Twisted Luck

by Mia Downing

  Chapter Eighteen

  Oh God.

  So close to coming, my thighs quaking as I gasped for every breath and clenched the sheets of my bed. Leo pumped into me, my legs over his shoulders in a new-to-us position. He liked the view of me spread out for him as he thrust, and at this point, I didn’t care. I was this close to coming. That delicious ecstasy that always swirled around me right before the big moment descended like a lascivious fog.

  Dinner and the movie earlier had gone surprisingly well. I had shoved a pot roast in the oven before we had left for our hike so it would be ready. Leo had loved it. He also chuckled at Caddy Shack, approving greatly of the gopher’s antics. The rest of the movie he’d found to be wildly juvenile and humorous.

  Then I’d taught him about making out on the couch, and one thing had led to another…

  “Harder,” I gasped.

  Only Leo could make sweaty look sexy, his usually perfectly spiked hair soaked, the sheen of dampness dancing in the candlelight that flickered across his face and down his rippling chest. His eyes were narrowed in concentration, his hands gripping my thighs in a way that hinted he was close, too.

  Yes… My core hummed with that erotic energy, the muscles gripping his cock tight, wanting him deeper and deeper…

  Just. One. More. Stroke. And—

  “Olivia.” Leo stopped thrusting.

  “What? No!” I bucked my hips, desperate to keep that delicious fog from lifting. “I’m so close. Please.”

  “This is serious.”

  Deep inside me, he softened. My inner muscles flexed, trying to grab him, to keep him in, keep him hard, doing his damned job.

  “This is serious.” A hint of a wail grew in my throat as he started to pull out. “Nooo.”

  He flopped down beside me, coated in sweat that was no longer sexy as he stared at the ceiling.

  The happy fog evaporated, leaving me damp and panting, the haze of rage replacing the good stuff.

  “Olivia. The magic has left.”

  “No kidding.” I stared up at the ceiling, too, and forced my breathing to even.

  “I just…without it, it’s not the same.” He swallowed loudly. “I hadn’t worried when the magic refused to put a condom on earlier today. But now…”

  “Weren’t you enjoying it?” I sure as hell was, and now I felt self-conscious. I dragged the sheet over me, covering my breasts.

  “Well, yes.” He cleared his throat. “I’ve never had the sensation of a human being ‘mine’ before, and it’s…well. Unlike anything else I’ve experienced. But so is all of this.” He waved a hand over me, the breeze cooling my skin. “The lack of magic is unsettling.”

  “I don’t get it.” I wasn’t sure I wanted to get it, either. The ownership thing rubbed me wrong, though it probably helped my long-run goal. “It’s sex, Leo. You’re a demon. Sex is your thing.”

  “The magic…it makes me the excellent lover I am. My cock feels good to you because it adjusts to whatever size your pussy demands. Big, small, thick…it takes that form. My cock is now…average.”

  Sweet mercy, all guys—demon and human alike—had to lament about size. “And you were doing just fine until you screamed ‘fire’ and pulled out.”

  He rolled toward me. “Was I?”

  I gritted my teeth. “Yes.”

  His inquisitive gaze filled with confusion. “You seem angry.”

  “Leo. I was seconds from a huge orgasm. Now, instead of you fucking me into oblivion, we’re discussing how sad you are that your dick isn’t porn-star sized. I’m furious.”

  “See?” He flopped back down. “The magic would have told me you were close. I could have pushed you over the top or held that orgasm at bay, at my will.”

  “Oh, it’s at bay all right.” I never understood how someone could need sex, like a drug or food, or air. But I needed this orgasm, the sensation of being on the edge not receding to the point that desperation settled in.

  I slammed my eyes shut and returned my fingers to my sex, rubbing that needy bundle of nerves despite the shame creeping in the form of a heated blush over my body. “I’m going to finish this and then we can chat, okay?”

  “Finish?” Leo must have felt my hand move as I strummed that hard nub. He peeked under the covers. “Oh.”

  “Yeah.” How cheated could one feel? I hated the magic and my luck. Just hated it.

