CHAPTER THIRTY-EIGHT
Loki closed his eyes as McKenna sank into him, her lips creeping softly up along his neck. Her heartbeat vibrated through him, as furious as his own, and her breath came across his skin in heated bursts between her soft kisses. He smiled into her hair, tightening his arms about her. "Oh, love..." he managed to whisper, even as his own breath was so damn hard to catch.
"Mmmm... yes?" Her lips brushed his ear, which sent a shiver racing down his spine. The tip of her tongue lightly traced along the shell of his ear and he couldn't hold back his sigh, trailing the tips of his fingers along the valley of her spine. Even after nearly six years together, she worked such amazing magic on him, unlike any he could ever conjure. She knew exactly how to touch him, how to tease him, how to make him ache for her like he never ached for a woman before, and when she melted against him, he thanked any god he could think of for bringing her into his life.
At that moment, when she melted against him, if she asked for the sun and the moon and everything in between, he would give it to her.
His entire body hummed as she curved against him, the remnants of his climax still tingling their way through him, her whispered, "I love you," as powerful to his senses as any touch. Three little words, and yet they meant so much to hear.
"I love you, too, McKenna..." he breathed, his heart still racing enough to make his head spin. "And that was..." His silver tongue had gone leaden, leaving him without words to describe the pleasure still rumbling through him. "Where did you learn that?"
Her laugh came softly across his ear. "I'll never tell."
"Oh, really?" With a playful growl, he gripped her more tightly and rolled over to pin her beneath him. "Cosmo, again?"
She shook her head, her eyes sparkling in the glow of the dozens of candles flickering around their room. Her skin looked like burnished ivory, but he could see the hints of a flush in her cheeks, in her lips from the ferocity of his kisses only a few minutes earlier. She slid her arms about his middle, lightly raking her fingernails up toward his shoulders. "I don't use their tips, Loki. I've read too many awful ones there. This came from Shay, actually."
He grinned. "Do tell?"
"Well, we do talk, you know. We compare notes."
He wasn't so sure he liked the sound of that. "What?"
She smiled, her fingernails scratching downward now. "Don't worry. From the sounds of it, Tony isn't even in the same ballpark as you. I don't think he's even the same city."
He dipped forward and brushed her lips with a teasing kiss. "Well, should I thank her for the tip, then? It felt amazing."
Her cheeks glowed pink and her smile was one of satisfaction. "Good. Then I did it right."
"Oh, love, you definitely did it right." He braced on his forearms, catching her face between his palms. "And I hope you'll do it again."
Her nails moved back up, toward his shoulders, and he couldn't hold back his shiver, which made her smile even more smug as she said, "We'll see."
"Oh, is that so?"
He waited for her to nod, then he shifted, reaching first with one hand, then the other, to grab her by the wrists. Then, he gently pinned both her hands above her head with his left hand alone, smiling as he murmured, "Dangerous words, love. Very dangerous words."
Her eyes widened and he almost groaned when the tip of her tongue darted out to brush her bottom lip. Holding his gaze, she whispered, "I'll take my chances with you, Loki."
He bent forward and caught her lips in a soft kiss, releasing her wrists to gather her in his arms once more. She melted into him as he rolled again, this time to bring her atop him. She fit so perfectly against him, felt so wonderful against him. It was one of his favorite feelings in the world, her soft body against his, her skin bare and warm against him.
When he broke the kiss, she sighed, tucking her head into the curve of his shoulder. "I wish we could stay here forever," she whispered. "I don't want to go home tomorrow. It's been such a wonderful week."
That it had and he was in no hurry to go home, either. He enjoyed playing with the children on the beach, and because of their Jötunn heritage, the ocean wasn't too cold for the three of them to enjoy, while McKenna stayed on the beach with the twins.
He skimmed his hand along her left arm while his left hand moved gently against her hair. "I know. It's unfortunate real life has to intrude. Perhaps we should think about buying a home here as well. I would like to have a house down on the beach, like this one."
"Do you know how much these houses cost?" she asked, lifting her head to gaze down at him. He arched one brow at her and she smiled. "Oh, right..."
"Would you like a beach house, love?" He smoothed her hair back over her ear and kissed the top of her head.
"Here or LBI or further south?"
"Wherever you wish, darling girl. Say the word and it's yours."
"You spoil me."
"I love you."
Her eyes softened and she whispered, "I know you do. You don't have to prove it to me."
"I know I don't. But I happen to like spoiling you, Midgardian," he caught her by the chin, tilting her face to meet his gaze, "and you never ask for anything, so..."
"I don't have to ask, Loki. I've told you, I have everything I could ever possibly want. I don't need anything else."
"McKenna, everyone covets something at least once in their life." He sighed softly. "And anything you want, you need only tell me and it's yours."
