I barely register any of that. I’m stuck on Eve’s revelation. “I really can’t believe you have the powers of Justice. You dude? I mean, you can be a self-righteous prick when it comes to your vibrator and the right to use it, but I’m not sure that constitutes as—”
Eve gives me a stare so vicious that it shuts me right up. “Fuck you. You’re no better. You threatened to burn down Walgreens when they ran out of the special batteries your vibrating butt-plug uses.”
That. Little. Bitch.
A gasp leaves me, even as my brain shrieks at me that Ianthen’s right there.
He jerks for some reason, bumping into the counter and tray. Due to his megalithic powers, that one careless move causes both things to crack.
But that isn’t the odd part.
He lifts his hands, pressing the heels of his palms into his eyes, and the most agonized groan I’ve ever heard from him follows. “Never getting that image out of my head.”
Oh God.
Biting the inside of my cheek is the only way to stop myself from whimpering at the images in my head.
Images that feature Ianthen, my butt-plug, and both of us hella naked.
Eve smirks at me.
Frustrated, I throw my rag at her. She ducks out of the way just as another thought occurs to me. “Whoa. One of my best friends is the Goddess of Flux. The other is now the Goddess of Justice. I’m a fucktastic breed never before heard of. I wonder which powers are coming to me?” I smile at Evesse, my mind spinning with possibilities. “We’re gonna be like the most badass Charlie’s Angels in history. You realize that?”
She ignores my comment. “I think I’m just going to head out and wait for Zen. You guys call me if you hear anything.”
“Eve, you’ll be the first person he’s going to come to. It won’t be us,” Ianthen says.
“Well, still. Like I said, I’m going to go and wait for him to hopefully reach out to me.”
The sadness in her eyes kills me.
Ianthen puts his hand on the tray and with a single thought it’s back to brand new. After looking over his shoulder and making sure no one’s on their way out the kitchen, he does the same with the counter. “Good luck. Call me if you need me. Now, if you’ll excuse me,” he tells her with a wink. Picking up the tray, he smiles. “I promised someone around here I’d make my ass useful.” With that, he heads to the final, un-cleared table and begins loading his tray.
Evesse wiggles her eyebrows at me, as if that simple act is the most provocative thing he could ever do.
It’s not. Weeks of being subjected to his presence have taught me a thing or two about that male’s sensuality.
Mainly, how it leaks off his pores.
“Oh come on,” Eve says, waving her hand in his direction like a car salesman. “He’s a god and he’s helping you clear the tables. Surely you realize how epic and adorable that is.”
I do.
Damn her.
Grabbing another rag, I aim it right at her stupid, smug face. “Shut up.” I round the counter and head towards Ianthen to help. The sooner this place is clean, the sooner we can close and I can escape my bestie’s idiocy.
Ian smiles down at me as I approach, navy blue brows doing their own dance. “You heard her. Epic and adorable.”
“Stop flirting with me, jackass. It isn’t getting you anywhere.” Lies! My ovaries shout. Filthy, filthy lies! I’m busy weighing the merits of disappearing to some far, forsaken dimension once I’m immortal, when Eve throws out another round of stupidity.
“Stop eye-fucking my friend in front of me. I feel wrong.”
I spin around just in time to catch Ian’s gloating smile.
Evesse laughs her little troll ass out the door.
When I face the table again, I’m met with Ianthen’s hooded stare. “Stop looking at me like that.”
“Like what?” he murmurs, shifting closer.
I inch back.
His hand shoots out in that supernatural blur of speed, but when he wraps it around mine, his touch is feather light. “Like what, Sol?”
Dear. Fucking. God. Does he have to say my name like that? Dragging my hand out of his, I attempt to walk away.
He’s in front of me in a flash, hands braced on the table on either side of me. Invading my personal space with all that masculinity and that mouth-watering scent. “Answer my question, Sol.”
Grinding my teeth, I stare right into his disguised eyes. “No.”
“I thought you weren’t a pussy, baby.”
