Inspire

by Cora Carmack

  Kalli stands before me in her bra and underwear. I turn her around, and when I run my fingers from her neck down to the clasp, she trembles in front of me. I drop it outside the curtain too, and then tuck my fingers under the fabric around her hips. Then she’s standing in front of me bare, and there’s a smudge of dried blood where her shoulder meets her neck.

  I grab a bar of soap and work up a lather between my hands. Gently, I rub at the skin there until it’s nothing but smooth, unblemished perfection. I keep going, cleaning her shoulders and her back, then down her arms. Even when I don’t see any hint of blood on her. When I turn her toward me, she doesn’t hesitate. She lifts her chin as I take in the faint trail from where the blood had run down her face and neck until it met her clothes. My stomach clenches, but I force focus and calm, gentling my touch as much as I can.

  I start with her hair, trading soap for shampoo, and gently work at the blood that’s still clumped along her hairline where the wound had been. I focus there for a little while, then add shampoo to the rest of her hair, watching carefully to make sure none drips down her forehead. She tilts her head back, making it easy for me, and I loop one arm around her middle before nudging her to slant her head back farther, into the spray of the water. Her bare stomach presses tight against mine, and I can’t do anything to control the hard-on that presses at her through my wet jeans.

  I use my free hand to angle her head back and help rinse the shampoo from her hair. It’s thick and long, and it takes forever for the shampoo to wash out. I can tell she’s tired, so I cup my hand around the back of her neck, so she doesn’t have to hold the weight up anymore. When her hair is fully rinsed, she lays her cheek against my chest and laughs softly.

  “What’s so funny?” I murmur, scooping up water in my hand to pour along her shoulders and collar bone as I hold her.

  “I think you used a fourth of a bottle of shampoo in my hair.”

  I frown. “You have a lot of hair. And I wanted to make sure all the blood was out.”

  She laughs again, a little harder this time, and it feels so damn good to have her in my arms again. I missed that laugh. “You only really need to put shampoo at the top. The rest gets clean enough as you rinse it out.”

  I take her long hair in my fists, squeezing out the excess water.

  “I’ll remember that for next time.”

  I use a finger against her chin to tilt her face up so I can clean the rest of the blood off, but her eyes have gone vacant at my last words.

  “There will be a next time, Kalli.”

  I pull away from her long enough to poke my head out of the curtain and snag a washcloth from a shelf on the wall outside. I wet it with warm water and a little soap, and begin cleaning off her face and neck with as much care as possible. When I’m done, I let out a relieved breath and hang the washcloth over the bar on the wall.

  “How is it that I always end up fully clothed in a shower with you?” I ask, trying to find at least a little levity in this heavy day.

  “You’re not technically fully clothed.”

  I’d taken my shirt off to use as pressure on her head out in the rain. And I’d at least lost my shoes and socks before stepping in after her this time.

  “Wet jeans are wet jeans, sweet.”

  She bites her lip, her eyes trailing down over my chest. She lingers for a moment at the tattoos on my arms, even reaching out to span her fingers over the Atlas figure. Her fingers tighten around my forearm, and her gaze travels the rest of the way down.

  I see the moment she comes to a decision, releasing that bottom lip and my arm, reaching for the button of my jeans instead.

  Maybe I should have stopped her. Maybe that would’ve been the gentlemanly thing to do. But the need to touch and claim her rides me hard. It’s not just the supernatural stuff or the thought of all the relationships she’s had in her past or the scare we had tonight.

  I also just fucking missed her.

  Like I’ve been living blind for the last three months, I don’t want to blink for even one second as I soak up everything about her.

  She pushes my jeans and underwear down over my hips, and I take over dragging them the rest of the way off. The wet material sticks stubbornly to my skin, but soon enough, I toss them out of the shower to land with her clothing. Her fingers graze along my hip before trailing up my side to my ribs. Her eyes follow her movement, still hesitant, so I keep my hands at my sides, waiting for her move.

