Beneath my Skin

by Brea Viragh

  The rich tan of his skin gilded his muscles. I’d never seen such an exotic specimen of manhood. My gaze swept down and caught on his groin. He was already hard. A rush of pleasure took me at the knowledge that it was because of me.

  I rested my palms against his bare chest. For now, he was mine. My heart beat fast and strong and I used my mouth on him. Pleasure rose until the tingle in my abdomen spread to all four limbs.

  Desire—and stranger still, love—bloomed inside of me. A love I would have never thought possible with Cer involved.

  “Dax.” I looked up to find him watching me. His deep-green irises were glassy in arousal. “I want to touch you.”

  I reached between his legs and was rewarded with a sharp gasp. Mine, was all I could think, gripping him. Mine. Mine.

  It was a small voice in my head. Weak yet, although I knew it could hold great power if given time. Nurturing. It wasn’t Cer, whose words burned through my soul like fire along a trail of gasoline. This voice was me. A me I’d never thought I could be after the accident. A version of myself who was resilient, competent, and confident.

  His flesh was hard in my hand. I stroked him, caressed him until a moan came from deep within his throat.

  Blood thundered inside of me as my fingers blazed a hot trail along his thigh. He swallowed as though trying to clear a dryness from his throat, then stopped himself from reaching out for me. Hesitant.

  “What? What’s the matter?”

  “Nothing,” he said, voice thick.

  “Oh God. You’ve never done this before, have you?” My eyes went wide. “You’ve never had sex with a woman.”

  His laugh was forced. “Yes, I have. You called me a sex slave, remember?”

  “You poor thing. I’ve changed my mind. Jacqueline’s had your bottle for so long, you’ve never had the chance to experience earthly pleasures.”

  “Mariella, stop. I’ve made love before. But never to a woman with a demon in her body.”

  “I wish I could fully explain to you the irony of the situation. You’re nervous about me, but I have a rampaging horde of butterflies in my stomach because I’ve never made love to a genie,” I said.

  “A djinn,” he corrected.

  “Actually, I haven’t been with anyone in a long time.” I reached out to touch his hand. Delighted when his fingertips wrapped around mine. “I can’t promise you I won’t lose control. The fear is always there.”

  He cupped my cheek. “You won’t lose control. It’s enough to know we’re here together. That the situation is even possible.”

  His words sent a bolt of desire straight through my core. Had I said he was made of charm? No, not this man. This man was made of something better. Richer. He was made of kindness. I’d have to make sure I kept the secret to myself.

  His smile sent me over the edge and I wondered how it was possible to feel such things for a person I’d just met. Then suddenly I was fiercely glad we had.

  He kissed me gently, and when he spoke, his voice had deepened. “Show me what you want me to do.”

  My mouth felt dry when I shook my head. I ran my tongue over my lips. “Not tonight.”

  “What?”

  “Tonight, this is for you.”

  From the way he looked at me, it was clear he hardly knew where to start. He closed his eyes to collect his thoughts. “All of my life I have done what other people desired. Granted the wishes inside their hearts and took no pleasure in it. To be honest, I’d given up on myself. I’m ready for you. You can do that thing with your tongue again.”

  “Oh, can I?” Lightly, I touched the spot on his neck with the tip of my tongue, swirling patterns along his skin before nipping the area gently.

  “You can kiss and lick my nipples.”

  “Okay, now, don’t get greedy,” I said, digging my hands into his ribs before bending to tease him.

  At the same time, he touched me. Drew hot circles on my inner thigh before traveling to my core. Electrifying me. The first wave of orgasm came out of nowhere. “Dax!” My nerve endings were alive, radiating out in a wave from ground zero.

  He lunged forward to press his lips against my neck, rolling until I was on top with my legs on either side of his waist.

  I moaned, arching against him in welcome, seconds before he slipped inside. Now his arms were holding me in a possessive circle. We moved together. The rhythm ancient. Powerful. His hips surged strong and deep, his mouth crushed against mine. It was flight. It was freedom. I didn’t need to pretend.

