Chapter 17

Alex shouldn't have been surprised when Izael veritably attacked her like a whirlwind the moment the world came back into focus. Her feet hadn't even touched the ground before he had shifted forms to his true self and half-lain, half-thrown her down onto his chaise lounge.

His fingers dug into her sides as his hands roamed her body, squeezing—grasping—needing. It was so overwhelming it made it easy to sink into it, to forget everything around her. There was no looming death. No horrible suffering. No attempted murder of a demigod. Just her. Just Izael.

And it was glorious.

The dress she was wearing was the first victim to Izael's feral desire. He ripped it from her, the threads popping as he clearly decided he had no patience to deal with the zipper. It was a shame, as it was a nice dress—but she'd never have the chance to wear it again, anyway.

She pushed those lingering thoughts from her mind. Not like Izael gave her much choice as he grasped the band of her bra in both hands and pulled, snapping and ripping it like it was nothing. A second later, he descended on her, pulling a desperate moan from her as he bit one nipple while mercilessly tormenting the other between his fingers.

There were no words. They weren't needed. Threading her fingers into his hair, she held on to him for dear life as he mixed pain and pleasure in perfect balance. It was her turn to dig her fingernails into his shoulder as hard as she could, wanting to return the favor.

He hissed, so much like his reptilian cousins, as he pulled his head up from her breast to bare his teeth at her. "Careful, songbird—I might like that too much."

Her response was to fist his hair in her hand and pull, watching those sea-green eyes go lidded and dark in bliss. It seemed he could take as good as he gave. If we live through this, somehow, I'm going to see how he likes being on a leash next time…

Dragging her nails over his chest, she traced that perfect teal line that ran from beneath his chin all the way down to where his scales started at his hips. She left faint, red, lifted welts in her wake. His tail writhed in response as he shuddered from the action.

He pulled her up from her back to kneel in front of him as he wrapped his tail around behind her, surrounding them both as his lips crashed into hers. When his tongue flicked at her lips, she parted hers to allow him entry. It curled around her own tongue, the length and the dexterity of it reminding her of their first foray.

And it seemed it reminded him, too, as the tip of his tail slithered around her throat and pulled her away from him. His gaze traveled down her body that was now on full display. He'd left her thigh-high stockings on, but her garter belt and underwear had been snapped and removed like all the rest.

His fingers ran along the lace edge of her pantyhose, a low growl leaving him. "You are perfect. And you are mine."

The music that surrounded them was a tango, their instruments mingling together in a perfect mirror of how their bodies would soon be. She didn't argue with him—instead surrendering to his power, tilting her head back and leaning against the strength in his long, muscular tail.

She was his.

There was no point in denying it any longer.

That simple motion—that simple relaxing of her muscles into his power—was like dangling a piece of meat in front of a starving tiger. The world was a brief blur as he turned her around and yanked her head down to the upholstered lounge. It was obvious what he was after when he slid a part of his tail in front of her and she watched as his two members emerged from the slit that hid them, pulsing and twitching, already hard and begging for attention.

She ran her hand over the first of his two lengths, feeling the ridges against her palm. She squeezed, earning her a moan from behind her.

His breath washed over the bare skin of her ass before his tongue ran up the line of her core. It'd be only fair to return the favor as she did the same to him, tasting him. It was strange and foreign—but not unpleasant. Not at all. Even if she was a little alarmed at what the texture was going to feel like.

She was also eager to find out.

Taking the tip of him into her mouth, she shut her eyes and let herself experience the moment. The sight of him was bizarre enough that it was helpful simply to feel it. The hand on her thigh tightened as he plunged a finger into her to the knuckle, his thumb running over her sensitive nub. She jolted with the sudden pleasure that lanced up her spine.

The hand on her thigh shifted to tangle into her hair, pressing her head down on him, urging her to go deeper. To take more of him. He set the pace, and she let him, moaning as he teased the back of the throat with the pointed tip of his length.

Taking a deep breath, she held it as she relaxed her throat, letting him urge her to take more and more of him. The ridges were bizarre—the feeling of him like nothing she'd ever experienced before. But slowly and surely, she adjusted. When she was moving at a pace and depth that he seemed to approve of, his hand left her head to knead her ass as he teased and tormented her in time to her movements.

