Demons of Desire (22 page)

My hands weren’t occupied, so I got to work, pulling his shirt free from his pants, and yanking the buttons loose one by one. Diving under the silk, I ran my hands over his waist and back, feeling the warmth of his skin. God, he felt good. So damned good. My fingers traced every muscle, felt along each rib, and around to the indent of his center back. But touching wasn’t enough. I wanted more of him than my fingers could ever know.

Breaking off our kiss, I bent my head and ran my tongue along the firm ridge of his collarbone, nipping and licking my way down the muscles of his chest.

“Fuck! Amber, damn it all, I’m going to drop you.”

His skin shivered against my mouth, and I felt his arms grip me tighter, adjusting as I curved my back to go lower.

“Amber. I’m serious. Besides, I’m the one who’s supposed to be kissing here.”

Spoilsport. He did have a point though, I and really didn’t want to test the limits of his demon strength with a long drop at my back. I straightened against him and lifted my mouth to his. One quick, crushing kiss, and then his glorious lips were off to other territory, nibbling along my jaw. He was clearly headed south, although how he was going to accomplish all that other kissing with me arched backwards off a roof was beyond me. Logistics flew right out of my head as he pulled my earlobe between his teeth and whispered his oh–so–indecent intentions.

Images of him licking his way down my body, of my legs over his shoulders, heels against his upper back filled my mind and sent my heart on a wild path. I moved my thigh from between his legs to wrap around his waist, digging a heel into his firm ass. This brought the erection I’d been working on with my leg into optimal position. Right where I wanted it to end up. Later. Much later. After lots and lots of kissing. Anticipation roared through me, and I couldn’t help rubbing myself against him, glorying in the shudder that coursed through him at my motion.

“Sofa.” The one word was guttural, as if he’d had to force it upward from the depths of his body. I murmured agreement, and he yanked me from the ledge, sitting down on the sofa with me on his lap. My dress was up around my waist, giving me a naughty idea. As Irix moved to push me onto my back, I shifted with a quick twist of my hips, bringing him down on the sofa instead.

“And how exactly am I supposed to do my kissing from underneath you?”

His eyes danced with amusement, and my lips, swollen from his attentions, turned up in response.

“Use your imagination. I’m sure you can figure something out.”

Just in case he needed a little inspiration, I lifted the hem of my dress, crossing my arms as I pulled it over my head. With a flick of my wrist it landed half in the open attic window. The cool river air tingled across my skin, tightening my already pebbled nipples. The incubus’ golden gaze snagged on them with hunger.

“Come here,” he commanded.

I was sitting upright on him, my thighs pinning his arms to his side. He could easily free himself, but I think he was enjoying the illusion of weakness.

“Nope.” I rocked against him, feeling his body tense beneath my own. His pants strained with the force of his erection, pushing the zipper against me. The seam of my lacy thong underwear rubbed along my sensitive flesh, enhancing my enjoyment as I ground myself against him. Irix fell into the rhythm, lifting his hips in time to my thrusts. My breathing came hard and fast. I tilted my head backward, feeling the brush of my hair against my naked back. Just a little more… .

“Oh no you don’t.”

Irix slipped his hands free from under my thighs with minimal effort and lifted me against him as he rose to his feet. I wrapped my legs around his waist, protesting in a stream of half–words and curses as he carried me through the open window and down the ladder. I have no idea how the fuck he managed it all. Not once did he stumble, or catch any of my body against the narrow openings. Before I could wonder further, my back was on the softest featherbed I’d ever felt. Irix loomed over me, his eyes stormy, his arms roped with muscles.

“Damn,” I whispered, running my hand down his chest and arching my back to resume that lovely contact that had nearly brought me to climax.

He leaned back and placed a hand firmly on my stomach. “Oh no you don’t. I’m not done kissing you yet.”

“Then hurry the fuck up.”

I pushed my body in vain against the hand that held me still. He scowled, eyes betraying the humor beneath the false anger.

“Language, my dear girl. Language.”

And that was all he said for quite a while as he bent his head to my breasts.

I closed my eyes and just swam in sensation. His soft hair against my skin, his tongue flicking and sucking then moving to nuzzle the underside of my breasts. The fabric of his pants was harsh against the inside of my thighs, and once again I wrapped my legs tight around him. He murmured something into my skin and leaned his weight on me, pushing me deep into the softness of the feather bed. But there was something more than physical occurring between us.

