by S. K. Yule
She licked her lips and opened them obediently to accept the tip of the chocolate-coated delicacy. The berry was perfectly ripe, and its sweet juiciness complimented the creamy chocolate. Isabelle leaned back as she chewed and looked up at the pitch-black sky, now dotted with billions of shimmering stars.
* * * *
Cyrus watched Izzy chew the succulent strawberry as she stared up at the stars. He licked his lips, his gaze roaming the swell of her breasts and the curve of her hip. He wanted her, and no matter what obstacles existed between them, he was certain she wanted him too.
He took her empty glass and slipped it into one of the bags before leaning over her body to take her mouth with his. She hesitated for only a second before wrapping her arms around his neck and pulling him tightly against her. The blanket slid with their weight, and she nestled firmly against his groin as the bags fell to the ground. His arousal brushed against her sex, and the friction of their clothes only increased the sensation.
She wrapped her legs around his waist and rubbed herself against him. Cyrus groaned and cupped one of her breasts in his hand, squeezing it gently and pinching the hardened nipple between his thumb and index finger. When Isabelle gasped, he scooped her up and carried her to the car, her legs and arms still wrapped around him.
He opened the passenger side door and pushed the seat all the way forward before tumbling her into the back. He followed her in and shut the door behind them. Isabelle reached for him, breathing hard, dragging him down to fasten her mouth on his. She traced his lips with her tongue before pushing it into his mouth and tangling it with his own.
“Mmm. You taste sweet. Izzy, I want you. Say you want me too.”
If she said no, he would respect her wish, but he was sure he’d explode if she told him to stop.
“I want you too, Cyrus,” she murmured.
They tugged at each other’s clothing until they were both naked. Cyrus turned her to face the back window, placing her hands on top of the seat. She was on her knees, which he pushed wide before draping his body over hers. He kissed her ear and nibbled a path along her jaw to her neck. She turned her head to allow him access to her lips. The taste of champagne and chocolate mingled between their tongues, and he devoured her mouth with his.
He covered her hands with his own. When he licked a path down her delectable spine, she squeezed the back of the seat harder and strained against him. His erection pressed into her lower back, but when she shifted her hips, it slid against the cleft of her curvy cheeks.
She wiggled, trying to position herself for his penetration, but he held her firm. “Not yet, Izzy.” Cyrus moved his hands around to her breasts, and she tried to reach behind to touch him as well. He placed her hands back on top of the seat. “Don’t move. Keep still.”
Each time she tried to reach for him, he stopped touching her, and guided her hands back to the top of the seat. He kneaded her breasts and pulled at the stiff nipples as he rubbed his cock along the seam of her ass, while sliding his palm down, over her flat belly, then lower, over the short curls that nestled the treasure he sought, and ran one finger along her slick opening. He slipped it inside, pulled out, then made slow circles around her clit. She writhed against him, letting out short gasps and low moans as he penetrated her with his fingers.
“You feel damn good, Izzy. I want to fuck you until you scream my name over and over.”
As he continued torturing her nipple and clit, and eased his cock along the cleft of her ass, she gritted her teeth. “Do it, Cyrus! God, please, do it before I catch fire.”
He put his mouth to her ear. “Will you scream my name, beautiful Izzy?”
“Yes!” She pushed back against him hard.
He grabbed her hips and yanked them back toward him at the same time he positioned himself at her opening. After thrusting up into her, seating himself fully with one smooth stroke, her tight, wet channel gripped him, and he nearly came. “My. God. Izzy,” he said, pumping into her between each word ground from between his teeth. “You. Feel. Incredible.”
* * * *
Isabelle’s orgasm built, gathering in her lower belly, and she strained against Cyrus every time he thrust his hips, taking him deeper and deeper. He rode her hard, and she encouraged him on. He skimmed his hand down her rib cage, along her hip, and around to her clit where he rubbed circles around the tight bundle of nerves with one finger. Stars danced before her eyes, and she tumbled over the edge.
