Chapter Eight

“What about the Host?” I asked several hours later, after we'd showered and dressed.

I had made us a quick lunch of sandwiches and added some chips from our convenience store haul. We sat on the floor in the living room, our plates and glasses set on the round, Chinese, carved coffee table. The curtains were open, letting in the afternoon light, and it all felt very normal. Safe.

But I couldn't forget that right next door were men led by a soul who had escaped the Underworld, and they were intent on killing Dominic.

“I told my pack everything this morning. They're watching the house and forming a plan.” He grimaced. “I may have to leave soon to help them.”

“I could help too.”

“No.” Dominic's usually lighthearted expression went grim. “No,” he repeated. “I won't put you in danger. It's bad enough that you're right next door to them.”

“I don't have to go with you to do. I could just enchant you. Give you a boost of power. Invisibility. Invulnerability.” I shrugged. “Something like that. Honestly, I'm not a fighter. I don't want to accompany you.”

Dominic blinked. “I mean, uh. We're already immortal.”

“But you're not invulnerable. You proved that the night we met.”

“And you can make us invulnerable?” He leaned onto the coffee table, closer to me.

“For a little while. It wouldn't be a blanket invulnerability. It would be something specific. Like invulnerability to drowning or bullets.”

“Bullets. You can make us bulletproof?”

I grinned. “Yes, I can.”

“Holy shit, woman!” Dominic grabbed the back of my neck and pulled me into a kiss. “Have I told you that you're perfect?”

I smirked. “A few times.”

“Well, you're even more perfect than I thought. What else can you do?”

“What do you want me to do?” I waggled my brows at him.

His grin turned wicked. “Oh, so much. So very much. And there's even more that I want to do to you.” He picked me up and set me on the couch, then knelt between my legs. “Lift your skirt for me, angel.”

With a grin, I pulled up my long skirt, lifting my hips so I could gather it around my waist. As I did that, Dominic pulled down my panties. I sat back down and lifted my feet so he could remove them completely. And then he was pushing my thighs apart, and I was scooting to the edge of the couch, anticipating the pleasure of his tongue. God, I loved random acts of oral sex.

I already knew how Dominic performed it. I knew that he'd start with a few long licks. Oh, yes—one, two, three. Each lick sent ripples of delight through me, but Dominic also moaned and closed his eyes. And when I looked down, I saw his erection already straining his jeans. Next would come some light flicks of his tongue to get at my clit, revealing my little bud as he sent zings up my spine. And then—oh, wait, he was mixing things up and adding fingers already. I sighed and set my feet on the couch, opening myself more to him.

“So fucking beautiful,” he murmured against my flesh, his stare locked on my face. “Take off your clothes. I want to see all of you.”

As Dominic continued to lick and stroke me, drawing his finger through my center, I removed my skirt, and then my blouse. I teased him a little, taking my time with my lace bra, and he growled into my flesh.

“Oh, yes!” I cried and grabbed my breasts through the bra. “Right there!”

“Take it off,” he demanded, then slipped a finger inside me. “Do it, or I will. And I'm afraid I won't be gentle about it.”

I shivered, enjoying the aggression in his voice. Dom was always so sweet, so adoring. To see him take control and hear the power in his voice was a thrilling change. And it was a relief to know that I hadn't figured him out yet. Not completely. It was too soon for that. I wanted more mystery. I wanted to draw this out a bit. So, yes, I was relieved to see another side to him.

“What if I don't want you gentle?” I licked my lips, then bit the bottom one.

Dominic rose to his knees, his finger still inside me. Thrusting it slowly, he leaned down to kiss me. Then he eased back to whisper, “My angel gets what she wants.”

With one hand, Dominic reached behind me and flicked my bra open. All normal there. But then he grabbed the center front of and yanked it away, the force of his motion so great that he lifted me off the couch with it. I yipped as I fell back, my breasts jiggling. He smacked one of them, then grabbed it.

“You will tell me if I'm too rough.” It was a command, not a question.

I nodded eagerly.

He pinched my nipple, then bent his head to suck it. Hard. As I groaned and writhed, he withdrew his finger and slid it downward. Drawing moisture with him, he gathered it around my back opening. I clenched in surprise.

“Easy, angel,” Dominic said around my nipple. He flicked his tongue over me. “I'm going to fuck you here, but I need to prepare you first.”

“What?” I whispered.

He shifted his glittering stare up to my face. After one last lick, he drew back and straightened. “Haven't you done that before?”