Hate his guts. Hate them! “I’m not, you ass.”
“Then answer my question. How am I looking at you?” And he leans in closer, crowding me.
Distracting me.
Jesus, his lips . . .
“Huh, Sol? How am I looking at you?”
That slightly gloating tone is exactly what I need to slap me out of it. Shaking my head, I push against his rock-hard, immovable chest. “Like you want to fuck me,” I finally admit. “Which is never, ever going to happen. Now move.”
He does, but his eyes track me the whole time. “Why not? You’ll be immortal soon.”
That comment is like a knife to the chest. But of course he doesn’t get it. He never will. His type doesn’t see past the sexual. “You’re a smart boy. One day you’ll figure it out,” I snap, outrageously injured and knowing it.
Ignoring him, I head straight for the back to get Izabella. Time to close. I need a freaking drink to deal with the God of the Hunt.
Or fifteen.
Chapter 21
SOLERIA
“Y ou haven’t answered my question, Sol.”
You haven’t answered my question, Sol, I mimic silently, popping the cap off my beer.
“Soleria,” Ianthen practically hums behind me.
Grumbling under my breath, I face him. He’s sprawled on that black, leather couch, those dark jeans accentuating his spread legs. The sight of him, so big and muscular and temping, pisses me the fuck off.
His lips stretch into a smile at the sight of my pout. “You know, you asked me to chill back here to have a drink. You shouldn’t be so angry I acquiesced. We could’ve gone home.”
Home. As if my house has become his. Shit, with all the times he’s slept on the couch the last month, it might as well be.
Still. The last thing I need right now is him in my house, anywhere near my bed.
The same bed we fucked on in our dream.
Yes. Because him sprawled on the couch in your break room is such a better idea.
My hatred for him knows no bounds.
That shit-eating grin spreads so wide I swear he almost develops dimples. “It’s turning on you, Sol. All that pent up lust. Shame. I told you I would—”
“Oh, shut up already,” I grumble, heading over to him and falling onto the couch in a graceless heap.
His stare remains on my profile the entire time. I can feel it burning into my skin.
“Why, Sol?”
“What the fuck do you want, Ianthen?” I mumble against the rim of my Corona.
“I want you to answer my question, baby.”
“Stop. Calling. Me. That.”
“Answer my question.”
A dog with a bone. Literally. “Which one, you nosey mofo?”
Chuckling, he shifts closer on the couch. “Why won’t you be my lover once you’re immortal when it’s obvious you need it as much as I do?”
Ever felt like you’d die from a question posed? That’s me right now. Blood pressure straight through the roof. Heartbeat on hyperdrive.
The hunger that slams into me leaves me a trembling mess, incapable of answering him right away.
The truth is, I haven’t been able to come since meeting him. Can’t even go near my toys or contemplate touching myself. That involves fantasizing. I learned, after just one try, that allowing myself to go anywhere near my fantasies is a very bad thing.
Now that I know him, that is.
I take another swig of my beer, st
aring at the wall in front of us. His question hangs in the air, heavy between us, and his eyes are still on my profile.
That question deserves a slap. Or, at the very least, my beer bottle breaking across his immortal face. But if I give in to that, he’ll know how affected I am by his question. He’ll know why I’m really angry.
Fucker’s good at analyzing like that.
No. This calls for tact. I must convince him that the thought of sleeping with him has no effect on me whatsoever.
Because I can sense it in him. One little encouragement, and he’ll turn the full force of his seduction powers on me.
He wants me like that. Wants . . . to fuck me.
My inner walls pulsate at the thought.
I mentally shake my head, reminding myself of the truth. When it’s over, I’ll be just like the rest. Another mark in his ledger. His bursting-to-full ledger.
Hell, no. I can’t go through something like that again.
“Honestly, Ianthen. I know you’re immortal. And I know your immunity is damn-near impenetrable and all that. But the fact still stands. If you were human, or even susceptible to diseases, you’d probably be the walking, highly contagious version of the CDC.”
He inhales sharply.