Lightning streaked through her, and she thought she might pass out from the intense pleasure coursing in her veins. “Cyrus! Cyrus!”
He continued pumping into her slick, hot body. “You’re mine, Izzy. Say you’re mine.”
“Yes!”
She rubbed against him, frantically searching for more, begging for what only he could give her. Fulfillment, satisfaction…completion. “Cyrus!”
The waves of her orgasm continued pulsing through her body. He pumped into her harder…faster.
Finally, when the waves began to recede, Cyrus threw his head back and bellowed out her name before emptying his seed into her body. Her inner muscles came instantly back to life, and another orgasm ripped through her.
They stayed like that, him draped over her body, still inside her, for several moments—neither wanting to break the connection or disturb the delicious aftershocks of their release, both savoring the feel of one another. After several minutes, he slid out of her and sat back, pulling her onto his lap. He held her for a long time in the silence, the only sound coming from their breathing and beating hearts.
“Don’t ever forget you’re mine, Izzy.”
The hot words whispered against her skin and sent shivers through her body.
“How could I ever forget?” she whispered back.
But did he love her? And even if he did, nothing had been solved from before. Could she love him? By now she was certain she already did, but that didn’t change the fact that he was a demon.
* * * *
Cyrus held Isabelle’s hand as he drove home much slower this time, not wanting the magical moment they had shared to end. He caught her sneaking peeks at him several times because he was doing the same thing.
He had never thought he could feel the way he did about Izzy. His plan to get rid of Stephen had to work, because Cyrus refused to lose her. He wanted to take care of her and wanted—no, needed—to protect her. No matter what happened, she was his, and nothing could change that.
When they got back to her house, she didn’t hesitate to welcome him into her bed. They made love once again, slowly this time, savoring every moment. Afterward, he pulled her to him, her back against his chest, one arm draped over her hip, and slept.
Chapter Twelve
The next morning Isabelle awoke to an empty bed. Cyrus had held her all night, and she couldn’t remember the last time she’d felt as safe and happy as she had in his arms. Things weren’t perfect, of course. There was still that demon issue. But she loved him, and was beginning to hope that maybe something could come of them being together.
She also wondered if demons could have babies, since they hadn’t used any protection when they were together.
The thing that still bothered her most, other than him moving from body to body, was that he would never die. He wouldn’t possibly want to be with her after she grew old. He’d still be young and vibrant, and she’d be a shriveled-up old lady. And what if he could have children? Would their offspring be human, demon, or half each? Would they be able to do the things he could do? Would they be immortal? Did he even know?
And did any of this matter anyway? Sure, he was protective of her, obviously enjoyed being with her, and tried very hard to make her happy—did make her happy—but he hadn’t confessed any undying words of love to her. The possibility that Cyrus might not love her made her chest ache.
Isabelle pushed all of those thoughts to the back of her mind, stretched, and got up to go find her demon.
She didn’t have to look far. The water
was running in the shower, and she quivered when she pictured him standing under the water, every muscle defined and gleaming.
A rush of desire shot through her veins and lit her skin on fire. Isabelle walked to the shower, opened the door, and stepped inside. Hands shot around her waist and pulled her back against a hard chest, knocking a gasp from her as her body came into contact with his. The hairs on his chest and thighs felt coarse, yet soft, rubbing against her delicate skin. She sighed and relaxed.
“Good morning, Izzy.”
Goosebumps broke out all over her skin when his words whispered beside her ear.
He lathered soap in his hands, cupped her breasts, and kneaded them, rolling her slickened nipples between his fingers.
She bit her bottom lip as he gently pinched and tugged her soap-covered nipples. “Good morning.”
“Hell, woman,” he said behind her. “You are the most exquisite creature I’ve ever laid eyes, or hands, on. I want nothing more than to push you against the shower wall and take you hard, deep, and fast.”
“I could say the same for you, demon.”
