Released by Desire (City of Sin, #2)

by Melissa Stevens

  “Come on, let’s take this somewhere more comfortable.” She scooted backward off his lap, took his hand, and pulled him to his feet. With a self-satisfied smile, she led him to the bedroom, where she pushed her pants off her hips and reached for the button on his. After she unfastened them, she pushed his slacks down his hips and let them fall to the floor, revealing a pair of black silk boxers. She stood in her panties and looked up at him, more than a little tipsy from the effects of his touch.

  Stretching up, she braced herself with her hands on his waist as she placed a kiss on the point of his chin and worked her way down his neck. Once her feet were flat on the floor again, she let her hands roam, sliding along his skin, absorbing every bit of whatever it was that made her so reckless and giddy. His hands caressed and tugged in much the same way as hers. She wanted to get closer, but it was hard when he was a good ten inches taller than her. Seeing her opportunity, she maneuvered him so his back was to the bed, and then she pushed him backward until his legs hit the edge of the mattress.

  Glancing up, she saw the surprise on his face, but it didn’t stay there long before a light of an idea sparked in his eye. She wasn’t expecting it when he sat on the edge of the bed and pulled her between his knees. Now, she was looking down at him instead of up. He cupped her ass and pulled her close, his lips closing around one nipple. Teya’s head fell back and a soft moan slipped from her lips. His lips on her skin sent waves of heat through her. Her dragon lifted her head and stared straight into her eyes.

  This is how it’s supposed to be.

  Teya couldn’t respond. Jericho had stolen her words along with her breath. Her skin tightened and heat built inside her until she was uncertain of her control. Her hands gripped his shoulders as he played with her breasts, kneading the full mounds and teasing the sensitive tips. She was lost in the overwhelming sensations of his touch and barely noticed the claws slipping from beneath her nails.

  “Jer-Jericho.” She forced his name out. He pulled back and looked up at her face.

  “Is something wrong?”

  “No.” She gasped. “There’s nothing wrong and everything right.” She took another rapid breath. “But I’m not sure how much longer my knees will hold me up.” She watched him.

  “What do you want?”

  “Just to lie down before I fall.”

  “I would not let you get hurt.”

  “That’s not what I’m afraid of. Let’s just move this a little bit.” She tried to pull her hands away from his shoulders but found they wouldn’t move. With a frown, she leaned closer and saw that her claws had slid from beneath her nails, and when she’d held on to his shoulders to keep upright, they’d dug into his back. “Why didn’t you tell me I was hurting you?”

  “I was enjoying it,” he said with a shrug. Teya didn’t like that.

  “I could have seriously hurt you.” She concentrated until her claws slid out of his skin and retracted back under her fingernails where they belonged. “Let me see.” She tugged at one shoulder, wondering how bad the wounds would be. He leaned forward, but his back was unmarked. “What? How can there be no marks? My claws were buried in your back.”

  “You don’t have to worry about hurting me,” he said. “While a bit of pain is possible, it is very hard to kill me. And you in particular cannot do me lasting harm.”

  “What? I can’t do you ‘lasting harm’?” She frowned. Jericho sighed.

  “Because most of the energy I used to manifest this body came from you. You can do it no lasting physical harm.”

  Teya blinked. This was more than she could process right now. That she hadn’t hurt him was all she cared about.

  “All right.” She knew how to get past this and back to where she wanted to be. Hooking her thumbs in the waistband of her panties, she wiggled her hips as she pushed the lacy underwear down until they slid from her fingers and fell to a puddle on the floor. “I don’t know about you—” she met his gaze through her lashes “—but I’m ready for bed.” Teya moved around him and crawled across the bed, glancing back to make sure he was watching, then lay on one side, facing him, and propped her head on one hand.

  “Are you not going to get beneath the blankets?”