  The force of his desire stirred a similar response inside of me. Then it bloomed, grew into something so intense, so fierce, it was a little frightening.

  I stroked his back, tasted the saltiness of his skin, and brought him to new heights until his breathing was ragged and sweat glistened. His muscles strained and tensed as he fought to control himself.

  “No, don’t hold back,” I demanded. “Give in to me.”

  He plunged deeper inside of me, my body surrounding him until I felt the explosion waiting to be released. I was lost to him. This was not just sex.

  Dax heaved, a groan strangling in his throat, body jerking. I held him close until the tension drained from him. Stroked his hair when I bent to capture his mouth, tasting the spasms of pleasure coursing through him.

  He shifted, lifting his head to see my face. “This shouldn’t be possible.” His fingertips cupped my chin and turned to view my profile. Memorizing me. “I’m having a mental breakdown. You’re a figment of my imagination.”

  My laugh came quick, an inelegant snort. “Sorry. If I were a figment of your imagination I’d be ten pounds lighter and three cup sizes bigger.”

  He grinned, carefree. Lips twitching. “I think you mean four cup sizes.”

  I indulged in a light slap. “Careful what you say.”

  “Why? Are you going to banish me to my bottle?”

  It was a tiny dose of reality neither one of us was prepared to deal with. I sighed, urging my knees to hold me as I stood. I couldn’t help glancing down at my arm and the fading scars. Nothing.

  I took my time getting dressed again. Trying not to feel embarrassed now that I realized I’d been uninhibited with Dax. I’d let him see my scars.

  There was an odd sense of déjà vu when we stood together at the foot of the bed. Knowing our do-or-die moment had finally come.

  “I’m not sure I’m ready for this,” I admitted.

  “For what?”

  “To take down a psychopath in an insane and improbable bid to gain our independence.”

  A slow hiss sizzled in the air between us for a split second before the words appeared on my arm.

  It’s time.

  “We need to leave,” I told him. I didn’t need another warning. Our time was up. “Dax, if we don’t make it—”

  He cut me off and drew me to him in a crushing hug. “Shut up.

  CHAPTER 9

  This was not a good day. Worse than the last time I’d said it, too, because this time I knew I was walking to my death.

  We were going in blind. Jacqueline had given me until tomorrow—today by all accounts, although I didn’t have a clock—to do what she asked. To find a way to separate my demon to save both our lives. What had I done with the time? Spent it having monkey sex with Dax.

  I regretted nothing.

  Still, it was rough knowing you were walking to your grave without a final thought. It was the first time in my life I wished, actively wished, Cer had some sort of sage demonic wisdom to offer. A way to separate us. But I knew deep down if there was a way she would have told me already. We would have found it already.

  Unless Cer never intended to leave me. That didn’t bear contemplation.

  Jacqueline was just going to have to live with the bitter disappointment of my death on her shoulders. Sans demon.

  The instant I could breathe again, I dropped down in a crouch. Dax and I had decided, in the seconds before exiting the bottle, that the best course of action was to surprise Ja
cqueline. She’d be expecting us to come when she called, not sooner. And she probably wouldn’t be expecting us to pop out of the bottle.

  I still had no clue what to do after that, though.

  Dax had told me to run. To get far away. I’d thought the same myself, I admit. But in the time between then and now, I’d changed my mind.

  “Mariella, go!” His command sounded distant. Like he was trying to yell through walls. Or across a stadium.

  When I glanced up, Jacqueline stood there with a smile on her face, the glinting sun behind her. We’d skipped sunrise and gone straight to midmorning. She’d changed into a fresh power suit the sky-blue color of a robin’s egg. It gave her the impression of sweetness. The image would have confused me if not for the threat in her eyes.

  We stood in front of a two-story house in the country. I could only assume it was where she kept her “menagerie.”

  “Do you have what I want?” she asked casually. “And you can get up. I have no intention of fighting you.”

  “You may not, but I do. I’m ready to fight.”

  Jacqueline glanced down to inspect her nails like she hadn’t a care in the world. She didn’t take me seriously. “There’s nothing you can do. Your time is up, little girl.”