Cyrus stiffened at her response, and she turned to him, wondering what was wrong. Then it dawned on her. She had never called him that before, and it bothered him. “I’m sorry, I—”
“Don’t worry about it.”
She frowned as she watched him step out of the shower. By the time she got out, he was already gone. She wrapped a towel around herself and went out to the bedroom, finding him sitting on the edge of the bed wearing only a pair of black leather pants. His damp hair was dark and ruffled in a sexy disheveled manner.
The man was too gorgeous, too tempting, too sinful.
She sat next to him. “What’s wrong?”
He squeezed his eyes shut. “Nothing, Izzy.”
She touched his hand, then pulled it into her own, looping her fingers through his. “I didn’t mean anything by it when I called you demon.”
* * * *
Damn it! It wasn’t just that Izzy had referred to him as a demon. It was that, by doing so, she had indicated that she viewed him differently now—which was exactly what he’d been afraid of. He simply wanted to be Cyrus. That possibility no longer existed. He’d been in two different bodies already since he met her. Expecting her to see past the fact that he was a demon and that his true form was a dark-blue, translucent mist was probably asking too much.
He stared at her for a moment, not really knowing what to say, surprised at how well she could read him. Then he squeezed her hand in a comforting gesture. “It’s no big deal. Really.”
Izzy shrugged. “I don’t agree. It’s obvious that it bothered you. Therefore, it is a big deal.”
“I just… I-I don’t exactly know what I’m trying to say.”
“I think I understand,” she replied. “I do see you, you know. I don’t think of you as Jimmy or Johnny. Don’t get me wrong, both bodies you’ve been in have been gorgeous, but I wouldn’t have noticed either one had you not been inside. It’s you that I’m attracted to, Cyrus. It’s you that I find beautiful.”
A woman had never told him that he—Cyrus—was beautiful before. He was humbled by her confession. “How can you find me beautiful, Izzy? After all, you really can’t see me.”
“You’re wrong. I can see you through the eyes of the body you’re in. I’ve seen it in both, except I didn’t realize what I was witnessing at the time. Now I do. It was you. And if that isn’t enough, don’t forget I have seen the real you. Do you have no idea how breathtaking your soul is? It is the most unique, beautiful dark blue color I have ever seen.”
“That’s what you see? Right now when you are looking at me, that’s truly what you see?”
“Yes.”
Cyrus hugged her to him, then cupped her face between his hands and feathered a kiss over her lips. “Thank you, Izzy.” When she grinned, his groin tightened. “You really must quit looking at me like that.”
She fixed him with a sultry, I’m-going-to-eat-you-up stare. “Like what?”
She batted her long lashes at him and giggled as he grabbed her in a fierce hug.
“Witch.”
He kissed her again, this time exploring every inch of her mouth with his tongue. When she twined her arms around his neck, he sighed. “Izzy, we need to talk, and if we don’t stop right now, we aren’t going to be doing anything close to talking for some time.”
“Yes. I suppose we do.” She frowned. “I have questions, Cyrus. I can probably cope a lot better with knowing what you are than most, given the line of work I’m in. But I’m still…” She shrugged. “I don’t know.”
He smiled at her, the hint of sadness in his eyes contradicting the sincerity of it. “I understand. It’s why I didn’t want you to find out what I was. It was wrong of me to keep it from you, but I know it’s a lot to take in. Most people don’t respond well to finding out what I am.”
She grinned. “And how many people do you go around telling?”
“Everyone. Yeah. It’s like, ‘Hi, I’m Cyrus, and I’m a demon. I like to steal evil souls, and what is it that you do?’ It’s a wonderful conversation starter.”
“Funny.”
“Yeah. Funny.” He pushed her off the bed and swatted her in a playful manner on the butt. “Now get dressed, and I’ll see you in the kitchen in a few. That’s not exactly what I wanted to talk to you about.”
“Fine. But you’re no fun.”