  She swallows and whispers, “I missed you.”

  I smile. “You took the words right out of my head.”

  With her face still tilted down toward my abdomen, her eyes lift just enough to meet mine. I can read the longing in her plain as day, but she’s still scared. If she needs me to be the one to make that final push, I will. And I won’t regret it for a second.

  I touch my thumb to her bottom lip, tracing the fullness, feeling the tease of breath on my skin.

  “Three months was too long to go without kissing you.”

  I bend, replacing my thumb with my mouth to suck her bottom lip between my teeth. The hand on my ribs slides around to my lower back, and her body falls against mine. When I cover my mouth with hers, whatever hesitancy she felt is long gone, and she kisses me back fiercely. Her fingers dig into my back, and the feel weights me in the moment at the same time that it sends need barreling down my spine. I pick up her other hand and drag it up to wrap around my neck.

  “Too long to go without holding you,” I tell her. “I would dream about having you in my arms. Ache for it. Only to wake up back in a world without you. I would have given anything. I’ll still give anything.”

  Her face scrunches up as if she’s in pain. “Wilder, every time you say something like that … it makes me want to run in the other direction. Don’t you understand that the last thing I ever want is to see you hurt.”

  “I do. And the feeling is very much mutual. But I don’t want you here with me because I was able to distract you. Or because the way you feel about me made you give into temptation. I don’t want you to step out of this shower and decide you’ve made a mistake and try to leave me again. You’ve trusted me with your secret. Now trust me to know what’s best for me. You’ve done the worrying from the start. Hand it over to me for a while. The only thing you need to think about right now is whether or not you love me.”

  “You know I do.”

  “Then let me show you.”

  I dip my mouth to hers, but before our lips touch she murmurs, “Your song. The one you sang tonight.”

  “That was Rook’s idea.”

  I kiss the corner of her mouth, then her jaw, and I brush my fingers up her side, mirroring what she did to me. I keep sliding up until my palm meets the curve of her breast, and then I put my lips to her ear and sing her the song how I wrote it. Not angry. Not hard.

  I’m caught up, turned around

  Inside out, and upside down

  Just to know you, honey. All to know you.

  Her hand slips up into my hair, and her lips meet my chest as I sing. I drag her closer, and our bodies rub together, wet and wanting. I let my hands do what I’ve been dreaming about, cupping her breasts, tweaking her nipples. I slide another between her legs, and she’s already hot and wet when I run my fingers through her folds.

  She gasps, her mouth opening wider against my chest, tongue dragging over sensitive skin. She works her way farther up my body, and when her teeth bear down just for a moment at the base of my neck, I lose every ounce of patience in my body.

  “Fuck, Kalli. I need to be inside you.”

  “Yes,” she breathes, her mouth moving along my collarbone.

  I grit my teeth. “I don’t know if I can be gentle. Not right now. Not with you wet and up against the shower wall.”

  “So don’t be.”

  I hiss out a breath when she sneaks a hand between us to circle my cock.

  “You can still say stop,” I promise.

  “I’m not going to.”


  “But I’m in control this time. And I’m going to touch you. Every single inch.”

  She pumps her hand along my shaft, squeezing tighter when she gets to the tip, and I decide she’s had enough warnings. I pull her off the wall and spin her so that her back presses to my chest. My erection presses into her lower back, resting just along the upper curve of her ass. I circle my index finger around the tip of one breast while my other hand dives between her legs. Her body arches against mine, and she rises up on her tiptoes, a soft cry escaping her mouth. I bend my knees and my cock slides down to the valley between her thighs.

  “Put your hands on the wall.”

  She does, pressing her ass back into me, while curving her back and tilting her head to look at me.

  Fuck, she’s gorgeous.

  “You’re mine,” I say, unable to control myself. “I don’t care if you are immortal. As long as we’re alive, it’s you and me.”

  “You and me,” she promises.