  I slowly stood and tried to take in my surroundings. It was information overload. “What are you going to do? You won’t kill me because I have something you need. If you won’t fight, then maybe I should ask what you want to do now. I’m done reacting.”

  “Very nice.” She chuckled. “You’re taking a stand. Maybe I should show you what I want.” Jacqueline turned, then crooked a finger over her shoulder. “Follow me.”

  I didn’t even know where we were. And where had Dax gone? I knew he came through with me. “Where is Dax?”

  “Don’t concern yourself with him right now. I told you to come,” she said.

  “Why should I?”

  “Have I not made myself clear?” Her tone was acidic. “Come, Mariella.”

  My feet began to move forward.

  “My menagerie began in part from a desire. A desire I’ve had since I became trapped on this plane of existence. Collecting supernatural creatures was a way for me to express myself when I was left with no other outlet.”

  “You only feel free when you’re squashing other people under your thumb,” I commented, ignoring the skittering of nerves on my skin. “Nice. A lot of people travel. Or skydive.”

  She shot me a glance over her shoulder like she found me amusing. The way an adult finds a child who won’t stop asking them questions amusing.

  I followed her into the house and was surprised by the interior. It must be a space-altering spell, I thought, because the inside of the house definitely shouldn’t look like a cavernous display gallery at a fancy museum.

  “You see that spear?” She pointed to a space on the wall dominated by a large spear made of what looked like pure obsidian. “It belonged to a valkyrie,” she continued. “A piece of her soul still resides inside it.”

  A few more steps down the hall and I was greeted with a pulsating orb of light floating several inches above a pedestal. It looked dangerous, yes, but the feeling coming off of it was great sadness.

  She pointed, the gesture careless, joyless. “This is a sylph I captured in Greece last year. Are you aware of those creatures? They have control over the air.”

  “You don’t need to explain it to me. I get it,” I said. “Being a slave owner is how you get your kicks.”

  Jacqueline whirled on me. Guess I wasn’t going to be permitted to meet the rest of her collection, which I was sure to join shortly. I wondered if she had a cage picked out for me yet. “I’ve been stuck on Earth in this disgusting meat suit for the last two decades, Miss Revely. Do you understand how it feels to know you’re forced to wither away? You can never go home? You can never belong? There is only power, the power to collect and to dominate. When I get enough…I’ll be able to leave.”

  If she was trying to make me feel bad for her, it wasn’t working. “I do know what it’s like to feel trapped. Because I’m not sure if you realize it, but I’ve been carrying around a pretty substantial burden myself. A burden I never asked for that keeps me from living a full life. I have to tell you, despite my feelings for the demon there’s no way I’m giving her to you. You have a better chance of seeing Santa Claus coming down your chimney on Christmas Eve.”

  I made up my mind on the spot. If I had to kill myself trying, it was better to do it on my own terms. With Jacqueline prepared for the tirade of the century, I pushed aside any hesitation and made a grab for the sylph.

  The instant my fingers touched the ball of pure energy I heard a sizzle. Worse than the standard pain of writing pushing up through my skin. I was mortal despite my rather unconventional passenger. A mortal trying to touch something I had no business touching.

  I forced my fingers to squeeze and tossed the sylph toward Jacqueline. Despite the pain, I was rewarded with a cyclone.

  Guess I wasn’t the only one who bristled at the idea of captivity.

  “Wha—” Her voice cut off on a howl. Wind rushed through the corridor and knocked her off her feet. Her slight body flew through space until I lost sight of her. I wasn’t about to hesitate.

  Terror had my feet slapping against the floor as I took off in a sprint. Run, the fear said, driving me. Run and get away from this place.

  The problem was, the cause of the fear was inside of me. And it doesn’t matter how far or how fast, you can’t run away from yourself.

  A familiar agony raced along my limbs and I knew what was happening. Cer was trying to get out. If I let her, this time I’d be torn in two.

  My heart felt like it was going to explode out of my chest. Through the melee, I tried to find myself. I felt the brush of someone’s skin against mine but there was so much darkness, I couldn’t tell where it came from.

