A sexy smile curved her mouth, and she lifted her hips so I could tug her pants down. I admired the smooth curve of her legs while I ran my palms over her silken skin and shapely calves.
Unable to take being apart from her, I released her leg and rose to remove my boots, socks, and pants. She moved back and lay down when I climbed onto the bed to join her. Settling beside her, I propped my head on my elbow and simply stared at her. She was achingly lovely, and she was mine. She gripped the edges of my shirt and pushed it back until I shrugged it off.
Shifting my weight to one side, I rested my hand on her hip before sliding it to her thigh and running it down to her knee. Her hips rose and her legs spread when my fingers glided up the inside of her thigh. She gave an impatient little wiggle when I moved from one thigh to the other instead of sliding my fingers inside her. I skimmed my hand down her other leg as I memorized every inch of her body.
“You’re exquisite,” I murmured.
“You’re a tease,” she replied, and I grinned at her.
She smiled back at me as she rested her hands on my shoulders and pushed me back onto the bed. Pressing my shoulders into the mattress, she climbed on top of me and bent to kiss my neck before working her way down my chest. She used her teeth and tongue to leave a trail of kisses and nips across my flesh as she moved steadily lower.
I sucked in a breath when her breasts brushed against my rigid cock, and then she was hovering over it. She licked the head of my shaft while her hands ran down the inside of my thighs. Then she slid lower and nipped at my inner thigh.
My fingers twisted into the sheets as I waited for her to take me into her mouth, but she continued to run her hands over my legs as she kissed my inner thigh. Rising over me again, she ran her tongue down my dick before kissing my stomach. She leisurely made her way back up my body while her belly slid tantalizingly along my dick.
She leaned over me to whisper in my ear, “I can tease too.”
I growled as I grasped her arms, lifted her, and flipped her over. Her sweet laughter rang in my ears as I came down on top of her. Biting her lip, she lifted her arms over her head while she wiggled enticingly beneath me. My gaze latched on to her pert nipples, and I bent my head to suck one into my mouth.
Her fingers entwined in my hair as she held me close. “Mark me,” she whispered.
I sank my fangs into her breast, and she cried out as she arched beneath me. The sound and scent of her set off something wild in me, and I rested my hands on her thighs as I pushed them apart. She lifted her hips to me.
“I need you inside me,” she pleaded.
Unable to resist anymore, I thrust into her. Her tight wetness enveloped me, and I groaned against her breast as I buried myself inside her. For a second, I couldn’t move as everything in me became centered on her.
I could spend another thousand years making love to her and still never get used to the way she fit me so perfectly or the rightness of her in my arms. Her mouth nuzzled my cheek as she lifted her hips.
I licked her nipple before releasing her breast and kneeling between her thighs. She ran her hands down my chest, tracing every muscle there as her eyes followed her movements. When she reached the junction of where our bodies joined, she hesitated for a second before her hands fell away and her eyes met mine.
She locked her legs around my waist and dug her heels into my ass. She stared at me as she lifted herself and slid down my shaft again. Grasping her hips, I guided her movements while savoring every second of this. And then, she turned her head and sank her fangs into my arm. Her hips bucked against mine as her nails raked my flesh.
I felt something unraveling inside her, and it set off something in me that I couldn’t stop. I’d planned to take my time, but I couldn’t control myself. As I absorbed some of the sexual energy she released, I couldn’t think beyond simple words.
Need.
Claim.
Mine.
And when she bit me again, and I sank my fangs into her, we became almost animalistic as we fucked like it might be the last time. And then she was crying out as her sheath clenched around me and her head fell back. Unable to hold back anymore, I plunged into her and came so hard my whole body shuddered with the release.
I almost collapsed on top of her but managed to turn to the side before falling onto the bed and drawing her into my arms. Hooking my leg around hers, I locked her against me. I was never going to let her go.
Chapter Thirty-Two
Aisling
I was pleasantly sore after what I could only consider a thorough claiming from the man sleeping against my back. I didn’t think he meant to fall asleep, but his soft breaths stirred my hair, and I felt the rhythmic rise and fall of his chest.
Careful not to wake him, I wiggled around until I faced him. Relaxed in sleep, he looked five years younger, or maybe that was because he’d fed from me. I rested my hand against his cheek as his earlier words replayed in my mind. “I’m falling in love with you, Aisling.”
I’d opened my mouth to tell him I loved him, but the words froze in my throat. He’d said, I’m falling in love, not I’m in love with you.
It was such a small difference, but it seemed as big as the Grand Canyon considering I was in love with him. He’d stolen my heart, and I couldn’t leave myself vulnerable by letting him know that; instead, I’d remained silent while I took my need out on his body. And what a magnificent time it was.
I squirmed as recalling the details of what we did to each other aroused me again. I wanted to push Hawk back, climb on him, and take him once more, but I couldn’t stop staring at him as I ran my thumb over his full lips. I’d never yearned for anything as badly as the claiming heat of his mouth on mine while I branded myself onto every inch of him.
