9. Rissa

9

RISSA

"Okay, all right, let's do this," I said, rolling my shoulders and shaking my hands out. "We'll need to combine our powers again, but this time, I take the lead. I want to have every possible bit of power to do this, just in case."

Luce nodded, his expression uncharacteristically serious. "There's something you should know, though. Me taking your power is easy. Like breathing. But to give you mine..." He hesitated, looking almost sheepish. "We're going to need a lot more physical contact. It's just the way it works with daemons."

I raised an eyebrow, trying to ignore the sudden flutter in my stomach. "Okay, how much are we talking about?"

Luce tugged on his collar. "A lot of it. As much as we can."

Tingles erupted in places I'd rather they didn't, and I bit my cheek. We'd had sex only a couple hours ago, but it appeared my body was ready to go for another round. Despite my best effort, humor leaked into my words. "In order for you to share more of your power with me, we need to have as much skin contact as possible?"

Luce nodded, an answering gleam of humor meeting mine. "I swear it's the truth. Daemon magic works differently than what you're used to. Physical touch amplifies the connection."

The absurdity of the situation hit me then, and I couldn't help but laugh. The only downside was the possibility that someone was watching us.

Still chuckling, I started to undress, peeling off my jacket and tossing it aside. Luce's eyebrows shot up in surprise before a slow, wicked grin spread across his face. He gave me an exaggerated leer, waggling his brows up and down like some kind of lecherous cartoon character.

I rolled my eyes, biting back another laugh. "Underwear stays on. I don't need that extra bit of distraction."

Luce schooled his features into a more serious expression, but I could still see the amusement dancing in his gaze. "Of course. All very platonic."

I shook my head, unable to completely suppress my smile as I continued to disrobe. The air was cool against my bare skin, raising goosebumps along my arms. But it was the heat of Luce's stare that made me shiver, an electric tingle that raced down my spine.

Luce joined me undressing. His fingers moved deftly over the buttons of his shirt, revealing more and more of his toned chest with each passing second.

"This will be much easier for me if I'm in my true form," he said casually, shrugging out of the garment and letting it fall to the floor.

Oh! He shapeshifted rather than used illusion. I had never met a daemon who went that road.

Luce's body blurred as his muscles rippled and expanded, growing larger and more defined. Silvery-blue scales erupted across his skin, gleaming under the soft light. Luce's face elongated slightly, his features becoming sharper, more angular.

I watched, transfixed, as horns curled from his temples and a powerful tail unfurled behind him. When the transformation was complete, Luce stood before me in all his daemonic glory, towering and magnificent.

Suddenly, the situation didn't seem quite so amusing anymore. Luce had always been attractive, but seeing him like this, in his true form... it hit me like a punch to the gut.

The man, er, daemon, was breathtaking. Raw masculine power radiated from every inch of his impressive frame. The shimmering scales accentuated the hills and valleys of his musculature, drawing my gaze like a magnet. His massive shoulders tapered down to a trim waist and sturdy hips.

My mouth went dry as I dragged my eyes back up to Luce's face. He was watching me intently, a knowing glint in his deep-set eyes. A flush of heat crawled up my neck and into my cheeks.

Damn it, I was not some blushing schoolgirl. We'd had sex this morning, for crying out loud. I shouldn't be getting all hot and bothered again.

I squared my shoulders and lifted my chin, meeting Luce's gaze head-on. "Okay then," I said. "Let's do this."

Luce shrugged then hooked his thumbs into the waistband of his pants. With a swift tug, he shucked them off, leaving him clad in nothing but a snug pair of black briefs.

I tried not to stare, I really did. But it was impossible to miss the sizeable bulge straining against the fabric. Heat pooled low in my belly as my imagination ran wild with thoughts of what lay beneath.

Luce cleared his throat, snapping me out of my lust-fueled daze. "We can postpone breaking out and have sex if you'd like?"

"Not on the table," I scoffed, hoping he couldn't hear the breathless quality to my words. "Let's do this."

We climbed onto the bed awkwardly, trying to arrange our bodies to maximize skin contact. After some fumbling, we settled into position with my back pressed to Luce's solid chest and his groin nestled against the curve of my butt.

I swallowed hard, desire and practicality warring within me. Part of me couldn't help but wonder what would happen if Luce got fully erect right now. Was I willing to put off breaking out for an hour or six? A traitorous voice in my head whispered that I could just let him slip inside...

No. I gave myself a mental shake. We'd had sex before, but this, geez. This was different. It felt…intimate. Like something else entirely.

Luce's hot breath tickled the nape of my neck as he murmured, "Ready?"

I nodded curtly, not trusting myself to speak.

At first, nothing happened. But then a faint trickle of power seeped from Luce's skin into mine. It started as a barely-there sensation, like the whisper of a breeze.