My hands gripped his shoulders, tracing along his muscles and digging in with my short nails. I’d felt something within the two of us align, like a train preparing to couple. His mouth continued its journey, tickling along my ribs and stomach. Unable to reach his shoulders, I tangled my fingers through his hair, marveling at the softness, at the deep scent of sweet and spice that my hands released.

“Take off your pants.” As hot as he was, shirt untucked and sliding half off his shoulders, I really wanted to see him naked. All I had left on was a tiny scrap of lace around my hips. His mostly–dressed state was extremely unfair.

“Not yet.” He moved upright, pulling his hair free from my hands and my legs from around his waist.

Terribly unfair, but I forgot all that the moment his hands gripped my knees, pulling them wide as he bent his head between my legs.

There was no way I could think straight. All I could do was swim in the sensation of his lips and tongue on the most sensitive portions of my body. I fisted the sheets, and squirmed against his arms, unable to control my body as it desperately tried to maximize contact. Again and again he teased me, flicking and sucking, biting and kissing, spearing me with his tongue. Each time I hovered on the verge of climax only to have it slide away, until I was pleading incoherently.

Finally he took pity on me, using fingers and mouth to drive me to the edge. My body tensed unbearably, every muscle tight and quivering, then I relaxed in abandonment a second before the wave rocked me. It was like a slow–moving jolt of electricity spreading from my sex out to the very tips of my fingers. Waves receding and advancing. Crashing across me then slipping gently out to sea.

I opened my eyes, feeling exposed and vulnerable as my body poured out all my secrets along with my passion. Irix watched me, and his expression was something I’d carry in my memories forever. No matter what tomorrow morning brought, I could always close my eyes, see his face and know this one moment was worth a lifetime of loneliness.

“Amber, I … you are … beautiful.”

What had he meant to say? Something about himself? I didn’t have a chance to ask before he again covered my body with his own. His hands, his mouth, I felt as though he were all over me, deep inside me, although we hadn’t yet joined.

“Pants. Off. Now.” I panted, tugging at his dark brown hair.

“All right. All right.” He laughed, and stood up, performing the most unselfconsciously erotic strip show I’d ever seen. The silk shirt slid from his shoulders onto the floor, and his hands unbuckled the belt, leaving it attached to the pants as he slid them down. Naked underneath. I caught my breath at his beauty. Thick and long, curving upward and begging for my hand. He slid the scrap of lace from my hips, then climbed up on the bed — on his knees and towering over me. Unable to resist, I reached out a finger and traced it along his length, feeling him pulse and jerk as I worked my way slowly forward. Reaching the end, I collected the pearl at the tip of his sex and brought it to my mouth.

“I can’t wait any longer.” His voice was desperate.

“Then don’t.”

He crawled over the top of me, arms supporting his weight as I reached down to position him at my core. For a demon who couldn’t wait any longer, he was surprisingly restrained, easing into me as I tilted my hips upward. My body stretched around him, tight but yielding as he pressed forward. His pelvis touched mine, and we both hesitated, as if frozen in time. Then he bent his head, licking along my bottom lip as he moved his hips.

I gasped, and he took that opportunity to fuse his mouth to mine, increasing his rhythm. I mirrored his movements with my own thrusts. Faster. Deeper. We gained momentum, and our kisses grew frenzied. The slide of our bodies against the sheets was deafening to my ears, accompanied by the occasional moan. Lifting himself upright on his forearms, Irix adjusted his angle, and our rhythm broke into a chaotic, wild series of deep thrusts. I opened my eyes as the tension built deep within me, wanting to see Irix above me as I came.

The orgasm rocked me, as powerful as the first. As I clenched tight along his length, I felt him thicken, his body shuddering as he followed me over the edge. His face was naked with hunger, the teasing playboy gone and someone raw and primal in his place. Jaw locked tight, eyes shut with his head dropped back, he shuddered, pouring himself into me, and I felt a surge of energy lighting me up from the inside. Irix’s energy. I’d forgotten the purpose of our joining — I’d been so focused on the pleasure our bodies brought to each other.