  “I said I was ready for bed, not that I was ready to sleep.” Teya lifted the hand not holding up her head and curled one finger at him. “Come here.” She couldn’t help running her gaze up and down his body, taking in all of him: the scattering of hair across his chest, his tight muscles, the V of his hips disappearing beneath the smooth silk of his boxers, the velvety head of his cock peaking above the waistband.

  “If you keep looking at me like that, I am going to have a hard time behaving myself.”

  “Who said anything about behaving?” Teya patted the bedspread in front of her. “Come show me how bad you can be.”

  Jericho chuckled. “You don’t want to see that, either.” He crawled up the bed until he lay facing her. “Is this what you wanted?”

  “No.” She gave him a mock frown.

  “What did you want?”

  “I want you touching me. Your hands, your mouth, all of you.” She scooted closer, reached out, and pushed him onto his back. Teya moved over him, climbing up to sit astride his hips. His erection felt like a thick rod pressed against her slit, the only barrier between them a thin layer of silk. While bracing her hands on his chest, she leaned close and murmured, “I want to feel you all around me, touching me, kissing me. I want to feel you inside me.” Leaning up, she ran her hands down his chest and over his stomach, stopping to run one finger over the tip of his erection. “But I see now that I’ve got you in the perfect position to play with you a little.” She pushed herself back so she was sitting over his calves. Running her fingers in abstract designs on his stomach, she teased him for a while, getting close but not actually touching his cock. Every time she got close, he tensed, making his manhood twitch as if begging for her touch. Eventually, she tugged at his boxers. Jericho lifted his hips and let her pull them down his legs, revealing his straining cock. She licked her lips, impatient to get her hands and mouth on it.

  Cupping his cock in both hands, she slid one up, holding it upright as she leaned forward and opened her mouth, only to have her lips hit the back of Jericho’s hand instead of the tip of his cock as she’d been expecting.

  “Baby, as much as I’d love to feel your mouth on me, if I let you do that right now, that will be the end of things.” His voice shook slightly. “Other than the dreams we have shared, it has been an extremely long time, and you mean more to me than just that.”

  She looked up at him, frowning. She didn’t care if he went fast, or in her mouth.

  “Come up here.” He tugged at her arms until she moved up so they were face to face again. He pulled her down into a kiss, gripped her tight, and rolled until she was lying on the bed as he hovered above her. “Now I get to return the favor.” He pulled away and trailed his mouth down her neck. Kissed his way over her breasts, paying attention to them both but not stopping there for long before moving downward again. His fingers played over her skin with just enough pressure. The incident with her claws earlier still fresh in her mind, she resisted the urge to hold on to him and instead fisted her hands in the bedspread beneath her. He licked and bit at her skin, never hard enough to hurt but enough to make her sensitive and want to beg for more. When he reached the apex of her thighs, he eased them apart, and lowered his body between her knees.

  “You don’t have to do that,” she said. He’d gone down on her many times in her dreams, but she knew dreams and real life were not the same.

  “I want to.” His breath feathered along her skin, making her shiver. The first stroke of his tongue up the length of her slit sent waves of heat through her and took away her breath. Her head fell back against the pillow, and she couldn’t help but pant. He bent her legs so her feet rested on either side of his torso, and as she let her knees fall open, she felt herself open for him. She lay tense, expecting another l
ong, slow lick like the first, but it didn’t come. Instead, the tip of his tongue flicked over her clit then his mouth closed over it.

  Teya’s back bowed, and she heard a strange roar as his hands closed around her thighs and kept her hips still. His tongue played over her clit again and again. After several long seconds, she realized the roaring she heard was coming from her. It wasn’t a human sound, but that of her dragon. She hadn’t recognized it at first because it was a sound she’d never heard herself make. Jericho continued to lick and tease her clit until a wave of pleasure so intense that Teya was afraid she might pass out washed over her then ebbed, leaving her weak and shaking.

  “Stop, please stop.” Her voice was barely more than a whisper, and a shaky one at that. Jericho lifted his head.

