Chapter 12 Sagitta #2
“Yeah,” Chase said, sounding dreamy. “And then you kissed me in an alley.”
“I... I’ve never dated anyone before,” I admitted. Then a rush of hot embarrassment prickled my skin. “Is that what this is? What we’re doing?”
Chase’s brows rose in surprise at my initial comment, then he shrugged. “It doesn’t have to be. I don’t care about labels. What do you want this to be?”
My heart squeezed. That question again.
“Don’t ask me that when I’m aroused,” I warned.
He laughed. “But seriously, you’ve never dated? How? Look at you,” he said, running his hands down my sides.
I shuddered at the sensation. “I was... busy.”
Work took up all my time. I never even considered dating, or pursuing romance at all. I’d always been caught up in taking care of my family, or making money, or doing my duty to eradicate demons.
A sudden vine of guilt constricted me.
“This is a conflict of interest,” I mumbled. “I shouldn’t be involved with a client.”
Chase leaned in so our faces nearly touched. “Faust is gone. I’m not your client anymore.”
My eyes widened. He was right.
Like slamming a door, I shut off every responsibility and doubt in my head.
All bets were off. I was free to do whatever I wanted with Chase.
I sank into the couch and pulled him down with me.
In a fluid motion, he captured my lips in a soft kiss, guiding me on top of his chest. In the privacy of his apartment, everything felt more raw.
I didn’t have to worry about a stranger rounding a corner, or being spotted by a stray temple exorcist. That freedom turned me ravenous.
I arched into Chase, kissing him harder, exploring every inch of his lips with my own.
He groaned softly beneath me, and I felt its vibration rumble in his chest.
His tongue teased me, lick by tiny lick, begging for entry. When I relented, his velvety wet tongue traced mine in a slow motion. Heat shot straight down between my thighs. I moaned into his mouth while bucking my hips against his leg, grinding my erection into him.
It was obscene. And it was hot. I’d lost my mind, but I was too aroused to care about appearances anymore. All I wanted was touch and release. A reward for a job well done; a chance to take my mind off everything and just do what I wanted, feel what I desired for once.
As we kissed, Chase’s hand fumbled lower until he found the waistband of my pants. He shoved them down awkwardly before searching for my cock. My breath hitched when I realized what he was doing. I hiked my hips up and pressed into his hand.
Instant ecstasy washed over me. A choked cry wrenched from my throat as Chase cupped my sensitive flesh. My mind melted away and base instincts took over. My hips bucked on their own accord. It felt too good to stop.
“That’s it,” Chase whispered between kisses. His voice was hoarse from pleasure, which shot another shiver down my back. “Keep fucking my hand, just like that.”
My head spun. The edges of my vision blurred. I barely bit back a whimper as I sucked his lower lip, thrusted into his waiting palm. The air felt hot and electric, like a monsoon about to break a heatwave.
I was dizzy for release, but at the same time, I didn’t want this to end. This frantic, spontaneous fling was like water for my parched soul. Years of pent-up feelings and desires were unleashed as I grinded into Chase.
I didn’t think about anything before, or anything after. I was right here, right now, in this moment with him.
I sucked in a sharp breath as his fingers curled around my cock. An embarrassing keening sound slipped out of me, but Chase swallowed it in a kiss that left me breathless. I was glad for his broad body beneath mine because I felt weak, as if I’d slip and fall if it weren’t for his safety.
I had never felt so safe with anybody before. I was always the caretaker, never the one being taken care of.
“You’re so fucking hard,” Chase murmured. The hitch in his voice told me he was just as aroused. “Feels good, doesn’t it?”
I was almost too dazed to respond. “Yes...”
Chase huffed. With all five fingers wrapped around me, he started pumping.
I hissed and buried my face into the crook of his neck.
His intoxicating scent flooded my nostrils.
It made my cock ache. I was already dangerously sensitive, and Chase’s handjob wasn’t helping.
My inexperience was my downfall. At this rate, I wouldn’t last much longer.
“You’re so hot,” Chase groaned, working me faster.
My response was an incoherent sound. Chase’s scent and touch overwhelmed me. I was a quivering mass of nerves and hormones. I bit my lip hard, trying to stave off my release, desperate to enjoy this for a few seconds longer.
Sweat rolled down my temple and mixed with the sheen coating Chase’s skin.
The tangy scent of it made me crazed. In my delirium, I dragged my lips across Chase’s neck.
Its soft warmth beckoned to me. As I kissed his neck, Chase made a strangled noise.
His fingers tightened around my cock. I cried out, almost wailing.
My hips bucked faster, greedy and wanting, and Chase let me have it.
His fist worked me until I was moaning into his neck.
“Come for me,” he begged, the words taut with desire. “Please.”
Two more strokes and I did. My back arched like a plucked string as release hit me and I let out a muffled cry against Chase’s throat. Shock after shock of pleasure rolled over my body. It was a lot. I felt the wet spot forming between us.
Chase groaned. He sounded close. He shuffled, taking himself into his hand, then angled his head to capture my mouth again.
Dazed, I met him halfway in a sloppy kiss.
A few moments of wet ecstasy were enough to send him over the edge.
Chase’s entire body shuddered. His voice cracked as he moaned, wanton and choked, pressing into me as he came.
