There was a second of mortified uncertainty, feeling like I was going to suffocate the man, making me yank up my hips away from him, trying to figure out how to get back down.
But Ace's hands sank into my ass, yanking me back down, and running his tongue up my cleft, finding my clit, and working it in fast, relentless circles.
Yeah, all thoughts to objections fell away, even as I tried to find a way to brace myself as my thighs started to shake.
With nothing else to do, I leaned into the wall, hands going down to grab the back of the couch as he continued to devour me, driving me up so quickly that I felt like it was hard to find my breath.
One hand slipped from my ass, going between my thighs, thrusting inside, and turning to run over my top wall.
It was seconds, literally only seconds, after that the orgasm slammed through my system, making me cry out as my entire body seemed like it shook with the intensity.
"I can't... I can't," I whimpered as the waves started to ebb, and Ace's tongue started working me again.
"You can," he objected, yanking me back down onto his lap, leaving my clit alone as his fingers fucked me. Harder, faster. "See?" he asked a moment later as my walls started to tighten around him. "There," he added when the pulsations started, slow and deep, then faster and harder as I fell into his chest, crying out against his shoulder. "Told you," he added, sounding smug as I slowly started to come back down.
"Only you could sound so condescending during sex," I grumbled against his neck before shifting upward, catching his strange red-flecked eyes for a moment before sealing my lips over his. But this time I was in control. It was slower, deeper, less demanding, giving my brain a chance to recover from the back-to-back orgasms enough for me to think straight.
My hands slid down his chest, drawing up his shirt, lips slipping from his to pull off his shirt.
I wasn't, as a whole, someone who liked to rush. And after two solid orgasms, I felt a little more level-headed. Enough that I knew I wanted a chance to explore his body, maybe even torment him a little bit.
I took my time, running my fingers over his chest, around his nipples, down into the indents of his abdominal muscles, feeling them tense under my inspection.
Slowly, I slid off his lap, slipping between his thighs on the floor, my hands running from his knees and upward before moving inward, feeling the hard length of him straining against his pants.
A rumbling noise moved through him, a sound that made my sex clench hard, as I drew down the waistband of his pants, freeing him, feeling an aching hollowness between my thighs, needing to remind myself that we would get there, that I didn't want to rush it.
My gaze found and held his as I moved forward, running my tongue over the head of his cock, watching his lips fall open, his breath catch in his chest.
I didn't need any more encouragement than that.
Ducking my head, I slipped him inside my mouth, taking him deep as my hand curled around the base of him, stroking as I sucked, feeling him get harder and bigger still as I worked him.
Ace's hand slammed on the back of my head, fingertips curling into my skull. His hips started to thrust upward as I slipped down, making me take him deeper and deeper.
"Fuck, no," he growled, hips settling, fingers grabbing a clump of my hair and yanking until his cock slid out of my mouth. When I glanced up at him, his eyes looked redder than ever, almost like they were glowing.
His breathing was hard and fast, and I found myself oddly transfixed with the rise and fall of his chest for a moment while he tried to pull himself together.
"Get up here," he demanded, patting his thigh, making need pierce through me as I pushed up, and went to move over him. "What?" he asked when I paused, stiffened.
"Condom," I grumbled, annoyed for there to be any delay in getting him inside me. But also not stupid enough to have unprotected sex with a near-stranger.
A grunt escaped Ace as he grabbed my ass, pulling me tightly against him, then knifed up, getting to his feet, waiting for my legs to wrap around his hips, my arms to encircle his neck. His hands sank in, dragging my cleft along his hard length even as he started moving across the room.
It wasn't until he bent forward that I realized two things.
One, he was going in the nightstand for a condom.
Two, we were still in Red's room.
"Ace," I whined in his ear as he turned to walk back to the couch. "We can't."
"We can," he countered, dragging me against him again, doing that growling noise when I let out a stifled moan.
"Not here," I objected, trying to unwrap my legs.
Again, that growl. I shouldn't have found it as sexy as I did.
Before I understood his intention, he was across the room and opening the door.
"Ace, no!" I hissed, trying to drop down, but his hands were holding me in place as he moved down the hall and into his room.
"There," he said, kicking his bedroom door closed, then making his way toward the bed.
His body pressed mine into the mattress as he slid us up toward the pillows, his lips sealed over mine.
Ace pressed up and back to sit on his heels, and I found myself transfixed by watching him slide on the condom, his gaze on me half the time, hard, hungry.
Finished, his hands gripped my hips, dragging me up onto his lap, dragging my legs up, then slamming inside me without warning.
"Oh my G—" I cried out, sucking in a greedy breath before I could even get the last word out, feeling a pinch at the fullness of him inside me, pulling my hips back slightly to ease the ache. "You're too big," I said, even as I felt my walls adjusting to the invasion.
That grumbling noise moved through Ace again as he lowered my legs, yanking them wide, and reaching between, relentlessly working my clit until an unexpectedly quick orgasm slammed through my system, the sensation even more intense with the fullness of him inside.