  I reach down and adjust myself so that the tip teases at her entrance. She moans, rising on her tiptoes again and pushing back against me. I press into her slowly, and each tight inch makes me lose my breath. I curve a hand around her, stroking her clit, and she tilts her hips, opening herself up a little more. I pull out halfway, and then drive forward until her body is flush against mine.

  Kalli’s hands slide on the wall, her body lurching forward so that she’s almost standing again, and the change in angle makes me shout. She’s squeezing the life out of me in the best possible way, and I lean forward, laying my hands atop hers on the tile. With my mouth at her ear, I say, “I’m going to fuck you now.”

  She nods, whimpering slightly.

  “I need to hear you. Tell me you want me to fuck you.”

  “Please.” She wiggles her hips, but I’ve got her crowded too close to the wall to move beyond that. “I want you to fuck me.”

  I grind my hips into hers, and her head falls back against my shoulder.

  “Oh gods.”

  I laugh. She’s said that before. The night we had our last shower together. I thought she’d just misspoken.

  I must pause too long in thought because she wiggles against me, making a noise low in her throat. I trail my hands from her hands all the way up to her shoulders, then I follow the shape of her back until I get to the slight indent of her waist. My hands fit perfectly there, like we really were made for each other. I pull her back a little more, so that I can slide in and out of her easily. With my grip tight on her waist, I withdraw until just the head of my cock is inside her, and then shove forward. My legs slap against the back of her thighs as I repeat the motion. Kalli’s arms waver under the force until she starts to rock her body back to meet me.

  It’s fast and hard, and Kalli meets me every second, right there with me. I whisper to her as we move, snippets from songs that I’d written for her, about her, because of her. Her body clutches at mine, reminding me again and again that this is real. She’s here.

  Too soon, I feel my body tightening, on the edge of release, and shorten my thrusts, keeping my body close to hers. I bend, tasting a drop of water that sits in the valley of her spine, slipping my hand down again to press at the bundle of nerves to bring her with me. I circle my fingers softly as I rock my hips into hers. She clenches tight around me, and I curse, just barely managing to hang on.

  “Come on, baby. I need you to come with me. You feel so fucking good around me. I can’t hang on much longer.”

  She bucks into me, trying to get there.

  “Don’t think I’m done with you. Once you come around my cock, I’m going to take you across the hall and lay you out across your bed. I’m going to drink every drop of water from your skin.” I curl a hand over her breast, squeezing in time with my thrusts. “I’ll start here,” I promise. “I’ll use my tongue and my teeth, and I make sure your tits know how much I missed them. Maybe I’ll tie you to the bed like I promised, so that I can have my fill of tasting you. I’ll push your thighs to the mattress and make you come with my mouth until you can’t anymore. Then I’ll push inside you again and work on proving you wrong.”

  Her arms start to shake, drooping again until her body falls closer to the wall. I pick up the pace, pressing more firmly against her clit as I go.

  “Wilder, oh, Wild—” she gasps, almost forming my name again. “I love you,” she whispers, and then her body grips me hard, pulsing around me tighter than I’ve ever felt. I push in deep, and when I circle my fingers on her again, she cries out, begging for something. Whether it’s to keep going or stop, I’m not sure. Her muscles contract again, and I give in to my release. I let out a hoarse cry as my body jerks forward, and for a moment, everything blanks out except the feel of my body inside hers. It feels like a miracle, and I know what she meant our first time together about never wanting me to not be inside her.

  We just fucking fit.

  I ease off that bundle of nerves, and her body pulses in time with mine, slower now, but each one curls around me, sending a rush of heat through the rest of my body. I lay my forehead against her back, slipping out of her as she leans more fully against the tile. I kiss up her spine, until I push her hair over her shoulder, and find the back of her neck. With my lips resting there, I say, “I love you, Kalliope.”