When I first realized I was bound to him, I’d considered screaming as I ran away. The idea of being tied to someone I didn’t know terrified me, but now that I knew him better, I couldn’t consider the idea of living without him. I was so in love with him that the idea of being enslaved by his kiss didn’t cause my legs to so much as twitch with the urge to run.
“The kiss of a canagh demon enslaves their lover,” I recalled him saying, but what if that lover was already lost to the canagh demon? Would it matter then?
I was insane for considering it, but could we spend an eternity dancing around each other’s mouths? A kiss would happen one day; either by accident or out of sheer frustration.
His lashes fluttered open as my thumb stilled on his lips before I leaned closer to him. He smelled of the earth and brownies, and his breath was sweet. When he turned his head away, I grasped his chin and pulled it back to me.
“Aisling—”
Before he could speak, I pressed my lips to his. He recoiled and knocked my hand away as he swung his feet to the floor; before he could get out of bed, I grasped his wrist to halt him. When he spun on me, rage filled his eyes.
“I won’t be responsible for destroying you!” he spat.
“This is my decision to make.” And it might be the worst decision you ever make!
But I found myself stubbornly insisting I could handle this. I was his Chosen; demons were specifically designed to do only certain things with their Chosen. I had to believe withstanding the kiss of a canagh was one of those things.
You’re insane. But I’d always suspected that.
“No, it’s not,” Hawk said.
He tried to turn away again, but with a speed I didn’t know I possessed, I locked my leg over his waist and twisted so I straddled his lap. His eyebrows rose, and I’d shocked myself, but my demon DNA must still have a few tricks up its sleeve. I suspected the growing strength of our bond was unraveling those tricks, which only reaffirmed my belief I could survive his kiss without becoming a mindless sex slave.
“I’m already bound to you, branded by you, and claimed by you. My existence is tied to yours.” The words hadn’t come earlier, but I had to say them so he would understand. “I’m in love with you, Ha
wk; I can’t get any more enslaved than that.”
The burst of air that escaped him tickled my mouth and only made me more determined to kiss him. I clasped his cheeks and held his gaze as I lowered my lips to his. He watched my every movement with rapt attention until our mouths touched and a mixture of ecstasy and anguish shone in his eyes.
Still, I didn’t stop as I ran my lips over his before tasting them with my tongue. At first, he remained rigid against me, and then his body started to relax though he didn’t kiss me back. I licked his lips again and slid my tongue partially into his mouth. He emitted a tormented groan as his hands fisted in the sheets.
“Shh,” I murmured as I caressed his nape.
Despite his determination not to give in to me, his cock lengthened against my thigh. Shifting my hips, I centered myself over him and took him inside me again. The sheets tore in Hawk’s grasp, and I felt him throbbing inside me, but I didn’t move. I simply needed to feel connected to him right now.
I bit his lip and drew it between my teeth before nipping it with my fangs. He was mine; I would have him in every way, but instead of becoming frustrated that he wouldn’t kiss me back, I kept working to break his steely resolve.
When I circled my hips on him, the sheets tore further before he released them to grip my arms. He started to pull me away, but when I nipped his lip again before soothing it with my tongue, he froze.
He kept his mouth closed as I tasted him again, and just when I was about to scream in frustration, I felt his wall crumble. His mouth parted, and his tongue met mine. I didn’t experience a surge of victory; instead, unexpected tears filled my eyes.
His kiss was everything I’d dreamed it would be—deep, penetrating, consuming…
Soul shattering.
The last piece of a puzzle clicked into place as our tongues entwined and the searing passion of his kiss shook me to the core of my soul. I didn’t realize I was crying until he wiped the tears from my cheeks, but I refused to let him stop.
He enveloped me in his arms as he turned me on the bed and came down on top of me. I refused to let him stop kissing me while he slowly made love to me.
Chapter Thirty-Three
Aisling
“How do you feel?” Hawk asked for what had to be the hundredth time over the past three days.
“I’m fine,” I assured him impatiently. “And if you ask me again, I’m going to show you how unenslaved I am from your kiss by kicking you in the nuts.”
He grinned at me, which made me tempted to kick him. If I’d known kissing him would turn him into a nervous wreck, I wouldn’t have done it. Well, no, I still would have, but he was making me nuts.
“Sarah definitely wouldn’t have done that,” he said.
I scowled at the reminder of his past lover but let it go. “You have to forgive yourself for that; it wasn’t your fault.”
“I may not have known better, but it was my fault.”
When I rested my hand on his cheek, he stopped throwing wood onto the growing mound of it. “You have to let it go, and I’m fine. We’ve kissed numerous times over the past three days, and I still have all my senses. If I start following you around like a helpless puppy, you can put me out of my misery—and please do—but I’m okay. I think being your Chosen gives me a natural immunity to your demon charms.”
He pressed my hand more firmly against his cheek. “I am pretty charming.”
“Sometimes,” I teased before focusing on the task before us.
We’d spent the past three days setting traps around town. I had no idea how good any of them would do, but I refused to simply sit and wait for the minotaur to return for its next victim. And I refused to fight the beast the same way as before; thankfully, Hawk, Bale, Corson, Wren, and Lix felt the same way.