His eyes met mine, slightly unfocused, but more open then I’d ever seen. For another second, I saw the real Irix in all his complexity, and then he grinned down at me, pulling out as he collapsed beside me on the bed.

I closed my eyes and floated in the gently ebbing tide of our passion. The warmth of Irix’s body, the weight of his arm across my waist, the feel of his leg entwined with mine — it all surrounded me, cradled me. The mingled scent of us filled my nose. I wanted time to freeze, to preserve forever a feeling so precious. Worries about what tomorrow might bring were shoved aside so they wouldn’t mar the beauty of something that, for me, was beyond the physical, beyond ‘powering me up’ for my work tomorrow.

“Hmmm.” I couldn’t help the soft noise of contentment that spilled from my lips.

Lips caressed my shoulder. Irix chucked against my ear, pulled me tight against him. And I floated in the perfection of the moment.

***

I woke with the gentle breeze from the ceiling fan caressing my skin. Rolling over, I knew Irix was still beside me before I even saw him. I could actually feel his presence. We’d somehow pushed the sheets off the end of the bed in our sleep, and he sprawled naked across the mattress. The glory of his olive–skinned body made me catch my breath, but it was his face that entranced me. He seemed so innocent in sleep, like a child without a care in the world. Dark lashes brushed their tips against high cheekbones, and his lips were soft and open as he breathed. Unexpectedly, his eyes popped open, and I found myself drowning in their pools of amber.

Something odd flashed across his face, an unusual second of vulnerability before he closed in to kiss me. I pulled back in alarm, and the walls came down.

“Morning breath,” I muttered, covering my mouth with my hand. Mine, not his. Of course, leave it to an incubus to
not
have morning breath.

His eyes warmed, and he grinned as he snatched me and pulled me to him. Before I could protest, he’d yanked my hand aside and kissed me. Anxiety fled and desire took its place as his tongue explored my mouth. Demons. Kinky pervs all of them, me included.

“Elves do not have ‘morning breath’, he told me, allowing me a moment to drag much–needed air into my lungs. “They always smell of trees or the sun or rain — whatever their environment.”

“And what do I smell like? Bed sheets?” I asked, tracing the lines of muscles on his chest with my fingers. He shivered under my caress.

“Sex.” His grin was downright wolfish. “Sex and me.”

All ability to communicate fled as he bent his head toward mine to reclaim my lips. Meanwhile, his hands wandered lower — one busy rolling and flicking a nipple, while the other tickled along the side of my other breast. I arched my back; he knew right where to touch me to bring me to the edge. We were going to be late to meet Ourson at the levees, but none of that mattered. It was morning, and Irix still clearly wanted me. My heart sang, and I pushed him onto his back, rolling on top of him.

“My turn for the kissing,” I told him. “But I’m going to start low and work my way up.”

23

W
e
were
late — even more so because I’d insisted we stop at Darci’s so I could change into jeans and a t–shirt. I refused to perform magic wearing last–night’s crumpled dress. The morning walk of shame was awkward enough without sweating along the Mississippi River wearing blue silk and five inch heels.

Since we were already late, we swung by a nearby bakery to pick up beignets and coffee. By the time we arrived, I was flushed with embarrassment over our tardiness. I hated being late. It was so disrespectful. And, of course, Ourson had already arrived, surrounded by five of his vampire family, all trying to look inconspicuous and failing miserably.

“I’m sorry,” I told him, feeling my face heat up as I remembered exactly why I was late. Honestly, I would have rather spent the whole day in bed with Irix, but we had a city to save.

“No problem, we weren’t here long.” Ourson snagged a coffee cup out of my hand and passed the stack around while I sat the carafe on a nearby bench. “And you look especially beautiful this morning. Too bad you’re not a vampire.”

“I could be,” I teased. “Just say the word.”

I felt great. Funny how I’d grown so accustomed to being depleted of energy that I’d forgotten how incredible it felt to be … full. The morning rain had tapered off, and the sun breaking free of the clouds heated the pavement. Mist curled upward in the rays of light — evaporating from the puddles on the black asphalt. A gentle breeze swept in from the river, lifting my hair and stirring the tree leaves. It was like a Disney movie. All I needed was for the whole lot of us to break into song.