Yup. Words hit their mark. It isn’t that I’m trying to hurt him—or that I think that I actually can—but he has to understand how mentally distasteful the thought of sleeping with him is to me.
So full of shit, Sol.
“Fair enough,” Ianthen finally says in that low rasp. Out of the corner of my eye, I see him raise his own bottle to his lips for a drink.
God, those lips wrapping around it . . .
“I’ll give you that. It’s different for immortals than it is for humans, but—”
“No it isn’t.” Yes, it seems like it’s my bitterness talking, but I learned that lesson the hard way. And it took me several repeats, and a fuckton of picking up the pieces, before the lesson finally sunk in.
I refuse to be used again. Especially by a being like him, the type that no doubt leaves a mark. I can imagine what sex with him would be like.
The kind that I’d take to the grave with me, never forgetting.
Nope. Not giving him that.
“Again, fair enough.” He shifts, sitting up.
I tense, eyes going wide.
Ianthen does exactly what I fear. He leans in until his face is close to me. Close enough to sniff me.
Which I totally feel him do.
His breath ghosts over my skin as he exhales down the side of my neck.
Oh my God . . . the fuck . . .
“There’s just one problem, Sol.” The tip of his nose skims my cheek.
My bottle crashes to the floor.
“I can smell how much you want me.”
Could I ever hate anyone as much as I hate him right now?
Doubt it.
“Listen here, cocky.” I whirl around and stare him in the eye. “That’s my body. I don’t deny that. But, your body is an immortal powerhouse. My human biology can’t help but recognize the superiority in your genes.”
He gives me the most arrogant smirk I’ve ever seen, and God, it looks so good on him. His lips seem even fuller.
“But,” I point my finger in his face. “The body might be superior; the male driving it, however, is not the type of male I want to be with. In any way. Sex isn’t just a game for me and I don’t deserve to be used. And that’s all you’d be good for.”
Ianthen’s expression turns oddly tender, his lips upturning in a small smile. “You’re right, female. You do deserve more than that. You deserve everything a male has to offer.” His eyes drop to my mouth when I gasp. “Even if it’s the universe itself. Just because I don’t do relationships, that doesn’t mean I don’t recognize when a female is worth something.”
Killing me. He can’t say things like that. Why is he saying these things?
“We have so much fun together though,” he continues, not moving his eyes from my mouth. “Such a good fit for me, and it makes me wonder,” his thumb skims across my jaw, moving closer to my mouth, “If you’d be as good of a fit around my cock.”
We’re both breathing hard, eyes locked in some sick challenge. I grit my teeth, trying to push past the howling need attacking my pussy.
The pad of his thumb reaches the corner of my mouth and slides along the opening.
Another sharp gasp leaves me. Sensation ricochets through my body, slamming into every sensitive nerve-ending.
I forget about why I shouldn’t have him. Forgot that he’s in the running for Most Epic Manwhore in the universe.
I forget my claim that he’s supposed to be a walking smorgasbord of STDs.
My hand flies up to wrap around his wrist. My lips part and I suck his thumb into my mouth—his taste explodes on my tongue, unleashing the most powerful throb inside me that I’ve ever felt.
“Fuucck, Soleria.”
My eyes roll back. With a breathless, hungry moan, I suck on his finger and swirl my tongue around it, body pulsating. My breasts arch towards him, hips moving restlessly.
His taste.
Holy fuck, his taste.
“Gods, baby. Come here.” In a flash, Ianthen has me on his lap, his fingers hooked into the back pockets of my jeans. He pants viciously under me, his big body twitching with restraint. His enlarged, changed eyes flash with what seems like madness.
An immortal male, dangerous and on the verge.
My hips churn towards him, my pussy inches away from what I need.
Ianthen’s eyes slide down to my hips, locking between my spread thighs. “I’m going to eat you.” His announcement is almost frightening, considering how those inhuman eyes are fixated on me.
I grab his gorgeous face with both hands, hips rocking back and forth in the air. His taste still pulsates on my tongue, and my pussy aches with each hit.
