Then his hands were on my waist once more, sliding down and feeling the curve of my hips. I had on plain cotton panties-sexily cut, at least-and his fingertips traced the edges down along my thighs, every touch soft yet quivering with pent-up energy. I don't think I was being quite as gentle. I was hungry to touch him, eager as I ran my hands along his chest and the lean muscles of his stomach. I wanted to kiss it and taste it and lose myself in all things Seth.
I began backing up toward my bedroom, and he followed, turning hesitant once we reached the bed and I started to sit. "You can't…" he began.
"I can lie down," I said, doing exactly that. "I just can't slam my back down or anything."
After watching me for a moment, making sure I spoke the truth, Seth took off his jeans and lay down next to me. I rolled slightly to my side, pressing back to him. We resumed kissing, doing no more than that, just letting our nearly bare bodies wrap around each other. Having all this skin touching between us was heady. Never, never had I imagined it could really happen. Our hands explored each other, feeling every line and curve we'd always been denied. Every gesture between us was exquisite. Every caress was a prayer. We regarded each other's bodies with wonder and joy.
When my hands slipped to the edges of his boxers, I found his own fingers were tugging at my panties. We hardly needed any communication, and once completely naked, I wrapped my arms around him, pulling him toward me and seeking the completion with him I'd so long dreamed of.
To my surprise, he pulled from my arms and scooted down the bed. "What are you doing?" I asked.
"This," he said.
He smoothly pushed my legs apart, and I felt him shower my inner thighs with light, delicate kisses. Up and up his warm mouth moved until he made contact with my clit. I gasped softly at the fire that coursed through me from that light flick of the tongue. It was so light…yet so powerful. I'd been so intoxicated with the simple fact that we could touch that I hadn't been consciously aware of just how aroused I had grown. I ached and was wet and nearly melted at his touch.
He lifted his mouth up slightly. "Do you know how long I've dreamed about this? To be able to touch you? To taste you?"
I had little chance to ponder his rhetorical question because his lips returned to me, sucking and licking, somehow infinitely gentle and blazingly hot at the same time. I closed my eyes and lost myself in the pleasure of it, of Seth bringing me closer and closer to orgasm. As my muscles tightened and my cries grew more frequent, he intensified his movements, his tongue dancing and teasing harder and more rapidly.
I wanted to hold off, to prolong this as I did his books, but I couldn't help it. My climax hit me hard and fast, and I moaned long and low as I came. All the while, Seth kept his mouth down there, refusing to let up as my body arched and trembled from the sparks of ecstasy that flowed through me. When my body finally quieted, he lifted himself up again and returned to my side, showering my chest with more of those tiny kisses.
I brought my face to his, trading in the little kisses for one big one. His mouth tasted like me, and I opened my lips farther and farther as our tongues stroked each other. I might have come already, but I still burned between my legs and still needed him. I pressed myself against him, wrapping my legs around him so that there was almost no space between our hips.
"Georgina…" he said warningly.
It was another sign of how well we knew each other that I realized he wasn't worried about asking permission about what came next. He was worried about my back again. So, shifting over, I rolled him to his back and straddled him, looking down at him with a small smile. He gave me an answering one, amused by my ready solution. As we held gazes, I was again overwhelmed with the emotion of the experience, of how indescribable it was to finally touch someone I loved. I had been terrified at the thought of dying, but I realized then that I was only afraid of dying uselessly. For Seth, to save him, I would have gladly laid down my life. He was right. We were connected in something bigger than both of us.
Empowered by that realization, I lowered my hips, joining us at last. I felt him enter me, felt him fill me up. We both paused then, neither breathing or moving, half-expecting something to happen or end this. Nothing did, and after that, I didn't hesitate any further. I slowly moved my hips up and down, savoring the feel of him in me and underneath me as he glided in and out. My hands were on his chest and his were on my hips. Our eyes were on each other, never wavering, never breaking contact.
How to describe sex with Seth? It's difficult. It was unlike anything I'd had in my existence as a succubus. Somewhere, in the back of my head, it resonated with memories of my marriage, when my husband and I had still been happy. Every other instance after that had been lacking…until now. Each movement and touch with Seth was a dream, a wonder.
The intensity of our lovemaking steadily increased. My need for him grew stronger and stronger, and I rode him with a ferocity that was still tender and full of the love that burned between us. I loved the feel of him, loved how I could thrust him into me, hard and deep. And yet…
"It's not enough," I murmured. "We're still not close enough." It might have been a foolish sentiment, considering we were as physically close as two people could be. But Seth understood.
"I know," he gasped. "I know. We'll never be close enough."
Joy lit his face then, and when he came, his body arched up toward mine. I leaned down and increased my rhythm and hardness, wanting so badly to be even closer and have as much of him in me as I could. His mouth parted in a soft moan that mirrored my earlier one, and when he started to instinctively close his eyes, he quickly opened them again to stay locked with my gaze. There was no looking away between us, no avoiding what we felt. As I stared into his eyes and felt his body's trembling fade, energy seemed to crackle between our souls in a way that had nothing to do with succubus soul-stealing.