  She starts to turn, and I lift up my sluggish body long enough for her to maneuver around to face me. Wrapping her arms around my waist, she places a kiss on the center of my chest. “We’re going to be okay.”

  I don’t know whether she’s saying it for her or me, but either way I’m glad to hear those words from her mouth. I lace my fingers through her hair, and pull her in until she rests against my chest.

  “We’re going to be better than okay.”

  When our heartbeats slow back to normal, we step under the showerhead again. The water has gone cold, so we rush to clean ourselves up. Kalli shuts the water off, and I pull open the curtain.

  I take my time drying Kalli off, pausing every few seconds to taste a stray droplet on her shoulder or breast or stomach.

  “We’re going to need another shower if you keep that up.”

  I wrap a towel of my own around my waist, and follow her out the door. “I wouldn’t mind another shower. After a couple hours in your bed.”

  I run into her just outside the bathroom and have to wrap my arm around her waist to keep us broth from falling.

  “Kalli, what—”

  Her posture is stiff against me, and I follow her gaze to what should be her empty living room.

  Instead, an old man is standing there, long gray hair, gnarled beard, and the strangest pair of eyes I’ve ever seen.

  Chapter Twenty-Six

  Kalli

  “Wilder, go in my bedroom.”

  His hands settle over my shoulders, long fingers covering the bare flesh above my towel.

  “Who are you? What are you doing in here?” he asks the watcher, and I wince at his growled tone. I turn to him, even though putting my back to the watcher makes me queasy.

  “Please, Wilder. Go dry off. See if you can find something to wear.”

  His hard eyes meet mine. “And what about you? Come find some clothes with me.”

  The man behind my back speaks for the first time, and I whip around to face him.

  “I was kind enough to wait for you before,” he says, gesturing in the direction of the bathroom, and my cheeks flush. “I find that I’m not much interested in kindness anymore.”

  I’d wanted to attract the Watcher’s attention, but now that I had it I was terrified. I never intended for Wilder to be anywhere near him. It was one thing to risk myself, but the man I love? My focus from the very beginning has been about keeping him safe.

  “You know why I’m here?” he asks, his dangerous eyes flicking to Wilder.

  I’d thought I would have to make a big splash to bring the son of Argus to me. I should have known better. Known he would see even something small like my confession to Wilder.
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  “I do.” I swallow. “If you could just let him go home, there’s something I’d like your help with.”

  He drags a hand through his beard and smiles at me. My stomach turns ice cold. “You know that’s not happening, pretty one. And if you think I’m here to help you, you’ve not been paying attention.”

  Wilder’s hands tighten on my shoulders, pulling me back against his chest.

  “What’s going on?” he whispers against my ear.

  “What’s going on,” the watcher answers, “is your little muse broke the rules. And I already warned her once.”

  “This wasn’t like last time. There’s no one else around. And he’ll never say anything. There’s no risk.”

  Those double irises flash. “You and I see risk differently. You can only see what’s right in front of you. I see it all. And now I see a foolish goddess who thinks she can keep a mortal. What happens when he grows older and you don’t? Will he stay with you then? Will he keep your secret? When he dies, will you find another little pet to keep you from getting lonely? Will you tell that human too? When I look at you, all I see are risks.”

  “Not if you help me.”

  His eyes narrow. “Does this have something to do with the little trips you’ve been making?”

  I stiffen.

  He continues, “I told you I’d be watching. Perhaps I should have stopped you before it ever got this far, your foolish attempts to pretend you’re something you’re not. But what can I say? I like to watch.”

  I force myself not to react to his taunts. I’d been prepared for this. I needed to present my case, try to strike a deal. Before I can get a word out, he snaps, “I see you, mortal. You’re even more foolish than she if you think you can slip something past me.”

  I whip my head around to see Wilder has inched to my side to lean on the kitchen counter, his hand creeping toward a knife. My eyes widen, and I grab his hand. “You can’t. He’s like me.” Scratch that. “He’s more dangerous than me.”