Gradually, the flow increased. Power poured into me from every point of contact between our bodies, an electric, exhilarating rush. Luce had been telling the truth. This full-body transference was far more potent than our previous hand-holding attempt.

My head fell back against his shoulder as intoxicating energy suffused my being. Minutes ticked by as Luce continued infusing me with power. To my abiding frustration, my body began reacting in a way that had nothing to do with magic. My nipples pebbled beneath my thin top, and a telltale ache built between my thighs. I squeezed my eyes shut, willing myself to focus.

"That's all I can give you," Luce finally murmured, his breath hot against my ear.

I suppressed a shiver and murmured, "Not by a longshot."

Closing my eyes, I reached deep within myself, grasping at threads of my own limited power. It was a mere candle gleam compared to the bonfire that was my true strength, locked away in that damn diamond in the middle of the ocean. But it would help. And for a daemon, sharing power with someone else was almost unheard of.

I pulled the magic I'd gathered to the surface, mixing it together with the energy I'd absorbed from Luce. The combined power crackled over my skin, making the fine hairs on my arms stand on end.

Now for the tricky part.

Extending my senses, I focused on the metaphysical prison around us, the invisible walls that kept us trapped. In my mind's eye, I pictured the curved glass of the bottle, saw it take shape and solidify until it was as real as the bed we lay on.

Slowly, painstakingly, I poured our merged power into that image, willing it to manifest. A bead of sweat trickled down my temple from the effort. The air grew heavy, pressing in on us...

There was a musical ping, like struck crystal, and suddenly translucent green glass surrounded us on all sides, distorting the light. The bottle that defined our prison had taken physical form.

I breathed in. "It worked."

Luce propped himself up on an elbow to survey our newly tangible prison. Even that small movement had his bare chest rubbing against my back in a way that sent tingles straight to my core.

"You did it," Luce said, sounding genuinely impressed. "Now let's see how many pieces you can break it into."

I took a deep breath, trying to ignore the distracting heat of Luce's body pressed against mine. Gathering the rest of our magic, I focused it into a tight, pulsing sphere between my palms. It grew brighter, more intense, until it felt like I was holding a miniature sun.

"Okay," I whispered, my jaw clenched with effort. "I'm going to try to break the bottle. If this works, it should shatter the glass and free us. Be ready, it might be a bumpy ride."

Luce's hand settled warmly on my hip, his claws pricking my skin. "Do it."

I envisioned the power exploding outwards, a shockwave of pure force that would reduce the bottle to glittering shards. Stiffening, I released it.

The bottle shuddered violently, a series of ear-splitting cracks rending the air. For a moment, I thought it had worked.

Then the world tilted sideways. It was like the worst earthquake imaginable, tossing us around like ragdolls.

I tumbled off the bed with a yelp, hitting the floor hard. A heavy weight landed on top of me, knocking the wind from my lungs.

Luce. His thighs bracketed mine, the hard ridge of his arousal pressed intimately against my core.

He let out a guttural moan, his hips rocking forward instinctively. Even through the barrier of our underwear, I could feel the searing heat of him.

Then he froze, a mortified flush staining his cheeks a deeper blue. "Shit, Rissa, not the time?—"

He scrambled off me hastily, looking anywhere but at my face. It would have been comical if I wasn't so thoroughly rattled myself.

I sat up gingerly, willing my racing heart to slow. The bottle was still very much intact around us, mocking me with its solidity.

"It's fine," I managed, trying to pretend I wasn't half-crazed with frustrated desire. "We'll just have to...try again."

My gaze involuntarily drifted downward, taking in the impressive outline straining against Luce's underwear. Holy hell. I blinked, then blinked again.

When I'd seen him earlier, there had been a modest, unassuming bulge. Nothing to be embarrassed about but also nothing to write home about. But now? It was like a damn tent pole had sprung up in his briefs.

I dragged my focus back to his face with effort. "In this form you're, uh...you're definitely a grower, not a shower, huh?"

Luce shifted uncomfortably, folding his arms across his chest. "Can we not discuss my dick right now?"

"Why not? It's trying very hard to be part of the conversation." I chuckled at my own joke.

He shot me a pained look. "Unless you want to spend some quality time under me, stop it."

That made me laugh harder. The urge to pounce on him, to yank that last scrap of fabric away and explore every glorious inch of his daemon form, was nearly overwhelming.

I pressed my hand over my mouth, using the sting of my teeth on my lips as a distraction. We needed to focus on escape.

Even if escape was currently the last thing on my mind. Goddess help me, I wanted him. Wanted to discover if he could surpass the toe-curling ecstasy he'd shown me in his human shape.

No. Bad Rissa. Priorities.

I opened my mouth, praying something like a new version of our plan would emerge—The bottle shuddered violently around us, the floor rolling like a storm-tossed ship. I yelped, thrown off balance. Not again!