I shook my head.

Dominic shuddered, his eyes closing briefly. “Oh, fuck. You keep getting better and better.”

“Dom, I don't know if I want to do that. It doesn't sound enjoyable.”

“You'll enjoy it. I'll make sure of it.” He bent and kissed me again, his tongue savaging my mouth. Then he whispered, “But if you don't, you tell me, and I'll stop. Okay?”

“All right.”

“That's my angel.” He slipped his finger into me.

I gasped and tightened around him, pushing him out.

“Just feel me,” Dominic said and crouched between my thighs again. “Forget what you know about receiving a man here and just feel. Look at it as the possibility of a new type of pleasure. Be open to it.”

He circled my hole, but this time, he also bent his head to my sex and started working his magic there. I groaned and did as he said, letting go of I believed about anal sex and focusing on being with Dominic. Just simply exploring what we could do together to see if it might be something I'd enjoy. Why not?

But then Dom stood up, leaving me splayed open and naked while he was still clothed.

“What are you doing?” I asked.

“Stay there.” Dominic pointed at me. “Don't fucking move. I want to come back to find you open and dripping for me.”

Breathless, I said, “Okay.”

He left the room. Left. The. Fucking. Room.

I watched him go, wondering if he were about to pull some freaky Fifty Shades of bullshit on me. But he quickly returned with some condoms and lube.

Right. We'd need those. Especially if he was going back there. Suddenly, I relaxed. Dom wasn't a man who cared only about his own pleasure. A normal guy wouldn't be as motivated to remember a condom for anal. After all, he wouldn't have to worry about getting me pregnant that way. But if we had anal sex unprotected and then later, we had normal sex unprotected, he could give me a nasty infection. And Dominic was concerned about that. His concern made me feel safe with him. I could trust him to do what was best for me.

Dominic grinned when he saw that I was in the same position he'd left me in. He came to stand before me, then set the things down on the couch beside me. Still watching me, he undressed. I watched, hungry for every inch of skin he bared. I'd never been so sexually aroused by a man before. Had it only been a day that I'd known Dominic Demos? Impossible. This man knew my body better than anyone.

And I knew his.

Oh, God. Look at that chest. Those arms. Those thick legs. And that cock. Dominic stroked it as he stared at me. Then he knelt before me again and got out a condom. He had it on in a few seconds. Next came the lubrication. But he didn't put it on himself. Instead, he squeezed it over my sex. I noticed that he was careful to use his right hand to rub it in, then took over with his left to spread it down to that other place.

I sighed and wriggled. It felt good. That slickness. The gentle rubbing. Then he pressed the tip of his finger into the center of me. My flesh yielded. I sighed. My sex clenched instead of my back opening. My eyes closed. Hard flesh rubbed over my sex, and my eyes popped open. Dominic was sliding his sheathed cock over me, getting it slick, all while he teased my ass.

Watching me with his hot stare, Dominic grabbed the base of his shaft and angled it until he found his way into my sex. I cried out, my entire body shuddering as he entered. I'd expected this to be about anal. I thought he was going to focus on that act. But, just as Dominic said, that's not what this was about at all. It was about pleasure. Our pleasure. We'd get there eventually, but it was about the ride. The whole ride.

I bit my bottom lip and closed my eyes to enjoy the journey. I wanted to go wherever Dominic would take me. And he took me slowly, pumping in and out, letting my sex adjust to him as my other channel adjusted to his finger. He stretched me perfectly, his cock just big enough to fill me without pushing my limits. Then he rolled forward.

I forgot about Dom's finger down there. Even as it breached me. Even as it moved faster. I was too wrapped up in the way our bodies merged higher up. The way Dominic licked his lips as he stared at my breasts. The way he rolled his hips to make every entry a sexual feast both visually and physically.

It didn't register that he was finger fucking my ass until he started pounding it in time with his thrusts. My eyes went wide. It felt good. Better than good. So good that I wanted more.

As if he could hear my thoughts, Dominic slid out of my sex and rubbed his shaft over my clit. “I think you're ready, angel. Do you want to try my cock in your ass now?”

I nodded.

“I want you to rub your pussy for me while I fuck you. Do it like you would if you were alone.”

Oh, the shivers his words brought. I moaned in answer and started rubbing myself.

“Good girl.” Dominic positioned his cock lower.

I felt it prod me down there. Push gently. Draw back. Push again. I wriggled on him.

“Stay still,” he growled.