Carefully, I eased myself off him and lay down on my side again, draping my body over his. I was drowning in feeling and emotion.
"Georgina," he murmured, pulling me closer. "You are the world."
I'd heard that somewhere before, but I was too overwhelmed to parse it much. I was too lost in Seth. Instead, what I said was unoriginal but absolutely true: "I love you."
CHAPTER 18
When it was over, I rested my cheek against his chest while still staying mostly on my side. His heart beat heavy beneath my hands, and the smell of his skin and sweat nearly overpowered me. I lay there, perfectly still, scarcely daring to breathe. I was afraid that if I moved too much, I'd break this spell, this dream that I'd somehow stumbled into.
Slowly, carefully, Seth ran his fingers through my hair, idly twining the strands into loops. He let his hand drop and shifted slightly, just enough to press a kiss to my forehead. I exhaled and snuggled closer, realizing that I really wasn't going to wake from this dream.
At least, that's what I thought until his cell phone rang.
The ring was "Where the Streets Have No Name" by U2, not a particularly hard or jarring song but one that made me flinch anyway. For a moment, we each held our breath, both of us frozen. I wanted the phone to disappear off the face of the earth, to get smote the way I kept fearing some demon would smite me. I needed it to go away because if it kept ringing, it meant none of this was real. That we were going to have to face reality.
But it was already too late. The spell was broken. The phone was reality.
"You should answer that," I said.
He hesitated for the space of two heartbeats, sighed, and then slowly disentangled himself from me, still careful of my back. Sitting on the side of the bed, he reached down and pulled the cell phone from his jeans pocket. I shifted over, staying propped up on one elbow, admiring the shape of his body, even as a strange, bittersweet feeling began spilling through my heart. I knew, without knowing how I knew, that it was Maddie.
"Hey. Yeah…I got caught up with…um…" Seth paused, and I sensed something monumental about to take place. "I got an idea for this l
atest chapter."
I closed my eyes. In all the time I'd known him, I'd never heard Seth outright lie.
"Right. Yeah. Okay. Um, if I leave now, I can probably make it in…oh, twenty minutes. Mmm-hmm. You want me to pick you up, or…? Okay. See you there."
He disconnected and continued sitting with his back to me, clasping the phone in his hands. Although he sat up straight, he had the air of someone hunched over, weary with defeat.
"You have to go?" I asked.
He looked back at me, anguish on his face. "Georgina…"
I managed a weak smile. "It's okay. I wasn't tricked here. I understand the situation."
"I know, but I want you to realize that it wasn't…that I didn't…"
He didn't need to finish. One of the things I'd always loved about Seth was his open, honest nature. Occasionally he'd been able to hide his feelings from me, but more often than not, they shone through on his features. This was one of those times. With a single look, I saw what was in his heart, that he hadn't had sex with me because I was easy or available. He'd done it because of how he felt about me, because he loved-still loved-me. It made all of this that much worse.
"I know," I said softly.
After one more kiss to my forehead, he put on his clothes. I watched each move hungrily, uncertain if I'd ever see anything like it again. When he was dressed and ready to go, he sat beside me on the bed, playing with my hair again. Again, those golden brown eyes spilled over with emotion. He was overcome and confused. I was too, but for his sake, I tried to appear strong and articulate.
"It's okay," I said. "It was great. Amazing…but I understand that we shouldn't have and that we can't ever…" So much for articulation.
"Yeah," he agreed.
"It was just this once. And it was perfect."
"Just this once," he repeated.
I couldn't read his voice, but something told me he wasn't entirely happy about that. Neither was I, but honestly, what could we do? We'd succumbed to passion, and now he had to go back to his girlfriend. End of story.
He tipped my head back, and our lips met in a soft, warm kiss. It was brief, only a few moments, but I felt that same, soul-deep connection that had consumed me during sex. He stood up and studied me for a few moments more, as though he might not ever see me again. I felt a little silly lying there naked, but his expression told me he thought I was beautiful.
He left after that, and I stayed in bed, drunk on my own feelings. Aubrey joined me, curling up against my leg.
"Was that how it was supposed to be, Aubrey?" I couldn't decide. Certainly the sex had been everything I'd ever imagined with Seth. But this afterglow? It was a bit lacking. Nothing about the situation was normal. I had no prior experience to fall back on.
After almost a half hour of staring at nothing and reaching no conclusions, I got out of bed. I was still reeling from what had happened, and my body burned with what Seth and I had done. I usually liked to shower after sex, but not today. I could smell Seth on me, his sweat and even a faint trace of the leather-and-apple cologne he used sometimes. I couldn't stand to wash him off yet, so I put the old cotton robe back on. Ratty or not, its fabric was soft against my bruised skin.
As I was about to leave my room, I noticed the photo of the medallion on the floor. I picked it up, intending to set it on my nightstand, and froze. There was writing on it.
Inked with a black Sharpie, neat handwriting read: Smoky quartz indicates earth or a oneness with the earth . The symbols on the medallion were circled, with lines drawn out from each one, leading to brief notes: this indicates an affinity for water, a harmonious, blending state; this is similar to the water one, except it's for the earth; this is a masking symbol, meant to shield the object it protects and keep the seal strong; this one's strange, indicates blankness or whiteness-maybe white sand or stones?; this is the symbol for tears-combined with the water sign, probably indicates salt water .