  Leo’s chest hair brushed my arm as he leaned over me, his mouth closing over the nipple closest to him. His hand fumbled between my legs, closing over mine, the warmth banishing the shame. “What can I do?”

  His flaccid dick, still encased in the condom, brushed my leg. That wasn’t an option. “Just…put two fingers in.”

  “In?”

  The shameful blush heated again. “Don’t make me give you a tutorial, Leo. You’ve had tons of illicit, deviant sex. Just…figure it out.”

  His hand slid along my folds, his fingers gathering moisture, and finally—finally—sank into my core. I almost sobbed with joy. My muscles clamped down and that heady, happy fog returned with a rush of endorphins.

  “Mmm,” he hummed in approval as he nuzzled my breast again. “What else? You want me to fuck you with my hand?”

  Yes! “Keep your fingers still and push up a little.”

  His fingers adjusted, hitting my g-spot as his tongue lapped my nipple. I swear I saw stars—the good kind—as the heat sizzled over my skin. “Oh God.”

  His mouth stopped and my nipple freed to cool air. “Olivia, please don’t curse.”

  “Leo, shut the fuck up and suck my tit.” God, the language from my mouth.

  He latched on and bit down, the spear of pain enough to kick my orgasm over the edge.

  “Yesss…” My core clenched around his fingers, every pulse of pleasure reminding me he’d given this joy to me. Wave after wave crashed over me in time to the rhythm of his tongue lashing my hardened peak.

  I sucked in huge breaths and flopped my head back on the pillow, the cramps releasing my toes. After a few long moments, I caught my breath enough to pant, “Thank you.”

  His fingers withdrew from my still-quivering sex, and he rolled to the side of the bed. I figured he’d get up and hit the bathroom or whatever guys did after getting a girl off.

  But he lay back down and tugged me so my head rested on his chest in total, un-Leo fashion. Those muscular arms wrapped around my torso, snuggling me close. His bare yet still flaccid dick brushed against my thigh, telling me he’d taken that moment to remove the condom. We lay like that for what seemed forever, long enough for my skin to cool and my breathing to return to normal.

  “That was…incredible,” he said, his voice holding a note of awe.

  “Why?” A glow of a different kind of pleasure crept over my heated, sweaty skin.

  “I’ve given many orgasms before, but never like that.”

  “You’re sex personified.” That surprised me and scared me. “You’ve had orgies.”

  “Yes. The magic makes the pleasure delirious. It’s a mix of bodies and tongues and—”

  I held my hand up as I tried to banish the images from my mind. “I don’t want to know more. Humans usually don’t share past sexual experiences with their—” I had almost said girlfriend. Oops. “The one they’re sleeping with.”

  “Okay.”

  “So without dragging in the orgies… Why was that different?”

  He took a moment, chest rising and falling in even rhythm as he arranged his thoughts. “I’ve never given an orgasm without coming. Or without wanting to come.”

  I thought back through all the sex we’d had this week. He’d always satisfied me and then had taken his own pleasure, so to speak. I moved my leg just a little. His cock brushed my thigh, still small, wrinkled, and warm. The idea of stumbling into a huge, human moment had me dazed in a different way. “How does that make you feel?”

  “I don’t know.” His shoulder shrugged. “All these feelings are odd.”

  I slid my hand
where my leg had just been, cupping him in my hand. Come to think of it, I’d never seen or felt him soft. Even after sex or in the shower he’d been semi-aroused. Maybe that was the magic, too. “I could return the favor if you want an orgasm.”

  He shoved my hand from his crotch. “That’s part of the worry, Olivia. The magic makes everything better. I am a better lover, my cock is bigger, and my cum tastes better than a human’s. It’s part of the lure of sex with a demon.”

  “I don’t understand why this is different, though. The magic made you come home all week and you didn’t feel funny in the evening.”

  “Yes, but I still had some magic. I had to stop and put on the condom myself today and take it off.”

  I guessed that made sense. “Thank goodness I’d purchased some condoms, or I would have been angrier.”

  He tipped his finger under my chin and lifted it. I didn’t like the look in his eyes as they narrowed and darkened. “As a demon, it would have been my right to make you pay for your anger. It’s not allowed.”