  “What is wrong?”

  “Nothing. I just need a minute.”

  He smiled and watched as she lay gasping. After a moment, she lifted one hand and laid it against his cheek.

  6

  Jericho collapsed against the bed beside Teyacapan. Being with her in human form, in this realm, was more amazing than he’d ever imagined. From the time they’d spent together in dreams, he knew as much about her as he did about himself. While there were differences in what he encountered in their shared dreams and how things really were, that was to be expected. Everyone smoothed over their flaws in dreams; their minds fixed what they didn’t like about themselves. It was natural.

  Here, now, Jericho was particularly fond of a small freckle on Teyacapan’s right earlobe. He didn’t know if it was an imperfection she didn’t like or something she simply hadn’t known existed for a long time. When they started dreaming together, there had been no reliable way to see what you looked like. So many people had no idea what they truly looked like, only vague impressions based on what people told them or imperfect reflections. Gazing at her, she couldn’t be more perfect. Not in appearance, but in her heart. She was his, he loved her, and that was all that mattered. As sleep overtook him, Jericho wondered how much time they would have together before one of them was taken from the earth.

  7

  Teya woke early the next morning. She slid carefully out of Jericho’s arms and left him sleeping while she slipped on her robe then tiptoed into the kitchen to make coffee. She was sitting in her favorite chair, sipping her first cup, and staring at nothing as she waited for the caffeine to jumpstart her brain. Her cup was still half full when a soft knock sounded on the front door of the apartment, followed a few seconds later by the click of the lock as Rachel opened the door.

  She peeked around the edge of the door as if making sure Teya was there before coming all the way in.

  “Oh, good. You’re up.” Rachel gave Teya a relieved smile. “I was afraid with that fine male you have, you might still be in bed.”

  “I haven’t been up long.” Teya watched as Rachel headed straight to the kitchen and made a cup of coffee for herself, as was her habit on mornings like these.

  “So, how was your night?” Rachel grinned and shot a pointed glance at the bedroom door. A slow smile crept across Teya’s face as she pondered how much to say.

  “I’ll just say it was, um—” Teya hesitated “—mind blowing, and leave it at that.” She glanced at the door and wondered when Jericho would get up. “How was your evening?” Rachel rolled her eyes as she pulled the mug from the coffee maker and took a sip.

  “Just when I think I’ve met the worst my aunt can come up with, she finds another one.”

  “That bad?” Teya wrinkled her nose.

  “Worse.” Rachel brought her coffee into the living room and sat on the closest end of the sofa. “He spent the first twenty minutes telling me all the wonders of Tampa...and the next hour explaining how he was ready for young so I will need to be prepared to stay home and raise them.”

  “He didn’t ask how you felt about any of this?”

  “Not once.”

  “Did he even notice that you weren’t hanging on his every word?”

  “Didn’t seem to.”

  “Was he at least fun to look at to make up for being a total ass?”

  Rachel flattened her mouth. “Only if you like 5’6” and stick thin.” She sighed. “He didn’t have a bad face, but it wasn’t worth staring at for two hours, either.” They laughed together.

  “Did you give him the line about not being ready to become a baby factory yet? Or what about telling him you can’t wait and want at least ten little rug rats, but he’s going to have to be the one to stay home with them because your position with the Fraction is too prestigious to give up?” Teya loved dreaming up things for Rachel to tell the males her family tried to fix her up with. Rachel rarely used them, but it amused Teya to come up with them. It added a little spice to her life.

  Teyacapan? Where are you? Jericho’s voice whispered in her mind.

  In the living room. Rachel is here. You might want to put pants on before coming out. “Jericho’s up,” she said to Rachel. “He’ll be out in a few, I’m sure.”

  “I should go. I don’t want to impose.” Rachel started to stand.