Shivers of delight ran through me in reaction to his harsh tone, and I went still.

“Now, take it.” Dominic slipped into me.

I cried out as I was filled in a way I'd never been before. New pleasure burst through my body. Exciting feelings. Nerve endings that had never been stimulated like that before came alive. My fingers sped up, jerking over my clit and rubbing my sex. Wet sounds came to my ears, and I realized it was me. My desire. I screeched in pleasure and set my feet on Dom's chest, opening myself further to him. Needing as much as he could give.

“That's my angel,” Dom groaned. “Oh, fuck, look at you. I wish we were in front of the mirror again so you could see how beautiful your body is, stretched around mine.”

“Shut up and fuck my ass!” I screamed.

Dominic's grin was glorious. He wrapped his arms around my thighs and started slamming into me. And he looked magnificent fucking me, his stomach rippling with every undulation, his arms bulging with muscles, and his jaw thrust forward. Light burst behind my eyelids. Were my eyes open or closed? I couldn't tell. My head rolled from side to side, my body opened like a flower, and my clit exploded with ecstasy.

I stroked it faster and screamed like a banshee. “Oh, fuck! Don't stop! Keep fucking me!”

“Anything you want, angel.”

Dominic put on speed, the force of his thrusts making the couch creak. The world seemed to crack open and gush all over me. Or was that just my core drenched in passion? Was it always like this? Or was it Dominic who could make something so base feel like magic?

“Come for me, angel,” Dominic snarled. “Come hard!”

As if he could command my body, I instantly rolled into a wild orgasm. My back arched, my breasts shook, and my thighs went tight. Back there, my channel squeezed his flesh, and he groaned, then gave one final thrust, locking up against me. As I screamed, clawed, and shuddered down the walls of an abyss of pleasure, he tumbled after me.

Then we hit the bottom and collapsed together on that sweet expanse. Or the couch. Whatever.

Panting and pressed together, Dominic and I stared at each other. He was still inside me, my body clutching at his limp flesh as if it never wanted him to leave. I squeezed harder.

Dominic gasped. “Great Gods, angel. You've ruined me for all others.”

“And you made me like something I thought I was going to hate.”

He reached down and extricated himself, then dealt with the condom. I slid up on the couch as he set it aside, and then he crawled up beside me to snuggle me into his arms.

“I'm honored that you let me try it with you, even when you believed you wouldn't enjoy it. Thank you for trusting me.”

“With my ass virginity?” I grinned against his chest.

“Hey, don't lessen what just happened. That was one of the most incredible sexual experiences of my life. Second only to our first time together. And you don't know how proud I am to have been the first to show you a new kind of pleasure. I . . .” He swallowed roughly, fighting emotion. “It was more than sex for me, angel. I feel closer to you now. To be brutally honest, I'm relieved that I didn't mess things up. I tend to do that.”

I stared at him, my throat closing up on unexpected emotion. Again, I was reminded of Darius and the differences between the two men. One was so arrogant it made me sick while the other, who was just as gorgeous and therefore, just as vulnerable to conceit, was endearingly unaware of how amazing he was. And that made Dominic ten times more incredible. Not that he was insecure. Far from it. But he was also far from the cocky vanity of Darius. It was enough to make a woman fall head over heels.

Sliding my arms around his neck, I kissed his cheek, then said, “You haven't messed up with me. Not once.”

Dominic's stare shivered, something rising in the gray depths, then he blinked. His usual, carefree expression fell over his face. “Oh, just give me some time, angel. I'm sure I will.”

“Don't pull back now,” I said softly. “You were right there with me.”

“Right where?” he whispered, the smile falling away.

“On the edge of something real.”

“Angel, this is real.” Dominic's stare backed his words. “We passed the edge together, and I'm not looking back. I'm here with you. I'm not going anywhere.”

“Dom,” I whispered. “This feels right, but my head keeps telling me this isn't how love works.”

“Tell your head to fuck off.” He grinned broadly. “And if it doesn't shut up, I'll fuck your pretty ass again and your screaming will shut it up.”

I bent my head to hide my face. “I really enjoyed it.”

“Hey.” He took my chin and angled my face up toward his. “You told me not to pull away, and now you're doing it.”

“I'm a little embarrassed that I enjoyed it so much. I went a bit wild.”

“Are you kidding me? You were glorious. I've never seen a woman fall into pleasure with such freedom. Just not giving a fuck about anything but the way she feels. You trusted me to take you there, but then you dove in all on your own. I . . . Amélie, I need to tell—”

Something chimed.

