by Tessa Cole
“I’m not a patient and we’re not in your hospital. Go away.”
“If you have an infection, it’ll be easier to treat now than in the morning.” I couldn’t let it go. The compulsion to heal and my fears were too strong.
I set the plate with the sandwich beside the sink and walked backwards until my back bumped against the shower wall.
“Let me check you.” I reached my hand around the edge of the glass shower stall, even knowing I should comply with his wishes, that I shouldn’t force my magic on him. But just thinking that made my compulsion twist tighter. “Please, Sebastian. A quick check, and I’ll be gone.”
“Amiah,” he said, his voice low, filled with warning, and sounding like he stood right beside me.
Unable to help myself, I slid my gaze to the opening into the shower and my breath caught.
He did stand right behind me, his face inches from mine, and the desire burning in his eyes seared my insides. “You won’t like my reaction if you touch me right now.”
But I knew he didn’t really mean it. He was just trying to get me to go away. He’d already made it clear that he could turn that look on and off with a thought, that he only pretended to want me because it shocked me.
This was just another tease and if I fell for it, he’d just make fun of me later. “We both know you’re not going to do anything.” I huffed trying to sound like the look in his eyes didn’t affect me. “All you do is tease. At least Hawk has follow through.”
I reached up to press my palm against his cheek and check him, but he seized my wrist and yanked me into the shower, pinning me against the tiles with his body.
Water soaked into my dress, plastering it to my body, and his erection pressed hard against my pelvis. My thoughts tripped. He did desire me… or at least he was sexually excited. I wasn’t sure if it was because I was a woman or because I was me.
“You think I have no follow through?” He captured my head between his palms and smashed his lips against mine with a hungry, angry kiss. It stole all breath and thought. There was only my aching desperate need, and my certainty that Sebastian couldn’t possibly be my soul mate.
Somehow, I managed to regain enough conscious thought to slide a thread of magic into him. Absolutely no infection. He was tired and the lacerations weren’t completely healed, but beyond that, there was nothing for my magic to fix.
He thrust his tongue into my mouth, and my thoughts scattered again. His fingers tangled in my hair and he ground his erection against me as if he needed to get closer. But the only way he could get closer would be to be inside me.
With a moan, I hooked my leg around his hip. The action tilted my hips and rubbed him against my clit, sending a shock of sensation zinging through me.
“Fuck,” he groaned as he pulled his lips away and pressed his forehead against mine. His breath was ragged and his grip tightened in my hair. “Tell me to stop.”
“No.” I burned with a need that had only been growing since last night. I missed being touch and held, and I ached for more, so much more.
“You’ve been influenced by Hawk’s magic.” He shifted, the movement grinding him against me and making me gasp in pleasure. “I’ve been influenced by Hawk’s magic. If we wait, it’ll pass,” he said, trailing his lips down my neck.
“Is that what you want?” I asked. Of course that was what he wanted. He’d already made his feelings clear.
“Fuck no,” he murmured against my throat. “But if you can’t wait, you should go to Cassius. Not me.”
“I’ve told you we’ve never slept together.” I tipped my head back and he reached behind my neck and unhooked the strap of my dress. “We’re just friends and even if we weren’t, he’d want a commitment I can’t give him. I can’t commit to anyone until my brand is gone. It’ll make me love someone else.”
“Maybe he’s your soul mate.” Sebastian slid his hands over my shoulders, slowly pushing the top of my dress down until just a fraction of material maintained my modesty.
“That would make it worse.” My breath picked up with a mix of anticipation and fear. “I can’t be trapped like that.”
“Maybe I’m your soul mate. Having sex with me might seal the deal,” he said with a ghost of his wicked smile.
“Do you honestly think we’re soul mates?”
He raised his gaze to mine, his eyes filled with barely contained need, his body trembling. “Last chance to say no.”
I captured his lips and gave him my answer with my body. He kissed me back with the same ferocity as before and pushed down the front of my dress. Sensation rushed through me, overwhelming everything else. There were just his lips on mine, his hand tangling in my hair, his fingers tweaking my nipple. I was on fire everywhere our bodies touched and it was amazing, so much more than what I’d imagined.
My breath picked up and I dug my fingers into his scalp, not wanting to let his lips go. I couldn’t get enough of the heat and hunger he inspired. I’d thought the kiss with Hawk had been incredible, and it had been, but it had only been a taste of what a kiss could be like.
“So wild it is,” he gasped as he grabbed my rear and pulled me into his arms. “Let’s get out of the cold.”
“The what—?” I wrapped my other leg around his waist, realizing, through the heated haze rushing through me, that the water had grown cold.
He carried me to the bed, both of us still dripping wet, and laid me on the comforter. His lips found mine again, stealing my breath with a quick passionate kiss, before pulling away.
I reached to draw him back to me as he flicked his tongue over my nipple, sending a shock of sensation zinging through me, stopping my reach and drawing a surprised gasp. With a groan, he sucked my nipple into his mouth, building the throbbing need within me as he worked my other nipple with his hand, teasing it into a tight peak.