"I know. And that's why I can honestly say I have everything I could ever want." She lifted her head to prop her chin on his chest. "You don't have to buy me anything or make me anything because I realized how much I had when I thought I'd lost you forever."
"McKenna..." His voice cracked slightly and his silver tongue turned to lead once more. She asked for nothing because she thought his love was enough and he had no way to explain to her that such a thing was a drop in the bucket compared to what she deserved. She was a princess, and yet she didn't want to be treated like one. He had the ability to literally give her anything her heart desired, and all she ever said she wanted was him. How in the universe could that be enough for her? How could it ever be enough, when he'd put her through trial after trial, when he'd done his best to destroy her, no matter how inadvertently?
"Loki, I love you. I love that you gave me four beautiful babies and I love the life we've built. And I wish you would stop feeling that you owe me everything in all the nine realms because you don't. You don't at all.
"All I want is for us to be together, to raise those four babies-and maybe have another one someday-and just be happy with what we have, because we have a lot and it's so amazingly wonderful, how could I ever want anything more?"
"Do you honestly want a fifth child?" he asked, winking.
"Maybe. I don't know. But if anything, that's all I'd want. I'm happy. Aren't you?"
"Of course I am."
"So then be happy, Loki. Stop waiting for the other shoe to drop because it isn't going to. We've both been through hell and back and I'm still here. I'm not going anywhere."
"What shoe?"
She smiled and shifted to curve her hand against his cheek. "I love you, even if I still have to explain things to you."
He covered her hand with his. "I love you, too."
"So then just be happy, okay?" She pushed forward to brush his lips with a teasingly gentle kiss. "I know you have a hard time with that, because you're so dark and chaotic, but try."
"Is that how you see me, love?" he asked softly, letting his fingers slip into her hair. It was tangled from their earlier rolling about, and the sea air made it wavier than usual, but it was still silky soft as he ran his fingers from her temple back.
"Honestly?" She shook her head. "No. I don't. But that's how you see you and you have since the night we met. If I had a nickel for every time you referred to your dark side, I wouldn't need you to buy or build a beach house, Loki. I could do it myself.
"You are a good man. A good husband. A wonderful father. And we're not going anywhere, so you don't need to think it's only a matter of time before I betray you. I will never hurt you, Loki Odinson. Never. You are everything to me and I love you because of your imperfections and flaws as much as the good things about you. You aren't perfect, but you're perfect for me and you have been since the night you dropped into my apartment."
He sighed softly. "McKenna... it still boggles my mind how Joe could mistreat you the way he did. How could any man not see what he had in you?"
"I know. I wonder the same thing myself."
He smiled, tightening his arms about her. "I love you, darling girl."
"I know you do, Loki. And I love you, too. Now," she brushed her lips against his chest, just above his left nipple, "do you want to keep talking or would you rather fool around a little more?"
He grinned and tensed just enough for her to jump as he rose against her hip. "What do you think, love?"
"I think Shay would be very jealous if she knew what she was missing with Tony."
***
The next day was their last one in Point Pleasant and McKenna sighed as she padded into the kitchen and took two bottles from the refrigerator to heat through in the bottle warmer. She and the twins were the only ones awake and they sat in their bouncy seats on the counter, each watching her with wide eyes.
"Wow, you are so easily entertained," she said, tugging the first bottle out to test. Perfect. She lifted Kyra from her seat and cradled her carefully to give her the bottle while Nicholas entertained himself with the toys attached to the bar over his seat.
Kyra's eyes were wide and pale blue, like Loki's, and they remained on her as McKenna fed her. She smiled around the bottle, which made McKenna smile back. "My beautiful little girl," she whispered, rocking Kyra gently. "Daddy's right, you know. He and I do make beautiful babies together."
"Told you so," Loki said softly, coming up behind her to plant a kiss on the top of her head as he reached for the other bottle. He lifted Nicholas and settled on the sofa in the family room. "The other two are still snoring away."
"I'm not surprised. You ran them into the ground yesterday."
Loki grinned at her over the back of the sofa. "I like playing with them and it's been a long time since I've been able to. I'm making up for lost time."
McKenna lifted Kyra to her shoulder and patted her firmly on the back as she came around the breakfast bar to sit next to Loki, her legs tucked beneath her. "It was wonderful to watch, Loki. You have no idea. You're just like a big kid when you're with them."
"I'm allowed to be." He winked at her. "And it's something I never really had the chance to do when I was a child. They're actually pretty cool little people, as you would say."
"I know this." She nudged him gently with her shoulder as she brought Kyra back down to finish her bottle. "And I've got it all on video. You know," she smiled up at him, "they hold a sand castle building competition in Belmar every July. You and the kids should enter next year."
"I think they'd frown on my using magic."
"So don't use it."
"Not use it?" His forehead wrinkled, his expression suggesting she'd told him something completely insane. "I don't think I'd be able to resist."
