Page 32 of Whispers From The Dark

There’s a moment of hesitation, a charge in the air like the moment before a lightning strike, and then he leans over me. Gently, he uses the back of his hand to brush the hair from my face. Those smoky eyes are hard to read, but the faintest hint of a furrowed brow, the tilt of his head, the dart of his tongue licking at his lips, are not. When he cups my jaw with his hand and presses his lips to mine, it’s no surprise.

It’s an inevitability I never thought we’d come to.

He keeps his lips over his teeth, protecting me from the jagged points, but I push past his resolve. Catching my flesh on those sharpened teeth makes me feel like prey, but his stillness, his precise breaths as he refuses to bite down on the soft pillow of my lip, shows me just how safe and protected I am. And so I give him a break, pulling back and kissing him as I was, nearly torn asunder by this restrained Asmodeus. His knees part my legs, and I’m embarrassed by the sticky mess between them, but he doesn’t seem to care as he drags his hand through it. He groans into the kiss, and it’s the most human thing he’s done by far.

I curl my legs around his waist, pulling him on top of me. His wings flare wide, coming down to cover us, blocking out the light. He doesn’t feel cold anymore, his flesh stealing my warmth, but the cocoon of his wings keeps me comfortable. It’s just the two of us, wrapped up in the dark. Wrapped up in each other.

His hand slides down my face, lower, and his thumb begins to play with my nipple bar, twiddling at it as he gently squeezes. He dips to kiss my neck, and he mumbles against my skin.

“These little fucking things, I swear. Barely touching them, and your pleasure is ambrosial.”

I arch into his touch. A smile lifts the corners of my lips, secure in the knowledge that he seems just as undone as I am.

“Do not speak of it now, Petra. I do not know yet what to do with it.”

I exhale a shaky breath, pulling his face to mine. I can’t see him, but I don’t need to. Don’t want to. I steal his breath and hopefully his thoughts with my mouth. Instead of lingering in the kiss, I reach for him, fisting his length in my hand, and I press him to my entrance.

It’s all I know to do in this moment. He slides in on a sigh, and even though it’s just him this time, I feel him stretch me. Like before, he gives me a moment to get used to him, peppering kisses across my chest. A nip of sharp teeth at my nipple makes me gasp, and he laughs against me, dark and deep.

I squeeze my legs around him, pulling him closer, and he sinks to the hilt. He kisses me again, and I want to ask him if it’s something he’s never done much of. He’s almost sloppy as his lips touch mine, something so contrary to his meticulous nature. I won’t ask, though, because his answer will only lead to thoughts I shouldn’t entertain. Thoughts like, am I different to him? Am I just a meal of satiety or am I something more?

Questions that will cost me far more currency than I have to spend.

“Watching you give in. To pleasure, to release. The abandon I didn’t think you capable of…” he begins, voice soft and low, “To witness it is an honor, mae deliciae.”

Slow and steady, Asmodeus thrusts into me. He bites my lip, drawing blood, and licks my mouth as I cry out. His thrusts gain speed, and he pistons into me with a boundless, restrained strength that makes my stomach stiffen. With each passing moment, I feel something building in him. Anger doesn’t feel like the right word, but frustration isn’t enough. Finally, a growl reverberates through him, shaking me to my core.

“I can’t stand it,” he grits out, panting as he pushes into me. “This… this fucking need I have for you. You are a weakness, Petra. I cannot have weakness.”

My heart thunders in my chest, knowing I have done something to this demon that I can’t take back, and I don’t know if I would, if given the choice. His teeth sink into my shoulder even as I think the words, and the pain and pleasure rocket across my skin. He tilts his hips as he grinds against me, rubbing against my swollen clit and barreling me toward release.

But not without him, I decide. I will let him try to wring the pleasure from my exhausted body all he wants. I’ll think about all manner of horrific things and stressful responsibilities to stave it off. If he thinks I’ve made him weak, I’ll have to prove him right.

To my surprise, he doesn’t resist. His movements grow careless as he pounds into me. His breaths are wild as he nips and kisses my skin. And then his wings are gone from around us, and I’m squinting into the light for only a second before his eyes meet mine. He refuses to drop my gaze, and I am just as stubborn.

We’re a mirror of obstinate pleasure as we tip over the edge. It’s a crushing defeat and a solid victory as the orgasm crests over us in a wave, pants escaping open mouths, brows soft.

“Fuck,” he whispers, and then he’s kissing me again. Furious. Both gentle and rough. I kiss him back with the same fervor. Teeth on his lip, a soft caress of my tongue a moment later.

“I don’t know what this is, but I don’t want it to end,” I say, stumbling over the words as I catch my breath.

And no sooner are the words past my lips, Asmodeus is gone.

12

ASMODEUS

“Jack, Henry’s coming to deal with the window in an hour. Is your room clean?”

“On Christmas Eve?” the kid shouts incredulously.

“It’s his only day off, so yeah.”

“Okay, got it!”

“Mom’s flight gets in tomorrow, so don’t fool around.”

“I said okay!” The irascible creature’s surly attitude oozes from beyond the door. His sister doesn’t respond to it, and I suppose it is a battle she does not wish to partake in.