  “Nonsense.” Teya waved one hand. “He might as well see what he’s getting into from the start. Besides, you haven’t told me what you said to Mr. Baby Daddy.”

  Shaking her head, Rachel settled back onto the sofa and sighed. “I apologized and told him I was sorry my aunt had brought him all this way, but I felt no spark toward him, certainly nothing like the legends of a mated couple, and I wasn’t willing to settle for less.”

  “What did I tell you about apologizing for what your aunt’s done?” Teya leaned forward and set her empty mug on the table in front of the couch. “It’s her place to apologize to them, not yours.”

  “I know. I just feel so bad that she keeps dragging people across the world to fix them up with me, and they end up with nothing.” Rachel stared into the darkness of her coffee cup.

  “I know you do, but it’s not your responsibility or your fault. It’s hers, and she can own up to it.”

  “It’s just hard. You know, getting past the ideas you were raised with. Sometimes old habits kick in before you realize it.”

  They both turned when the bedroom door opened and Jericho stepped out in the slacks he’d worn the day before, barefoot and shirtless. Teya’s response to Rachel flew out of her head. Her mouth watered as she watched him move.

  “Sorry, ladies,” he said, going to where the bags from the store had been left the night before and digging through one until he found a shirt. Once he’d pulled the T-shirt on, something clicked in Teya’s head and she could think again. Not being able to think when Jericho didn’t have clothes on was not a good thing if she wanted to ever win a disagreement with him. If she were smart, she would never let him see it. Standing, she picked up her coffee mug then went into the kitchen.

  “Would you like some coffee?” Teya watched Jericho while she waited for his answer.

  “Sure.” He glanced around the room, as if unsure what to do.

  “You can have a seat and I’ll bring it to you, or you can come in here and I’ll show you how to make it.” She waited to see what he would decide to do. He hesitated a moment then padded barefoot into the kitchen. She walked him through how to put the pod in and start the machine. They waited until her coffee was done then she took the cup, opened the cabinet, and handed him a mug. “Now you try.” She stood by and watched as he did exactly as she had. “Good, now give it a minute or two and yours will be done. When it is, come have a seat.” She stretched up and brushed a kiss across his lips before taking her coffee and going back to the living room where Rachel waited.

  8

  Jericho watched as Teyacapan instructed him as to how to make the dark drink then stood and waited for the machine to stop. When it was done, he picked up the cup and took a drink, wincing because he had forgotten how hot the liquid was. He took his cup into the room where the women sat talking while he sucked air through his teeth to try to cool the burning of his
tongue. After glancing back and forth between them as they spoke, he settled in and listened to Teyacapan as she talked with her friend.

  He had spent so long trapped between realms that the world now held almost no resemblance to the last time he had been on Earth. Now, as much as there was for him to learn about modern life, he was content to be here and watch Teyacapan.

  No, she wanted to be called Teya, he reminded himself. He had listened to enough of their conversation to understand they were discussing the man Rachel had gone out with the evening before. From Teya’s expression and the way she held her body, he could tell she didn’t care much for the man in question. As he watched her move and talk with Rachel, he couldn’t help but remember the way she’d looked the night before, staring up at him with her hair spread out around her face.

  “Jericho?” Teya’s voice called him back to the present. He blinked.

  “What?” A quick glance told him both women were watching him, waiting.

  “I asked if you’re hungry,” Teya said. “We’re just trying to decide if we want to order something or go upstairs to one of the restaurants.”

  “Yes, I could eat. I will be fine with whatever you decide.” He watched Teya to see what they would decide. She stared at him a moment before something in her face changed, but he could not be sure what it meant.

  “Let’s go upstairs,” she said after several long seconds. “I’m going to need to get dressed first, though.”

  Rachel glanced down at her own over-sized T-shirt and loose flannel pants then laughed.

  “I guess I should, too.” She tipped her mug way back then stood. “Meet you in, what? Thirty minutes?” Rachel took her cup into the kitchen then left.