"There," he said as the orgasm subsided, his voice rougher than before. "Better?" he asked, barely waiting for my frantic nod before starting to thrust. A little tentatively at first, still giving me a minute to adjust. But as soon as my hips started grinding up against him, he came over me, and thrust harder, faster, as my arms and legs went around him, as the headboard knocked against the wall.
But just as I felt myself getting close, he pulled out of me, grabbing my hips, flipping me over onto my stomach, and yanking my hips back upward toward him as he surged inside me.
My hand shot out, pushing against the headboard he would have slammed me up against as he got harder, faster, even more unrestrained.
His palm slapped down on my ass, the pain somehow intensifying the pleasure as his other hand moved between my thighs, started working my clit as he thrust harder still, making growling noises that made my walls tighten around him, holding on tighter.
"Come, Josephine," he demanded in a voice that was more growl than speech.
His hips thrust.
His finger swiped.
And I just... shattered.
Ace's hand slammed into the back of my head, stuffing my face deeper into the bedsheets, muffling the cries as I came.
The waves were just started to ebb when he slammed deep, letting out a growl that sounded downright primal as he came.
I collapsed forward, sucking in a shaky breath, planting a hand to turn over and share an exhausted, but satisfied smile with Ace.
But when I turned, that smile froze and fell off my face.
Everything within me tensed.
I swear my heartbeat stuttered to a stop, then surged into overdrive.
It hadn't been a hypothermia hallucination.
His eyes had been red.
They had been glowing.
His tongue had been forked.
There had been horns forcing their way out of his forehead.
But, no.
No, that wasn't possible.
They didn't exist.
It was all allegory, right? That was what I had been rais
ed to believe. Demons weren't actual, physical entities, but represented the inherent evil in all of us that we needed to fight.
They weren't living, breathing, flesh-wearing men.
Men who you could unwittingly have sex with.
And make them reveal their true form.
Oh, God.
Oh my God.
"Josephine..." Ace started, reaching a hand out toward me, making me suddenly aware of his elongated fingers, their pointed nails.
Talons.
Not nails.
Because he wasn't freaking human.
I didn't even realize the scream came from me until Ace shocked backward at the sound of it.
"Stop," Ace demanded, trying to reach for me again.
"No!" I shrieked, yanking away from him, throwing myself off the bed.
I didn't even think.
I didn't pause to consider my best move.
I just ran, stark freaking naked, down the hall, back into Red's room, slamming, and locking the door.
I did pause to grab my clothes off the floor before running into the bathroom, locking that door as well, not knowing much, but knowing I want as many closed and locked doors between us as possible.
That was assuming that doors could stop a demon.
Hell, for all I knew, they could materialize out of thin air.
I suddenly wished I had paid a hell of a lot more attention in Sunday School as a kid. At least I would know what I was up against here then.
My heart was hammering against my ribcage, making me genuinely concerned about a heart attack as I yanked my clothes back on, gaze on the door the whole time.
A demon.
He was a demon.
And I'd slept with him.
"Josephine," Ace called through the door, voice soft, almost coaxing.
I wasn't going to answer.
What could I say?
What could he say?
Would he try to deny it? Make me disbelieve my own two eyes?
God, I wanted to disbelieve my eyes.
Because demons weren't supposed to exist.
Because even if they did, I shouldn't have been able to cross paths with one.
"Oh, God. Oh, God. Oh, God," I whimpered, dropping down on the side of the tub, pressing my head in my hands.
"You're going to have to come out of there eventually," Ace called.
I was pretty sure I would rather starve to death than go out there with him again.
The sex that had felt damn near other-worldly, apparently, was.
But not the good world.
The freaking underworld.
My stomach churned and heaved, driving bile upward.
I barely made it to the toilet in time, retching until there was nothing left inside.
I dragged myself off the floor, blowing my nose, and reaching for the mouth wash, not wanting to look myself in the mirror, but forcing myself too.
There I was.
Familiar, yet not.
There was a hollowness in my eyes I had never seen there before.
On top of that, there was the evidence of what had just transpired between Ace and me. My lips were swollen. There was a beard burn down the side of my neck, over my chest. I couldn't bear to look any further down, or turn around and see the spanking marks on my butt.
I grabbed a washcloth, covering it in soap and water, and scrubbing at my marks, making them all the redder, but feeling like I had to wipe away the traces of him on my flesh.
It was only after I turned the water off that I heard Ace again.
I guess I thought he might have left.
But there was a small thud, something like a hand or a forehead hitting the door, a deep sigh, and then his footsteps as he made his way out of Red's room.
The tension didn't subside. It was a live wire sparking through my system, making me feel uncomfortable in my own skin.
I stood there until my legs ached before I turned to the shower, turning the water on to scorching, then scrubbing every inch of my skin, trying to wash him away.
But it was no use.
He'd been all over me.
He'd been inside of me.
I climbed back into my dirty clothes, not wanting to leave the safety of my locked door.
