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Then, as he pulled back, he shot me a dirty grin and shifted lower to start kissing his way down my neck to my chest. These kisses were filthier, his tongue stroking my skin, teeth lightly scraping. My breath caught, hands slipping through his hair.

“Now, tell me more about this photoshoot with the underwear brand,” he said slyly, grinning up at me. “And I’m very interested in them sending you lingerie. You gonna model it for me, your highness?”

My fangs sank into my lower lip as I grinned. “You know I’ll do whatever you want.”

His smile turned a little dark and feral, but the kiss he dropped on my chest was tender and affectionate. “I know.”

“You were supposed to call Holt back,” I said with a chuckle as he kept making his way lower, nuzzling my stomach and swirling his tongue around my navel.

He groaned, pausing to glance up at me. “Why don’t we go in to watch the show tonight? We can talk to him then.”

I fumbled around on the bed for his phone and lifted it so the screen illuminated, showing me that it was only seven thirty. I dropped the phone to clutch his hair again, nodding eagerly.

“Alright. Yes.” That still gave him plenty of time to keep going.

And he knew it. With another wicked grin, he shifted even lower until his head vanished under the comforter.

—

“Well.”

In unison, Vince and I looked up from the couch outside Holt’s office at the sound of the door opening and the deep, familiar voice that followed.

Corey stood there in his wrestling outfit—his tiny pink briefs and little cape—with his huge arms crossed and his sage green skin shimmering with a healthy layer of body glitter.

“Well, well, well,” he continued, sauntering closer.

Behind the desk in the corner, Larkin glanced up and gave us a sympathetic and mildly apologetic wince. He was sitting on Seb’s lap in the desk chair, and Cora was nestled in his arms, trying to stretch her neck far enough to eat the cookie on his desk.

Vince rested a protective hand on my knee and squeezed. “Corey—”

“I don’t know why I was surprised when I found out,” the orc said stiffly, and we both tensed. We’d suspected he might be angry that we hadn’t told him we were fucking while having our therapy sessions.

Then his face broke into a huge smile. “I should never doubt myself. I should never have doubted that I couldn’t reconcile the two of you. I am just. That. Brilliant.”

I pursed my lips to hold back my smile, managing a solemn nod. “We appreciate your help, Corey.”

“What?” Vince made a face. “We’d already fucked at least twice before we even started the thera—”

I covered his hand with mine and gave it a meaningful squeeze, which made him stop abruptly.

“You helped us work through some things that were… affecting us both,” I told Corey, and I actually meant it. He may not have been the reason we got together, but his well-intentioned therapy sessions had helped us. They’d given us the space to interact, to talk without it simply devolving into another shouting match.

To apologise to each other.

“That’s true,” Vince eventually said, giving Corey a crooked smile. “Thanks, Corey.”

“Just doing what the universe intended of me,” he replied airily, waving a hand as Holt appeared behind him, wandering out of his office. “I have a duty to spread this… positive energy just blooming inside me. God, maybe I should write a book. Do you think I should write a book? No, that’s silly, right? Or is it? Oh god, am I doing this? I think I just talked myself into it.”

“It’s still so, like, weird to see you two like… this.” Larkin gestured at our linked hands resting on my thigh. “Crossbody, bro, you should’ve seen how frantic Vince was when you didn’t come into work. He went all weird.”

“Wouldn’t leave my office,” Holt said, leaning a shoulder on the doorframe with his hands in his pockets. I glanced at Vince to see a purplish flush staining his pale cheeks.

“Told me to kick in your door when you wouldn’t answer,” Seb added calmly, resting his chin on Larkin’s shoulder as he scritched behind Cora’s ear.

“Yeah, well, fuck me for caring, right?” Vince was still blushing, his voice rough with embarrassment. Chest warming with affection, I silently leaned in and kissed his cheek.

“See?” Larkin immediately burst out. “It’s so weird. You two hated each other.”