We both gasped for air. As the high wore off, my brain kicked back into gear. Post-orgasm clarity was in full effect.
I just came on my client.
My face was already flushed from pleasure and exertion, but now it contained a good portion of embarrassment, too.
Judging by his blissful expression, Chase was still luxuriating in the afterglow. He flashed a weary, content smile up at me.
Meanwhile, I was freaking the fuck out.
My animal instincts whined and complained, but I peeled myself off of Chase and stood up. I had the mental fortitude to avoid temptation. I didn’t have to stay and cuddle, no matter how badly my body wanted it.
“I’m sorry,” I mumbled, tucking myself back into my pants.
Chase barely raised his head. “Huh? What for?”
My heart felt like it was pounding in a pit of tar, each beat thick and sticky and difficult. Had I fucked up? Had I done something wrong? My body didn’t think so, but my head felt like I had...
“Sagitta?” The gentle way Chase called my name was almost painful. “What’s wrong? Are you okay?”
Even though it was cowardly, I wanted to run. But there was nowhere to run in Chase’s apartment.
His hand wrapped around my wrist and pulled me back onto the couch. He sat upright, his blue eyes shadowed with concern.
“It’s okay. We didn’t do anything bad,” he reassured.
It made my stomach flip that he could read my mind like that. He always caught me before I could spiral.
He went on. “I know this is all new for you, so it might feel different. Weird, even. But it’s all good.”
I took a breath, held it, then let it go. I thought back to the first time I exorcised a demon. That felt similarly exhilarating and terrifying.
“Hey,” Chase prompted. “I’m not your client, remember? So don’t freak out.”
“How are you doing that? Stop it,” I grumbled.
His mouth curved into a lazy grin. “Now that I know what makes you tick, you’re not that hard to read anymore.”
I didn’t know whether to feel relieved or offended. But Chase’s reassurance calmed my emotions before they whipped into a tempest. I sank back into the couch next to him and sighed.
He’s not my client. This is fine.
“Okay,” I said. “I’m not freaking out.”
He perked back up. “Cool, ‘cause we still have pizza to eat.”
I couldn’t withhold an amused snort as he leapt off the back of the couch and grabbed us some belated dinner. I was so exhausted and spent that I didn’t even care when I heard him toss the pizza slices in the microwave instead of heating up the oven.
Chase’s relaxed aura loosened the tension in my shoulders. Maybe it was okay to relax for once. And maybe it was okay to eat reheated pizza after being jacked off by a guy I liked.
After we ate and watched a movie on the couch in relative normalcy, fatigue hit both of us.
“Don’t forget my offer,” Chase reminded me.
That morning, he’d suggested I sleep in his bed instead of the couch.
My selfish urge was to accept. Not because I thought his bed was more comfortable, but because it meant being closer to him.
More intimate. I couldn’t believe that even after my release, I still wanted more. I was insatiable. Greedy.
“It feels unfair,” I said. “It’s your bed.”
Chase shrugged. “So? I’ve slept in bathtubs before. It’s no biggie.”
“Bathtubs?”
“College. You know how it is.”
“I don’t, actually. After high school, I studied under Professor Fairfax, then went straight to work.”
Chase paused. “Oh.” Then he grinned. “You didn’t miss much except sleeping in tubs.”
He didn’t let the argument drag on. He slumped his entire long body on the couch and nestled into the cushion. “I call dibs. Now you have to sleep in my bed.”
Warmth crept along my skin. It surprised me how much I was looking forward to it.
Chase poked his head up, frowning. “By the way, I’ve got a shift tomorrow. How’s that gonna work with the whole you-shadowing-me thing?”
I’d been so distracted with everything else that Chase’s job completely slipped my mind. He couldn’t exactly bring a stranger to work, but I couldn’t stay at his apartment all day either.
And frankly, I didn’t want to let him out of my sight.
A selfish part of me was irritated that Chase had to work during our week together. My own avarice shocked me. When did I get so possessive over Chase? I took a breath to relax.
After a moment, I said, “I have an idea.”
“Does it involve lying again?”
“Yes. But you don’t have to do anything.”
Chase scratched his head. “I didn’t do anything last time either, remember? That was Faust.”
The name made my eye twitch, but I calmed myself. Faust was gone. He wasn’t a problem anymore.
“I’ll handle it,” I reiterated. “Let’s get some rest.”
“Okay.” Chase hesitated like he wanted to say or do something, or perhaps wanted something from me. “Well, g’night.”
“Good night.”
I turned to leave before he called, “Wait. Could you feed Demetrius?”
“Sure.”
I retreated to Chase’s bedroom, found the bottle of predator bites, and tipped a few onto the water’s surface. I smiled as the red betta swam up to catch them. The sight of his gleaming scales among the tranquil greenery calmed me.
Demetrius was wonderfully taken care of. He was lucky that Chase had found him.
I felt like I’d been brushed by the same luck, too.
After getting ready to retire, I turned off the lights and slipped into bed.
Chase’s bed. An instinctive shiver rippled over my body as I remembered burying my face in his neck, sucking down his scent like it was oxygen.
My lower half still hummed with satisfaction, but now my mind wandered into a fog of doubt.
What were we? What was our relationship?
And what would happen to us when this week was over?