Reflexively, she grasped his other length, gliding over him as she continued to ease the other in and out of her mouth, swirling her tongue around him as she worked. Eyes still shut, it was easy to give in to the pleasure of it all and not reflect on how fucked up it really was.

When his hand left her to pour a warm, viscous substance over somewhere else entirely, she jolted and pulled her head up from him, glancing back at him in concern.

He grinned that devilish, evil smile that she had come to delight in, even if it was a sign of incoming danger. His finger swirled the substance around her before slowly slipping inside, making her cry out at the foreign invader.

"I've never—" She gasped and lowered her head, trying not to tense up.

"I did warn you. Every way a man can take a woman. Just be glad I don't have three—I'd find a way to do it all at once." He chuckled as he slowly worked his finger deeper, little by little. Retreating almost all the way before going in just a little bit farther. "We'll take our time, don't you worry. I don't want you broken for our final stand."

It was a moan of pleasure that left her when a second finger joined the first—which surprised her. He was keeping to his word, slowly working deeper and deeper into her. Preparing her for what was going to happen next.

The curl of his tail around her throat pulled her head up, bringing her in line with his two twitching lengths, reminding her that she still had a job to do. With a shuddering breath, she obliged him—running her tongue along one before taking it into her mouth, her hand paying attention to the other.

She started to switch back and forth, not wanting one to feel neglected over the other, all while he worked, stretching and preparing her.

When a third finger joined the previous two, she let out a muffled wail against him, nearly gagging as her muscles reflexively tensed.

He shushed her, his other hand kneading her thigh soothingly as he pushed them deeper and deeper until they were up to his knuckles. "Perfect, songbird—beautiful." His voice was a dusky rasp. "You're ready."

Nervous fear overtook her for a moment, but she knew he wouldn't give her a choice. He picked her up again, spinning her to face him until she was on her knees once more before him. But this time, the thick cord of his tail was between her legs. Both his members rested on her core as he undulated his muscles, grinding them against her.

The sensation made her shudder and almost collapse forward against him. When he didn't move, except to slowly rut himself against her, she realized what he wanted. He wanted her to do it.

"I—" She didn't even know where to start. Literally.

"I'll help when you need it." He kissed the corner of her lips before his snakelike tongue flicked out, tasting her skin. She had broken out in a thin sheen of sweat, though she couldn't say when. "I want to watch you take all of me." He lay back against the curled arm of the lounge. "I want to watch you surrender to me."

She shivered at his words, feeling both altogether too hot and too cold at the same time. Chewing on her lower lip, she grasped the one that was closer to her back and decided to be pragmatic about it. That one would be the hardest to take, so…it should go first.

His chuckle was low and rumbling as he lay there, looking like some arrogant ancient lord watching his harem dance for him. And in a way that was exactly what he was.

The pointed tip of his member was at least useful for easing him inside her. She cringed a bit at the stretch. It stung a little as the pressure built. She gasped as it slid inside, just the first inch or so. She had a lot more to go. "Fuck?—"

"That's it. Take your time. I'm in no rush. My kind can stay paired like this for hours. Even days." He grinned toothily, his tongue flicking out to scent the air. "I'll spare you that, don't worry."

Small favors. She took the other one in her hand and guided it to her core. That one went in much easier, for obvious reasons. A shuddering moan exited her as she felt them both inside her. Just a little. Just enough.

Reminding herself to breathe, she took a slow breath in before letting it out, repeating the pattern a few times until she could relax her body enough to start to lower her weight against him, easing him deeper into her body.

His groan of pleasure spurred her on. His back arched as his own eyes slipped shut, clearly losing himself in the sensations coursing through him.

She had to put her hands on his chest to balance her weight as she kept easing herself slowly lower and lower. She had never felt so full—it was so different than taking both of him one way. That had been pushing her limits, but it wasn't like this.

It was all so sinful. So wrong. So wonderful.