She stuck out her bottom lip in a pout, and he laughed. “Oh, Izzy. I wouldn’t test that theory if I were you, unless you want to be proven wrong.”
“I wouldn’t protest being proven wrong on this point…repeatedly.”
Cyrus finished dressing, not missing the way her heated gaze ogled his body. He did some ogling himself as she collected her clothing. He was sure that, if she were aware of how much he watched her, she’d consider him a pervert. Or maybe not. She could stare at him all day, and he wouldn’t mind. Of course, if she did, they’d accomplish nothing other than him keeping her horizontal, underneath him. Above him worked too, along with any other position she’d be willing to try. As long as he was inside her, he didn’t care how it was getting done. He found it difficult to keep his hands off her when she wasn’t looking at him.
His cock was rising to the occasion just thinking about it.
“I’ll be waiting in the kitchen,” he said.
Cyrus turned and left the room before he reached for her, yanked their clothes off, and claimed her in every position his brain had been flashing him since her remark about him proving her wrong.
* * * *
God, that man is too damn pretty.
Isabelle frowned after Cyrus left, wondering what he wanted to talk to her about.
Only one way to find out. After pulling on a black T-shirt, bra, underwear, jeans and socks, she headed for the kitchen.
The delicious smell of food cooking hit her nose, making her stomach grumble. The only food she was used to smelling in her kitchen was Chinese, pasta or chicken. This was real food, though, not take-out.
She watched Cyrus push an omelet around in the skillet before placing it on a plate. He turned and smiled at her before setting it down on the counter. “Dig in.”
“Where did this come from? My fridge is empty.”
“Not anymore. I went out this morning before you woke up, and picked up a few things.”
Isabelle didn’t waste any time forking a mouthful of omelet into her mouth. The inside was filled with cheese, green peppers, onions and mushrooms and was cooked to perfection. “Oh, my. This is absolutely scrumptious. I can’t believe it.”
He continued cooking his own omelet. “What’s that?”
“You can cook. Is there anything you can’t do?”
He turned and looked her up and down at a leisurely pace, making her toes curl, and heat pool deep in her belly. “Nope.”
She laughed. “Ego much?”
“Hey! I am not an egomaniac.”
He tossed a
dishtowel at her and snickered when it smacked her in the head before plopping to the counter. She grabbed it and slung it back at him, but he caught it and set it down. He scooped his finished omelet onto a plate and brought it over to sit next to her.
She only had a few bites left of hers. “This is amazing.”
“There’s nothing like a woman who isn’t afraid of eating. Most nibble on salad like rabbits. I find that rather annoying. You, on the other hand, eat as you live. You relish every moment, every bite. You want me to make you another?”
“No. Thank you. This was perfect.”
She finished eating, put the plate and pan in the sink, turned on the water, and squeezed some soap in to wash them. He watched as she placed the dishes in the strainer, dried her hands, and opened the fridge door.
“Holy hell.” She couldn’t stop staring. Since she’d lived there, there had never been that much food in the fridge. Fruits, vegetables, milk, eggs, cheese, butter—everything one could possibly need, and more. She closed the fridge door and opened the freezer. It was stuffed too—meat, frozen pizzas, and various other frozen meals crowded the shelves. “Oh, my.”
Cyrus closed the freezer door and wrapped his arms around her, bringing her back against his chest. “I hope you don’t mind, but I like to eat.”
She turned to look at him. Maybe this was a good sign. Surely he wouldn’t be stocking up on food for himself if he planned on leaving soon. “So are you staying? I mean, um…”
He took her by the hand and led her to the living room. “Sit down, Izzy.”
Maybe he wasn’t planning on staying for long. “Is something wrong?”
“We need to get rid of the Havoc.” He ran his fingers through his dark hair. “For good.”
“I don’t know how,” Isabelle replied.
“I do.”
“Tell me.”
He took a deep breath. “I talked to your witch friend.”