“I said come here, female.” Using his hold on my jeans, he pulls me down onto him, eyes locked on my mouth. The look he gives my lips from beneath those heavy lids is dark. Savage. He seems truly dangerous, like he’ll bite me instead of kissing me.
Oh, God. Yes. I don’t care, need to taste him some more—
I have no clue who dives first, but at first contact with his lips, I go wild. The way Ianthen growls into my mouth is truly animalistic, a loud rumble that vibrates through my whole body. That taste. God. Fuck. That taste. Need more.
He yanks me onto his cock, thrusting his tongue between my lips.
The explosion building inside me doesn’t seem real at first. So much pressure. My hips frantically churn in his grip. Ianthen takes my mouth, his tongue rough against my own. Fucking it. Tastes so good. Oh, fuck. My body pounds, my slick walls contracting. Empty. Hungry.
Ianthen moans, thrusting against me, fucking me hard through our clothes.
Overload.
Not enough.
I pull my mouth away from his with a loud gasp. Head falling back, his name leaves me on a long moan. Wrapping my hands around his neck, I hold on and writhe wildly on his shaft.
“Want your pussy, Sol. Bad. Never wanted one this much,” he growls against my chin, biting me softly.
I whimper, the impending orgasm melting me from the inside. My core convulses. My hips buck on him with all the strength in my body. The release hits me on a deep, frightening, primal level that anchors me to him.
His body is mine.
His cock is mine.
I won’t share him.
The yawning emptiness inside me expands. Going crazy. Need more. “Ian, please.”
Ianthen growls and licks my jaw. “So sexy. Tell me.” His lips wrap around my earlobe and he sucks gently on it, the fucking tease. “I’ll give you anything you want.”
Another orgasm threatens at his words. My mind feels like it’s imploding under the onslaught. I’ve never been this hungry. I need him in my pussy. In my mouth. “You. Ianthen, you. Inside. Everywhere. Fuck me, please.”
; “Shit, shit, shit.” His hands fly away from me. “Going to make me come harder than ever, female.” An odd, loud sound reaches me. “Fuck, fuck. No one’s ever fucked me like this. Want my cock in you so bad.” His hips keep at me, but it’s clear in the stiffness of his body that he’s holding back. When I force myself to raise my head, I see that his hands have latched onto the back of the couch.
And he broke it. Both hands are clenched deep into the torn material of the sofa, veins bulged from the force. Every single muscle on his body strains with effort. Raw power seems to thrum beneath his skin.
“You are so fucking sexy,” I gasp, unable to help myself, and I lower my hands to his chest. I rub my body against his in abandon, taking in the feel of those muscles through his shirt.
Ianthen bites the corner of his lip, his stare bouncing between my breasts and my face. “Baby,” he rasps. “You have no idea how badly I need you naked and bouncing on my cock.” He rotates up towards me, moaning. “I’ll come from the sight alone.”
How . . . how titillating. How sexy. Just thinking about him coming, eyes on my pussy as I slide down his dick. “I need it. Now.” I thrust my hips in circles, asking for his cock. “Feel so empty.”
He has me on the floor before my next breath, using that immortal, preternatural speed he’s blessed with.
A guttural sound breaks from me, my head sliding across the floor as my back arches at a sharp angle. “I’m going insane Ianthen. I’ll come so hard around your cock.”
He gives a loud groan at that. I feel when he dematerializes my pants; suddenly, my pussy is bare, air teasing along my swollen folds.
Uncaring, I spread my legs, thrusting my hips upwards, offering it to him.
Ianthen’s fist comes down on the floor next to me, sinking an inch into the tile. On his knees before me, he palms his twitching cock through his jeans. The material is damp, stretched taut across his thick length.
His eyes trail my landing strip, across my bare folds, the hunger in them making my clit swell. “That pussy is mine, Soleria. I won’t share it,” he growls, squeezing down hard on his dick and thrusting into his hand.
Blood Drenched Conquest (Ryze Book 3) Page 19