The moment stretched on for both a single heartbeat and an eternity until her body met his, and he was finally seated all the way inside her. She couldn't speak. There were no words. He was beyond them as well, his hands resting on her hips as she rocked herself experimentally on him, feeling the pressure change as they moved inside of her.

Izael gripped her hips tightly, and lifted her a few inches before, without warning, slamming her back down onto him with such force it shot stars through her vision. The sudden impact was too much for her, and her pleasure peaked unexpectedly.

The cry that left her was both one of bliss and one that begged for mercy. It was clear Izael was in no mood to grant it. He kept up the tempo, not caring how her muscles clamped down around him in her release, as he set a violent and needy pace. She couldn't do anything to help him anymore.

She collapsed against him, her head resting against his chest, but it didn't deter him. He undulated his tail in a wave, causing one to withdraw before the other, filling her again in the same rhythmic, inhuman pattern.

This wasn't the normal, hammer-like drive of a human. This was wild. This was feral. This was animalistic. And it had her crashing over the cliff of ecstasy again, and again, and again. Her head reeled and swam as he pumped himself into her in that rolling pattern.

But she couldn't take it forever. She smacked his chest, quite literally tapping out, as she felt her vision start to turn into a tunnel. She couldn't breathe—it was all too much for her. And his tail around her throat had nothing to do with it.

"Fine—" he snarled, clearly a little frustrated that she was ending their fun. "Fragile humans!" His voice was more animal than man as he withdrew both his members from her body before ramming them back into her at full tilt. His tail released from her throat to wrap around her lower body, coiling around her like a constrictor, cinching her body to his like a vise.

Her wail of ecstasy and agony as he used all his strength to push himself into her as hard as he could was muffled against his lips. He cradled her head in his hands as she felt him shudder beneath her.

He surged inside her body, and heat flooded her as his release took him. He let out an agonized roar against her as he filled her. All of her.

She shut her eyes, trying to focus on slowing her heartbeat and filling her lungs with air.

Izael slowly relaxed his grip on her as he gently wrapped his arms around her. "Did I break you again?"

"Mmnghk,"was all she managed to grunt out.

He chuckled. "I'll take that as a no." He lifted her in his arms, which was fine by her—she had no will to walk—and carried her to the hot spring he used as a bath. The hot water felt incredible as he slithered into it, gently setting her down on the bench that ran the circumference.

She let the hot water soothe her for a few moments before she went for the soap. "It's really nice to have a permanent hot tub."

"Isn't it?" He ducked his head under the water and came up, smoothing his wet hair back. Gods, he was so damn pretty. And water was, obviously, his element. He moved through it gracefully, before leaning on the edge of the pool and groaning as he stretched. "I once spent a week in this thing."

"I'd think you were exaggerating, but I know you're not." Soaping up her hair, she rinsed it out in the water, dunking underneath as well. When she came back up, he gestured for her to come over to him. When she did, he pulled her into a hug, settling her down on his lap.

He kissed her forehead. They said nothing as they sat there for what felt like an hour. She didn't want to move. Didn't want to shatter the moment. Because the instant she did…it'd be the beginning of the end.

If she just sat there a little longer, then it'd never happen. Right?

No.

That wasn't how time worked. That wasn't how life worked. Taking a breath, she held it for as long as she could before letting it out in a rush. Lifting her head, she saw from the expression on his face that he was thinking exactly the same thing.

His lips pulled into a thin line. "I'm not doing this on an empty stomach."

Laughing, she rested her head back on his shoulder. He sounded so much like a petulant child. "Fine, fine. I could go for a snack."

"And by a snack you mean an entire roasted cow, right?"

"You do you, buddy." She stretched, arching her back, feeling the bones crack. "I could go for a hamburger, though."

"Whole cow. On it." He shifted her back to the bench as he slithered out of the water, and she watched him as he moved. It was rare that she got to watch him in this form just…be. And it was captivating. Absolutely hypnotic. Even though his tail was huge—easily twenty feet long if not thirty—he moved with an almost surreal grace.

Folding her arms on the edge of the pool, she rested her chin on them. It was then that it hit her.

Like a ton of bricks.

All at once.

Fuck.

Fuck!

I love him.