  My mouth went dry at the reminder of his true self. I recalled the way my skin had tingled under Samuel’s just-as-dark gaze, how the heat had engulfed me. Leo was every bit as dangerous. I just had to hope he didn’t want to get his hands messy without the magic to guide him. So much easier to poof someone away than to actually do the dirty work.

  I tried to loosen my tongue to answer, but he yanked his hand from my chin and rolled away. “And yet, I made you come instead. I enjoyed easing your unhappiness.”

  He rose from the bed, so damned gorgeous naked, his muscles rippling. Turning, he faced me, and even the soft version of his dick impressed me in that nest of dark curls. He ran an impatient hand though his hair and over the dark shadow of scruff on his jaw. “Why am I telling you this? The lack of magic has stripped me of everything manly.”

  His stomach growled. Loudly.

  He closed his eyes, the picture of sexy frustration.

  At least I had an answer for him. I rose from the bed and pulled a robe over my naked body. “You’re acting like this because you’re hungry.” I tugged his elbow. “Men always act like this when they’re starved.”

  He blew out a breath and opened his eyes. His jaw clenched as he stared at me, those eyes wide and a little wild in a way that would have dampened my panties if I were wearing any.

  “Olivia.” His Adam’s apple bobbed. “I hate this.”

  “I know.” I kissed him softly. “Let’s find you a snack.”

  But that admission meant he was one step closer to being mine.

  ****

  Sunday, I woke to the drone of Leo’s deep voice from the hallway. Drone because I couldn’t separate the words into anything intelligible. I sat up, wiping the sleep from my eyes. The words sounded different, more guttural, with an occasional hiss tossed in on the ending of a word. No way in hell was that English.

  I slipped from the bed and pulled on a robe, creeping to the partially-open door as I tied the sash. I peeked around the corner—

  “Goodbye, Samuel.”

  I took two huge steps and made a flying leap, landing on the bed on my side just as the door swung open fully. I struck my best casual and seductive pose.

  Leo strode in, wide awake, freshly showered, and wearing another pair of deliciously tight jeans and an unbuttoned shirt in a plaid that complimented his eyes. All that wonderful, naked man chest peeked through his open shirt, the fabric rippling over his abs.

  He froze, his brows furrowed as he stared at me. He didn’t look guilty per se, but he sure as hell looked like he’d been caught with his hand in the cookie jar.

  “Oh, good. You’re awake.” The cookie jar look fled and was replaced with a dirty grin as his gaze followed the opening of my robe from my thighs to the gap at my chest. “Move your ass and make me breakfast.”

  “That’s rude.” How soon he’d returned to his demon roots. I glanced down and blushed a little as I tugged the robe shut, concealing the breast that had been on display.

  “Yes, well, speaking to Samuel makes me rude.”

  “Oh?” My, my. Maybe Leo had found his balls without the magic. No wonder he had a touch of demon in his step.

  “Olivia,” Leo said disapprovingly as he yanked the placket of his shirt and lined up the buttons. “I’m starving. Negotiating an additional day off has taken its toll on my hunger and sanity levels.”

  “But what did Daddy Dearest say?”

  “Nothing you need to know except we have another day to do whatever it is you wish so your mother thinks we’re an item.” His mouth rolled around “item” like it was a distasteful word.

  I rose and pulled the robe tight around my neck, miffed. “Well. Glad to spend the day with you, too.”

  “Indeed.” He smacked my ass as I walked by. “So you’re going to feed me toast and teach me to drive.”

  Damn it, I couldn’t stay mad. I don’t know why I wanted to teach him to drive so badly. It’s not like I was a bundle of skill and speed behind the wheel. “If you insist.”

  “I do.” A smile quirked at the corner of his lips. “Samuel didn’t like the whole driving thing.”

  “I’m sure he didn’t,” I called over my shoulder as I went to make breakfast. Little did Leo know, he’d be helping, too.

  ****

  Later that morning, Leo sat scrunched behind the wheel of my Subaru in an old parking lot on the Post Road. The lesson was not going well, probably because any time he’d spent in a car was in the back, being driven somewhere.