They were on board with the idea for a new plan I’d set out for them after the first day of trap building. Everything we were doing was done before—as the others liked to incessantly remind us—so now it was time to try something new, even if that new was entirely crazy.
Some of the other demons and humans helped with the traps, but most retreated to the restaurant and library, or they aimlessly roamed the town. I tossed another piece of wood onto the pile and wiped my hands on my jeans.
We’d been gathering wood from the collapsed buildings on the other side of town and using it to build a giant pile of debris at the end of the road. The massive pile, which was meant to become a giant bonfire, might set every building around it on fire too, but I didn’t care if this whole town burned.
Hawk stepped back and used his forearm to wipe the sweat from his forehead as Bale joined us. “I spoke with Caim and told him about our plan.”
“What did he say, and any sign of Raphael or the horsemen?”
She brushed a strand of red hair over her shoulder and studied the pile while she spoke. “No sign of Raphael, and he said we’re nuts. I didn’t argue with his assessment. He wants to come into town and help us. I told him to stay out. If we don’t make it through this, someone has to report to Kobal what happened.”
“It’s too bad; we could use his help,” Hawk said.
“We could,” Bale agreed, “but he has to stay out.”
“I agree,” Corson said as he and Wren emerged from the other side of the pile. “We’re all set.”
“Then it’s time to retreat to the library; if it comes back tonight, we’ll be ready for it,” Bale said.
We were halfway to the library when we met Lix coming out of the restaurant; he’d gone there to convince the others of our plan. Judging by the slope of his shoulders and the lack of demons and humans following him, he wasn’t successful.
“They’re still against it?” Corson asked.
“I convinced a few to help, but the rest are being stubborn,” Lix said as he tugged on his tie.
“Then they can die here,” Wren said. “But we won’t.”
* * *
Hawk
I wasn’t surprised when vibrations rattled the earth the next night; it was only a matter of time before the minotaur returned, but the demon with the tusks put up a good fight before being caught and killed.
Lifting my head from where it rested on top of Aisling’s head, I looked out the glass doors of the library. Aisling kept her head on my chest, but I knew she was awake when a small tremor ran through her before she straightened her spine.
I kissed her temple before releasing her and rising to walk over to the doors. The minotaur was already out of the cave. We had to get out there if we were going to set our traps into action.
“Can you see it?” Aisling asked.
The hulking beast stood feet away from the exit of the cave; its head swung back and forth while it surveyed either side of the mountain. It must be searching for a trap as the others had said they’d once tried ambushing it outside its lair.
Seeming to decide no one lurked in the shadows, it rolled its shoulders and turned its head from side to side like it was cracking its neck. It wouldn’t surprise me if it stretched its arms wide and yawned as if about to go for a Sunday stroll.
“I see it,” I replied.
“We have to go out there,” she whispered.
“We do.”
I held my hand out to her as I heard the others shuffling around in the main section of the library. It wouldn’t be long before they joined us. Even those who weren’t going to help with Aisling’s plan would leave the building and meet the minotaur in the street like they always did.
She grasped my hand and squeezed it. The love shining in her eyes reaffirmed my conviction to do whatever it took to get her away from this town and the minotaur, even agreeing to her crazy plan.
I kept Aisling by my side as I opened the glass doors; we walked down the front steps and into the middle of the road. At the end of the way, the pile of debris blocked the street. The ground shook when the thing stalked away from its cave before turning the corner and vanishing.
It would encounter the first of our
traps soon.
Corson, Wren, Bale, and Lix came to stand beside us on the road as the others filed out of the building. Anticipation and stress thrummed on the air as the beast stalked closer. Someone whimpered as a piece of wood leaning on a porch rattled against the railing before sliding to the ground.
“Are you ready for this?” Bale asked.
“The only choice we have is to be ready,” Lix said.
Before the minotaur came back into view, a loud bang sounded, and a puff of smoke wafted into the air.
“The first trap,” Wren said.
Aisling and I set what would become the first trap in the house with the attic. We’d run the string through the house and to the front door. Once on the porch, more strings were attached to the main one, so three of them ran across the road and into the neighboring house to the three guns propped in the windows.
The strings weren’t wired to go off when pulled, but instead, they went off when something stepped on one of them. Once weight was applied, the strain pulled the trigger of the gun it was attached to on the other side of the road.
We didn’t expect the guns to do much more than annoy the minotaur, but they might cause it to search for someone who wasn’t there while Aisling set the pile at the end of the road on fire. Her fingers constricted on mine as the minotaur’s roar rattled the windows of the library.
A thunderous bang resonated through the air and glass shattered; I pictured the beast tearing the front door off the home with the guns as another shot rang out. Another crash reverberated through the night as the minotaur tore the house apart.
“Are you ready?” I asked Aisling.
“As I’ll ever be,” she replied.
“Let’s go.”
Another loud crash shook the night, and a puff of dust burst into the air as what I assumed was the roof of the building collapsed.
Kiss of Death: Hell on Earth Series, Book 3 Page 20