Eventually, exhaustion had me piling all the towels, washcloths, and hand towels into the bathtub, and climbing in, falling into fitful sleep, uncomfortably dominated by dreams about demons. About one demon, in particular.
But they weren't appropriate dreams about hellfire and pitch-black souls.
Oh, no.
They were other dreams.
The kind that left me waking up feeling needy and sick to my stomach over that need.
That sick feeling became incredibly familiar over the next few days. As did the way my mind raced back and forth, trying to accept this new reality.
Heaven.
Hell.
Demons.
Maybe... angels?
I thought until I drove myself half-crazy.
Then I went ahead and kept thinking.
Chapter Twelve
Ace
I couldn't get that look out of my head.
I'd just fucking barely recovered from an orgasm that made me see white. I'd been around for a long time. I'd fucked many women. It always had its appeal, but it hadn't ever been for me like I imagined it felt for human men, given their obsession with having it.
But sex with Josephine finally made me understand that desire that was more like a need.
It had been overwhelming.
I'd barely come to terms with that idea.
Then she'd flipped over.
And that look.
Fuck, that look.
I'd never lost control over myself during sex. I didn't even think it was a possibility for me to Change from an orgasm. I had been so consumed with the other sensations that I hadn't noticed my tongue, my horns, my fingertips.
Josephine sure had, though.
I'd never had to see that look on someone's face before. Protecting our true identity had been of the utmost importance. Who knew what kind of punishment we would endure should hell—or heaven, for that matter—find out that we'd exposed ourselves to the humans.
I imagined, though, that the look of pure and utter panic, fear, and disgust wouldn't have bothered me as much on anyone else's face.
Then she'd screamed. Actually screamed in horror at seeing me only partially Changed.
I'd told myself it was just the shock of it as I slipped on pants then followed her across the hall. But then I'd found her behind two locked doors.
As if that wasn't bad enough, she'd fucking thrown up.
Thrown up because of my true form.
Thrown up because she'd let me put my evil hands on her.
I didn't recognize the piercing sensation in my chest as I stood there on the other side of that door.
But by the time I'd gotten downstairs, had ripped the drink out of Drex's hand, and thrown it back to feel the burn he'd always been so fond of, bits of fiction and music and poetry came rushing back to my mind. Men and women describing exactly what I'd felt listening to Josephine get sick because she'd slept with me.
"That bad, huh?" Drex asked, smirking at me.
"The fuck are you talking about?" I asked, going back to grab the bottle. I couldn't get drunk. I couldn't even imagine what being drunk felt like to the humans, but the burn was at least distracting to the pain in my chest.
"This place has thick walls," he said, still smirking at me. "And I still heard that headboard slamming against the wall. Color me surprised to find out you're suddenly more of a 'do as I say, not as I do' sort of leader."
"Don't fucking test me right now, Drex," I growled, sucking down some of the alcohol right from the bottle.
"Didn't make her come, huh?" he asked, always the sort to stick a finger in an open wound. "Didn't think I'd heard any screams. Losing your touch, man."
"The fuck did I say?" I roared, grabbing him
around the neck, lifting him up out of his seat as the Change came upon me again.
"The fuck is going..." Ly started, he and Seven coming to a stop just inside the library door.
"Ace, man, the fuck?" Seven asked, moving forward, watching me with concerned eyes.
"What'd he do this time?" Ly asked, getting an eye roll from Drex.
"What are you doing?" Lenore's voice joined the others, rushing forward, reaching out for my wrist with her hand, burning me.
She'd gotten a lot better at controlling her powers. So much so that she could call it on demand these days, not just when she was scared or angry.
I might have been immortal, but a third-degree burn still hurt like a mother fucker. It was intense enough for me to drop Drex, to let out a string of curses.
"What is going on?" Lenore demanded, looking around.
"You wanna tell them, or should I?" Drex asked, not intimidated.
After hundreds of years of disagreements with each other, often coming to blows with one another, it took a lot for any of us to get cowed because of a small disagreement.
"Tell us what?" Ly demanded, gaze moving to me.
But I couldn't find the words as I tried to find some self-control, force the Change back.
"He fucked the nurse," Drex supplied.
"And?" Ly asked, confused.
I didn't want to tell them.
But I also had to.
"The nurse knows."
"About what? About us?" Seven asked, tone going grim.
"Well, about me," I supplied, feeling my horns going back in, my tongue coming together.
"Well, shit," Drex said, dropping back down into his seat, eyes far away.
"I'm not sure why that changes anything," Bael said, seeming to come out of nowhere. "The plan was always to kill her. She won't have any contact with the outside world while she heals Red. What's the problem?"
The problem was, the idea of her looking at me like that again. Day in and day out until Red was better. The problem was now that I'd gotten a taste of her, I wanted more, but she got sick at the idea of my hands touching her.
"The problem is, she's locked herself in Red's bathroom, and shows no signs of coming back out," I supplied, trying to keep my tone even. Shit was bad enough, I didn't need them knowing my real reason for being so off.
The Healer (Seven Sins MC Book 2) Page 11
