, I entered it carefully. Thankfully, I didn’t get blown up, but I was not going to waste time searching for a fucking grenade. I showered as thoroughly and as quickly as I could, scrubbing off eight months’ worth of prison from my skin. I hopped out, quickly dried myself off, and then pulled on a pair of athletic shorts. I was back downstairs within fifteen minutes.

They were still in the kitchen, chatting and laughing. Leona’s wide grin was contagious. I beelined toward her, picked her up again, and plastered my mouth to hers. She squeaked in surprise before she completely melted against me.