This was just as good as kissing. More so. God, I’d been such a fool. I could have been feeling like this for years. This was so much better than just pleasuring myself, and right in that moment there was only him. No fear about being trapped by the leash spell or my brand, no thought about how I appeared or if he thought I was strong and in control. I wasn’t in control. He was and it felt amazing.
He unzipped my dress and pulled it and my underwear off, tossing them to the floor, but didn’t return to lie on top of me. Instead, he looked down at me with a heated hungry look that made my pulse stall. I’d never been naked in front of a man before, and I’d certainly never had one look at me the way Sebastian was looking at me now. I didn’t care if he just wanted to have sex with me because I was a woman and not because of who I was. In that moment I felt beautiful and sexy and desired.
I slid my gaze down his body, drinking him in like he was drinking me in, and stopped at his impressive erection. I bit my lip. This was really going to happen. I was really going to have intercourse.
His lips quirked. “I have plenty of follow through.”
“I can see that,” I said, my voice breathy.
He tapped a finger against a glyph on his hip and activated it.
“I wouldn’t have thought you’d need help,” I said. It couldn’t have been a birth control spell because angels could only be impregnated by other angels, so it had to be something else.
“This is for you.” He pressed his palms against the insides of my knees and urged me to open for him. “A sound block.” He leaned in, traced the vein on the inside of my thigh with his tongue, and settled his head between my legs.
Oh, my.
He flicked his tongue over my clit, making me gasp.
“The sounds you make tonight are mine, no one else’s, and I have every intention of making you scream.” His tongue swept over my clit again, and if I had a response, it vanished with the rush of sensation.
His mouth was even more amazing down there. He drove me crazy with his tongue, and with the spell blocking any sounds from leaving his room, I fully gave in, moaning and gasping my pleasure.
My b
reath grew ragged and my muscles began to tremble. “Oh, Sebastian.”
He groaned and slid a finger inside me. Withdrew it and returned with two, pumping them into me, hitting a spot that made my trembling muscles start to tighten. With a hard suck on my clit, he made my muscles contract. Sensation crashed through me, radiating into every cell in my being and I cried out, not even bothering to try to hold it back.
But he didn’t give me time to recover. My muscles were still clenching and my mind still spinning with my rushing breath and pulse, as he moved up my body and pushed part way into my opening.
Oh, yes. I never imagined it could be like this.
“Shit, you’re so tight.” He squeezed his eyes shut and drew in long breaths to steady himself then slowly withdrew and pushed back in a little farther, his erection stretching me, urging my body to accommodate him.
The aching heat of need swelled within me again as if I hadn’t just had an orgasm, and with another withdraw and push, he fully sheathed himself inside me.
My breath hitched, my muscles already trembling again around him, and something in my essence clicked — not my mating brand, thank God. My skin grew luminescent similar to Sebastian’s, making me moan, part in pleasure and part in embarrassment. It wasn’t unheard of for an angel to glow his or her first time, but it didn’t always happen, and I’d really hoped I wasn’t one of the lucky few.
“Ah, fuck.” Sebastian froze, his expression horrified. “You’re a virgin?”
My pulse froze with him and my fears started to rush back in. No. Please. I didn’t want this to end.
“It doesn’t matter,” I forced out. It shouldn’t matter. Please don’t let it matter. Please don’t stop.
“Sweetheart, it always matters,” he said. “An angel like you is a virgin for a reason, and I’m not that reason. You haven’t been waiting for me. That’s for sure.”
“I’m not waiting for anyone.” Not any more. I rocked my hips, trying to urge him to continue. I didn’t want to lose the trembling promise of another climax. Make me forget I was a fool. Make me forget I’m going to be trapped forever. Please. “Sebastian, make me scream.”
I grabbed his head and urged him down to capture his lips in a desperate kiss. I needed my mind to stop whirling, to forget everything. I could taste myself on his lips and a shudder of pleasure whispered through me at the memory of his mouth on me.
He hesitated, just for a second, then groaned and kissed me back, plunging his tongue inside my mouth, ratcheting up my desire.
He kissed me until I was breathless and squirming and my mind blissfully empty. My core throbbed, my body teetering again on the edge of another release. With a groan, he sat back, still fully sheathed inside me. His hungry expression turned wicked, and he brushed his thumb over my clit, the sensation stealing my breath.
God, he was going to ruin me for other men. He knew just how to touch me, how to bring me close without letting me crash over, and he teased me again and again until I was gasping, the room spinning with my quick breaths, and my body on fire, wound so tight I was sure I’d explode. Then he finally — thank God, finally! — seized my hips and started to move inside me.
“Oh, yes.” This was what I wanted. This was amazing. The slide of his erection in and out of my body and the glorious friction. He fully possessed me, claiming me as only a man could claim a woman, just as I hungrily welcomed him in.
His pace grew faster and his thrusts harder. The promise of my climax spun tighter and tighter until every muscle in my body contracted and shattering bliss roared through me, tearing a scream from my throat.
Sebastian gave another few hard thrusts and tensed, his own release drawing a cry, sending another wave crashing through me.
“Fuck me,” Sebastian groaned and he shuddered, which sent another, small wave rushing through me.