I reread the notes three times. Where had they come from? When had this happened? I retraced my steps, trying to figure out when I'd abandoned the picture. There'd been no writing when I showed it to Dante. The most likely time would have been while I was out for food. Someone could have also theoretically broken into my home and done it while I was with Carter in the living room, but sneaking past the angel seemed pretty out there.
Unless…was it possible Carter had helped me after all? He kept saying he couldn't; he'd even directly denied involvement with my assorted rescues. But the timing here was awfully coincidental. I kept staring at the symbols, at the notes, and the pictures of the seal. Whoever had written this was irrelevant for now. If their notes were correct, then I needed to use them to find Jerome.
Carter had said the seal served two purposes. One was to infuse the vessel with power. The other was to serve as a "lock" that could open the vessel and release Jerome. The parts of the seal itself were with the demon and the summoner, but the symbols should give some clues to the vessel's location. Supposedly, these symbols would have been used in hiding Jerome, infusing the vessel with a type of energy specific to the location that would help blend and mask Jerome's presence.
An affinity with the earth, as well as markings for water-salt water, specifically. A lot of places that were infused with power tended to be wild, natural places, though some had become centers of civilization and activity. Pike Place Market in downtown Seattle, for example, was one such ancient place of power that had been completely built upon by humanity.
But these…what did they indicate? Some place near salt water, apparently. The vessel was probably close enough to the water that the symbols would resonate and camouflage its location. And the earth location? Buried in the dirt maybe? Was Jerome buried on some beach near the ocean? Jerome's kidnappers wouldn't want to keep him too far away from them, but nonetheless, the Pacific flanked the entire western half of Washington. That was a lot of beach, and I knew there were a lot of places of power along there. I didn't know of any white sand beaches anywhere in the area; only further investigation could say for sure.
Groaning, I lay back on my bed, still holding the picture. The notes had only narrowed down the locations, but that was still a lot of area to cover. Yet what could I do? I had to find the vessel, sooner rather than later, or else Seattle was going to have a new archdemon. Studying the photo further, I willed it to give me some more info. Nothing. Just the medallion, the mystery notes, and Mary's cataloging info at the top which told me little-
I frowned, rereading her header. It was brief, just the materials, name, and date the medallion had been created and then picked up. But the date it had been finished…the date stuck in my head. Why? It was from a week ago. Something about that date was important, but I couldn't figure out why. It felt likes years had passed in this last week, but I nonetheless counted backward, reassessing my recent activities.
There. The seal had been made the day after I'd first gone to Vancouver…the day the vampire turf war had gone down. Would the seal's creation have triggered anyone's immortal radar? I didn't know, but if it had, Jerome, Grace, and Mei would have all been busy sorting out the ensuing vampire mess. Misdirection.
From there, other things began to arrange themselves in my head. I thought back to the Army of Darkness, wondering what events their activities might line up against. The event in Queen Elizabeth Park matched the date the seal had been picked up. And the Army's impromptu visit to Seattle…? That had preceded Jerome's summoning, though no one would have wanted to direct attention to that, would they?
The answer was here. I just couldn't quite make the pieces fit yet. The Army had staged their show. Jerome, Grace, and Mei had given it their full attention. Jerome had been summoned. Where had this game's other players been?
I left the bed and its aching, alluring memories. Finding my cell phone, I dialed Kristin's number.
"Hi, Georgina," she said, pleasant but busy like always.
"Hey," I said. "How's it going?"
"Crazy." I could i
magine the grimace on her face. "Cedric's stressed to hell-no pun intended-with all these demons in the area. At least that…that succubus is distracting him."
"Tawny?"
"Whatever her name is. Cedric's actually out with her right now." Bitterness and the tiniest hint of jealousy came through in Kristin's voice. I remembered her perpetual devotion to him-and the look on her face when he'd asked Tawny out. I felt for her but had too many romantic hijinks of my own to deal with.
"Huh." I didn't really know what else to say. "Look, I have a question for you. Do you know, did Cedric come to see Jerome the day the Army was down here?"
"Yeah. Cedric came down after you left the message. I thought you knew."
"No…I only heard about it after the fact, and then, the whole summoning kind of took precedence."
"Why do you want to know?"
I hesitated. I liked Kristin, but she was clearly loyal to Cedric. I didn't think it'd be wise to share my theories with her, like that the Army being in Seattle had provided a convenient reason for Jerome and Cedric to be together when Jerome got summoned. It occurred to me that I might very well owe Hugh an apology for my adamant denial of Cedric's involvement. Something else also occurred to me.
"Um, it's a long story," I said hastily. "Do you know if he's been hanging out with Nanette a lot?"
"Why?" Her tone was quickly turning suspicious. She didn't like me interrogating her about her boss.
"Well…I told him the other day that I thought Nanette might be involved with Jerome's disappearance. He didn't think so, but he told her…and she got really pissed off. She, um…. well, let's just say she got physical, and I have the scars to prove it."
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