  When my head whipped forward and back for the tenth time that morning as he slammed to a stop, I grumped, “Why the hell didn’t you pay attention to what the driver was doing?”

  “You want me to stop the orgy to ask the driver what foot he’s using?”

  I smacked him on the shoulder, and the car lurched to the left. Bad mistake.

  “Don’t hit me.”

  “The next time you mention those orgies, I’m going to do worse.” I pointed to his feet. “You don’t use both feet. Use just the right.”

  “What do I do with the left one then?” He slammed on the breaks using only his right foot and leaned his head on the steering wheel in defeat. “I’m going to have magic tomorrow. I don’t need to drive.”

  I put the car in park, and we sat for a moment in the bright sunshine. “You’re thinking too much.”

  “I can’t believe I’m reduced to human thought patterns.” That made him grind his teeth. “The last time I was tortured like this, I was strung up in Hell with pins being stuck in my balls.”

  Ouch. I winced and sighed. “If you feel that strongly, you don’t have to learn to drive. Lots of manly, masculine men don’t drive. I’m sure just as many masculine demons don’t, either.”

  “But then why would you do this to me?” He mumbled into his arm, his head still on the steering wheel. “Why torture me like this?”

  I thought for a long moment. His relationship with Samuel struck a nerve, probably because the scarred part of me saw it as an abusive situation. Samuel had tortured Leo until he’d gained a certain position. Leo feared being demoted and tortured again. Perhaps all demon relationships worked that way. It was Hell, after all. I hated it, and unfortunately, I found myself defensive for Leo.

  “I want you to be independent, Leo.”

  “Independent.” He sat up, and his brows shot up. “I’m the vice president of a billion dollar company. I don’t want to get into what I own on the other side. I’m important. All beneath me jump when I speak. How am I not independent?”

  “Perhaps you are independent in that world, but without the magic, you’re floundering. Think of all you’ve learned in a few days. You can feed yourself and take care of basic needs. Learning to drive means you don’t have to sit in my apartment when you don’t have magic.”

  Twisting his lips, he mulled that over. “Except for my time with you, I haven’t been without magic ever. Not as a demon.”

  “Yes, and what if it h
appens again? What if Samuel finds a way to take that magic from you and bind you to wherever?”

  Leo blinked rapidly. “He’d never do that. He can’t.”

  “Are you sure?” I let that sink in for a moment. I loved watching Leo think, his jaw working as he stared out into the parking lot. “Because Samuel didn’t realize the magic could be banished after all of these centuries. Now that he knows...” I shrugged.

  Ahead of us, two seagulls fought over fast food trash. The little one seemed to be losing, though it put up a good battle. I understood the struggle all too well.

  Finally, Leo sighed. “I like independence.”

  “I’m glad.” I smiled but held back the surge of victory sparked by his words. I wanted to pry, to find out what he thought, but I didn’t want to scare him off and send him skittering back to the safe umbrella of magic he’d resided under for so long.

  But then I sighed. His words meant, like it or not, my goal had changed. Dividing Samuel and Leo was no longer just about making Leo fall in love, and I wasn’t sure how I felt about that. Too late now.

  To cover my unease, I joked, “Of course, driving yourself will limit your orgy opportunities.”

  He looked down at the space between the steering wheel and his groin and turned to arch a brow at me. “There’s space for a party of two, Olivia. That’s all I need.”

  Leave it to Leo to figure that out himself.

  The thought sent a tingle of desire straight to my core. I’d never had the opportunity to seek my own independence by parking in a car on a moonlit lane. Or in a deserted parking lot. “Learn to drive, and I’ll reward you with dirty car sex.”

  He started the car and grinned. “With that incentive, I’ll learn to drive in no time.”

  Chapter Nineteen

  The thought of the first day back to work had me in a bundle of nerves worse than any ball of yarn I’d tried to unravel. I pushed eggs around my plate Monday morning, my stomach rebelling against eating.

  “What’s wrong with you?” Leo asked.

  “It’s been awhile since I’ve been back to work.”