Better Then Pie
A Ramone’s Party Cove One-Shot
~ Hi, Book Monsters! I’m doing a quick repost of this Crystal Tide short for Thanksgiving.
Notes from said post:
In the grand scheme of the Tides of Atlantis world, this particular scene takes place somewhere after book 3, while Adam and Marlowe are MIA and the rest of the Tides crew has had to step in to man Ramone’s (Adam’s Miami nightclub slash bar) while they’re gone. If you’ve read King of the Tides, you’ll get all the references.
With no further romance author ramblings, here’s Better Than Pie, featuring Kay and Xieran from Crystal Tide.
My office.
Hm, a little ominous. Kay smirked at the text from her husband. Might it have something to do with the new outfit Hermes had sent to them at their Atlantean isle home last week? She hoped so.
Stowing the phone in a cubby under the bar, she went back to drying glasses.
“Hey, Kay-Kay,” Ramone’s waitress, Gina, called to her, “we need another round of that drink you’re calling ‘pie’ at table two.”
Kay beamed, glad to know her concoction was a hit among the nightclub’s party crowd. It being Thanksgiving week and all; she felt the need to be festive. She wasn’t a mixologist by a longshot, but pouring out shot measures for the apple-y, ginger-y, vodka libation made her very proud of her creation. Maybe she’d bring one to Xieran. Her phone vibrated again. She brought it up and peeked at the lit up screen.
Now, Mrs. Amphere.
Oh. Well, that was new. The last time he’d used that type of nomenclature, she’d still been “Miss Laurens”. She dried her hands off on a bar towel, threw it in a bin, and walked away from her post, a secret little smile stretching her lips.
“I’m taking my break.” She called to Gina. The waitress gave her a thumbs up and stepped in to fill another order of liquid pie for table two. She made the long walk down the narrow hall beyond the bar and kitchen to the back office where Ramone’s owner, Adam Atlas, usually kept himself hidden. Since both he and Kay’s best friend, Marley, had disappeared after going into the Underworld last month and no one knew where they were, she, Xieran, and the rest of the crew were holding down the fort, so to speak. It was a very uneasy time, what with the ongoing search for the Lost Kings and everything blowing up in the Tides. But hey, she’d lost sight of normal the day she’d fallen into a fountain and woke up on Mt. Olympus.
Her heels clicked loudly on the tile floor, abruptly going silent when she stopped at the door to the office. She leaned against the doorjamb, looking through the open door at the delicious sight before her. Better than pie, she thought, a smile growing on her mouth. Xieran sat in the chair behind the big, mahogany desk, his back turned to her. The cut of his suit accentuated his broad shoulders and cut torso even while seated. His hair was a tad long, curling just past the very top of his neckline in a way that made her itch to run her fingers through it. There’d been no time for a haircut with everything going on, but she didn’t mind. Even as she stared, he turned in the chair. His jade green eyes locked onto hers as soon as he did, the downward slant of his brow melting her in an instant.
Hmm, this should be interesting. He was definitely in a mood.
Mouth set in a definite frown, his gaze traced all the way down her from head to toe, then back up. He sat back in the chair, bending his arm to bring his forefinger up to his temple. Kay tried not to smirk. She also tried not to fidget, but that was too much to ask, especially when he narrowed his eyes on her very bare thighs. She shifted away from the doorframe, crossing her arms under her chest.
“Where did you get that skirt?” His deep voice cut through the space.
Kay swayed a bit on her Louboutins, a gift from the messenger god, and brushed her hands down the sides of the ridiculously short item of clothing. She shrugged.
“Hermes.”
Xieran growled at the one-word answer.
“Do you like it?” Kay stepped into the office, hands going to her hips. The look on her Atlantean’s face darkened as he stood. Oh, Hermes, you’ve really done it now, she thought. She couldn’t help herself. She twirled. It was either that or bust out laughing. When she came around full circle, he was there right in front of her. Her eyes jumped from his chest to his face. She wobbled on her heals, but his hands gripped the tops of her arms just in time. Right as the pine-spice scent of him hit her nose, he pulled her in and took her mouth in a bruising kiss. Well, that answered her question. When his lips slipped down to her neck, she caught her breath.
“He said it was an early holiday present… for you.” Xieran’s teeth sank into that tender spot between her neck and shoulder, making her gasp. “Too bad you hate it.”
His hands found their way down to her hips. He stepped her backward, effectively shutting the door behind her and pinning her to it all in one move.
“Mm,” he licked where he’d bit, “the only thing I hate…” one of his hands slid down her thigh, moving under it. She wrapped her leg behind his ass, pulling him closer. “… Is that meddlesome god sending suggestive gifts to my wife.”
“Well,” Kay ground her core into his center, the hard feel of him bringing her insides to life, “as suggestions go, this one’s not working out so bad is it?”
His only answer came out as a quick grunt before he took her lips again.
One Night by Elvis Presley blared through the speakers that piped music in all over the club and out to the patio when no band played Ramone’s stage. Kay laughed her way out of the kiss.
“Gina’s telling me to get my butt back out there.” Xieran’s hands reached down to squeeze that part of her anatomy. He pulled her hips roughly against his.
“Too bad. I’m not letting you out of my sight for the rest of the night.” He breathed under her ear.
She had to admit. The idea had merit.
“Xieran.” Her voice came out reed thin. “What about the bar?”
He sighed into her skin. “Let it burn.”
Kay pulled back to give him a look, even though her resolve had pretty much disintegrated already.
“We can’t… not here.”
Xieran glanced left then right, giving Adam’s office a quick once-over, then shrugged.
“Would serve him right for getting himself lost in Hell.”
Kay glared at him.
“Alright,” he relented, “Am or penthouse?”
He was asking her if she wanted to take the Tides portal to their home in Atlantis or his beachfront home here in Miami. His version of “your place or mine?”. She grinned.
“Penthouse.” He gave her a wink, releasing her to grab the doorknob and take her hand simultaneously. “Oh,” she said, stopping him, relishing the note of distress in his expression that she might make him wait, “if I forget to tell you later,” Kay licked her lips, he lifted one eyebrow, the picture of impatience, “happy holidays, Mr. Amphere.”
He grinned, leaning in for one more quick kiss.
“Happy holidays, wife.”
Then he pulled her through the doorway. Her feet scampered double time in the stupid heels to match his long strides all the way to the portal Hermes had hacked into the Tides and they disappeared for the rest of the night.
Copyright © 2022 Amanda V. Shane, First published as Better Than Pie in the Wild At Heart PNR Flash Fiction Writing Circle. All rights reserved.