  You know what to do.

  I couldn’t see my arm, but I understood what she wanted, what she urged me to do.

  Dax materialized a second later. My delight at seeing him turned to ashes when I noted the chains he held in his hands. The manacles around his own wrists.

  I’m sorry, he mouthed, reaching toward me.

  Before he could catch me, I heard what I thought was a peal of thunder. The floor beneath our feet seemed to shudder. Nearly losing my balance, I stumbled toward the door. And grabbed the valkyrie’s spear along the way.

  “You can’t escape!” Jacqueline’s magically enhanced voice bounced off the walls and, no matter how hard I tried, I felt my feet begin to slow, to stick to the floor like each tile was made of wet sand.

  “Try me,” I yelled back. Then, to the spear itself, “I’m sorry.” My aim was nothing short of worthless, but I prayed the being inside would do as the sylph had and buy me some time. I hurled the spear into the funnel cloud of air at the opposite end of the gallery.

  Dax dodged the throw and came toward me. He didn’t need to rush. We both knew I wouldn’t get very far without divine intervention.

  “She wished for me to capture you. I must obey,” he told me in a flat voice. “It doesn’t matter what kind of tricks we try to pull. This is why I wanted you to run. I didn’t trust myself.”

  “You could have told me!” The words came out on a pant.

  My feet stuck to the last floor tile and although the door was in sight, I couldn’t reach out to grab it. This was the end.

  He advanced with the chains held aloft in front of him. “I…couldn’t. I wanted you too badly. I’d hoped she wouldn’t invoke the bond. I’d hoped, by her telling you to break the spell, it would give us enough time to try.”

  “Well, it didn’t, Dax,” I said, lashing out.

  “Mariella, I’m…I’m sorry. I do love you. I wish things could be different. If you find a way to stop me, do it. Kill me. At least then you’ll have a better chance.”

  “Not an option,” I grunted. My fingertips were atoms away from the door
knob. Behind me, I heard the sound of footsteps clicking along the tiles. Jacqueline.

  “Give it up, will you? There’s no chance. You had until today to figure out a way to separate the two of you. Now I’ll have to do it for you.”

  A sharp pain sliced through my arm. A reminder. Once again, I was out of options. A bright flash of fear had my vision dimming. I knew what Cer wanted, and while I logically understood it was my only hope—talk about an ironic play on divine intervention—I worried about what would happen to me. Death I could accept. An endless eternity trapped in the itty-bitty box in my mind, with no light or air or laughter? I wasn’t sure I could endure that.

  You have no choice.

  I spared a glance at Dax, his face partially obscured by strands of hair blowing into my eyes. Then I remembered our conversation just hours earlier. His desire to be free. I thought about the sadness I’d felt coming in rolling waves off of the trapped sylph. The piece of the valkyrie’s soul entombed in a slender rod.

  I strengthened my resolve. “We do this together,” I growled to Cer. “Do you understand? If I let you in, you keep me there. No pushing me back into a corner. I get to make the final decision. Make the final call. Do. You. Understand?”

  It took a moment for Cer to answer. The curse, when it came this time, was anticipated. Lacking the normal gleeful agony.

  I agree.

  It wasn’t a takeover, I thought as blackness filled the edges of my vision. It was a melding. A true meeting of two souls where I tasted darkness. Instead of being frightened by what I saw, I opened my arms. I accepted Cer on her terms. She accepted me on mine.

  Raw power flooded from the top of my skull down along my extremities. Every nerve was alight with an electric fire. I breathed in and tasted the air. I recognized every molecule for what it was. Colors sharpened, my senses heightened, and for a moment I knew what it felt like to be one of the fallen.

  “You are going to pay for this.” The sound coming out of my mouth, out of my vocal cords, was not mine. I heard a hint of the familiar underneath the thunderous tones of a being bigger than I could ever be.

  Jacqueline held her hands up in front of her. Her confident mask was in place and yet beneath the façade, she was frightened. She didn’t want us to see it, but we did. “Cer, be reasonable. I never wanted to hurt you.”