Yes, I had.
He gave me a fierce kiss and rolled off me, his chest heaving with his rapid breaths, and wrapped me in his arms, my back against his chest. I snuggled in, savoring the feel of his body pressed against me and the pulse of his life force thrumming against my senses.
This was the way it was supposed to be. This was right.
And oh my goodness, I’d just had sex.
With Sebastian Bane.
It had been amazing. So much more than I’d fantasized about. I was still spinning and glowing and floating, my body so lax I wasn’t sure I’d be able to move. But oh my, goodness—
I’d had sex with Sebastian Bane!
How was I to know he’d actually cast a sound blocking spell? And even if he had, he was surely going to use this against me in the morning.
God, what had I been thinking?
I hadn’t been, and for the first time in my life I’d been free of my fear, my self-restraint, of everything. I hadn’t thought of looking strong or of the nightmare branded in my skin. There’d only been his mouth and hands and body bringing me immense pleasure.
He pressed his lips against the back of my neck, his breath teasing my skin making my pulse pick up again and need throb between my thighs.
What was wrong with me? How could I crave more when I was still — literally — glowing from round one?
He hummed low in his throat, a sound of pure masculine satisfaction, and slid his hand down my belly and dipped his fingers into my curls.
I pulled away from him, need and panic a sudden whirling mix of hot and cold in my chest. “I should…”
I didn’t know what to say. I wanted to let go again, stop thinking and just feel, but my spinning thoughts were taking over and I couldn’t push them aside.
I’d just made a horrible mistake.
No, I hadn’t.
Sebastian had been everything I wanted for my first time and more, so much more. But at what cost?
“I should clean up.” And take a moment to think. I had no idea how I felt about what had just happened. I just needed some time by myself to regain my mental equilibrium… as much as I— God! I loved being held in his arms like that.
He raised his gaze to me, his pupils dilated with desire, but his lips quirked in that wicked smile that said I amused him.
I scrambled off the bed and grabbed my dress. I didn’t know where my underwear had gone but if I stayed to search for it, I’d have sex with Sebastian again.
And while a part of me was certain that wasn’t a bad thing, the part that needed to be in control was having a meltdown. My pulse was already racing and my breath getting faster, and it had nothing to do with desire. I’d done something without considering the consequences. Again.
“You don’t need to get dressed to clean up,” he said. “I have an en suite.”
“I know. I just— I need to think.”
“That’s a bad idea.” His smile deepened, his eyes filled with mirth… and was that a hint of softness?
No. I was imagining it. I only wanted him to understand my fear, but logically I knew he didn’t care. Which had been the whole point of sleeping with him.
I pulled on my dress. The zipper got caught in the wet fabric halfway up, and I didn’t bother fighting with it, hoping I’d be able to slip into my room without anyone seeing me.
It shouldn’t have mattered. I should be able to have sex with whoever I wanted whenever I wanted, and yet I was torn with so many conflicting emotions and thoughts.
I was supposed to be waiting… for someone I didn’t want any more.
I should never have given up control like that.
I should have picked someone more appropriate, someone who actually cared for me.
Except the fact that Sebastian and I didn’t have an emotional attachment was the very reason I’d considered him. There were no strings attached with him. Now that he’d conquered me, this would likely be the one and only time we’d have sex.
And I had no idea how I felt about that, either.
I hurried out of his bedroom, pulled the door closed, and pressed my back against it, desperate to slow my racing heart.
That had been amazing.
And so foolish.
The lights in the hall and living room were off. Sebastian’s apartment was dark and everyone had gone to bed. Which meant — thank goodness — no one would see me slinking back into my bedroom, and I had until morning to figure out how I was going to react to what I’d just done.
I squared my shoulders and headed to my room as Hawk stepped around the corner in the living room into the hall.
Oh, no.
My stomach bottomed out as realization hit me. I might have been able to hide what I’d done from Cassius, and if I showered I’d be able to hide it from Titus as well, but Hawk, with his incubus ability to sense sexual energy, knew exactly what I’d just done.
Chapter 19
Amiah
Hawk drew closer and the hellfire in his eyes flared, casting his beautiful face in flickering illumination and making him look dangerous.
“Why did you leave?” he asked, his voice low. “You weren’t done.”
“I was,” I insisted, embarrassment heating my cheeks, even though I logically knew I had nothing to be embarrassed about.
“Oh, baby,” he purred, leaning in. He brushed the back of his warm finger along my jaw and sent a shiver of aching need sweeping through me without even using his magic. “You weren’t done.”
“Yes. I was.” I needed to get my thoughts under control, but I couldn’t make myself push past him to go to my room. He was mesmerizing.
Like he was supposed to be. Because he was an incubus.
And as much as I’d said I was done, I wasn’t. My body wanted to go back to Sebastian for round two and feel that all-consuming bliss again. But my mind wouldn’t let me. I’d made a mistake. I’d lost control. I’d—
I shifted to put some space between us and my back hit the hall wall.
Hawk pressed close and, with a smirk, slid his hand under my skirt and up the inside of my thigh, stopping at the crux between my leg and pelvis.