“Damn it,” Dominic growled and looked over his shoulder. His cellphone was on the coffee table and its screen was alight. “Not now!”

“It's all right,” I said. “It could be important.”

“You are more important than anything else on the face of the planet.”

“That's sweet.” I sat up. “But answer your call. I have to get ready for work anyway.”

“Don't go in. Take the day off.” He pulled me back down onto his lap and kissed my neck. “Call in sick. Ple-e-ease.”

“I did tell you that I own the bar, right?”

“And you have employees, right? Can't they handle things without you for one night?”

“Yes, of course. Jackie supervises for me on my days off. But I'm off tomorrow and the next day. I don't want to ask her to supervise three days in a row.”

His phone went silent.

“All right. I'll go in with you,” he said.

“Dom, I think you should go home and talk to your team,” I said. “You've got to deal with the Host.”

“I don't wanna!” Dominic whined.

I chuckled and snuggled in deeper. “I don't wanna either. But you can come back tonight. I'll adjust the ward to let you through. Then we can have two days all to ourselves.”

“Fine,” he grumbled.

His phone started ringing again.

“Damn it all!” Dominic sat up, taking me with him, one arm tight around my waist, and grabbed the phone. He settled us back against the couch as I laughed, then he answered with an annoyed, “What?!”

I shook my head at him and slipped out of his arms.

“Hey, come back here.” Dom reached for me, but I eluded him. “I'm not talking to you, asshole. Fucking obviously. You're not here, are you?” A pause, then, “What do you want ?!”

As I headed upstairs, my body wonderfully languid, I grinned to myself.

“No, not yet. Actually, I've just found out that she can help us. You won't believe what she's capable of. She might be exactly what we need to catch Michael.”

Right. I forgot about that. I had offered to help. But I had to go into the bar. I wasn't going to put my life on hold to help them. Then again, it's not as if I had to close the bar to do it, and if all Dom said were true—and I believed it was—ridding the world of Michael was in everyone's best interest. He was an escaped soul tricking humans into doing his dirty work. And that work included killing the man I—

“The man I what?” I muttered to myself as I entered the bathroom. “You're not in love with him. That would be crazy. It's been a day, you stupid girl. It's just hormones. He's made you come a billion times and that releases a billion hormones. Steady yourself.”

I turned on the shower, then looked at myself in the mirror over the sink. My hair was wild, my cheeks flushed, and my eyes alight. I looked amazing. I fucking felt amazing.

“Yup. It's the sex,” I said to my reflection. Then I blushed. “Who knew that anal sex would feel so good?” I smirked. “Well, the gays, I guess. They knew. They've always known.” I shook my head. “It shouldn't. It makes no sense. But it does. And he looked incredible while he did it.”

The image of Dominic savagely fucking me entered my mind, and I shivered. I wanted to shower with him. Wash his hard body with a soapy scrubby. See the suds slide over his delectable skin. I wanted to spend the night with him. I wanted to wake up with him again tomorrow. And the day after that. I wanted to do everything with him. Most of all, I wanted him inside me again.

They say that the more sex a woman has—good sex, mind you—the more she wants it. I could see the truth of that now. My ass ached but in the best way. As if it were crying for more. And not just there. My sex wept for Dom. My poor little swollen bud had seen more action than it had in years, but it didn't care. It wanted another tongue-lashing. Fuck, even my breasts tightened from a few thoughts of him. Dominic was right downstairs, and we had just had sex, but there I was, hot and bothered, my hand sliding into my curls to rub at myself again.

With a gasp, I braced myself on the counter and bent forward, hiding my face with my hair. Running frantically, I moaned as another orgasm built.

“Oh, don't you dare, angel,” Dominic growled.

My head shot up to see Dom standing in the open doorway. Naked. The mark of Hades pointing down to his hard cock. As if I needed the reminder. He strode forward, pushed me even further onto the counter, and shoved into me with one slick maneuver. It was as if Hades had made Dominic's body to fit mine. I cried out and braced myself, lifting my head to meet his stare in the mirror.

“What took you so long?” I growled.

Dominic grinned. But then he cursed, “Fuck. We need a condom. You still haven't cast that spell.”

“Forget it. You can pull out again.”

“You know that's not the—”

“Dominic!” I snarled.

He groaned and grabbed my hips as he thrust forward, obeying my command. “My angel gets what she wants.”