"Sure you will. You're one of the good guys now, remember?"
"I tend to forget when a competition is on the line."
"Funny." She sighed as Kyra finished the bottle, and lifted her back to her shoulder. "We have to be out by noon, so when do you want to head home?"
"Not a moment before noon. And before we head north, there's someplace I want you to see."
She gave him a long look. "What did you do, Loki?"
"Who? Me?"
"What house did you buy?" She kissed the side of Kyra's head as she smiled at him. "And don't even tell me you didn't, because I know you."
"I promise you, love, I didn't buy it. I just want you to see it. If you like it, we'll make an offer."
"Really?"
"Really."
She sighed softly. She didn't want to admit it, but there were times when she loved the fact that he had the ability to do just that-to buy something like a beach house, simply because she wished they had one. Being married to a prince certainly had its perks.
"Where is it?" she asked, rocking Kyra slowly.
"Mantoloking. Right on Route Thirty-Five."
"Okay." She nudged him gently with her shoulder. "We are just looking, right?"
"I promise, love. Just looking."
"Mommy? Daddy?" Aislinn's voice rang down the hall, thick with sleep and with a hint of worry in it. "Where are you?"
"We're in the family room, little bit," Loki called, smiling as she rounded the corner and came into the room. "See?"
"Can I have breakfast, Mommy?"
"Sure. Is your brother up?"
Aislinn shrugged. "I don't know."
McKenna rose and brought Kyra into the kitchen to put her back in her bouncy seat. "What do you want, love?"
"Waffles."
"I don't think I have enough eggs, sweetie. We have to go home in a little while, so I've used up as much as I can in the fridge."
"Can't Daddy make them?"
"Daddy's busy with Nicholas, honey. How about Honey Nut Cheerios?"
Aislinn shook her head, rubbing one eye with a fist. "Want waffles, Mommy. Daddy, make me waffles, please?"
"You heard your mother, little bit. Not today."
"But Daddy, you can just wave your hand and they're made."
"I know, but just because I can doesn't mean I automatically will. You need to learn," Loki appeared in the doorway, Nicholas held to his shoulder, "that you don't always get what you want simply because I can make it appear. It doesn't work like that."
Aislinn thrust out her bottom lip, which began to quiver. "Want waffles."
"Not today." McKenna went to take the box of cereal from the pantry. "You like these just as much as Selig does."
"Don't want those!"
"Aislinn, it's either this or go hungry," McKenna warned.
"Don't! Want! Those!"
"And now you can go to your room until you calm down," McKenna told her, pointing down the hallway.
Aislinn glared at her, crossing her arms as she shook her head. "No."
"You have three seconds to get in your room, Aislinn Frigga, or you are going to regret it. One..."
Aislinn stared her down.
"Two..."
"Fine!" Aislinn stormed down the hallway and a minute later, her bedroom door slammed shut. McKenna sighed as Kyra jumped and began crying.
She lifted the baby from her seat, rocking her as Selig came into the kitchen. "What's going on, Mommy?"
Loki smiled, "Your sister just learned not to push Mommy."
Selig's eyes, which had been heavy with sleep, went wide. "What did she do?"
"Don't you worry about it, Sel." McKenna held Kyra to her shoulder. "How about some Honey Nut Cheerios for breakfast?"
He nodded. "Sure."
"At least one of them is agreeable," Loki said, shifting Nicholas to smile down at him. "Right, little man?"
Nicholas smiled up at him and let out a silvery laugh that made his twin laugh as well. McKenna set her back in her bouncy seat and poured Selig his cereal and he sat at the kitchen table to eat. Not thirty seconds later, a teary-eyed Aislinn wandered into the kitchen and wrapped her arms around McKenna's knees. "I'm sorry, Mommy."
"Apology accepted." McKenna ruffled her tangled black hair. "So, how about that cereal?"
"Okay." Aislinn climbed up into the chair next to Selig's and was all smiles as she dug into her own cereal. McKenna sighed softly as she leaned against Loki's shoulder.
"Nicely done, love," he murmured, leaning over to kiss the top of her head. "Why don't you go finish packing and I'll take care of these heathens?"
"Deal. And whatever house we're looking at, tell me it's got a room for Tyra, because I think I'm going to bring her with us the next time we go on vacation."
He grinned. "That can be arranged, love. That can be arranged."
She smiled, and then pushed away from the counter to make her way down to their room to finish packing. From there, she checked in each of the children's rooms to make sure nothing was forgotten, and by the time she was finished, Aislinn and Selig had both eaten and were washed and dressed.
An hour later, they were saying goodbye to the shore house, and McKenna sighed as she settled back in the Pilot's passenger seat. She had no idea when Loki had had the chance to go look at any beach houses, but she knew better than to ask. He had his ways and somehow, she had the feeling they were going to leave the Jersey shore owning a beach house of their own.